Shows / Dissect
Dissect
Analyzing the music and meaning of one album per season, one song per episode. Join host Cole Cuchna as he dives deep into albums by Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Radiohead, Beyonce, Tyler The Creator, Frank Ocean, and more. Let's Dissect.
Episodes
DissectTiti & Cole visit the Louisiana Plantations in Lemonade
Hear S6 co-host Titi and Cole in conversation about their experience traveling together to the Louisiana sugar plantations seen throughout the visuals of…
DissectS6E2 - Hold Up by Beyoncé
We continue our serialized analysis of Beyoncé’s Lemonade by dissecting it’s second chapter “Denial,” which features the song “Hold Up.” After unsuccessfully…
DissectS6E1 - Beyoncé: LEMONADE
Surprise! Season 6 is dedicated to Beyoncé’s masterwork Lemonade. Through in-depth, highly researched analysis, we follow Beyoncé on her transcendent journey…
DissectS5E20 - Season Finale: DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
We conclude our season on DAMN. by recapping the album’s narrative in standard track order before speculating on an alternative narrative when listening in…
DissectS5E19 - DUCKWORTH. by Kendrick Lamar
DUCKWORTH. tells the remarkable true story of the chance encounter between Kendrick’s father Kenny Duckworth and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith. Kendrick uses this…
DissectS5E18 - GOD. by Kendrick Lamar
After receiving guidance from Cousin Carl on FEAR., Kung Fu Kenny expresses the joyous feeling of being filled with the spirit of GOD. Say hi @dissectpodcast…
DissectS5E17 - FEAR. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar
In part two of our analysis of FEAR., we come to understand how fear has been the primary motivating factor in Kung Fu Kenny’s life. Kenny consolidates the…
DissectS5E16 - FEAR. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar
FEAR. is the pivotal track in the narrative of DAMN. We begin our two part analysis by dissecting the song’s virtuosic use of samples before digging into the…
DissectS5E15 - XXX. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar
In part two of our analysis of XXX., we discover the dramatic twist in the narrative of DAMN. Say hi @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Purchase Dissect…
DissectS5E14 - XXX. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar
XXX. is a multipart suite that begins to reveal the deep-rooted themes of DAMN. We find Kung Fu Kenny seemingly under demonic influence as he portrays himself…
DissectS5E13 - LOVE. by Kendrick Lamar
Coming off the heels of LUST., LOVE. presents the flipside of the coin as Kung Fu Kenny explores the youthful, romantic love he felt as a teenager. As we’ll…
DissectS5E12 - LUST. by Kendrick Lamar
When DAMN. released just months after Donald Trump was elected president, many were anticipating the moment Kendrick Lamar -- the greatest rapper of our…
DissectS5E11 - HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar
We continue our season-long analysis of DAMN. with the album’s hit single HUMBLE. Coming off the heels of PRIDE. in which Kung Fu Kenny admitted his…
DissectS5E10 - PRIDE. by Kendrick Lamar
Kung Fu Kenny takes a big step forward by admitting his imperfections and humbling himself. As track 7 of 14, we hypothesize about PRIDE. being a…
DissectS5E9 - LOYALTY. by Kendrick Lamar & Rihanna
Kung Fu Kenny teams with Bad Girl RiRi for a meditation on the concept of LOYALTY. What begins as a self-serving demand for absolute devotion eventually…
DissectS5E8 - FEEL. by Kendrick Lamar
Kung Fu Kenny’s pursuit of sex, money, and murder comes to a head in FEEL. In a violent storm of emotions, Kenny reveals the underlying isolation and suffering…
DissectS5E7 - ELEMENT. by Kendrick Lamar
ELEMENT. is a brutal meditation on Kung Fu Kenny’s intuition toward preemptive violence. But upon analysis we realize that beneath Kenny’s aggression is an…
DissectBONUS - Dissecting JESUS IS KING w/ Femi Olutade
Cole and Femi discuss Kanye West's new album Jesus Is King, including a song-by-song thematic analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
DissectS5E6 - YAH. by Kendrick Lamar
YAH. formally introduces DAMN’s protagonist: Kung Fu Kenny, a prophet who rejects God’s call. Kenny chooses instead to follow his intuition toward sex, money…
DissectS5E5 - DNA. (Part 2) by Kendrick Lamar
In Part 2 of our DNA. analysis, we dissect the song’s dramatic second half. Triggered by the disparaging comments by FOX News, Kendrick goes ballistic in a now…
DissectS5E4 - DNA. (Part 1) by Kendrick Lamar
DNA. lays the philosophical groundwork for the album DAMN. In the song’s first half, Kendrick defines his genetic makeup as a mixture of biological (family)…
DissectS5E3 - BLOOD. by Kendrick Lamar
We begin our season-long analysis of DAMN. with the opening track BLOOD. We unpack the many layers of the wickedness/weakness dichotomy presented as well as…
DissectS5E2 - TPAB as Preface to DAMN.
