It was during the bleak COVID-19 winter, while cautiously hanging out with a friend in a chilly garage, that Aaron Doerr began mulling the wild idea that would lead him to “Songs Out Loud,” his recently launched podcast. Feeling cold and world-weary, Doerr and his pal were passing the time by sharing some of their favorite podcasts and other creative work.

One of Doerr’s top recommendations for his friend was the popular Radiotopia podcast “Song Exploder,” which he himself had only recently discovered. Each episode dissects a single song in conversation with those who created it.

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“My wife showed me this episode [of ‘Song Exploder’] featuring Hozier — he’s this singer-songwriter guy,” Doerr recalled. “He had a new album out, and he was breaking it down on this podcast, and he started with the demo … and I’m like, ‘Nobody ever hears this part of songwriting.’