What made the band Thin Lizzy different from your standard 1970s rock and punk? Crime, that’s what. The criminals who populated Phil Lynott’s mother’s bar and the stories they told that influenced the songs Phil wrote. That and a harmonized guitar assault. Who is your favorite Irish band? Why? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become ...
Mar 11, 2025•41 min•Ep 225•Transcript available on Metacast In part two of the Tupac Shakur story, we see the young star trying to deal with life behind bars and giving in to the patronage of the notorious Suge Knight of Death Row Records while getting into the mud with the Notorious B.I.G. in a deadly game of East Coast West Coast beef. We also get a glimpse of what Tupac Shakur might have achieved had he not gone to Las Vegas on that fateful night back in 1996. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This ep...
Mar 08, 2025•36 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast Tupac Shakur was many things. He was a supremely talented MC and was wildly charismatic in front of the camera. He was also violent, angry and completely unable to keep himself out of trouble. Part one of his story traces his rise through the radical influence of his Black Panther lineage, the deadly violence that seemed to follow him wherever he went, and the inevitability of both prison and superstardom. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This ...
Mar 07, 2025•40 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake reflects on the recent passing of two legends: David Johansen and Gene Hackman. Plus, we hear from you on rock n' roll actors, great guitarists, and day drinking with punk legends in a strip club. Next week, we're bringing you a story about Thin Lizzy. In honor of Thin Lizzy and of Saint Patrick's day, we want to know: Who is your favorite Irish band? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive i...
Mar 06, 2025•43 min•Ep 224•Transcript available on Metacast Dennis Hopper revolutionized American cinema by bringing the counterculture to the mainstream with his 1969 film Easy Rider. But he also lived his life in tandem with his art, on the fringes of society and sanity. His stubborn attitude and crazy ideas quickly transformed him from a hippie prophet into a longhaired loser. Hopper's journey from success to failure and back again took him through jungles, deserts, and mountains, and involved varying degrees of drugs, guns, hallucinations, and ex-wiv...
Mar 04, 2025•44 min•Ep 224•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Mar 01, 2025•37 min•Ep 176•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Feb 28, 2025•41 min•Ep 175•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake talks about his experience trying to get a movie made and reflects on the obsessive drive that is required for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese to take a film from concept to the screen. On Friday, we're celebrating Oscar week by bringing you our two part episode on Marilyn Monroe. Jake wants to know: Do you think the Kennedys had anything to do with Marilyn's death? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland e...
Feb 27, 2025•43 min•Ep 223•Transcript available on Metacast Crime House has a new original show, Crime House True Crime Stories. Every Monday, take a deep dive into some of the world’s most notorious true crime cases from that week in history, all connected by a captivating theme – infamous serial killers, mysterious disappearances, tragic murders, and more. Join host Vanessa Richardson every Monday. Search “Crime House True Crime Stories” now and follow this new show! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyi...
Feb 27, 2025•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hollywood:1975. Martin Scorsese sits in his apartment, enraged. He wants to literally kill the man who is ruining his to-be-released film, Taxi Driver. Scorsese’s friends, filmmakers Stephen Spielberg, Brian De Palma, John Milius, and Paul Schraeder rush to Scorsese’s side to talk him out of committing murder, but when they arrive, their friend Marty acts less like himself and more like his Travis Bickle character from the film he’s trying to save. This is the story of that night. Martin Scorses...
Feb 25, 2025•50 min•Ep 223•Transcript available on Metacast Dorthy Stratten went from Dairy Queen counter girl to Playboy pinup to murder victim – in just two years. Hugh Hefner called her the next Marilyn Monroe. A major Hollywood director wrote a role in his new film just for her, confident that she would make the leap from centerfold to starlet. But all of that was cut short on August 14, 1980, when a private investigator stumbled upon a brutal murder scene that shook the entertainment industry to its core. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get ac...
Feb 21, 2025•39 min•Ep 222•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake shares some surprising developments in the Jay-Z case and their ramifications for the ongoing Diddy cases. Plus we hear from you on the Sid and Nancy story, and Jake imagines a better world where hot dogs, coffee and cheap beer cost just one dollar. Next week, we're bringing you part 2 of our Martin Scorcese story, one that features other legendary directors like Brian DePalma and Steven Spielberg, so we want to know: Who is your favorite filmmaker? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, dis...
