GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

The thrilling conclusion of our visit to the record-breaking Watkins Glen Summer Jam, featuring John Belushi crashing the backstage, a super jam onstage, a teen-run pirate radio station, & the birth of a new generation of Dead Heads. GUESTS: Sam Cutler, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Bunky Odom, Chuck Leavell, Jim Koplik, Buddy Thornton, Sepp Donahower, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Silberman, Rebecca Adams...

Watkins Glen Summer Jam ‘73, Part 1 Musicians, organizers, & fans tell the epic story of how the Watkins Glen Summer Jam started as a giant rock show & turned into history when more than a half-million came to see the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, & The Band. GUESTS: Sam Cutler, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Bunky Odom, Chuck Leavell, Jim Koplik, Buddy Thornton, Susan Wickersham, J...

Our stadium-sized season finale visits the Dead’s June 1973 mega-gigs with the Allman Brothers Band in Washington DC, featuring the Allmans family, legendary tapers, searing heat, super jams, backstage brawls, & the manifestation of the Ouroboros.  Guests: Bunky Odom, Buddy Thornton, Ron Wickersham, Alan Trist, Ben Haller, Peter Rowan, Richard Loren, Allan Arkush, Merl Saunders Jr., Steve...

The Deadcast visits one of the Dead’s most legendary hometown shows with the band, crew, & Bay Area Dead freaks, featuring 3 sets in the Golden Gate Park sunshine, technological innovations, & an important paper by the Haight Street Free Medical Clinic. Guests: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Dave Smith, Bob Barsotti, Ron Wickersham, Jerry Pompili, Steve Brown, Sally Mann Romano, Mike Dolgushk...

Feel the ocean breeze and spend a sunny Sunday with the Grateful Dead as the Deadcast visits Santa Barbara ‘73 with first-time showgoer Al Franken, archivist David Lemieux, the show’s promoters, and more. Guests: Al Franken, Jim Curnutt, Sepp Donahower, Rosie McGee, Michael Parrish, Bob Student, Gary Wulfing, David Lemieux See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Noti...

We time-travel to the Dead’s massive 3-set show in Des Moines, May 1973 (& the first show on the new Here Comes Sunshine box) with stories from Donna Jean, the show’s promoters, & the Dead’s office staff, plus custom gear, big jams, an indoor fireworks fight, etc. Guests: Donna Jean Godchaux, Gail Hellund, Rita Gentry, Rosie McGee, Sally Mann Romano, Steve White, Jon Hoak, Candace Brightma...

The Deadcast takes a special side trip into Jerry Garcia’s extracurricular projects in 1973, exploring his partnerships with organist Merl Saunders & the legendary bluegrass group Old & In the Way with guests David Grisman & Peter Rowan, & how they impacted the Dead’s music. Guests: David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Merl Saunders Jr., Richard Loren, Howard Wales, Hawk Semins, Joe Jupille...

The Deadcast sets course for 1973, diving into the newly announced Here Comes Sunshine box set with firsthand tours of the ambitious family businesses in orbit around the Dead in 1973, including an independent record label, booking company, travel agency, clothing boutique, & more. Guests: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Alan Trist, Rosie McGee, Steve Brown, Sally Mann Romano, Gail Hellund, David...

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow deadheads, today’s regularly scheduled DeadCast will be coming in the not too distant future, fear not we have all the Golden Yummies lined up for your listening pleasure.   You’ll definitely want to join the party when you see what sunshine we have in store, so stay tuned, and we’ll see you just a little bit further down the Golden Road. See Privacy Pol...

T.C. The Deadcast is honored to welcome Tom Constanten to discuss his remarkable tenure as Grateful Dead keyboardist from late 1968 through early 1970, his work on 3 classic albums, & his adventures before & after the Dead, including his current band Dose Hermanos. Guests: Tom Constanten, Bob Bralove, Henry Kaiser, David Lemieux See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi...

Bear’s Choice 50 The Deadcast returns to the Fillmore East and digs into the Dead’s 1st archival live album, History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear’s Choice), produced by former LSD alchemist Owsley Stanley & released as a tribute to Pigpen just after his death. Guests: Allan Arkush, Gary Lambert, David Lemieux, Starfinder Stanley See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Cal...

The Adventures of Pigpen, part 2 The Deadcast concludes our tribute to Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, exploring his years with the Dead, featuring more documents from the McKernan family archives, his alleged firing, former housemate Tom Constanten, lost song lyrics, & last songs. GUESTS: Jim Sullivan, Tom Constanten, Denise Kaufman, Eric Thompson, Starfinder Stanley, David Lemieux, Kay Alexander, Mik...

The Adventures of Pigpen, part 1 The Deadcast marks 50 years since the passing of original Grateful Dead frontman Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, in part 1 uncovering his mysterious pre-Dead years in the Palo Alto folk scene, featuring a visit to the McKernan archives, never-heard performances, & archival interviews. GUESTS: Jim Sullivan, Denise Kaufman, Eric Thompson, Ted Claire, David Lemieux See Pri...

