Note: this podcast contains explicit content. The first half of 2026 has already delivered a stacked lineup of rap releases, so we fired up the mics to take stock of the year&#8217;s best albums so far. Before getting into our midyear favorites, we talk about our all-time favorite summer rap anthems and unpack J. Cole&#8217;s…

Episode 342-2026 Mid-Year Review

core/paragraph

core/audio

core/classic-editor

Podcast

805: Real Talk About Drinks Writing and Trend-Chasing Bars with Echo Lake’s Chloe Frechette 

804: Toby Maloney Made Half a Million Cocktails. Emma Janzen Was Taking Notes.

968. – Derek Blasberg

Chaka Khan: Tell Me Something Good (Music as Medicine with Mei Rui)

Robyn Hitchcock

Zoh Amba

Creative

Footer Legal

Main

NavBar

Sections

Topics

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Talkhouse

For 15 years, Matthew S led Illegal Art while shrouded in secrecy. During its run from 1998 to 2012, Illegal Art was more than just a record label — it dismantled preconceived notions of originality in music, what was “allowed” in the industry. Then, we only knew Matthew through a series of pseudonyms, most commonly Philo T. Farnsworth. Now, with the reboot of Illegal Art, Matthew is pulling back the curtain, kickstarting a new chapter for the label while launching a deeply personal project of his own, Myth Math. 
Myth Math’s Tongues is out now on Illegal Art. 
(Photo Credit: Valentin Son)

Myth Math

Music

Talkhouse Weekend Playlist: A Sampling of the Illegal Art Archive

Zachary Ray Sherman is an actor, director, writer, and producer from Portland, Oregon, whose new film <a href="https://tubitv.com/movies/100022519/all-that-fall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">All That Fall</a> is now streaming. After early success opposite Kirsten Dunst in Lifetime’s Fifteen and Pregnant, and as Jasper on the CW’s reboot of 90210, Sherman has gone on to build an impressive acting resume balancing television work (Netflix’s Everything Sucks!) with edgy roles in independent films (Archie’s Final Project, West Virginia Stories, Cuck). Sherman has also directed three feature films to date: Particular Crowd and Mar Vista’s upcoming Do You Hear What I Hear, the award-winning indie All That Fall and HBO’s Young Hearts, a sweet and touching coming-of-age film executive-produced by the Duplass brothers. He will soon be seen in the indie dramas The Send-Off, produced by Glenn Howerton, and Can’t Seem to Make You Mine, opposite Lindsay Burdge, and is currently starring in Hulu’s Under the Banner of Heaven starring Andrew Garfield, created by Dustin Lance Black from the book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, and executive-produced by Jason Bateman and Brian Grazer. (Photo by David Zaugh.)

Zachary Ray Sherman

Film

When Art Finally Catches Up to You

Slowspin is the moniker of Pakistan-raised, New York-based sound artist Zeerak Ahmed. Her work is grounded in North Indian classical and matrilineal vocal traditions, expanded through dream-folk, ambient, experimental, electronic, devotional song, and psychedelic sound practices. Poetry and melodies in her mother tongues — Urdu, Purbi and English — form new textural soundscapes for love, loss, and longing. 
Her upcoming album, Afterimage, will be out August 7, 2026.

Slowspin

Introducing: Slowspin’s “Phantom Weight”

Born At Midnite is the Montreal-based duo of Amery Sandford and David Carriere (TOPS, Marci). Their record Eternal BAM Nation is out now on Arbutus Records. 
(Photo Credit: Sasha Khalimonova)

Born At Midnite

Mood Board: Born At Midnite’s Eternal BAM Nation

post

Transmissions :: Lenny Kaye