Robyn

Episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler · November 10, 2026 · 1 h 11 min

Amy Poehler talks with Swedish pop star Robyn about her theater-family upbringing, Dancing On My Own, IVF and single motherhood, creative process, and Swedish traditions.

Summary

Amy Poehler opened the episode with Swedish singer Zara Larsson, who described dancing as central to her performances and called Robyn probably her biggest inspiration as a Swedish pop artist. Larsson recounted meeting Robyn during the COVID-19 pandemic and asked whether Robyn waits for inspiration before making an album or relies on the act of working.

Robyn discussed performing with David Byrne at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary show, the viral New York subway sing-along of Dancing On My Own, and growing up with parents who ran an independent theater company staging Dadaist and Russian-tradition work. She described the culture shock of 1990s American radio promotion, her admiration for Neneh Cherry, and her decision to return to Sweden, start her own label at 24, and remake her career rather than compete with pop stars such as Britney Spears. She and Poehler discussed the attention her short hair attracted and the fear of embarrassment, which Robyn argued has become harder for young people to overcome.

Robyn reflected on writing 'sad bangers,' saying Dancing On My Own is about finding power in loneliness, a skill she came to value after having a child on her own through IVF. She explained that Swedish doctors choose sperm donors, a process she wrote about on the song Sexistential, and said facing single motherhood was facing her biggest fear, rooted in her father leaving her mother. Answering Larsson's question, she described herself as more of a process person than an intuitive one, working with collaborators such as Klas Åhlund.

The conversation closed with Swedish topics: Midsummer, Saint Lucy's Day, crayfish parties, Eurovision (which Robyn said she dislikes since ABBA and Carola), and Kalles caviar. Robyn praised America's freedom while criticizing Los Angeles's looks and the current president, and recommended Darian Leader's book Is It Ever Just Sex?, prompting a discussion of American prudishness.

