# Dissect (podcast)

Dissect is a music podcast that debuted in 2016 and is hosted by Cole Cuchna. The podcast is renowned for its in-depth analysis of contemporary music. Dissect was named "Best podcast of 2017" by Quartz, and the following year was named "Best podcast of 2018" by The New York Times. Additionally, both Time magazine and The Guardian listed Dissect as one of the top 50 podcasts of 2018.

## Content

Cuchna has a degree in music composition and approaches the analysis of contemporary music in the same way he does with classical music. From Season 3 onwards, the podcast has been produced by Spotify.

### Seasons

| Season | Album(s) | Artist | Year |
| 1 | To Pimp a Butterfly | Kendrick Lamar | 2016 |
| 2 | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | Kanye West | 2017 |
| 3 | Blonde (and Channel Orange mini-series) | Frank Ocean | 2018 |
| 4 | Flower Boy | Tyler, the Creator | 2019 |
| 5 | Damn | Kendrick Lamar | 2019 |
| 6 | Lemonade | Beyoncé | 2020 |
| 7 | Because the Internet | Childish Gambino | 2020 |
| 8 | Yeezus | Kanye West | 2021 |
| 9 | Swimming / Circles | Mac Miller | 2021 |
| 10 | Igor | Tyler, The Creator | 2022 |
| 11 | In Rainbows | Radiohead | 2023 |
| 12 | Madvillainy | MF DOOM | 2024 |
| 13 | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers | Kendrick Lamar | 2025 |

### Mini-series

Dissect "mini-series" have similar content to normal seasons, but in a shorter format.
| Season | Album(s) | Artist | Year |
| 1 | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | Lauryn Hill | 2018 |
| 2 | Black is King | Beyoncé | 2021 |
| 3 | Inside | Bo Burnham | 2022 |

## Format

An episode of Dissect is typically between 30 and 60 minutes. Episodes are usually structured with a short description of the podcast, a recap of the previous episode's conclusion, a listing of the songs credits, and a long-form analysis of the song. Audio samples from music that influenced the song are often included in the initial credits, and song recreations are interspersed throughout the analysis.
Free episodes are released twice-weekly during a season's production and are made available via SoundCloud, Spotify, and iTunes, among other services. The first two seasons were supported via Patreon donations but has since switched to advertising. Cuchna selects a different charity to support for each season through listener donations.

### Awards

| Award | Date | Category | Result |
| Discover Pods Awards | 2019 | Music Podcast | Won |
| Discover Pods Awards | 2021 | Music Podcast | Finalist |
| Ambies | 2021 | Best Entertainment Podcast | Nominated |
| Webby Awards | 2018 | Best Writing | Honoree |
| Webby Awards | 2019 | Arts & Culture | Nominated |
| Webby Awards | 2020 | People's Voice Winner - Music Podcasts | Won |
| Webby Awards | 2021 | Music Podcasts | Honoree |

## History

Cuchna graduated from California State University with a degree in music composition, and felt that contemporary music—specifically hip hop—was not receiving the academic analysis it deserved. The podcast debuted in August 2016 with Cuchna as the sole creator of the podcast, which he recorded at night after working a full-time job at a specialty coffee roasting company once his wife and kids had gone to sleep. In 2018, Cuchna began working with Spotify to produce the podcast.