Feb 20, 2025•41 min•Ep 221•Transcript available on Metacast It has long been believed that punk rock icon Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose. That is true. However, new evidence suggests that his overly affectionate and increasingly dependent mum gave him a fatal hotshot in a final, maternal act of mercy. Listen to find out why. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Who are the most disgraceful couples in music history? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandp...
Feb 18, 2025•39 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast At the end of the 1960s, Sly Stone was at the center of a groundbreaking musical movement that intended to break down barriers of race and genre, all in the service of making people happy. But at the dawn of the 1970s, Sly Stone suddenly was not happy. His L.A. mansion was overrun with cocaine, PCP, guns, and bodyguards. He was strongarmed by the Black Panthers. He thought his own bass player hired someone to kill him. He drew the attention of local law enforcement. Before long, he was crossing ...
Feb 14, 2025•43 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake is thinking about the CIA and its role in our culture. Has the CIA played a part not just in political dirty tricks overseas, but also in the music and culture that are part of our daily lives? Plus, We hear about Jake's grandfather, whose dream was to join the CIA, but who was rejected...hmmmm...sounds exactly like the kind of cover story a CIA agent would tell! Since Valentine's Day is nearly upon us, we're bringing you an episode on one of the most disgraceful romances in musi...
Feb 13, 2025•42 min•Ep 221•Transcript available on Metacast You know Louis Armstrong, right? Jazz icon? Satchmo? Nice guy from the movies with the trumpet? Did you know he was part of a CIA coup in Africa? Did you know he compelled a President into civil rights action? Did you know Louis Armstrong was controlled by gangsters? There’s a lot to learn about this one-of-a-kind musician in DISGRACELAND. Louis Armstrong famously served as a "jazz ambassador" for the United States. If you could choose one musical artist to represent America overseas, who would ...
Feb 11, 2025•43 min•Ep 221•Transcript available on Metacast When it came to music, Miles Davis wasn’t about no safe, tired yesterday bullsh*t. After kicking his heroin addiction, he traded bespoke suits for fringe jackets and spearheaded an experimental blur of jazz and rock, eclipsing his contemporaries with a complete reinvention of himself. But the second act of Miles’ life came fraught with failures and new fixes, including a wrecked Lambo, two broken legs, and a mountain of coke and pills so massive that Miles almost never made it down the other sid...
Feb 08, 2025•40 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast Miles Davis is jazz’s first and only rock star, with the rap sheet to prove it. He did enough cocaine to run down the entirety of 52nd street, and pimped out women when performing wasn’t paying the bills. At one point, his heroin habit was so public that clubs who had once welcomed his brilliant bebop instead froze him out completely. When he wasn’t vying to keep his rightful spot in jazz’s upper echelon, he was doing time at Rikers Island or dodging racist cops on the prowl for any junkie they ...
Feb 07, 2025•42 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake is thinking about Richard Pryor. If Pryor had died after setting himself on fire, would that be the strangest celebrity death of all time? Jake takes a look at some strange celebrity deaths, including Tennessee Williams, William Holden, and more. If you know some strange celebrity death stories, let us know! On Tuesday we're bringing you an episode on one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century - Louis Armstrong. But we're going beyond his musical and cultural i...
Feb 06, 2025•39 min•Ep 220•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Pryor was one of the funniest people who ever lived. He elevated stand-up comedy to an art form. But the real life that informed his stand-up – a life of pool halls, brothels, stabbings, shootings, and lots and lots of cocaine – was a source of constant pain. A pain that he managed with a freebase habit so out of control it nearly killed him before he was even 40 years old. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including descriptions of domestic violence ...
Feb 04, 2025•37 min•Ep 220•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake wonders what might be coming in future disclosures about UFOs, the JFK assassination, and the Diddy case. What happens if the stories we tell ourselves, the grand conspiracies, the intriguing theories, turn out to be false? What if they're true? Are these stories no longer compelling if they reach a conclusion? Can a conspiracy theory ever be truly debunked? On Tuesday we're bringing you an Icons episode on Richard Pryor, one of the greatest and most influential standup comics of...
