THE PLUG W/ JUSTIN JAY

This episode we sit down with entrepreneur and surfer Dave Taylor — owner of Waco Surf in Waco, Texas — for a wide-ranging conversation about building something from scratch, the culture of surfing, and what it means to bring a coastal lifestyle to the heart of the Lone Star State. A Southern California native who spent years in entertainment and the restaurant industry, Taylor stumbled into wave...

ENCORE EPISODE — To celebrate the landmark performance The Strokes delivered at Coachella 2026, we're revisiting this conversation. Nikolai Fraiture — bassist and founding member of The Strokes — sits down to talk about what it actually looked like from the inside of one of the most hyped band launches in rock history, and what's happened in the two decades since. We get into the Grammy win for Th...

This episode we sit down with actor, director, and New York Times bestselling author Andrew McCarthy for a candid conversation about friendship, identity, and reinvention. Best known for iconic roles in St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty In Pink, Weekend at Bernie's and some of your favorite 80's films, McCarthy has spent the last decade carving out a second act as a deeply introspective writer. His latest b...

This episode we sit down for a chat with Posdnuos AKA Plug One, a founding member of one of the most influential and acclaimed groups in hip-hop history - De La Soul. For years, De La Soul's music was caught in a complicated web of licensing issues and corporate politics, leaving their catalog unavailable on streaming platforms and out of reach for an entire generation of listeners. Now, nearly th...

Michael "Kaves" McLeer is a Brooklyn-born painter, recording artist, graffiti artist, author, tattoo artist and creator of Brooklyn Pop - an astounding immersive experience celebrating the borough of Brooklyn. The installation features hip-hop memorabilia, graffiti, movie collectibles, historical artifacts, and personal items celebrating the neighborhood that shaped him. In this episode we discuss...

Arto Saari is a Finnish professional skateboarder and photographer. He is one of only two Europeans to ever win  Thrasher Magazine's  prestigious Skater of the Year award, and he's one of the most respected and influential skaters of his generation. Arto built his legacy through groundbreaking video parts and endured numerous brutal injuries along the way. Eventually, he transitioned from professi...

The Plug w/ Justin Jay is proud to announce a collaboration with Monster Children — the independent art and media platform that has been shaping taste for over two decades. I For the next several weeks, Monster Children will be presenting a curated series of encore episodes of The Plug across their website and social channels. To kick things off, we sit down with Editor-in-Chief Naz Kawakami to di...

Jay Glennie is the author of The Making of Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood . Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, the film has cemented itself as one of Tarantino's most personal and meticulously constructed works—every prop, location, costume, and needle drop carefully chosen to reconstruct a disappearing version of Los Angeles. Glennie was granted rare acc...

In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation with Luxxury—music producer and co-host of the hit podcast  One Song . Each week on their podcast One Song , Luxxury and his co-host Diallo Riddle take a deep dive into a single classic song, and explore the inspirations and specific production techniques that make the track unique. By playing rare, isolated vocal and instrumental stems, they giv...

MGMT are the musical duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, known for creating irresistibly catchy, genre-blurring music. In this Encore Episode, we dive into how they continually push the boundaries of pop and indie music while still maintaining their unmistakable sound. We also discuss the politics of performing at Madison Square Garden, their unexpected rise to TikTok fame, and how thei...

Andy Nicholson is the bassist and founding member of Arctic Monkeys. This episode he sits down for one of his most open and personal interviews yet. With the 20-year anniversary of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not approaching, Andy reflects on the band's explosive early years and the moments that shaped modern indie rock. Andy shares the story behind his brand-new photography book, I...

Academy Award-winning director  Kevin Macdonald  sits down to discuss his groundbreaking documentary  One to One , a film that redefines how we understand John Lennon and Yoko Ono in early 1970s New York. Using archival footage—from TV shows, protests, commercials, news footage, and intimate home recordings Macdonald creates a fully immersive, 360-degree view of their lives, activism, and art. Fro...

Paul Mittleman worked as VP of Design and Creative Director at Stussy. In this episode, he shares stories from decades shaping the DNA of modern street culture. From working directly with Shawn Stussy to influencing brands like Supreme, Adidas, and Converse, Paul reflects on authenticity, creativity, and the evolution of streetwear. He explains why early Stussy and Supreme succeeded where others f...