## Episode list

List of Dissect episodes :
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Guests | Released | Duration | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Compton, K.Dot/Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-08-23 | 0:21:10 | — |
| 2 | 2 | good kid, m.A.A.d. city | — | 2016-08-25 | 0:35:00 | — |
| 3 | 3 | Wesley's Theory by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-08-30 | 0:28:36 | — |
| 4 | 4 | For Free? by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-09-06 | 0:21:12 | — |
| 5 | 5 | King Kunta by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-09-13 | 0:25:47 | — |
| 6 | 6 | Institutionalized by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-09-20 | 0:30:21 | — |
| 7 | 7 | These Walls by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-09-27 | 0:22:36 | — |
| 8 | 8 | u by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-10-04 | 0:28:10 | — |
| 9 | 9 | Alright by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-10-11 | 0:34:34 | — |
| 10 | 10 | For Sale? by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-11-01 | 0:26:01 | — |
| 11 | 11 | Momma by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-11-08 | 0:30:24 | — |
| 12 | 12 | Hood Politics by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-11-15 | 0:31:00 | — |
| 13 | 13 | How Much a Dollar Cost by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-11-22 | 0:32:33 | — |
| 14 | 14 | Complexion (A Zulu Love) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-12-06 | 0:31:48 | — |
| 15 | 15 | Blacker the Berry (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-12-13 | 0:31:53 | — |
| 16 | 16 | Blacker the Berry (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2016-12-20 | 0:28:39 | — |
| 17 | 17 | You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2017-01-03 | 0:23:51 | — |
| 18 | 18 | i (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2017-01-13 | 0:29:27 | — |
| 19 | 19 | i (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2017-01-17 | 0:38:30 | — |
| 20 | 20 | Mortal Man (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2017-01-24 | 0:30:15 | — |
| 21 | 21 | Mortal Man (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2017-01-31 | 0:47:22 | — |
| 22 | 22 | Season Finale: To Pimp a Butterfly | — | 2017-02-07 | 1:10:43 | — |
| 23 | 1 | Kanye West: Elephant in the Room | — | 2017-08-01 | 0:35:50 | — |
| 24 | 2 | Through the Wire by Kanye West | — | 2017-08-08 | 0:30:30 | — |
| 25 | 3 | The Old Kanye | — | 2017-08-15 | 0:43:28 | — |
| 26 | 4 | Dark Fantasy by Kanye West | — | 2017-08-22 | 0:34:06 | — |
| 27 | 5 | Gorgeous by Kanye West | — | 2017-08-29 | 0:37:40 | — |
| 28 | 6 | Power by Kanye West | — | 2017-09-05 | 0:43:08 | — |
| 29 | 7 | All of the Lights by Kanye West | — | 2017-09-12 | 0:33:12 | — |
| 30 | 8 | Kanye's Cry for Help | — | 2017-09-19 | 0:15:41 | — |
| 31 | 9 | Monster by Kanye West | — | 2017-09-26 | 0:34:11 | — |
| 32 | 10 | So Appalled by Kanye West | — | 2017-10-03 | 0:35:42 | — |
| 33 | 11 | Devil in a New Dress by Kanye West | — | 2017-10-10 | 0:41:38 | — |
| 34 | 12 | Runaway by Kanye West (Part 1) | — | 2017-10-17 | 0:36:21 | — |
| 35 | 13 | Runaway by Kanye West (Part 2) | — | 2017-10-24 | 0:37:06 | — |
| 36 | 14 | Hell of a Life by Kanye West | — | 2017-11-07 | 0:36:03 | — |
| 37 | 15 | Blame Game by Kanye West | — | 2017-11-14 | 0:32:34 | — |
| 38 | 16 | Lost in the World by Kanye West | — | 2017-11-28 | 0:42:16 | — |
| 39 | 17 | Season Finale: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | — | 2017-12-11 | 1:29:26 | — |
| 40 | 1 | Frank Ocean: A Man of Art and Mystery | — | 2018-05-22 | 0:39:59 | — |
| 41 | 2 | Thinking About You by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-05-29 | 0:33:47 | — |
| 42 | 3 | Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-06-05 | 0:35:17 | — |
| 43 | 4 | Pyramids (Part 1) by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-06-12 | 0:32:27 | — |
| 44 | 5 | Pyramids (Part 2) by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-06-19 | 0:22:28 | — |
| 45 | 6 | Bad Religion by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-06-26 | 0:32:03 | — |
| 46 | 7 | Channel Orange Recap + 4 Years Gone | — | 2018-07-03 | 0:39:24 | — |
| 47 | Bonus | The Tricky Stewart Interview | Tricky Stewart | 2018-07-10 | 0:53:06 | — |
| 48 | 8 | Nikes by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-07-17 | 0:31:29 | — |
| 49 | 9 | Ivy by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-07-24 | 0:26:06 | — |
| 50 | 10 | Pink + White by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-07-31 | 0:30:57 | — |
| 51 | 11 | Solo by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-08-07 | 0:41:52 | — |
| 52 | 12 | Skyline To + Self Control by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-08-14 | 0:46:03 | — |
| 53 | 13 | Nights by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-08-21 | 0:38:48 | — |
| 54 | 14 | Solo (Reprise), Pretty Sweet, Close to You by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-08-28 | 0:39:51 | — |
| 55 | 15 | White Ferrari by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-09-04 | 0:26:45 | — |
| 56 | 16 | Seigfried by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-09-11 | 0:38:32 | — |
| 57 | 17 | Godspeed + Futura Free by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-09-18 | 0:42:27 | — |
| 58 | 18 | Season Finale: Blonde by Frank Ocean | — | 2018-09-25 | 1:23:05 | — |
