DISGRACELAND

This week in the After Party, Jake gets into the latest news on the indictment and arrest of Sean "Diddy" Combs, the greatest television shows of all time, and of course, your emails, DMs, texts, and voicemails. As we prepare for next week's episode on Sigourney Weaver, Jake is looking for your recommendations on the best space/alien themed movies –let Jake know at 617-906-6638,  disgracelandpod@g...

Friends star Matthew Perry battled addiction through the white-hot glare of fame while having the number one show on television and the number one movie in theaters at the same time while dating the biggest movie star on the planet. He was a celebrity who experienced unimaginable popularity and crushing loneliness, a dichotomy that drove his addiction, an addiction that caused him to suffer throug...

This week in the After Party, Jake looks back at the fateful night of October 31, 1993, when River Phoenix collapsed and died at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. We announce a special Disgraceland Live Stream event coming on October 9th, plus, we hear from listeners on the greatest actors of the 1990s and more. As we prepare for next week's episode on Matthew Perry, we want to know: What do you thin...

River Phoenix was a once in a generation actor. His death shocked Hollywood and is still hard for many to accept. His deadly drug overdose has never been fully explained, but his back story—born into a religious cult, steeped in immersive movie role research, constantly toying with his famous identity—does explain the big talent he brought to the screen and the big heart he brought into the world....

This week in the After Party, Jake talks about gambling and its role in his family. Plus, listeners weigh in on disgraceful athletes, Lana Del Rey songs, and Courtney Love. As we prepare for next week's episode on River Phoenix, we want to know: Who is the greatest actor of that most glorious decade, the 1990s? Why? What Leonardo DiCaprio roles would've gone to River Phoenix had he lived? Let Jake...

The image of the National Football League is one of integrity. It’s a squeaky clean brand that NFL commissioners have gone to great lengths to protect. This episode tells the story of a different NFL; the mystery of a dead team owner, gambling, mob-adjacent hall of fame league founders, and murdered bagmen are all part of the history of America’s pastime. There's more about the dark origins of the...

This week in the After Party, Jake wrestles wonders why certain artists, especially female artists, have a harder time with the critics and the press. Plus, Jake gets your takes on if the 90s really were "peak life." As we prepare for next week's episode on the sordid criminal history of the National Football League we want to know: Who is the most disgraceful athlete of all time? Let Jake know at...

This week in the After Party, Jake wrestles with the works of problematic genius Alfred Hitchcock and gets your take the dilemma presented by such artists. And as we prepare for next week's episode on the unique artistry of the oft-maligned Lana Del Rey, we want to know: Which entertainers do you think have been unfairly treated by the media? Which artists do you think get a bum rap from the press...

A teenage bass-playing f*ck-up prodigy. A big brother in an ill-fitting bodysuit on national television. A drummer playing chicken with the cops on his motorcycle. And one of the greatest singer-songwriters to ever pick up a guitar and stumble towards a microphone. These were the Replacements: shambolic and chaotic, just like the best rock ‘n roll often is. In 1986, the Minneapolis quartet deliver...

Alfred Hitchcock grew up on murder. He was the OG crime junkie; obsessed with true stories of stranglers, bodysnatchers, necrophiliacs, and serial killers. He was also afraid – not so much with these ghoulish figures, but of authority, the dark, crowds, and of being alone. He channeled his obsessions and his fears into some of the greatest movies of all time. And he abused his power as a controlli...

This week in the After Party, Jake looks at Brittany Murphy's mysterious death and the history of bad moms in Hollywood and crime. As we prepare for next week's episode on the brilliant yet problematic Alfred Hitchcock, we want to know: Which films can you not go without despite the horrific behavior of their creators? How do you handle the dilemma presented by these creators? Join the party at 61...

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 contribu...

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, ...

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 an...

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...

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...

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,  disgracelandpod@gmail.com , or on socials @di...

Motörhead influenced some of the most important acts in heavy metal and punk rock history. Led by the inimitable Lemmy Kilmister, they invented a sound and a style that didn’t exist before the original trio went into the recording studio for the first time. The story of Motörhead is also a story about speed, revenge, good and evil, a brutal murder, and some of the greatest – and meanest – rock ‘n...

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 21s...

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 he...

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 h...

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?...

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...

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...

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,  disgracelandpod@gmail.com , or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. To cop some new merch, head to disgr...