Mark Henry Phillips has spent twenty years making music for a living. Then one night he typed a few words into an AI music generator and it did his job better than he ever could. In ten seconds. Basically for free. Light Box is what happened next: a season-long investigation into what AI is doing to music and the people who love it. What happens when a machine can do the thing you thought made you, you?
Latest episodes
Showing 5 · updated from the feed
3. The Hit Factory (Part II: Steal From Everyone)
A producer with 13 billion streams posts on Reddit about how much he loves making music with AI and... gets banned. We have the conversation that wasn't allowed there.
Sep 22 41 min
2. The Hit Factory (Part I: No Songs Left Behind)
There's already a #1 hit made with AI. You just don't know which one. In this episode, we go inside the world of professional songwriting camps -- where hits for the bigg
Sep 15 52 min
1. Inside the Black Box
Composer Mark Henry Phillips logs onto an AI music generator expecting slop. Instead... he has an existential crisis. What it made wasn't slop -- it was good. Really good
Sep 15 49 min
Teaser
A sneak peek at what's coming this season on Light Box, the new show from PRX's Radiotopia. Launching September 15.
Host and creator Mark Henry Phillips is a professiona
Sep 8 3 min
Trailer
Listen to LIGHT BOX, the new show from PRX's Radiotopia. Out now!
Mark Henry Phillips spent twenty years composing music for a living. Then one night he typed a few wo
Sep 1 1 min
Chart trend
Position in the Music Commentary chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#55#108Sep
#14
all-time peak
13
days in the top 50 since Sep 2026
Chart positions
Where Light Box ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 24, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
So dang good! I didn’t know much about the music business when I started listening, and now I can’t wait for more episodes to drop. Riveting even coming from a totally different AI impacted industry.
kris105460 · Sep 2026
HUGELY recommend. I’ve seen a lot of AI commentary, this is by far the most captivating. It’s a deep look into A.I. music apps, which (contrary to what you may have heard) are SCARY-good. If you're a creative person or at all interested in music, you'll be hooked. I mean, literally just listen to the first few minutes and you'll see what I mean.
Gets deep into thorny AI issues but also even more interesting questions, like: *how do you actually write a song*? I’ve always wondered that! Is it skill or talent or channeling a muse or what? He talks to some great musicians and really interesting people — great tape, as they say. Def at the top of my list for podcasts in the last few years.
justsomeguy78 · Sep 2026
Thoroughly researched, reported and produced.
Light Box is covering topics and asking questions that we are all grappling with.
This series is a breath of fresh air amongst the suffocating trend of “two people on a couch blabbing”. Great work.
Tom Hovercraft · Sep 2026
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