Zosia Mamet is an author and actress known for her breakout role as Shoshanna on HBO's  Girls . In this episode, she joins us to discuss her raw, funny, and deeply personal new book,  Does This Make Me Funny? In this candid conversation, Zosia opens up about anxiety, self-worth, family legacy, and the constant challenge of defining herself outside of fame. She shares the emotional rollercoaster of...

Step inside the mind of legendary writer and director Larry Charles , best known for Seinfeld , Curb Your Enthusiasm , and for directing films like Borat, Bruno, and The Dictator . In this episode of The Plug w/ Justin Jay , Larry shares raw, unfiltered stories about Hollywood, comedy, and the creative process. From working alongside Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld to directing groundbreaking films...

Mark Ronson is one of the most influential music producers of the past two decades. Starting out as one of New York's most in-demand DJs in the 1990s, he went on to produce for Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Adele, Dua Lipa, Jay-Z, Paul McCartney, and more. He also co-wrote Bruno Mars'  "Uptown Funk" —one of the defining hits of the 21st century, and most recently curated  The Barbie  soundtrack. In hi...

MC Serch made his mark as one-half of the legendary rap duo 3rd Bass. With classics like The Gas Face , Brooklyn Queens , and Pop Goes the Weasel , the group left an unmistakable stamp on hip-hop. In '94, Serch went on to executive produce Nas's groundbreaking debut, Illmatic , cementing his place in rap history. But that's only part of the story. In this encore episode, Serch takes us inside his...

Lisa Andersen is a Surfing Hall of Fame inductee and a 4 time consecutive world champion. As a teenager, she left behind a troubled home life in Florida to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional surfer. By 25, she was ranked the best female surfer on the planet. With her aggressive yet elegant style, she helped transform the entire perception of female competitive surfing. This episode we si...

Leo Fitzpatrick is a New York-based actor best known for his breakout role in the groundbreaking 1995 film  KIDS . To mark the 30th anniversary of this controversial classic, we're bringing back our conversation for an encore release. Leo's debut in  KIDS —a raw, unfiltered look at the downtown NYC skate scene—was as jarring as it was unforgettable. With its explicit portrayal of sex, drugs, and y...

Ione Skye is an actress best known for her standout performances in the classic films Say Anything , River's Edge , Gas Food Lodging , and many others. But behind her breakout success was a far more complicated coming-of-age story — shaped by a turbulent teenage relationship with an older man battling addiction, estrangement from her famous musician father, and periods of self-destructive behavior...

Alex Corporan is the director of the new documentary  Empire Skate , which chronicles the rise of  Supreme  and the evolution of downtown New York skate culture. It was a movement that reshaped streetwear, art, and youth identity around the world. Alex wasn't just there to witness it — he helped build it. To celebrate the release of the film on ESPN, we're bringing back this special encore episode...

Devendra Banhart is a prolific artist and musician who has earned a reputation for his genre-defying sound. Drawing from an incredibly diverse range of influences, he's released 11 studio albums and cultivated a loyal fanbase spanning from Santiago to Silverlake. In this episode we sit down for a chat with this Texas-born, Venezuela-raised, and San Francisco educated singer about psilocybin mushro...

Selema Masekela is a uniquely versatile sports commentator whose career spans everything from surfing and skateboarding to the NBA, soccer, and Formula One. As a teenager growing up in a predominantly white beach town in Southern California, he was one of the few Black surfers in the water. That meant navigating everything from subtle bias to outright racism. While he refused to let that stop him...

Danny Clinch is one of the most in-demand music photographers working today. From Tupac and Springsteen to Eddie Vedder and Johnny Cash, he's captured some of the most iconic images in modern music history. In this episode, we dive into what it takes to consistently get compelling shots of world-famous artists. Danny shares stories from behind the lens—including what Willie Nelson and Merle Haggar...

This week on  The Plug w/ Justin Jay , we sit down with Jeff Ament—bassist and founding member of Pearl Jam. Beyond the stage, Jeff has been a dedicated skateboarder since his teens and he's personally funded the construction of over 27 skateparks across his home state of Montana. For Jeff, it's more than a passion project: he visits these parks regularly to sweep the concrete, skate alongside loc...