Best John Moriarty Podcasts (2024)

1
John S. Garrison, "Red Hot + Blue" (Bloomsbury, 2024) 46:53

18m ago46:53

46:53

John Garrison's Red Hot + Blue (33 1/3 Series) (Bloomsbury, 2024) is a meditation on music's capacity to find us, transform us, and help us make sense of our historical moment. In a narrative that blends memoir and history, Red Hot + Blue explores Garrison's coming out at the height of the AIDS crisis alongside the history of the music industry's r…

1
Steven Watts, "Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers and the American People" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 36:28

8m ago36:28

36:28

Citizen Cowboy: Will Rogers and the American People (Cambridge UP, 2024) is a probing biography of one of America's most influential cultural figures. Will Rogers was a youth from the Cherokee Indian Territory of Oklahoma who rose to conquer nearly every form of media and entertainment in the early twentieth century's rapidly expanding consumer soc…

1
Mel Stanfill, "Fandom Is Ugly: Networked Harassment in Participatory Culture" (NYU Press, 2024) 48:29

8m ago48:29

48:29

In their latest book, Fandom is Ugly: Networked Harassment in Participatory Culture (NYU Press, 2024), Mel Stafill highlights the importance of considering contemporary public culture through the lens of fan studies The Gamergate harassment campaign of women in video games, the “Unite the Right” rally where hundreds of Confederate monument supporte…

1
Randall Stephens, "The Devil’s Music: How Christians Inspired, Condemned, and Embraced Rock n’ Roll" (Harvard UP, 2018) 57:21

2d ago57:21

57:21

I was immediately drawn to the book The Devil’s Music by Dr. Randall Stephens, Associate Professor of British and American Studies at the University of Oslo. Dr. Stephens and I came across one another online and the book, which combines part rock n’ roll history, part American Christianity history, was an absolute delight for me. The Devil’s Music:…

1
Steve Moriarty, "Mia Zapata and the Gits: A True Story of Art, Rock and Revolution" (Ferel House, 2024) 55:45

13m ago55:45

55:45

Mia Zapata and the Gits: A True Story of Art, Rock and Revolution (Ferel House, 2024) by Steve Moriarty, shares the story of the Seattle based The Gits and their charismatic front person Mia Zapata. The Gits were on the verge of international rock stardom but on July 7, 1993, days before their third US tour, Mia Zapata, The Gits 27-year-old singer-…

1
Can "Alien: Romulus" Revive the Alien Franchise? 57:47

27m ago57:47

57:47

Fede Alvarez’s "Alien: Romulus" hit cinemas on August 16th. It’s set between the events of Alien and Aliens, two science fiction classics. We review the movie and ask whether it continues the thematic work done in its lauded predecessors, touching on capitalism, AI, body horror, subversion of sexual and reproductive systems, colonialism, class, and…

1
Karen Tongson, "Normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us" (NYU Press, 2023) 58:55

18m ago58:55

58:55

In Normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us (NYU Press, 2023), Karen Tongson presents an irreverent look at the love-hate relationship between queer viewers and mainstream family TV shows like Gilmore Girls and This Is Us. After personal loss, political upheaval, and the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us craved a return to …

1
Alonso Duralde, "Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film" (Running Press Adult, 2024) 59:40

30m ago59:40

59:40

Film critic Alonso Duralde and I talk his new book, Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film (Running Press, 2024), including some fascinating anecdotes, case studies, and watershed moments in queer cinematic history, not to mention its creators, its stars, its detractors, and its various ebbs and flows -- fr…

1
Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, "Movies Under the Influence" (U Minnesota Press, 2024) 55:48

3h ago55:48

55:48

Movies under the Influence (University of Minnesota Press, 2024) by Dr. Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece charts the entangled histories of moviegoing and mind-altering substances from early cinema through the psychedelic 1970s. Dr. Szczepaniak-Gillece examines how the parallel trajectories of these two enduring aspects of American culture, linked by the…

1
Nora Stone, "How Documentaries Went Mainstream: A History, 1960-2022" (Oxford UP, 2023) 1:08:59

21d ago1:08:59

1:08:59

How Documentaries Went Mainstream: A History, 1960-2022 (Oxford University Press, 2023) provides a more comprehensive and meaningful periodization of the commercialization of documentary film. Although the commercial ascension of documentary films might seem meteoric, it is the culmination of decades-long efforts that have developed and fortified t…

