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PODCAST

Punkast

Jessica Schwartz, Associate Professor of Musicology and Music Industry at UCLA, sets out to explore the meaning of punk through conversations with the people who shape, live, and remix it—musicians, videographers, cultural producers, and the academics who study it—while animating punk’s DIY creativity, resistance, and sense of possibility. Schwartz also co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

music music history

All Episodes

45:08

Luisa Rath-John + Ilka Erren Pardiñas (Goethe-Institut)

Punkast ·

2026/09/25

“Sometimes it’s actually quite okay to let go of this control … and to trust in the process and to trust in the people that you’re working with.”Jessica Schwartz speaks with Goethe-Institut Los Angeles director Luisa Rath-John and Ilka Erren Pardiñas about the making of Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50, a transatlantic collaborative project exploring punk’s continuing relationships to subculture, protest, and self-determination through locally rooted programs across the United States and Mexico.The

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22:30

Tequila Mockingbird (Punk@50)

Punkast ·

2026/09/25

“For me, it’s always going to be about making sure that our legacies are honored and protected.”Tequila Mockingbird joins Jessica Schwartz for a conversation about bringing her Punk Museum into the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles as part of Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50. Tequila traces the relationships that brought the collaboration into being and reflects on what institutional recognition means for a project she continues to describe not as her museum but as “our punk museum”—a community-built space

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1:10:24

Stella Stray Pop (KXLU)

Punkast ·

2026/09/18

In this episode:“Radio…really is a labor of love.”Jessica Schwartz and Tequila Mockingbird sit down with Stella of KXLU’s Stray Pop for a conversation spanning nearly five decades of independent radio, punk, and underground music in Los Angeles. Stella traces her beginnings at Loyola Marymount University in 1977 and the launch of Stray Pop in 1980, when playing punk and new wave on KXLU could still get her in trouble. From D. Boon singing an impromptu fundraiser song in the studio to the changing

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1:09:55

Marie Arleth Skov and Maria Buszek (Unruly: The Body...

Punkast ·

2026/09/11

In this episode:We need to respect the scene and shine a spotlight on folks who were, in fact, laying the foundation.Jessica Schwartz speaks with art historians Marie Arleth Skov and Maria Buszek about Unruly: The Body in Punk, curated by Marie and currently on view at ARoS in Aarhus, Denmark. Taking the exhibition and its catalogue as a starting point, they ask what becomes visible when the body moves to the center of punk history—exploring unruliness, feminism, sexuality, beauty and ugliness,

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55:55

James Spooner (Afro-Punk)

Punkast ·

2026/09/04

In this episode:“A big part of finding your voice is being willing to be vulnerable and honest.”Jessica Schwartz speaks with filmmaker, artist, and writer James Spooner about Black punk, belonging, vulnerability, and the complicated work of finding—and trusting—one’s own voice. Beginning with Spooner’s experiences as one of few Black punks in the Southern California desert and later within New York punk and hardcore scenes, the conversation considers what punk can make possible while remaining

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56:21

Chris Desjardins (The Flesh Eaters) | Part 2

Punkast ·

2026/08/28

In this episode:“We’ve turned out something I think that’s even stronger than what we did when we were younger.”In Part 2 of this conversation, Chris Desjardins (Chris D.) joins Jessica Schwartz and Tequila Mockingbird to reflect on creativity across a lifetime—moving among music, poetry, politics, film, recovery, and the ongoing work of making meaning through art.Chris discusses his relationship to the Gun Club and Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the possibilities and limitations of political art, and why he

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1:05:18

Chris Desjardins (The Flesh Eaters) | Part 1

Punkast ·

2026/08/21

In this episode:“The punk stuff that was coming out of England really excited me.”In Part 1 of this conversation, Chris Desjardins (Chris D.) traces the evolution of the Flesh Eaters from the earliest days of Los Angeles punk through the band’s many incarnations. Moving through his encounters with the Stooges, MC5, British punk, blues and R&B, poetry, surrealism, genre film, and other musical and cultural influences, Chris reflects on the eclectic materials and relationships that shaped his

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46:06

Ellen Bernhard (PSN US)

Punkast ·

2026/08/15

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:“It’s an interdisciplinary space where we all get together and talk about a variety of experiences within punk.”Jessica Schwartz and Ellen Bernhard discuss punk scholarship, popular culture, and the importance of building communities around critical inquiry. Drawing on their different

