Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

We’re halfway through Black History month and although we didn’t intend to rerun some of our older conversations to celebrate the month, after realizing we needed to do something to mark Usher’s Super Bowl performance and the release of the new Bob Marley biopic “One Love,” we figured we might as well keep going and celebrate the whole month long…because now we have a country album from Beyonce on the way...

For the last installment of our Thursday Black History Month drops, how could we not revisit our episode with the incomparable Sonny Rollins? Listening to Sonny is like history coming right off the page. He’s living, breathing black history and one of the greatest tenor players of all time.

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In recognition of this month's World Happiness Day, we are presenting one of our favorite episodes from last year with Janelle Monàe and her longtime collaborator, Nate Wonder. Janelle's latest album, The Age Of Pleasure, was created in part as a celebration of black love and community. And as Nate Wonder shares in this interview with Justin Richmond, one of his guiding principles when making the album was to make Janelle smile...

Since debuting in the late ‘60s, Yusuf/Cat Stevens has made a sizable contribution to the folk canon with tender, contemplative songs like “Wild World,” “Moon Shadow,” and “The Wind.” Stevens recently reissued one of his most seminal early albums, Teaser And The Firecat, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its release. The new edition features remastered versions of the original album along with 41 previously unreleased demos and alternate mixes...

In the 1970’s Jackson Browne was known as one of the originators of the carefree, California classic rock sound with hits like “Doctor My Eyes” and “Running on Empty.” As his career progressed, Jackson Browne’s knack for writing soul-searching lyrics turned more political. Browne continues to use his music as a vehicle for change today. His latest album, Downhill From Everywhere, was inspired by a documentary about the Pacific garbage patch and our impact on the planet...

Todd Rundgren is a multi-talented musician who has made a name for himself both as a solo artist and a visionary music producer. Rundgren’s crowning achievement though was producing Meatloaf’s album Bat Out Of Hell, which is to this day one of the highest-selling albums of all time...

Stevie Van Zandt is the ultimate underboss. His first big break came in the mid-70s as Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand man, guitarist, and occasional co-producer in the E Street Band. Later he seamlessly made the jump to acting as one of Tony Soprano’s key consiglieres, Sil, on The Sopranos. 

Van Zandt recently released his memoir, Unrequited Infatuations, which details his career over the past 50 years...

Jon Batiste is an overachiever. Batiste is the bandleader on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and an Oscar-winning composer for the Pixar animated movie, Soul. He also received the highest number of Grammy nominations this year, with eleven, including Album of the Year for his most recent release, We Are.

On today’s episode, Bruce Headlam talks to Jon Batiste about what it was like coming up as a young musician in legendary New Orleans bar rooms...

Here's a special episode from Talk Easy, another podcast in the Pushkin portfolio. Talk Easy is a weekly interview podcast, where writer Sam Fragoso invites actors, writers, activists, and musicians to come to the table and speak from the heart in ways you probably haven't heard from them before. Driven by research, curiosity, and compassion, he has revealing conversations with guests like David Byrne, Lorde, and Syd tha Kid...

Robert Plant is arguably the most iconic rock vocalist of all time. As the frontman for Led Zeppelin, his dynamic, soaring vocal style was the perfect lead for the band’s unparalleled musicianship. After Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham, Plant set out on his own and recorded songs that drew inspiration from North African music, psych rock, and the Blues...