1
Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack, "What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service" (Dutton, 2024) 1:03:30

6d ago1:03:30

1:03:30

Twenty-five years ago, The West Wing premiered to great acclaim. This book is a behind-the-scenes look into the creation and legacy of the series, as told by cast members Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. The authors help us step back inside the world of President Jed Bartlet’s Oval Office as they reunite the West Wing cast and crew, including…

1
Franz Nicolay, "Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music" (U Texas Press, 2024) 41:26

7d ago41:26

41:26

A close look at the lives of working musicians who aren't the center of their stage. Secret (and not-so-secret) weapons, side-of-the-stagers, rhythm and horn sections, backup singers, accompanists—these and other “band people" are the anonymous but irreplaceable character actors of popular music. Through interviews and incisive cultural critique, w…

1
Gregory A. Daddis, "Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines" (Cambridge UP, 2020) 59:45

23d ago59:45

59:45

In his compelling evaluation of Cold War popular culture, Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines (Cambridge UP, 2020), Gregory Daddis explores how men's adventure magazines helped shape the attitudes of young, working-class Americans, the same men who fought and served in the long and bitter war in Vietnam. The 'macho pu…

1
Nadirah Simmons, "First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game" (Twelve, 2024) 1:17:16

9d ago1:17:16

1:17:16

This enlightening book reframes the history of hip-hop—and this time, women are given credit for all their trailblazing achievements that have left an undeniable impact on music. First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game (Twelve, 2024), hip-hop is not just the music, and women have played a big role in shaping the way it looks today. …

1
Kate Hext, "Wilde in the Dream Factory: Decadence and the American Movies" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:10:06

1M ago1:10:06

1:10:06

Hollywood is haunted by the ghost of playwright and novelist Oscar Wilde. Wilde in the Dream Factory: Decadence and the American Movies (Oxford University Press, 2024) by Dr. Kate Hext is the story of his haunting, told for the first time. Set within the rich evolving context of how the American entertainment industry became cinema, and how cinema …

1
Jim Higgins, "Sweet, Wild and Vicious: Listening to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground" (Trouser Press, 2024) 50:55

1M ago50:55

50:55

From the time he began recording with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s until his death in 2013, Lou Reed released nearly 50 original albums. In Sweet, Wild and Vicious: Listening to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground (Trouser Press Books, 2024), Jim Higgins delves into each one, with descriptions, details, analysis and appraisals that will ampl…

1
Robyn Hitchcock, "1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left" (Akashic Books, 2024) 52:47

1M ago52:47

52:47

1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left (Akashic Books, 2024) explores how that pivotal slice of time tastes to a bright, obsessive-compulsive boy who is shipped off to a hothouse academic boarding school as he reaches the age of thirteen--just as Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited starts to bite, and the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club…

1
Lindsay Goss, "F*ck The Army!: How Soldiers and Civilians Staged the GI Movement to End the Vietnam War" (NYU Press, 2024) 40:47

1M ago40:47

40:47

F*ck The Army! How Soldiers and Civilians Staged the GI Movement to End the Vietnam War (NYU Press, 2024) offers a comprehensive history of the FTA, an antiwar variety show featuring Jane Fonda that played to tens of thousands of active-duty troops over nine months in 1971. From its conception, the civilian-led show was directed towards making visi…

1
Miriam Eve Mora, "Carrying a Big Schtick: Jewish Acculturation and Masculinity in the Twentieth Century" (Wayne State UP, 2024) 1:12:20

1M ago1:12:20

1:12:20

For twentieth-century Jewish immigrants and their children attempting to gain full access to American society, performative masculinity was a tool of acculturation. However, as scholar Miriam Eve Mora demonstrates, this performance is consistently challenged by American mainstream society that holds Jewish men outside of the American ideal of mascu…

1
Kathleen Loock, "Hollywood Remaking: How Film Remakes, Sequels, and Franchises Shape Industry and Culture" (U California Press, 2024) 1:07:10

1M ago1:07:10

1:07:10

From the inception of cinema to today’s franchise era, remaking has always been a motor of ongoing film production. Hollywood Remaking: How Film Remakes, Sequels, and Franchises Shape Industry and Culture (U California Press, 2024) challenges the categorical dismissal in film criticism of remakes, sequels, and franchises by probing what these forma…

