Ben Ratliff, a music critic and avid runner, always ran in silence. Then he discovered how music opened up to him — while running. It changed his entire approach to criticism and listening. He calls it “running the song.” Today, for the New York City Marathon, Ben talks with our host Rachel Abrams about how his listening sharpens when he runs to music. Then, he goes through highlights from his five-hour New York City Marathon playlist, which is designed to complement a run through the five boroughs, featuring various styles of music connected to the places on the route. On Today’s Episode Ben Ratliff, a former New York Times music critic, a music professor and the author of “Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening.” Background Listening Ben Ratliff’s New York City Marathon playlist Photo: Karsten Moran for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.