When actress Brittany Murphy died of pneumonia at the age of just 32 years old, it seemed that all of Hollywood had questions about her death. All but her husband, who did not find his wife’s death suspicious in the slightest. Then, shortly after, Brittany Murphy’s husband died of the same highly suspect cause of death, pneumonia, and then, things really got weird. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get acces...
Aug 13, 2024•47 min•Season 19Ep. 191
On April 15th, 1989, 95 men, women, and children were crushed to death during a soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest – two additional victims would later die of their injuries. The Hillsborough Disaster ruined lives and communities. But Hillsborough wasn’t just a disaster. It was a fight for justice. It was a war between the establishment and the people, and a cover-up on the largest scale – one that exploited hooligan culture in order to assassinate the character of thousands. A...
Aug 09, 2024•43 min•Season 19Ep. 190
This week in the After Party, Jake looks at Metallica's rise from the vanguard of a niche sub-genre of Heavy Metal to become one of the most successful bands of all time. And in preparation for next week's episode on Brittany Murphy, we want to know: Which celebrity deaths seem suspicious to you? Which explanations of celebrity death just don't hold water with you? Join the party at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. To cop some new merch, head to disgracela...
Aug 08, 2024•45 min•Season 18Ep. 189
In the early days of Metallica, their bass player carried a hammer on tour and had a gun that shot knives – or so the story goes. Their former lead guitarist was a drug dealer who kept two pitbulls for protection. They were blamed when a teenager, high on LSD, murdered a man in cold blood and quoted the band’s lyrics. And in 1986, long before they became a household name, they suffered a sudden and horrific tragedy just as their thrash metal music was entering the mainstream. To see the full lis...
Aug 06, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 189
This week in the After Party, Jake dives into your thoughts on the greatest actors of the 1970s and ponders the road not taken by Al Pacino in this week's episode. Plus, another tale of juvenile delinquency from Jake's past! And we're getting ready for next week's episode on Metallica and the late, great Cliff Burton - we want to know: Which artist or musician affects you so deeply that you couldn't bear to lose them? Who can't you live without? Join the party at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gm...
Aug 01, 2024•36 min•Season 18Ep. 188
The death of a neighborhood friend, an attempted robbery that almost went horribly wrong, good vs. evil, and the road not taken: this is the Al Pacino origin story. It all culminates in the role of a lifetime. Not Michael Corleone. Not a role on stage or screen. The most important role of Al Pacino’s young life played out in front of a couple of detectives and a district attorney. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. To listen to Disgraceland ad fr...
Jul 30, 2024•40 min•Season 18Ep. 188
This week in the After Party, Jake has the 1970s on his mind as he prepares for next week's episode on Al Pacino. We want to know: Who is the greatest actor of the 1970s? What films and performances from the 70s do you continually revisit? Plus, the conversation about great female singers of the 21st century continues - join the party at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. To cop some new merch, head to disgracelandpod.com/merch now! To hear an extended versi...
Jul 25, 2024•41 min•Season 18Ep. 186
This week in the After Party, Jake talks about how his sixteen-year-old self influenced who he is today. We want to know: What were you listening to when you were a teenager? Whose poster was on your wall? How did your cultural obsessions when you were a teen shape who you are today? Jake takes your emails, texts, and voicemails and gets into your takes on who the greatest female singer of the 21st century is. Plus, Jake tackles your suggestions for future episode subjects. Get in touch with Jak...
Jul 23, 2024•34 min•Season 18Ep. 186
This week in the After Party, Jake talks about the artists who have faced challenges to their mental health and wonders if they actually have a truer perception of reality beyond what the rest of us can see. Jake takes your emails, texts, and voicemails, and explains the origins of his unique accent. Plus, we want to know: who is your favorite female singer from the 21st century, and what makes her great? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, a...
Jul 18, 2024•33 min•Season 18Ep. 186
Donny Hathaway was a singer, songwriter, and performer so inspiring that he compelled Stevie Wonder to change the way he sang, got Amy Winehouse to name-check him in her lyrics, and made musical giants like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stand up and take notice. But he was as troubled as he was talented. He suffered from hallucinations and paranoia, and was haunted in the recording studio just hours before his mysterious death at the age of 33. This episode contains themes that may be disturbi...