1
Jonathan Branfman, "Millennial Jewish Stars: Navigating Racial Antisemitism, Masculinity, and White Supremacy" (NYU Press, 2024) 58:47

1M ago58:47

58:47

Jewish stars have longed faced pressure to downplay Jewish identity for fear of alienating wider audiences. But unexpectedly, since the 2000s, many millennial Jewish stars have won stellar success while spotlighting (rather than muting) Jewish identity. In Millennial Jewish Stars: Navigating Racial Antisemitism, Masculinity, and White Supremacy (NY…

1
Rosemary Pennington, "Pop Islam: Seeing American Muslims in Popular Media" (Indiana UP, 2024) 1:16:42

1M ago1:16:42

1:16:42

As Muslim American representation becomes more prominent in popular culture, how are they continued to be portrayed? Rosemary Pennington's new book Pop Islam: Seeing American Muslims in Popular Media (Indiana University Press, 2024) explores the “trap of hypervisibility” faced by Muslims in popular media and the burden of representation that follow…

1
40 Years of Purple Rain: What to Make of the Movie/Album in 2024 1:15:35

1M ago1:15:35

1:15:35

It’s the UConn Popcast, and Purple Rain, Prince’s semi-autobiographical, semi-concert film, hit cinemas 40 years ago this week. The movie followed the album of the same name by a few short weeks. While the album is considered a defining musical achievement, the movie met a mixed reception at the time, and later critics have been both troubled by it…

1
Steven Powell, "Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy" (Bloomsbury, 2023) 1:00:37

1M ago1:00:37

1:00:37

Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy (Bloomsbury, 2023) is the story of James Ellroy, one of the most provocative and singular figures in American literature. The so-called “Demon Dog of Crime Fiction,” Ellroy enjoys a celebrity status and notoriety that few authors can match. However, traumas from the past have shadowed his literary …

1
Kevin Mattson, "We're Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America" (Oxford UP, 2020) 1:09:00

1M ago1:09:00

1:09:00

In his new book, We're Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America (Oxford UP, 2020), Kevin Mattson documents punk rock in the early 1980s through a comprehensive look into the music, zines, films, bands, and punk Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tactics. He shows how widespread the punk movement was in creating a…

1
Breanne Fahs, "Burn It Down: Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution" (Verso, 2020) 58:02

1M ago58:02

58:02

Burn It Down: Feminist Manifestos for the Revolution (Verso, 2020), Breanne Fahs has curated a comprehensive collection of feminist manifestos from the nineteenth century to today. Fahs collected over seventy-five manifestos from around the world, calling on feminists to act, be defiant and show their rage. This thought-provoking and timely collect…

1
Sören Schoppmeier, "Playing American: Open-World Videogames and the Reproduction of American Culture" (De Gruyter, 2023) 25:08

2M ago25:08

25:08

Videogames have always depicted representations of American culture, but how exactly they feed back into this culture is less obvious. Advocating an action-based understanding of both videogames and culture, this book delineates how aspects of American culture are reproduced transnationally through popular open-world videogames. Playing American: O…

1
Melissa E. Anderson, "Inland Empire" (Fireflies Press, 2021) 57:30

2M ago57:30

57:30

"A woman in trouble" In her monograph Inland Empire (Fireflies Press, 2021), film critic Melissa Anderson explores meaning (or the impossibility thereof) in the David Lynch film of the same title. We talk everything from Laura Dern (a LOT of Laura Dern), to the Hollywood nightmare of trying to "make it in the movies," to the contradictions of film …

1
Emily J. Lordi, "The Meaning of Soul: Black Music and Resilience Since the 1960s" (Duke UP, 2020) 57:36

2M ago57:36

57:36

Soul is one of those concepts that is often evoked, but rarely satisfactorily defined. In The Meaning of Soul: Black Music and Resilience Since the 1960s (Duke University Press 2020), Emily J. Lordi takes on the challenge of explaining “soul,” through a book that zooms in and out between sweeping ideas about suffering and resilience in Black cultur…

