Blackberry Jams Presented by Ben & Jerry's

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Join hosts and longtime Phish fans Lenny Duncan and Leslie Mac for conversations about how jam band culture and Black liberation work intersect, the experience of Black Phans, and envisioning a community filled with liberation, love, and Phish tickets by mail for all. Blackberry Jams is presented by Ben & Jerry’s and produced by PRX Productions.

Ben & Jerry's | PRX


    • Jan 12, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 44m AVG DURATION
    • 13 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Blackberry Jams Presented by Ben & Jerry's

    The One Where Lenny Makes all of Phishdom Cry

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 54:54


    Lenny and Leslie are guests on Brave Little State from Vermont Public Radio, where the audience helps decide what stories VPR covers. On this episode, Brave Little State journeys into the weird world of Vermont's favorite jam band to answer the question: "Why does everyone love Phish?" The Blackberry Jams crew were on hand to help get to the bottom of this query.

    Go Down Dancing with Dezron Douglas from TAB

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2021 42:04


    Bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator Dezron Douglas has established himself as a major force in contemporary creative music. A protégé of the great Jackie McLean, the Downbeat Magazine 2019 Rising Star joined Trey Anastasio Band in 2021, and against all odds pulled off a tour for the ages. Leslie and Lenny sit down with Dez and chat it up as the empire crashes around them. 

    What Would It Look Like for Black Lives to Truly Matter in the Jam Band Community?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2021 53:26


    Leslie and Lenny bring a combined 50-plus years of community organizing across America for the express purpose of Black liberation. They have both spoken truth to power and asked this republic in their work and in their own ways this question: Do Black Lives Matter? In this season finale episode, they both bring their unique and nationally recognized power analysis to bear on the Jam Band Community, and help paint a picture of what it could be like going forward with liberation, love, and PTBM for all!

    The Perfect Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2021 31:03


    Leslie and Lenny dream about what a perfect show would look like. They don't know if you want cocoa and shea dispensers in the bathroom or if you want to to see Pete Shapiro as a bathroom attendant during all Black History Month, but they sure love dreaming together. They discuss their favorite Phish shows pre-2016 and what performances have kept them going throughout the last 5 years of intense organizing. Finally, they tease a Blackberry Jams festival! *Show note* We mention Dave Chapelle's ‘Block Party' for reference once. Transphobia repackaged as the battle for free speech is an old trick of white supremacy and Lenny and Leslie ain't falling for that shit.

    Stop Asking Me For Cocaine at Madison Square Garden

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2021 50:37


    Lenny and Leslie talk about the effects of stereotypes on the Black community and its deleterious repercussions on the psyche, heart, and real lives of Black peoples. They start with a scene at Phish's New Year's run which launches organizer Leslie Mac on a deep dive about the dangerous power of stereotypes. One piece of the puzzle is how systematized white supremacy is sold as "American culture” and its long shadow narrated as an American tradition with a power structure that runs from education, music, vocation, compounded trauma of children, media, shakedown street, to Madison Square Garden. Plus Lenny and Leslie guess Phish's Halloween Costume!

    Black Phans on Parade

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2021 52:23


    When the circus does come to town, no one knows what to expect, particularly Black Phan's. Lenny and Leslie take time to interview two members of the Black phish Phan community, and share some of the stories shared with them by Black Phan's on the 888-Phan-Jam call line. 

    Everything I learned about revolution I learned on 1994 Grateful Dead Tour

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2021 58:35


    In 1994 Spring Grateful Dead tour Lenny was fascinated by the “Disco Bus”. This band of intrepid travelers would pull up to a lot, spin a set, throw a giant dance party, feed the kids, maybe puff you out, hook you up with some new clothes, and do it all over again 150 miles later. This is the same concept Lenny uses at protest and in liberation work today. It's a theory called Mutual Aid and Lenny and Leslie are convinced this is what the Jam Band community can be at its best.

    Counter Culture Without Connection to Black Liberation

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2021 41:39


    This episode is all about the counter culture that created the jam band scene, and the political, economic, cultural, and historical factors that are the muse for the art, the jams, even the clothing we wear. There is tension between anti-racism work and lifestyle, and to move the needle forward in the community we love, Leslie and Lenny believe it must be reminded of its revolutionary roots.

    State of the Phish Nation 2021

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2021 60:40


    Lenny reports from Summer Tour 2021 while Leslie Couch Tours Deer Creek and they discuss the current state of Phish-nation in the midst of a never-end global pandemic.

    The Politics of Shakedown Street

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2021 40:05


    This time, Lenny and Leslie focus on Shakedown Street with an anti racist lens and power analysis. At jam band shows all across the country, how do the normal mores around drugs otherwise get suspended, how is that an illusion, and what is the impact of this highly complex phenomenon on the people on the ground, regardless of race?

    Where Invisibility Equals Freedom

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2021 50:52


    Lenny and Leslie introduce the community to the concepts of white privilege and whiteness by approaching it from the perspective of two people who get to try it on for a few hours at a time. FInd out what it's like in this temporal autonomous zone and why they keep showing up. If you have a Black Phan show story to share, dial 888-PHAN-JAM (888-742-6526) to leave Lenny and Leslie a message!

    How Did We Get Here?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2021 36:35


    How do two people who are in the struggle to live into authentic Blackness end up feeling empowered by this white space we call the Jam Band Community? Leslie and Lenny tell how they went from a tweet to a podcast, and how they will show even the Phish faithful a new side of their community - with some hard moments and but also spots of joy. If you have a Black Phan show story to share, dial 888-PHAN-JAM (888-742-6526) to leave Lenny and Leslie a message!

    Welcome to Blackberry Jams!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 3:00


    Welcome to “Blackberry Jams Presented by Ben & Jerry's,” a new podcast that dives into Phish fandom and explores the experience of Black Phans. The series pulls back the curtain on how jam band culture and Black liberation work intersect, envisioning a community filled with liberation, love, and Phish tickets by mail for all. Co-created and co-hosted by Lenny Duncan and Leslie Mac, “Blackberry Jams” will launch on Tuesday, August 31. And if you have a Black Phan show story to share, dial 888-PHAN-JAM (888-742-6526) to leave Lenny and Leslie a message!

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