Dr. Lawrence Grossberg is Morris Davis Distinguished Professor,of Communication and Cultural Studies at University of North Carolina. He’s also the author of an article called “Another Boring Day in Paradise: Rock and Roll and the Empowerment of Everyday Life” which was one of the primary pieces of inspiration and foundation for my master’s thesis.

He’s had a 45 year career in academia, published more articles than I can begin to count, and written, by his own count, five or six books. It was because I read him during my Master’s program that I wanted to talk with him. I figured we’d talk about music, but, as is the case or most things in 2020, we instead talked about politics.

In this long and varied conversation, we discuss how he was one of the very first academics to study popular music and the resistance he met from the establishment, how we’re still learning the lessons from the 1960s, the rise of modern conservatism and its evolution over the last 60 years, the danger of viewing the world in binaries, and a ton more. But what would you expect? It’s a career academic getting interviewed by someone who admires him greatly.

Dr. Grossberg encourages you to watch any video done by his mentor and friend Dr. Stuart Hall, and if you’d like to read his book about the Trump Presidency Under the Cover of Chaos, here are some places to do that.

Available on iTunes, streaming on Stitcher, or always at the homepage.

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