In Defense of the NYT's 'Greatest Songwriters' List

About this episode

Wesley Morris discusses the public reaction to The New York Times Magazine's list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters with several guests.

The public outrage was inevitable. The New York Times Magazine published a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters. Two hundred and fifty music insiders submitted ballots. Six Times music critics and writers sorted through it all to get to 30. For Wesley Morris, it was both daunting and thrilling. Luminaries like Bonnie Raitt, George Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mariah Carey submitted ballots. How to honor those submissions while narrowing down and exercising a critic’s judgment? Nearly 6,000 comments later, one thing is clear: Everybody’s a critic. Many are asking the nagging question, “How can you leave out so-and-so?!” Our critics included! So, Wesley invites a few of the project’s participants, Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, the hosts of “Popcast,” and Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The Times Magazine, to rehash it all out.

People in this episode

Host: Wesley Morris

Guests: Sasha Weiss, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli

Topics covered

• music criticism
• songwriters
• public opinion
• cultural commentary
• New York Times

Keywords

• greatest songwriters
• New York Times
• music insiders
• public outrage
• critics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New York Times Magazine, Popcast

More episodes of Cannonball with Wesley Morris

• What’s Love Got to Do with ‘Obsession’? · June 11, 2026 · 53 min
• Is Broadway Going Easy On Us? · June 4, 2026 · 51 min
• Over 20,000 Restaurants in New York City. Only One List · May 28, 2026 · 54 min
• Is 'Colbert' the Wrong Late Show to Cancel? · May 21, 2026 · 55 min
• The Devil Wears Prada, Workers Get Nada · May 14, 2026 · 14 min
• ‘Michael’ Is Pure Propaganda · April 30, 2026 · 48 min