Chapters

0:05
Zara Larsson on dancing and performing
Poehler talks with Zara Larsson about dancing through her shows and crowd participation.
6:18
Larsson on Robyn and her question
Larsson recalls meeting Robyn, praises her unapologetic style, and asks how Robyn stays inspired across albums.
13:17
Robyn arrives: Martin Short and SNL
Robyn discusses her admiration for Martin Short and performing Dancing On My Own with David Byrne at SNL's 50th.
16:26
Subway sing-along and theater parents
Robyn recalls the viral subway video and describes her parents' experimental theater company and her brother's career.
20:53
Early career, radio, and Neneh Cherry
Robyn discusses touring America young, crude radio culture, and Neneh Cherry's influence.
29:13
Starting her own label
Robyn explains leaving the conventional pop path and starting her own label at 24.
32:21
Short hair and signaling
Poehler and Robyn discuss the attention Robyn's short hair drew and pop culture's coded messages.
36:26
Sad bangers and club life
Robyn reflects on Dancing On My Own as finding power in loneliness and on going out as a mother.
40:49
IVF and single motherhood
Robyn describes facing her fear of single motherhood, therapy with her father, and Sweden's doctor-chosen donors.
49:01
Dance, the body, and massage
Robyn discusses improvisation and choreography, lying on the floor, aging bodies, and giving massage feedback.
55:07
Answering Zara's process question
Robyn praises Larsson and describes herself as a process-driven artist who endures discomfort to write.
59:12
Swedish holidays, America, and recommendations
Robyn ranks Swedish traditions, criticizes Eurovision, reflects on America, and recommends a book on sex.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Zara Larsson
Larsson argues that, like singing, dancing is something everyone should do regardless of skill.
“I think like singing, dancing is something that everyone should be doing”
Listen from 3:42 · Dance and performance
Linked moment · 7:29Skip to 7:29 using a listen link in the info box.
Zara Larsson
Larsson says Robyn has been probably her biggest inspiration as a Swede wanting to be a pop star.
“she's been such a big inspiration, probably the biggest inspiration, especially from someone coming from Sweden and wanting to be a pop star”
Listen from 7:29
Zara Larsson
Larsson says she plans to take time off after her tour to deliberately seek inspiration.
“after this tour is done I'm gonna take some time off and I'm gonna go and live my life and be inspired”
Listen from 10:36 · Songwriting creative process
Robyn
Robyn says Dancing On My Own came intuitively and was written quickly.
“Dancing On My Own was very direct, took a short time to write it”
Listen from 16:06 · Dancing On My Own
Robyn
Robyn credits her parents with protecting her from commercial pressures early in her career.
“I think that's really because of my mom. And I think it's because of my parents and that they kind of just protected me”
Listen from 22:33
Amy Poehler
Poehler describes 1990s radio hosts who interviewed young performers as creepy and mean.
“They were weird and creepy and ill-informed and like mean and they'd make you do pranks”
Listen from 23:39
Robyn
Robyn argues that the range of what counts as cringe has narrowed, making it harder to be silly and unfiltered.
“it's very narrow now what is cringe and just being like human and being silly and being unfiltered is not as easy as it used to be”
Listen from 27:28 · Embarrassment and self-censorship
Amy Poehler
Poehler argues that doing things even when embarrassing is the secret to being cool.
“If you do things, even if they're embarrassing, you're cool. But worrying about being embarrassing is like a lifelong journey”
Listen from 28:12 · Embarrassment and self-censorship
Robyn
Robyn recounts deciding to return to Sweden and remake her career rather than follow the mainstream pop path.
“I went back to Sweden and I just decided to like, just redo my whole life and make music in a different way”
Listen from 30:19
Robyn
Robyn says having a child alone made her see the song's lesson as a valuable skill.
“I started looking at dancing on my own very differently. Like that's actually a really good skill to have”
Listen from 37:41 · Single motherhood
Robyn
Robyn describes Dancing On My Own as being about reveling in loneliness and finding power in it.
“And that's what that song is about, like reveling in this feeling of loneliness and like finding”
Listen from 38:45 · Dancing On My Own
Robyn
Robyn traces her fear of single motherhood to her father leaving her mother.
“my dad left my mom. So that was like a very inherent, like fear”
Listen from 43:45 · Single motherhood
Robyn
Robyn explains that in Sweden the doctor chooses the sperm donor to resemble the mother.
“In Sweden, the donor was chosen for me by the doctor and they do it so that the kid looks like you”
Listen from 46:45 · In vitro fertilisation
Robyn
Robyn describes herself as more of a process-driven artist than an intuitive one.
“so I would I would say I'm more of a process person than than the intuitive like thing”
Listen from 57:55 · Songwriting creative process
Robyn
Robyn argues that enduring discomfort in the studio leads to more interesting songs.
“the person who can sit with the uncomfortable feeling the longer can probably write the more interesting song, I think”
Listen from 58:56 · Songwriting creative process
Robyn
Robyn says Eurovision was great in the era of ABBA and Carola but is now bad.
“Then we had Carola, who is, you know, both me and Zara grew up listening to her. Amazing artist. And then now it's just shit”
Listen from 1:02:09 · Eurovision Song Contest
Robyn
Robyn says Los Angeles is ugly but its freedom produces things that exist nowhere else.
“Los Angeles is extremely ugly, but it's because you have this kind of thing that you can do whatever you want”
Listen from 1:04:12

People

In the conversation

Amy PoehlerAmerican actress, comedian and podcast host, formerly of Saturday Night Live
RobynSwedish pop singer, songwriter, and producer
Zara LarssonSwedish pop singer

Discussed

Martin ShortCanadian comedian and actor set to duet on Morissette's holiday album
David ByrneMusician and frontman of Talking Heads
Neneh CherrySwedish singer known for Buffalo Stance, cited as an influence
Max MartinSwedish pop producer and songwriter who worked with Robyn and Britney Spears
Britney SpearsAmerican pop singer cited by Tinashe as an influence
Adam DriverAmerican actor who appears in Misty Green
Adam SandlerActor whose Happy Madison company greenlit The House Bunny
Klas ÅhlundSwedish producer and longtime Robyn collaborator
Darian LeaderBritish psychoanalyst and author of Is It Ever Just Sex?
Jia TolentinoNew Yorker writer who profiled Robyn
BeyoncéSinger, mother of Blue Ivy Carter
AaliyahAmerican R&B singer whom Robyn met early in her career

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From the publisher

Robyn loves to lie down on the floor. Amy hangs with the Swedish pop star and talks about dadaist theater, how to stay out longer at the club, and her favorite Swedish holidays. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Zara Larsson and RobynExecutive producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson and Aleya Zenieris; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige GarbariniOriginal music: Amy Miles Explore unique hotels and unexpected stays https://www.hilton.com/en/p/new-ways-to-stay/ Make the switch today at https://www.Visible.com. For a limited time plans start at $19/mo guaranteed for one year. Use promo code HOLIDAYHACK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 11, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Music Interviews·Parenting·Society & Culture