The Deadcast concludes its dive into the Grateful Dead’s entanglement with technology, exploring Jerry Garcia’s digital graphics obsession, how Dead Head online communities helped shape the emergent internet, lyricist John Perry Barlow’s manifestoes, & more.  Guests: Paul Martin, Mary Eisenhart, David Gans, Steve Silberman, Bob Bralove, Dan English, Doug Oade, Christian Crumlish, Charlie...

The Deadcast explores the Grateful Dead’s long-term cosmic entanglement with the California technology world & the architecture of the internet itself, featuring biomusic pioneer Ned Lagin, Dead Heads at the Stanford AI Lab & Apple, sonic heroes from Alembic & Meyer Sound, & more. Guests: Ned Lagin, Ron Wickersham, Susan Wickersham, Daniel Kottke, John Meyer, Helen Meyer, Paul Mart...

We present an encore of the Deadcast’s Denmark episode from earlier this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Europe ‘72’s proper release, as well as to get you ready for (or debrief you from) the Meet-Up At The Movies presentation of the Dead’s historic Danish telecast. Guests: Sam Cutler, Steve Parish, Mountain Girl, Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay, Ben Haller, Alan Trist, Jim Sullivan, Gijsbert...

The Grateful Deadcast celebrates Bobby Weir’s 75th with the birthday boy himself, exploring Weir’s world with Don Was, Jeff Chimenti, members of the expanded Wolfpack, & orchestral collaborator Giancarlo Aquilanti.  Guests: Bobby Weir, Don Was, Jeff Chimenti, Barry Sless, Giancarlo Aquilanti See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com...

Ace 50 The Deadcast welcomes Bobby Weir to honor the 50th anniversary of his 1972 solo debut “Ace” (& its forthcoming reissue), made with an all-star backing band that happened to be the Grateful Dead, featuring archival audio with “Ace” lyricists John Perry Barlow & Robert Hunter. Guests: Bobby Weir, Donna Jean Godhaux-MacKay, Don Was See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Ca...

Pack the Microbus & hit the road with the Dead in ‘83, hang out with the deep scene of Dead Head graffiti writers & frisbee players in Central Park, & get back to Madison Square Garden for two shows with two room-shaking bustouts. Guests: David Lemieux, John Meyer, Helen Meyer, Dan English, Alan Trist, John Scher, Eric Schwartz, John Leopold, Charlie Miller, Jim Wise, Bob Minkin, Lee G...

The Deadcast examines how the Grateful Dead remained a center of innovation in 1982, exploring their new sound system with John & Helen Meyer of Meyer Sound, an audacious plan to sell live tapes, the DIY zine scene, one future hit, & two sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. Guests: Alan Trist, John Meyer, Helen Meyer, Dan English, Bob Minkin, Charlie Miller, Jim Wise, Eric Schwartz, Ch...

We point the Deadcast to the ‘80s & channel the room-shaking power of the 1981 Madison Square Garden shows on the new box set with archivist David Lemieux, promoter John Scher, photographers Jay Blakesberg & Bob Minkin, tapers Jim Wise & Charlie Miller, & many more. Guests: David Lemieux, John Scher, Jay Blakesberg, Bob Minkin, Charlie Miller, Christina Schreiber, Jon Huntley, Jim...

On a very special bonus episode, we check in with Mickey Hart about his latest drones and hear high tales of Grateful Dead madness, from frying bacon onstage to using firearms as percussion, plus stories about his handcrafted instrument, the Beam, and a look into the Barn, his recording “crucible” in Novato and one of the great and oft-forgotten studios of the ‘70s and ‘80s. See Privacy Policy at...

This week, the Deadcast swaps feeds with the Comes A Time podcast hosted by Dead & Co. bassist Oteil Burbridge & comedian Mike Finoia, featuring their interview with promoter Peter Shapiro, impresario behind Fare Thee Well & the Capitol Theatre, & author of a new book. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-...

We time travel to one of the Grateful Dead’s most legendary shows, the 1972 benefit that saved the Springfield Creamery, featuring eyewitness accounts of heads freaking freely in the scorching heat amid some of the most incandescent jams of the band’s career. Guests: David Lemieux, Johnny Dwork, Justin Kreutzmann, Chuck Kesey, Sue Kesey, Mike Sherwood, Dave tharp, Joshua Clark Davis, Nancy Hamren,...

The Deadcast explores the backdrop for one the Grateful Dead’s most extraordinary shows, saving the Springfield Creamery at an off-the-grid potluck picnic amid Merry Pranksters, colorful commune dwellers, & innovative yogurt pioneers during the heady summer of 1972. GUESTS: Chuck Kesey, Sue Kesey, Nancy Hamren, Huey Lewis, Sam Field, Al Strobel, Adrian Marin, Strider Brown, Richard Sutton, Cam...