LADY GAGA JOINS SONG EXPLODER FOR ITS 300TH EPISODE

AWARD-WINNING PODCAST CELEBRATES MILESTONE WITH LADY GAGA BREAKING DOWN THE MAKING OF “ABRACADABRA”

Critical acclaim for Song Exploder…

“The show is rooted in Hirway’s expansive curiosity about how, exactly, art is made. After a while, his central question—'How did you get from nothing to this?’—begins to feel applicable to nearly every endeavor we undertake.”—The New Yorker

“Song Exploder is probably the best use of the podcast format ever.”—New York Magazine / Vulture

“Hirway […] is a devoted connoisseur of the creative process.”—The New York Times

“Song Exploder is rich with incisive conversations on the creative process.”—Los Angeles Times

October 1, 2025—Song Exploder, the award-winning podcast from host and creator Hrishikesh Hirway, celebrates its 300th episode with guest Lady Gaga, who tells the story of making her song “Abracadabra” from her #1 album Mayhem—listen/share here. The interview was recorded at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio, where the album was also recorded.

Hirway launched Song Exploder on January 1, 2014. Over the past decade, the podcast has grown from an independent project into a globally recognized series, known for its unique format and deep exploration of the creative process.

This year, Song Exploder was included in TIME’s “100 Best Podcasts of All Time”, and in Apple’s “20 Years, 20 Podcasts We Love.” In Left of Dial Media’s industry poll of the 100 Greatest Podcasts of All Time, Song Exploder ranked #11. For the second time, it won iHeartRadio’s Best Music Podcast award. It was also included in the new book 101 Podcasts That Changed the Way We Listen.

The podcast combines the first-person perspective of an artist as they talk about the journey they went through to make a song with the isolated instruments and vocals that make up the studio recording. The result is an intimate, carefully crafted story that brings audiences new understanding and appreciation for the music.

Lady Gaga spoke to Hirway about how “Abracadabra” represented a test of her resilience.

“During the songwriting process, I'm battling a lot of judgment. I'm judging myself for what I've created. But that was what it was supposed to be…it has all of the pieces of something that is quintessentially me…and then I sort of accepted who I am through the process, and became okay with it.”

Over 300 episodes, Song Exploder has featured an extraordinary range of artists, including Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, Billie Eilish, Green Day, Shania Twain, Lizzo, Sabrina Carpenter, The Roots, and Phoebe Bridgers, as well as an innovative and award-winning posthumous episode featuring John Lennon.

In 2020, the podcast was adapted into an eight-episode Netflix documentary series, hosted by Hirway, and executive produced by Hirway and Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom). This year, Hirway introduced a new series within Song Exploder called Key Change, where he interviews notable guests (Jason Schwartzman, Sophia Thatcher) about a song that changed their life.

In addition to Song Exploder––part of the Radiotopia podcast network––Hirway produces and co-hosts the award-winning podcast Home Cooking with chef and best-selling author Samin Nosrat (Salt Fat Acid Heat), and previously co-hosted The West Wing Weekly with actor Joshua Malina (The West Wing, Scandal). He releases music under his own name, including the Rooms I Used to Call My Own EP in 2022, which featured a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma. He also composes original scores for film/tv, most recently for the New Line thriller Companion (2025).

Hirway was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and Adweek’s Creative 100, as an “innovator reshaping the media landscape.” His TED Talk, “What You Discover When You Really Listen,” has been viewed over three million times.

The 300th episode of Song Exploder is out today and is available on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon, and at songexploder.net/lady-gaga.

For more information, please contact Carla Sacks or Krista Williams 212.741.1000 at Sacks & Co.

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