In this episode, Jon Taplin— director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California—joins us to discuss his early years working with Bob Dylan, to his recent research on tech billionaires’ growth in legislative influence. Taplin historicizes the changes in media’s ties to politics between the McCarthy era to the 2024 election cycle.
The discussion delves into the power of music to spark political thought and changes in people’s connection to pop culture during difficult times. We ask whether the media landscape has become more nihilistic and if there is room for local community-driven efforts. Taplin leaves us questioning where the relationship between pop culture and politics will go in America, as the system seems to be limiting the powers of creativity and political disobedience.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Academic Texts
The End of Reality: How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto [Amazon]
Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy [Amazon]
The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock-and-Roll Life [Amazon]
People Mentioned
Shows, Films, and Other Media
A Complete Unknown IMDB
Mean Streets IMDB
The Last Waltz IMDB
Squid Game watch on Netflix
Beast Games watch on Prime
Ted Lasso watch on Apple TV+
Schitt’s Creek watch on
Double Indemnity IMDB
Clipped watch on Hulu
Breaking Bad IMDB
Mad Men watch on AMC+
Succession watch on Max\The Wire IMDB
Homicide: Life on the Street IMDB
Hill Street Blues IMDB
Matlock (2024) watch on Paramount+
Knives Out IMDB
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery watch on Netflix
Columbo IMDB
Grand Theft Auto [YouTube Clips of Trailers for GTA 1-6]
The Sopranos IMDB
Newport Folk Festival of 1965 Bob Dylan Performance [YouTube clip]
FanDuel [Website]
Potluck [Website]
Virginia Public Radio [Website]
Extra Fun Tidbits + News
What does “kayfabe” mean in wrestling?
Criterion Channel “Dangerous Work: Cy Endfield, Film Noir, and the Blacklist” series
What does culture eats strategy for breakfast mean?
Trump vs 60 Minutes Lawsuit and Paramount Merger with Skydance
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.
Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
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In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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