1
Kristin J. Jacobson, "The American Adrenaline Narrative" (U Georgia Press, 2020) 57:56

2M ago57:56

57:56

Kristin J. Jacobson In her new book, The American Adrenaline Narrative (University of Georgia Press), Kristin Jacobson considers the nature of perilous outdoor adventure tales, their gendered biases, and how they simultaneously promote and hinder ecological sustainability. To explore these themes, Jacobson defines and compares adrenaline narratives…

1
Olga Gershenson, "New Israeli Horror: Local Cinema, Global Genre" (Rutgers UP, 2024) 47:26

2M ago47:26

47:26

Before 2010, there were no Israeli horror films. Then distinctly Israeli serial killers, zombies, vampires, and ghosts invaded local screens. The next decade saw a blossoming of the genre by young Israeli filmmakers. New Israeli Horror: Local Cinema, Global Genre (Rutgers UP, 2024) is the first book to tell their story. Through in-depth analysis, e…

1
Heidi Honeycutt, "I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies" (Headpress, 2024) 49:32

2M ago49:32

49:32

I Spit On Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies (Headpress, 2024) by Heidi Honeycutt is the first book-length history of female horror directors from the late 1800s to present day. Having conducted hundreds of interviews and watched thousands of horror films, Honeycutt defines the political and cultural forces that shape the …

1
Tea Krulos, "American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness" (Feral House, 2020) 57:34

2M ago57:34

57:34

The mainstream news media struggles to understand the power of social media. In contrast, conspiracy advocates, malicious political movements, and even foreign governments have long understood how to harness the power of fear and the fear of power into lucrative outlets for outrage and money. But what happens when the messengers of “inside knowledg…

1
Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo, "Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism" (Lexington, 2023) 53:34

2M ago53:34

53:34

In Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism (Lexington Books, 2022), Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo examines the production of physical and digital spaces in dance music, and how the players—clubs, clubbers, and DJs—use authenticity, branding, and commercialism to navigate them. An in-depth stud…

1
Andrew S. Jacobs, "Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable Bible" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 1:06:49

2M ago1:06:49

1:06:49

What if the original teachings of Jesus were different from the Bible's sanitized 'orthodox' version? What covert motivations might inspire those who decide what the text of the Bible 'says' or what it 'means'? For some who ask conspiratorial questions like these, the Bible is the vulnerable victim of secular forces seeking to divest the USA of its…

1
Kathryn Hughes, "Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2024) 59:44

2M ago59:44

59:44

In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. From presidential and royal families who imported exotic breeds to working-class men competing for cash prizes for the fattest tabby, people became en…

1
Jake Johnson, "The Possibility Machine: Music and Myth in Las Vegas" (U Illinois Press, 2023) 57:38

2M ago57:38

57:38

Las Vegas is a place the American dream made; a city built in the middle of desert visited by millions of people every year hoping to make their dreams (big or small) come true. The essays in The Possibility Machine: Music and Myth in Las Vegas (University of Illinois Press, 2023) examines Las Vegas not as a kitschy, vaguely embarrassing American t…

1
Darshana Sreedhar Mini, "Rated A: Soft-Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India" (U California Press, 2024) 1:21:40

2M ago1:21:40

1:21:40

In the 1990s, India's mediascape saw the efflorescence of edgy soft-porn films in the Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala. In Rated A: Soft-Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India (U California Press, 2024), Darshana Sreedhar Mini examines the local and transnational influences that shaped Malayalam soft-porn cinema—such as vernacular pulp fic…

1
Michelle T. King, "Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-Mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food" (Norton, 2024) 45:41

2M ago45:41

45:41

In 1971, the New York Times called the Taiwanese-Chinese chef, Fu Pei-Mei, the “the Julia Child of Chinese cooking.” But, as Michelle T. King notes in her book Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-Mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food (Norton, 2024), the inverse–that Julia Child was the Fu Pei-Mei of French cuisine–might be more appropriate. Fu spent d…

1
On Michael Jackson: A Lecture by Margo Jefferson 48:45

2M ago48:45

48:45

In September 2006, Margo Jefferson spoke to the Institute about her book, On Michael Jackson (Vintage, 2007). Jefferson received the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for criticism when she was at the New York Times. Her 2015 book, Negroland: A Memoir, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. And in 2022, she published, Constructing a Nervous System, a memoir…