We revisit To Pimp a Butterfly with a special focus on how its ending connects directly with the opening of DAMN. Say hi @dissectpodcast on Twitter and…
DissectS5E1 - Kendrick Lamar: DAMN.
Season 5 is dedicated entirely to Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer-Prize winning album DAMN. Today’s episode dives into Lamar’s upbringing in Compton and the…
DissectS4E14 - Epilogue: IGOR by Tyler the Creator
Today’s special episode dissects Tyler, The Creator’s 2019 album IGOR. After a thorough dissection of the album’s narrative, we hypothesize about thematic and…
DissectS4E13 - Season Finale: Flower Boy
After a thorough recap of the album’s narrative, we draw some final conclusions about the themes of Flower Boy and dissect the album’s cover art and title. We…
DissectS4E12 - Glitter by Tyler, The Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “Glitter”. It’s that Tyler’s album long journey culminates with him expressing how he feels to…
DissectS4E11 - November by Tyler, the Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “November.” In terms of the album’s narrative, “November” represents rock bottom, an emotional…
DissectS4E10 - "911 / Mr Lonely" by Tyler, the Creator
Limited Season 4 merchandise available at https://shop.dissectpodcast.com/store. Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “911/Mr…
DissectS4E9 - “I Ain’t Got Time” by Tyler, the Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “I Ain’t Got Time.” The isolation expressed on the previous song “Boredom” is too much for Tyler…
DissectS4E8 - “Boredom” by Tyler, the Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “Boredom.” Still in the isolation of his garden shed, Tyler’s boredom reveals an underlying…
DissectS4E7 - Garden Shed by Tyler, The Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the album’s centerpiece “Garden Shed.” In one of the greatest songs of our generation, Tyler acknowledges…
DissectS4E6 - Pothole by Tyler, The Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “Pothole.” Tyler takes his mother’s advice to heart and examines the various “potholes” in his…
DissectDissecting IGOR with Anthony Fantano
In this special BONUS episode, Cole talks to Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop) about Tyler, The Creator's IGOR and where the album fits into Tyler's legacy…
DissectS4E5 - “Who Dat Boy” by Tyler, the Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “Who Dat Boy.” Tyler combats his vulnerability through egotism, machismo, and materialism. While…
DissectS4E4 - See You Again by Tyler, The Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with "See You Again." Tyler describes an idealized partner he only sees in his dreams. But as we'll discover…
DissectS4E3 - Where This Flower Blooms by Tyler, The Creator
Our season long analysis of Flower Boy continues with the song “Where This Flower Blooms.” Tyler contrasts his childhood roots in poverty with the initial…
DissectS4E2 - Foreword by Tyler, The Creator
We begin our season long analysis of Flower Boy by Tyler the Creator with the album’s opening track “Foreword.” We find Tyler laying out the themes that will…
DissectS4E1 - Tyler the Creator: Flower Boy
Our season long examination of Flower Boy by Tyler, the Creator begins with a biographical episode on Tyler’s upbringing in Los Angeles, the genesis of Odd…
DissectMS1E8 - Finale: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
We conclude our eight episode deep dive into The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Want to know the subject of Season 4 of Dissect? Follow @dissectpodcast on…
DissectMS1E7 - "Everything is Everything" by Lauryn Hill
Our serialized analysis of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill continues with "Nothing Even Matters" and "Everything is Everything." Having submitted herself to…
DissectMS1E6 - "Forgive Them Father" (& more) by Lauryn Hill