Jul 16, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 186
This week in the After Party, Jake talks about the unique social conditions that created the vibrant 1970s NYC music scene that birthed Talking Heads, the subject of this week's episode. Crime, grime, sanitation strikes, baseball, blackouts - Jake covers it all, plus your emails texts, and voicemails. What are the best books and films about 1970s New York? Where were you when the lights went out? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come j...
Jul 11, 2024•37 min•Season 18Ep. 185
From 1976 to 1977, unsuspecting young people in New York City were snuck up on in the darkness and shot in cold blood. Six dead, murdered by David Berkowitz, AKA the Son of Sam, a serial killer who held all five boroughs in the grip of fear for one year. A year in which punk rock and new wave took hold, the Yankees went on a tear, a garbage strike left trash rotting in the heat, a blackout plunged millions into terror and violence…and the singer of a new band called Talking Heads got to work cha...
Jul 09, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 185
Gianni Versace was a runway iconoclast who outfitted the likes of Madonna, Demi Moore, Prince, Sylvester Stallone, and Don Johnson. He lived like Louis XIV and counted Princess Di and Elton John among his friends. He was plagued by rumors of ties to the Calabrian mafia and a secret health diagnosis. Those rumors continued to persist long after he was gunned down by a serial killer who had been on the lam after murdering four other men in three states. This episode contains themes that may be dis...
Jul 02, 2024•48 min•Season 18Ep. 184
This week in the After Party, Jake talks different music scenes, balancing points of view, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Bobby Brown, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What is the greatest music scene of all time? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To cop some new merch, head to disgracelandpod.com/merch now! To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about a young Bo...
Jun 27, 2024•30 min•Season 18Ep. 182
Bobby Brown thrusted and gyrated his way to the top of the charts with Don’t Be Cruel, one of the biggest records of the late 1980s and an album that brought hip-hop’s hard-knock sensibilities to R&B. But fame did not change the Boston bad boy. At the height of his superstardom, Bobby Brown was arrested onstage for violating a lewd act law. He claimed to have a sexual encounter with a ghost at his lavish Atlanta mansion. And his party-hard ways may have been the reason why Mike Tyson shockingly ...
Jun 25, 2024•42 min•Season 18Ep. 182
This week in the After Party, Jake talks boring versus exciting news, charitable organizations, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on OJ Simpson, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What charitable organization benefiting victims of drunk driving should Jake donate to? Which three disgraced athletes would you team up with for your fantasy charity golf tournament? Where were you when OJ Simpson was leading police on a chase in his white Bronco? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, disgra...
Jun 20, 2024•26 min•Season 18Ep. 181
This is not the O.J. Simpson story you were expecting. This is the story of what happened after the former running back was acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. It’s an insane story that involves sports memorabilia, ex-cons, a gun, a simple plan gone horribly wrong, and one of the most unbelievable armed robberies in Las Vegas’s sordid history. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and graphic depictions of violence. ...
Jun 18, 2024•42 min•Season 18Ep. 181
This week in the After Party, Jake talks the super-fame of José Canseco, the exploits of Dock Ellis, performance... altering? drugs, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on José Canseco, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What athletes embody the rock star vibe? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with stories about José Canseco's legendary trolling, ...
Jun 13, 2024•30 min•Season 18Ep. 180
Jose Canseco was a big league slugger who gave the people what they wanted. Not just massive home runs and a whole lot of stolen bases. He provided entertainment. And his audience, not just baseball fans but the world, ate it up. The private encounter with Madonna in her apartment that nearly cost him a spot on the roster. The obsession with performance enhancing drugs that made him the self-proclaimed godfather of steroids. But entertaining quickly spun out of control. Car crashes. SWAT teams. ...
Jun 11, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 180
This week in the After Party, Jake talks the nefarious nature of social media, the public's denial of obvious horrors, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on R. Kelly, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Is R. Kelly the most evil villain in music history? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about R. Kelly attempting to bribe his brother in...
