Welcome to Before the Downbeat, a podcast hosted by Mackenzie Horner alongside cohosts Scott Hurst and Maris Lyons! Together on a bimonthly basis they will be talking all a musical and its creative team and production history, the host's favourite songs and songs they'd either skip or remove entirely, the show's societal impact and where it stand in our current cultural landscape.
Enjoy!
This week, Mackenzie reunites with Scott Hurst and welcomes back former cohost Autumn Smith for a long-overdue conversation about one of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's most daring musicals, Assassins.
Together, they explore why Assassins remains one of the most challenging shows ever written, debating whether productions lose their power when they play the material "safe" instead of forcing audiences to sit with its discomfort. They also celebrate Sondheim's masterful use of musical pastiche while finding themselves divided over the show's final emotional turn. Does the late added song "Something Just Broke" offer audiences a necessary moment of collective grief, or does it provide a convenient escape hatch that lets us identify with the victims instead of confronting the uncomfortable humanity of the assassins themselves?
All this, and remember—everybody's got the right... on this week's all-new episode!
Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages.
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17 Jul 2026
Assassins Promo
Next week, step into the Fatalistic Carnival as we bring our prolonged sixth season to an explosive close! Scott and Mackenzie are taking on one of Stephen Sondheim's most provocative and timely musicals, Assassins—and making the celebration even bigger is the long-awaited return of former cohost and now amazing guest, the Canadian Bea Arthur, Autumn Smith. Together, the trio wrestles with the show's central moral question: does Assassins ask us to sympathize with history's most infamous figures, or simply understand the forces that drove them to commit unthinkable acts? They also explore the ingenious ways Sondheim's score transforms familiar American musical styles into something deeply unsettling.
All this and "there's another national anthem, for those who never win; for the suckers, for the pikers, for the ones who might have been" on next Friday's all-new episode!
Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages.
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BeforetheDownbeat/?modal=admin_todo_tour)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/beforethedownbeat/?hl=en)
10 Jul 2026
Bonus Episode- How to Fix Wicked: For Good
Fellow Ozians, it's time to revisit Wicked: For Good! Join host Mackenzie and returning special guest Jessica Maxwell as they take a deep dive into the Oscar snubbed film; breaking it down scene by scene to discuss its biggest triumphs, its missed opportunities, and the changes they believe could have made the adaptation soar. From bizarre and unexpected twisters of fate to proving that no good deed goes unpunished, they dissect every major creative choice—from new songs and expanded storylines to character arcs, pacing, and the politics of Oz.
All of this and one final journey before we're "changed for good" in this all-new episode!
Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages.
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BeforetheDownbeat/?modal=admin_todo_tour)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/beforethedownbeat/?hl=en)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
4,657,724,857
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.0 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
4.5 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 80 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
74
Social presence
94
YouTube
93
Engagement
77
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