We dissect a trio of songs in which Ms. Lauryn Hill presents a micro-narrative of heartbreak and forgiveness, a turning point in Miseducation's loose…
DissectMS1E5 - "Superstar" & "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill
We continue our serialized analysis of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with two songs cut from the same thematic cloth. With both "Superstar" and "Final Hour,"…
DissectMS1E4 - "Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill
Ms. Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" synthesizes hip-hop with 1950s doo wop music. We trace the parallel histories of these two musical genres before our…
DissectMS1E3 - "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill
Ms. Lauryn Hill's timeless ballad "To Zion" tells a powerful story about the birth of her first child. We dive deep into its lyrics and discover how its…
DissectMS1E2 - "Lost Ones" and "Ex-Factor" by Lauryn Hill
Ms. Lauryn Hill begins Miseducation with a dualistic examination of heartbreak. "Lost Ones" is a scathing, venomous assault while "Ex Factor" reveals the pain…
DissectMS1E1 - Lauryn Hill: An Education
Today we begin our 8 episode mini-series on of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. We start with Ms. Hill's upbringing in New Jersey, her rise with The Fugees…
DissectBONUS - S3 Listener Audio Montage
We hear from Dissect listeners sharing their biggest takeaways from Frank Ocean's "Blonde" and Season 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
DissectS3E18 - Season Finale: Blonde by Frank Ocean
We conclude our season-long analysis of Blonde by Frank Ocean. Stay in touch over the break by following @dissectpodcast on Twitter and Instagram. Join the…
DissectS3E17 - Godspeed + Futura Free by Frank Ocean
We dissect Blonde's closing tracks "Godspeed" and "Futura Free." You're gonna wanna listen to the end on this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
DissectS3E16 - Seigfried by Frank Ocean
We dissect "Seigfried" by Frank Ocean, a song expressing Frank's feelings of alienation and isolation, leading to an existential crisis. Season 3 merchandise…
DissectS3E15 - White Ferrari by Frank Ocean
We dissect "White Ferrari" by Frank Ocean, an emotionally potent car ride through Frank's memories of a failed relationship. Season 3 merchandise is now…
DissectS3E14 - Solo (Reprise), Pretty Sweet, Close to You by Frank Ocean
We dissect the first four tracks from Blonde's second half: "Solo (Reprise)" feat. Andre 3000, "Pretty Sweet," "Facebook Story," and "Close to You." Listen to…
DissectS3E13 - Nights by Frank Ocean
We dissect "Nights" by Frank Ocean, a two-part odyssey whose iconic beat switch divides more than just the song's two halves. Listen to Dissect for free on…
DissectS3E12 - Skyline To + Self Control by Frank Ocean
Today's special double episode dissects "Skyline To" and "Self Control" by Frank Ocean, two songs that reflect deeply on summer romance. Listen to Dissect on…
DissectS3E11 - Solo by Frank Ocean
We dissect "Solo" by Frank Ocean, a series of narrative vignettes expounding on loneliness, freedom, and the heaven and hell within us all. Listen to Dissect…
DissectS3E10 - Pink + White by Frank Ocean
We dissect "Pink + White" by Frank Ocean, a beautiful, mosaic-like remembrance of childhood. Listen to Dissect on Spotify and get episodes a week before all…
DissectS3E9 - Ivy by Frank Ocean
We continue our examination of Blonde by Frank Ocean with the heartbreaking song "Ivy." Listen to Dissect free on Spotify and get episodes a week early plus…
DissectS3E8 - Nikes by Frank Ocean
Our season long examination of Blonde by Frank Ocean begins with its iconic opening track "Nikes." Listen to Dissect free on Spotify and receive episodes a…
DissectBONUS - The Tricky Stewart Interview
In this bonus episode, Cole sits down with grammy-award winning producer/songwriter Tricky Stewart. Tricky is responsible for songs like "Single Ladies" by…