1
Barbara Klinger, "Immortal Films: 'Casablanca' and the Afterlife of a Hollywood Classic" (U California Press, 2022) 1:04:53

2M ago1:04:53

1:04:53

Casablanca is one of the most celebrated Hollywood films of all time, its iconic romance enshrined in collective memory across generations. Drawing from archival materials, industry trade journals, and cultural commentary, in Immortal Films: "Casablanca" and the Afterlife of a Hollywood Classic (University of California Press, 2022), Dr. Barbara Kl…

1
Ishita Tiwary, "Video Culture in India: The Analog Era" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:03:48

2M ago1:03:48

1:03:48

Ishita Tiwary’s book Video Culture in India: The Analog Era (Oxford UP, 2024) is an unprecedented attempt in foregrounding the diverse media history of the analog video era in India. It reconstructs the evolution of analog video culture through interdisciplinary approaches, including oral histories, archival resources, and discarded tapes. At the s…

1
Jerry Rafiki Jenkins, "Anti-Blackness and Human Monstrosity in Black American Horror Fiction" (Ohio State UP, 2024) 47:08

2M ago47:08

47:08

In Anti-Blackness and Human Monstrosity in Black American Horror Fiction (Ohio State UP, 2024), Jerry Rafiki Jenkins examines four types of human monsters that frequently appear in Black American horror fiction--the monsters of White rage, respectability, not-ness, and serial killing. Arguing that such monsters represent specific ideologies of Amer…

1
BRETTCON 2024: A Trip Report 1:36:16

2M ago1:36:16

1:36:16

In this special trip report episode, we share our thoughts on the recent BrettCon event held in Guildford on May 25, 2024 which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Granada series with its cast and creators (including clips from the panels). We also discuss our further adventures in England which included meeting with friends of the podcast, a Sh…

1
Ann Powers, "Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell" (Dey Street Books, 2024) 51:46

2M ago51:46

51:46

For decades, Joni Mitchell's life and music have enraptured listeners. One of the most celebrated artists of her generation, Mitchell has inspired countless musicians--from peers like James Taylor, to inheritors like Prince and Brandi Carlile--and authors, who have dissected her music and her life in their writing. At the same time, Mitchell has al…

1
Christopher T. Conner and David R. Dickens, "Electronic Dance Music: From Deviant Subculture to Culture Industry" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) 54:20

2M ago54:20

54:20

Electronic Dance Music: From Deviant Subculture to Culture Industry (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023) explores the subculture’s emergence as a deviant subculture. This text analyzes how industry professionals, fans, and public officials helped usher in a new age of EDM, arguing that while the defining features of the subculture made it attractive, they …

1
Hank Willenbrink, "Performing for the Don: Theatres of Faith in the Age of Trump" (Routledge, 2024) 1:30:26

2M ago1:30:26

1:30:26

From his overwhelming embrace by evangelicals and other people of faith to his championing of policies and conservative judicial candidates long sought by right-wing Christians, Donald Trump’s candidacy, campaign, and presidency were empowered by believers of many stripes who employed different methods of rationalizing or Christianizing Trump and h…

1
Jennifer S. Clark, "Producing Feminism: Television Work in the Age of Women's Liberation" (U California Press, 2024) 48:14

2M ago48:14

48:14

How have women resisted sexism in TV? In Producing Feminism: Television Work in the Age of Women’s Liberation (U California Press, 2024), Jennifer S. Clark, an Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, explores the people, organisations, TV shows and audiences who all shaped women in and on television during the …

1
Anahit Behrooz, "BFFs: The Radical Potential of Female Friendship" (404 Ink, 2023) 46:54

2M ago46:54

46:54

Friendships can be the foundation of our earliest memories and most formative moments. But why are they often seen as secondary to romantic, or familial connection, something to age out of and take a back seat to other relationships? BFFs: The Radical Potential of Female Friendship (404 Ink, 2023) by Dr. Anahit Behrooz is an examination of the powe…

1
On Richard Linklater and “Hit Man” 59:34

3M ago59:34

59:34

It’s the UConn Popcast, and “Hit Man” is writer and director Richard Linklater’s latest film, available on Netflix after a brief theatrical run. We analyze the movie through Linklater’s classic themes: identity and its malleability, American sub-cultures, and American mythologies. “Hit Man” is a less challenging watch than much of Linklater’s canon…

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