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1:14:48

Caroline Collett (Writer)

Punkast ·

2026/08/07

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:Jessica Schwartz speaks with writer Caroline Collett about the ways lived experience, memory, and writing shape how punk becomes cultural history. Drawing from Caroline's teenage diaries, they revisit the people, places, politics, and everyday details of first-generation punk while

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53:11

Tequila Mockingbird (Punk Museum)

Punkast ·

2026/07/31

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:"To me, punk isn't just about a specific style. It's about a way of being."Jessica Schwartz is joined by Tequila Mockingbird for a conversation exploring punk as a creative practice, a form of cultural preservation, and a way of moving through the world. Together, they discuss the

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54:08

Jack Grisham (TSOL)

Punkast ·

2026/07/24

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:"I used to think that saying 'I don't have it' was a sign of weakness. When in reality, the weakness was not having it and thinking you do."Jessica Schwartz is joined by Jack Grisham of TSOL and co-host Tequila Mockingbird for a candid conversation about creativity, accountability,

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36:52

Jennifer Finch & Fat Mike — Live from the Punk Rock...

Punkast ·

2026/07/19

Editor's Note (July 2026)Today we learned of the passing of Jennifer Finch.Rather than simply share the news, I wanted to make this conversation available again. Recorded live at the Punk Rock Museum during the 2025 Punk Scholars Network US conference, it captures Jennifer exactly as I remember her: generous, thoughtful, funny, and deeply curious. Throughout our conversation, she challenged assumptions, connected punk to larger social questions, and reminded us that museums, archives, and community

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1:19:16

Peter Ekman (Architecture)

Punkast ·

2026/07/17

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:"There is this specter of demolition that, in some ways, haunts the American city."Jessica Schwartz is joined by urban historian and geographer Peter Ekman for a conversation exploring how architecture, urban renewal, and the built environment have shaped the sounds, spaces, and

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1:41:40

Liz Mason (Zines)

Punkast ·

2026/07/10

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:"I make zines and jokes and have thoughts."Jessica Schwartz is joined by zinester, archivist, and independent scholar Liz Mason for a conversation exploring DIY publishing, archives, humor, and the enduring cultural life of zines. Together, they discuss independent publishing as a

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45:08

Johnny Indovina (Human Drama)

Punkast ·

2026/07/03

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:"Fulfill your purpose, do what you love…"Jessica Schwartz and co-host Tequila Mockingbird are joined by Johnny Indovina, singer, songwriter, and founder of Human Drama, in a conversation exploring songwriting, artistic purpose, and the communities that sustain creative life. Together,

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49:04

Si Paton (Experimental Music)

Punkast ·

2026/06/26

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:Experimental composer, improviser, and educator Si Paton joins Jessica Schwartz for a live conversation with UCLA students exploring listening, neurodivergence, improvisation, and the creative intersections of punk, noise, jazz, and DIY music cultures. Together, they discuss how

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36:25

Serafina Maxima (Photographer) + Arrow Avalon...

Punkast ·

2026/06/18

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:ICE OUT OF LOS ANGELES'Fear literally controls people. It ruins ...it runs people's lives...the stuff of nightmares.' 'We can't really make progress without solidarity from men, from people of all ages, and from people all across the spectrum... we

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55:25

Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols)

Punkast ·

2026/06/12

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:‘There's no future unless you try and change it.’Jessica Schwartz is joined by Sex Pistols bassist and songwriter Glen Matlock in a conversation recorded in London at Oxford Circus. Together, they reflect on the political and cultural conditions that shaped the emergence of punk in

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1:24:21

Corbett Redford and John Goshert (East Bay Punk)

Punkast ·

2026/06/05

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:“I didn’t feel judgment. I felt more acceptance that I could be my strange self.”Jessica Schwartz is joined by filmmaker Corbett Redford and professor John Goshert to reflect on the East Bay punk community and the DIY practices that have shaped generations of musicians, artists, and

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1:02:24

Ran Zwigenberg + Mahon Murphy (Japanese Punk)

Punkast ·

2026/05/29

Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.>>> Follow the show to stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.In this episode:“Distinguish themselves within Japanese society as being not part of the kind of mainstream.”Jessica Schwartz is joined by historians Ran Zwigenberg and Mahon Murphy in a conversation exploring how punk, hardcore, and underground culture took shape across Kyoto and Osaka through

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87 results

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