The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt is on the new Talkhouse podcast series Listening. On the show, curated by Elia Einhorn, artists are invited to share their perspective on how they listen to the world and how that informs the music they make. They also create a new composition for the episode and discuss the creative process behind it. “Witty, guarded, cynical, loving, heartsick, and tender—this is Stephin Merritt, or at least what we hear in the songs he pens for his acclaimed band The Magnetic Fields,” says Einhorn. You can hear their conversation and the song Merritt wrote for the show here. The Magnetic Fields kick off the next leg of their UK and European tour on August 31.

The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt gave Amoeba Music a look at what he's been listening to as part of its series What's in My Bag? (Home Edition), including Eartha Kitt, Elke Sommer, Bessie Smith, and more. Merritt filmed the episode on a mini-golf course in upstate New York, so he also gives us all a look at his putt-putt skills. You can have a look here.