Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition Part 1

To mark Hit Parade’s 100th episode, host Chris Molanphy is doing something he’s never done: He’s going to talk about himself—and just how nerdy you have to be to host a show like Hit Parade. Chris reflects on the origins and depth of his chart fandom, and ponders existential questions like: What makes a person want to track these rankings? Why do we care about what, or who, is No. 1? Join Chris for this exploration of how the charts have informed, inspired and infiltrated his life—and yours, too. Coming up in Part 2: Chris pays tribute to one of his heroes and a huge influence on Hit Parade: the chart king who counted down the hits every week ... from coast to coast. Available on March 27, but Slate Plus members can listen right now! Not a Slate Plus member? Get early access, bonus episodes of “The Bridge,” and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts.

You can listen to Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition Part 1 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars Edition Part 1 is an episode from Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia by Slate Podcasts.

This episode is 56:13 long.

This episode was published on Mar 21, 2026.

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