Jun 06, 2024•28 min•Season 17Ep. 179
R. Kelly openly groomed teenage victims while on trial for child pornography – a trial based on sex tapes that were once sold at Tower Records. He wrote a song designed to help Michael Jackson turn attention away from his own troubling allegations, and he wrote that song while he was illegally married to a 15-year old. That marriage eventually brought about his downfall. But not before R. Kelly went on a 20-year reign of terror – all conducted in plain sight while he was one of the biggest R&B a...
Jun 04, 2024•42 min•Season 17Ep. 179
This week in the After Party, Jake talks trusting our institutions, myths and conspiracies, the new Disgo Book Club, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Bob Dylan, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. What story from pop culture do you call BS on? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with a story about yet another motorcycle accident in Bob Dylan's v...
May 30, 2024•26 min•Season 17Ep. 178
Bob Dylan was booed at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival – but not for the reason you’ve been led to believe. He went from Folk Music Jesus to Rock ‘n Roll Judas, alienating thousands of fans with ear-splitting, confrontational music. Many of those fans heckled him. One even tried to attack him on stage with a knife. He returned home from a European tour that nearly killed him….only to get into a motorcycle accident that, it was said, left him either disfigured, paralyzed, or dead. To see the full ...
May 28, 2024•42 min•Season 17Ep. 178
This week in the After Party, Jake talks the recent Sean Combs developments, the new Disgo Book Club, this week's DISGRACELAND second-part episode on Marilyn Monroe, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Which explanation of Marilyn Monroe's death do you think is most plausible? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party with a deep dive into one of the wi...
May 23, 2024•37 min•Season 17Ep. 176
The conspiracy theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962 continue to entertain the imaginations of those obsessed with celebrity and scandal. The stories, many of them fantastical and one of them true, feature cameos by the likes of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford. Somewhere in the pile of countless rumors, innuendos, and crackpot theories is a closer understanding of exactly what happened a...
May 21, 2024•37 min•Season 17Ep. 176
This week in the After Party, Jake talks the impact of departing icons, jealous exes, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Marilyn Monroe, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Which celebrity death affected you the most? Is Marilyn Monroe the biggest icon in entertainment history? Has anyone else captured the public’s imagination for such a long period of time? Does the mystery around her death contribute to our fascination? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected]...
May 16, 2024•32 min•Season 17Ep. 175
Marilyn Monroe is one if not the greatest Hollywood stars of all time. She rose from orphan to icon by creating an on screen character America could not peel their eyes away from. And she did it all while battling anxiety, depression and addiction. Along the way she bedded, married and otherwise conquered America’s most impressive men; Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Frank Sinatra and President John F. Kennedy to name a few and her relationship with JFK and his younger brother Attorney General, Rob...
May 14, 2024•41 min•Season 17Ep. 175
This week in the After Party, Jake talks the uncanny fascination with Beat poets, their numerous run-ins with musical icons, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on William S. Burroughs, and of course your emails, texts, DMs, and voicemails. Which icons, living or dead, do you think are overrated? What are your thoughts on Burroughs and his place among the Beats? Drop a line at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended...
May 09, 2024•29 min•Season 17Ep. 174
William S. Burroughs was a literary icon whose novel Naked Lunch, one of the signature works of the Beat Generation, was banned and went on trial for obscenity. His writing inspired generations of musicians, from the Rolling Stones and Patti Smith to Nirvana and Sonic Youth. But long before all that, in 1951, when he was an unknown and mostly failed writer, William S. Burroughs made the most fateful decision of his life when he pointed a gun at a highball glass balanced on top of his wife’s head...
May 07, 2024•44 min•Season 17Ep. 174
This week in the After Party, Jake talks humans' fascination with true crime, crossing the line, this week's DISGRACELAND episode on Garth Brooks, and of course your emails, texts, DMS, and voicemails. What artist would you be least surprised to find out is a serial killer? What do the real Garth Brooks fans feel about all this? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To hear an extended version of the After Party wi...
May 02, 2024•23 min•Season 17Ep. 173