| 59 | Bonus | S3 Listener Audio Montage | — | 2018-11-06 | 1:35:32 | — |
| 60 | 1 | Lauryn Hill: An Education | — | 2018-11-06 | 0:44:55 | — |
| 61 | 2 | "Lost Ones" and "Ex-Factor" by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-11-13 | 0:43:46 | — |
| 62 | 3 | "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-11-20 | 0:42:44 | — |
| 63 | 4 | "Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-11-27 | 0:37:51 | — |
| 64 | 5 | "Superstar" & "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-12-04 | 0:43:32 | — |
| 65 | 6 | "Forgive Them Father" (& more) by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-12-11 | 0:42:57 | — |
| 66 | 7 | "Everything is Everything" by Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-12-18 | 0:38:35 | — |
| 67 | 8 | Finale: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | — | 2018-12-24 | 0:44:33 | — |
| 68 | 1 | Tyler the Creator: Flower Boy | — | 2019-04-23 | 0:44:28 | — |
| 69 | 2 | Foreword by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-04-30 | 0:33:09 | — |
| 70 | 3 | Where This Flower Blooms by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-05-07 | 0:38:19 | — |
| 71 | 4 | See You Again by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-05-14 | 0:34:21 | — |
| 72 | 5 | "Who Dat Boy" by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-05-21 | 0:26:10 | — |
| 73 | Bonus | Dissecting IGOR with Anthony Fantano | Anthony Fantano | 2019-05-24 | 2:00:14 | — |
| 74 | 6 | Pothole by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-05-28 | 0:37:01 | — |
| 75 | 7 | Garden Shed by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-06-04 | 0:49:04 | — |
| 76 | 8 | "Boredom" by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-06-11 | 0:34:31 | — |
| 77 | 9 | "I Ain't Got Time" by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-06-18 | 0:30:06 | — |
| 78 | 10 | "911 / Mr Lonely" by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-06-25 | 0:37:18 | — |
| 79 | 11 | November by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-07-02 | 0:33:19 | — |
| 80 | 12 | Glitter by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-07-09 | 0:32:15 | — |
| 81 | 13 | Season Finale: Flower Boy | — | 2019-07-16 | 1:21:16 | — |
| 82 | 14 | Epilogue: IGOR by Tyler, The Creator | — | 2019-07-23 | 0:44:11 | — |
| 83 | 1 | Kendrick Lamar: DAMN. | — | 2019-10-08 | 0:41:59 | — |
| 84 | 2 | TPAB as Preface to DAMN. | — | 2019-10-10 | 0:33:36 | — |
| 85 | 3 | BLOOD. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-10-15 | 0:43:15 | — |
| 86 | 4 | DNA. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-10-22 | 0:38:35 | — |
| 87 | 5 | DNA. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-10-24 | 0:30:30 | — |
| 88 | 6 | YAH. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-10-29 | 0:39:18 | — |
| 89 | Bonus | Dissecting JESUS IS KING w/ Femi Olutade | Femi Olutade | 2019-11-01 | 2:02:53 | — |
| 90 | 7 | ELEMENT. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-11-05 | 0:57:50 | — |
| 91 | 8 | FEEL. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-11-12 | 0:38:15 | — |
| 92 | 9 | LOYALTY. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-11-19 | 0:40:47 | — |
| 93 | 10 | PRIDE. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-11-26 | 0:42:46 | — |
| 94 | 11 | HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-03 | 0:41:51 | — |
| 95 | 12 | LUST. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-10 | 0:51:41 | — |
| 96 | 13 | LOVE. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-17 | 0:37:09 | — |
| 97 | 14 | XXX. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-23 | 0:37:26 | — |
| 98 | 15 | XXX. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-24 | 0:55:23 | — |
| 99 | 16 | FEAR. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2019-12-30 | 0:55:09 | — |
| 100 | 17 | FEAR. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2020-01-07 | 1:01:54 | — |
| 101 | 18 | GOD. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2020-01-14 | 1:00:06 | — |
| 102 | 19 | DUCKWORTH. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2020-01-21 | 0:51:41 | — |
| 103 | 20 | Season Finale: DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar | — | 2020-01-28 | 1:09:02 | — |
| 104 | 1 | Beyoncé: LEMONADE | — | 2020-04-23 | 0:43:44 | — |
| 105 | 2 | Hold Up by Beyoncé | — | 2020-04-28 | 0:39:19 | — |
| 106 | Bonus | Titi & Cole visit the Louisiana Plantations in Lemonade | Titilayo Shodiya | 2020-04-30 | 0:51:03 | — |
| 107 | 3 | Don't Hurt Yourself by Beyoncé (feat. Jack White) | — | 2020-05-05 | 0:45:22 | — |
| 108 | 4 | Sorry by Beyoncé | — | 2020-05-12 | 0:39:33 | — |
| 109 | 5 | 6 Inch by Beyoncé | — | 2020-05-19 | 0:37:04 | — |
| 110 | 6 | Daddy Lessons by Beyoncé | — | 2020-05-26 | 0:44:41 | — |
| 111 | Bonus | A Moment of Silence for George Floyd | — | 2020-06-02 | 0:08:46 | — |
| 112 | 7 | Love Drought by Beyoncé | — | 2020-05-26 | 0:41:00 | — |
| 113 | 8 | Sandcastles by Beyoncé | — | 2020-06-09 | 0:33:56 | — |
| 114 | 9 | Forward by Beyoncé | — | 2020-06-09 | 0:38:48 | — |
| 115 | 10 | Freedom by Beyoncé | — | 2020-06-23 | 0:55:03 | — |
| 116 | Bonus | Dope Labs is BACK! | — | 2020-06-25 | 0:01:47 | — |
| 117 | 11 | All Night by Beyoncé | — | 2020-06-30 | 0:47:26 | — |
| 118 | 12 | Formation by Beyoncé | — | 2020-07-07 | 0:52:10 | — |
| 119 | 13 | Season Finale: Lemonade by Beyoncé | — | 2020-07-14 | 1:16:24 | — |