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PODCAST

Nathans & Roncast

Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt

Each episode of the Nathans & Roncast features a deep dive into a single song. Hosted by Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt, this podcast includes conversations with the artists, as well as subject matter experts about the real-life stories behind story songs you know and love.

music music commentary

All Episodes

00:27:52

Why Burr Settles, founder of February Album Writing...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/10/02

Tens of thousands of new songs, perhaps more, exist because Burr Settles founded February Album Writing Month in 2004. The annual monthlong challenge requires participants to write 14 songs in […]

en-US

00:16:54

What I Like About You: Aaron & Michael Pick Our...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/09/26

We’ve been working together for 14 years and counting, and our staying power is thanks in large part to the fact that we are some of each others’ biggest fans. […]

en-US

00:05:10

To FAWM or not to FAWM? Some thoughts on songwriting...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/09/18

Hello, Aaron here. Anyone who has heard me play has probably heard me speak the words “February Album Writing Month” on more than one occasion. Most of my songs — […]

en-US

00:28:34

Buddy Mondlock & Wade Bates’ powerful song, “The Tower”

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/09/04

You have very likely never heard this song before, and it grips you right from the start. There is Buddy Mondlock’s trademark sweet steel-string guitar and soothing voice, but in […]

en-US

00:30:05

Buddy Mondlock on writing a song about trauma (Part 1)

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/08/27

Songwriting master Buddy Mondlock is known for having cowritten with Guy Clark, Janis Ian, Art Garfunkel, and some fellow named Garth Brooks. His music has been covered by Peter, Paul […]

en-US

00:05:15

Elevate your songwriting with a plot twist

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/08/20

One surefire way to make your song stand out is to add an unexpected twist in the story. In this mini episode, Aaron will review some classic songs, from “Drive […]

en-US

00:35:56

James Keelaghan, part 2: Squinting at the Mona Lisa

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/08/13

This is the second part of our conversation with James Keelaghan about his classic song “Cold Missouri Waters,” one of the most covered and admired folk story songs of our […]

en-US

00:01:32

Why do we like a particular song?

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/07/30

What is it about a song that draws us in? Is it the melody? A catchy beat? A story, or perhaps wordplay? In the new season of the Nathans & […]

en-US

00:05:56

Why do we vilify computers in song?

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/04/16

Computers and technology have both improved our lives and complicated them; made us safer and more vulnerable; and brought both joy and sorrow into our world. And yet when it […]

en-US

00:08:45

Serenity Fisher’s “Winter”

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/04/10

Serenity Fisher & The Cardboard Hearts is a family band in many senses of the phrase, and not just because Michael, who plays cello, is married to the lead singer […]

en-US

00:09:10

Peter Macdonald Blachly’s “Vicksburg”

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/04/02

A few weeks back we featured Peter MacDonald Blachly as our interview guest as we discussed the song “Evening,” which Michael wrote as a posthumous co-write with Peter’s great-uncle, the […]

en-US

00:08:58

The classical side of Michael G. Ronstadt

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/03/26

You know Michael G. Ronstadt’s alternative folk side, but do you know he’s classically trained, with a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music? Check out this […]

en-US

01:16:45

In Search of Our Dead Poet Co-Writer… “Evening”...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/02/20

Who was Clarence Dan Blachly? Michael came upon his book of poems named “Stubble Fields,” published in 1939, when he was wandering through a used bookstore in Phoenixville, PA more […]

en-US

00:04:53

Rob Lincoln’s “Roosevelt’s Around” (mini-episode)

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/02/13

This week we are featuring a musical force of nature here in the Philadelphia music scene: Rob Lincoln. Rob reminds me a little of myself (Aaron) in his willingness to […]

en-US

00:05:59

Michael J. Ronstadt’s “Wynken, Blynken & Nod”...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/02/06

These days, so many of the Ronstadt family members actively perform and sometimes tour. In the fall of 2022, they held a family gala that packed the Fox Theatre in Tucson with […]

en-US

01:00:01

“Flatbush Sunset”: Rory Costello on the Brooklyn...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/01/30

Aaron’s love of baseball history led him to Rory Costello’s fabulous essay about the secret history of Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the two-year period after the […]

en-US

00:07:42

Liz and Pete’s “Back Home to Blue” (mini-episode)

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/01/23

She’s Liz, he’s Pete, they are Liz & Pete. Liz Cerepanya and Peter Dalton Ronstadt (Michael’s brother) join musical forces to explore material old and new. Liz’s heartfelt voice with […]

en-US

00:27:42

Thar she blows?

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/01/16

In Aaron & Michael’s first real-life podcast adventure, they take to the high seas in search of whales. What could possibly go wrong? (Hint: almost EVERYTHING goes wrong.) So how […]

en-US

00:06:48

Beth Kille’s “All Is One” (mini-episode)

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/01/09

This week we are featuring an old friend of mine, Beth Kille, who fronts the Beth Kille Band in Madison, Wisconsin. I lived in Madison in the late 90s until […]

en-US

01:03:48

“Man and a Whale”: Nick Pyenson, paleontologist and...

Nathans & Roncast ·

2024/01/02

We dive deep into the ocean — and the past — to explore whales, Earth’s most fascinating animals, with Dr. Nick Pyenson. He is the curator of fossil marine mammals at […]

en-US

42 results

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