Jan 30, 2025•40 min•Ep 219•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone thought Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge was a joke, until he proved them all wrong. This is the story of government control, aliens, an arrest, a plane crash, a cancer diagnosis, redemption, and (of course) anti-authority punk rock. Do you believe in Non-Human Intelligence? Have you had an experience with UFOs? Let Jake know and tell your story at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive epis...
Jan 28, 2025•47 min•Ep 219•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake discusses the Beastie Boys and the challenges of creating an episode about a band that was so influential to him personally, as well as the importance of telling the whole story when it comes to rock 'n' roll, not just the tightly controlled version that an artist might want told. On Tuesday we're bringing you an episode on Bink-182 and their unlikely connection to the study of UFOs. Jake wants to know: Do aliens exist? Have you had a direct experience with UFOs or non-human inte...
Jan 23, 2025•46 min•Ep 217•Transcript available on Metacast The news called the London crime wave an “epidemic." The Beastie Boys inspired it. Liverpool wanted to kill the group. Ad Rock in jail. Numerous other musicians arrested, in part, because of the Beasties. The band’s hardcore roots, their hip hop success, creating a Gen X Sgt. Peppers, and a legacy of influence that’ll be hard to top by future artists. Buckle up for a crime and grime influenced Beastie Boys story. Which musician has had the greatest influence on you? In what way? Let Jake know at...
Jan 21, 2025•55 min•Ep 217•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Jake wrestles again with the idea that an artist whose work he admires may, in fact, be an a**hole. Plus, a listener's story of rock and roll animalism reignites a dormant memory for Jake! On Tuesday we're bringing you an episode on the one and only Beastie Boys, a band who melded their eclectic influences like no one else, and Jake wants to know: What musician has influenced you the most? Which artists have left their mark on you? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com,...
Jan 16, 2025•39 min•Ep 216•Transcript available on Metacast Before Bill Murray was busting ghosts and living in a loop of deja vu, he was a drug-dealing premed student with a knack for comedy. When he was caught with five bricks of pot at the airport, his career in medicine came crashing down, forcing him to make a living with his smart mouth. His obsession to rise above “medium talent” brought him to volatile blows with musicians, fellow actors, and even himself. Yet in his cockiest moments and most despairing lows, the universe always found a way to sh...
Jan 14, 2025•41 min•Ep 216•Transcript available on Metacast Who is the most hedonistic entertainer from throughout history? Hint: his name might rhyme with “D. Piddy." Caligula is blushing, and your voicemails, texts, DMs, and more. On Tuesday we're bringing you an episode on comedy legend Bill Murray, and Jake wants to know: What's your favorite Bill Murray performance, on or off screen? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into our extensive archive, including s...
Jan 09, 2025•44 min•Ep 215•Transcript available on Metacast How does a music mogul satiate himself when he’s rich, famous, and can have whatever he wants? When he compares himself to gangster-pimp-king-hustlers from the past? When he’s one of the most powerful men in the music industry? The details behind the Cassie Ventura, Lil’ Rod Jones, and federal indictments charging Sean “Diddy” Combs with horrific acts of abuse – all charges Combs denies – might provide answers. Do you think Sean Combs is guilty of his alleged crimes? Why or why not? Let Jake kno...
Jan 07, 2025•47 min•Ep 215•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's After Party, Jake shares some music and movie recommendations based on the research that went into this year's Disgraceland episodes. On Tuesday we're bringing you a brand new episode on Diddy, and Jake wants to know: Do you think Sean Combs is guilty of his alleged crimes? Why or why not? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into our extensive archive, including such episodes as: Episode 1...
Jan 02, 2025•43 min•Ep 214•Transcript available on Metacast Your wild tales of rock ‘n’ roll animalism, UFOs, Christmas songs, SNL characters, Jay Z and Diddy, and so much more; we get way into your comments, your thoughts, and what makes your rock ‘n’ roll souls tick on this Christmas-week episode. Coming up, we're bringing you an episode on Hank Williams, who died on New Years Day in 1953, and Jake wants to know: Who are the songwriters and singers who can make you tear up, who cut you to the bone? Who gives you all the feels? Tell Jake at 617-906-6638...
Dec 26, 2024•46 min•Ep 213•Transcript available on Metacast 
