"A lot of the music I write, I write at the piano first," Makaya McCraven tells WBUR's Here & Now in a chat with producer Chris Bentley about his new album, In These Times. "But then also sometimes I am writing in more technological ways, where I might be sampling myself or something that happened. And then it's like, 'how do I put this all together? How do I make it cohesive?' And then that becomes a hurdle, and the hurdle becomes a space for me to become creative." You can hear their conversation here. McCraven is now touring the US, with shows in Colorado, Oregon, California, Washington, and New Mexico through October.

David Byrne spoke with Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser and neuroscientist Thalia Wheatley at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts just before the opening of Theater of the Mind, the new immersive experience he created in Denver with collaborator Mala Gaonkar. They discuss one of the show’s central themes: perception. You can hear their conversation here.

Cécile McLorin Salvant is on Sonos Radio Hour to talk with host Elia Einhorn about her music and share a guest set of tracks she’s been listening to. Einhorn says: “Her breathtaking new album Ghost Song showcases her singular ability to blend everything from modern pop, vaudeville, blues and baroque into a groundbreaking take on jazz.” You can hear their conversation and Salvant’s eclectic selection of songs here.

Cécile McLorin Salvant was on BBC World Service’s Music Life with fellow musicians Otura Mun, Matthew Halsall, and Maria Chiara Argiró to discuss how the weight of history can alter their own creations and the role of competitiveness in the creative process. You can hear it here. Salvant and her Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song, have just been nominated for the Edison Jazz Award in the Netherlands for Best International Vocals. 

Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi are the hosts of a new Apple Music radio show, Musical Routes Radio, all six episodes of which are now available. You can hear them now on Apple Music, and tune in to hear them on Apple Radio Country every other Saturday. “So much of the Americana and country music we love has roots outside of the United States,” says the show. “Illustrating the many intersections between country/roots music and global musical traditions, including Celtic music, Caribbean music, Indigenous music, and more, listeners will discover new artists, broaden their own musical knowledge, and enjoy unscripted, far-reaching conversations from two of music's most encyclopedic minds."

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) stopped by KEXP in Seattle at the start of the month while on tour to perform four songs from their Nonesuch debut album, LIFE ON EARTH: “Pierced Arrows,” “Pointed at the Sun,” “Saga,” and “Rhododendron.” Segarra was joined by Howe Pearson on keys and bass, Matt Peterson on keys and guitar, and Yan Westerlund on drums. You can watch the session, including Segarra’s conversation with host Cheryl Waters, here.

Gabriel Kahane is on a special episode of New Sounds' Soundcheck, recorded live at WNYC's The Greene Space, in which he spoke with host John Schaefer about his two Nonesuch albums—Magnificent Bird, released last month, and his 2018 album, Book of Travelers—and performed several songs from both with a string quartet. You can listen to the episode and watch his performance here.

Pianist Jeremy Denk is the guest on the latest episode of NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross to talk about his music-making and his new book, Every Good Boy Does Fine, which comes out Tuesday on Random House. They listen to and discuss several tracks from Denk’s 2019 Nonesuch album, c. 1300–c. 2000, which presents the centuries-long evolution of musical expression drawn in a single arc by the music of twenty-four different composers. You can hear their conversation here.

Punch Brothers are on the latest episode of NPR’s World Cafe. Chris Thile and “Critter” Eldridge talk with host Raina Douris about Punch Brothers’ new album, Hell on Church Street, a reimagining of, and homage to, the landmark solo album Church Street Blues by the late bluegrass great Tony Rice, whom Thile calls “a beacon of creative energy in the roots community.” The band also shares live performances of four album tracks: Norman Blake’s “Church Street Blues” and “Orphan Annie,” the traditional tune “Cattle in the Cane," and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” You can hear it all here.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, aka Alynda Segarra, marked the release of their Nonesuch debut album, LIFE ON EARTH, on Friday as the guest on NPR's World Cafe. They performed four songs from the album—"PIERCED ARROWS," "POINTED AT THE SUN," "LIFE ON EARTH," and "SAGA"—and spoke with host Stephen Kallao about the making of the album and more. "At its heart," says Kallao, "when so many things are terribly frustrating, Life on Earth is an affirmation of humanity and how we can bring joy to ourself and others in difficult times." You can hear the session here.

WNYC's New Sounds dedicates its latest episode to "some of the exciting new music coming out of Chicago," including three albums released through partnership between the Chicago-born label International Anthem and Nonesuch Records: Jeff Parker's Suite for Max Brown and Forfolks and Ben LaMar Gay's Open Arms to Open Us. You can hear the episode here. Both artists will perform at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville in March. Parker then tours the West Coast with Steve Gunn and will perform on the East Coast with Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo in May.

Jonny Greenwood, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Jane Campion's film The Power of the Dog earlier today, was the guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross yesterday to discuss his work as a film composer—including his four Nonesuch soundtracks for Paul Thomas Anderson's films There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice, and Phantom Thread—his album with composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and Radiohead. "Thank you for that music," Gross says of his Phantom Thread score. "I really love it." You can hear their conversation here.