Sunday Special: Springsteen, Dylan and the Art of the Biopic

About this episode

<p>On Friday, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” will be released in theaters. Rather than chronicling Bruce’s entire life, the film focuses on the making of his stripped-down 1982 album “Nebraska” and on his concurrent mental health struggles.</p><p>This movie is the latest in a long history of musician biopics featuring stars like Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Eminem and Elvis Presley. Hollywood clearly loves telling the stories of influential artists.</p><p>In this episode, Gilbert Cruz chats with Lindsay Zoladz, a pop music critic for The Times, and Joe Coscarelli, a Times culture reporter, about the tropes of the genre and their favorite films that break the mold.</p><p>On Today’s Episode:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/lindsay-zoladz" target="_blank"><strong>Lindsay Zoladz</strong></a>, a pop music critic at The Times and the writer of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-amplifier" target="_blank">The Amplifier</a> newsletter.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/joe-coscarelli" target="_blank"><strong>Joe Coscarelli</strong></a>, a culture reporter at The Times and co-host of “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/popcast-pop-music-podcast" target="_blank">Popcast.</a>”</p><p>Additional Reading:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/movies/bruce-springsteen-biopic-jeremy-allen-white.html" target="_blank">The Boss Finally Gets a Biopic, Just Not the One We Expected</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/arts/music/ringo-starr-interview.html" target="_blank">He’s Ringo. And Nobody Else Is.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_YDzdTdmAU" target="_blank">Why Music Movies Stink: ‘Back to Black’ + ‘The Idea of You’ Reactions</a></p><p><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/bobby-and-joanie/pl.u-e98lM2msW8qXeG" target="_blank">Joe Coscarelli’s “Bobby + Joanie” playlist</a></p><p>Photo: 20th Century Studios</p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>