Podcasts about eighties

Rae Alexandra has 35 stories to share with you, plus her own. In this Women's History Month episode, meet and get to know Rae. She recently published a book with City Lights Publishing called Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area. It's of course available at City Lights, but you can also find it at your local independent bookstore. I read the book and could not put it down. Only toward the end of the 35 essays did I start to recognize the women Rae features. I love history and I love learning and I have mixed feelings about the fact that there are so many rad women whose stories are untold. Thank you, Rae Alexandra, for shining on a light on these incredible women. These days, she's a staff writer at KQED. But Rae's story starts in Wales in the UK. She grew up in Cardiff, the capital of the country. (I learn in the conversation that Wales is a country. I also learn that "United Kingdom" and "Great Britain" are the same thing. Now, British vs. English we don't touch, for obvious reasons. But I digress …) Ed. note: I'll describe my conversation with Rae as two Gen Ex journalist types with ADHD (is that redundant?) doing their best to be linear. To me, the meanderings of our talk are totally normal. Rae says that Wales is delightful and has all the best castles, but that's because of the number times the country has been invaded and conquered. Close to where her mom lives today is a castle that boasts the world's largest crossbow. When I ask when Rae was born (1978), we discover that she's a horse as in Year of the Horse (aka 2026). Cool. Rae continued to call Cardiff home up through her college years. She didn't go to another school outside of Wales that had accepted her because she was attached to a group of skateboarders in her hometown. After she graduated, though, she moved to London. Music has been central for Rae as far back as she remembers (same). She shares stories of being maybe 5 and listening to the Top 40 with her cassette recorder ready to nab her favorite songs (same). According to Rae, the English look down on the Welsh, and have for some time, based on classist generalizations. Wales is where the UK mines most of its coal. London-types consider their neighbors to the southwest feral, and in some regards, the Welsh are, she says. In the Eighties, she remembers stories about IRA bombings appearing on the news nightly. Also, in Wales, miners went on strike and everyone knew about it. Rae says that Wales in the Eighties was essentially like listening to The Clash. We go on a sidebar about siblings, birth order, and what it means to be the youngest, which Rae and I both are. Growing up, she was close with both her older sisters. Today, one lives in Australia and the other lives in the London suburbs. Around age 10, Rae discovered metal. By 12, she decided that she would become a music journalist. In her teen years, she "snuck" her writing into local and college newspapers. The music journalism she consumed in those days included publications like Smash Hits, Kerrang!, NME, and Melody Maker. In fact, her first job out of college was at Kerrang! We go on a sidebar on the whole idea of living somewhere vs. visiting, and how they're so totally different on every level. I use Chicago, where I lived for a full six months in the Nineties, as my example. Rae offers up a stay in Brooklyn as hers. That job at Kerrang! is what brought Rae to London, another place she found impossible to live. I ask her to expound on what it was about the place, and she indulges me. She says that you have to be obscenely wealthy to live in Central London, so most folks are forced to the outskirts. But the jobs are in the middle of town, and so you end up spending around two or three hours a day commuting underground. It was/is also gray—the weather, the architecture—and the people in London were, as Rae describes it, hostile. When she goes into detail about the ways in which they were hostile, we agree that only you get to shit on your own hometown. People who aren't from there aren't allowed. It's a rule. Look it up. After a year working for the magazine in London, Rae met a guy from San Francisco. She'd been to The City and even spent significant time here working for Maximum Rock 'n' Roll. (At this point in the recording, I mistakenly call the BBQ place near Hayes and Divisadero until sometime in the early 2000s "Brothers." It was in fact called Brother in-law's. My apologies.) She moved in with that guy she met, lived with him for six months in London, and then it was time for him to come home to SF. He asked her if she wanted to join him and she accepted. She had already transitioned to freelance writing for the magazine, because office life didn't suit her, so work wasn't so much a problem. But upon arrival, she soon discovered how difficult it was to do anything without a Social Security number. That added an extra layer to moving here. But it wasn't the place itself or its people that made things hard. It was the system, so to speak. Also, while she was getting settled and learning how to survive in the US without an SSN, she started to see that the guy was, let's just say, not for her. She felt he'd been playing the long game when they lived together in London, but once back on his home turf, some of his sociopath tendencies emerged. It was 2002 and she lived in Bernal Heights on Cortland. She spent most of her time in the Mission, just down the hill. After a short time, the guy convinced her that they needed to get married, so they moved back to London. The marriage lasted three months, and Rae returned to her new home—San Francisco. When she came back, she experienced a stretch of housing instability. You could call it "couch surfing," but either way, it was dicey. Six months or so later, things settled. It was easier to live cheaply in the early 2000s, also. A $5 burrito could be a whole day's worth of food. And Rae had befriended enough bartenders that she rarely paid full-price for booze. She describes "The Blackout Triangle" of Killowatt, Delirium, and Dr. Bombay's. She also regularly visited Beauty Bar until that place went downhill. Check back this Thursday for Part 2 with Rae Alexandra. We recorded this episode at Vesuvio in North Beach in February 2026. Photography by Jeff Hunt

This episode is just for kicks and telling stories of our past. Things we did growing up in the 80's and 90's were so different than today we only have pictures if someone had a camera so hardly any evidence! Memories and what fun we had.... Hope you enjoy a laugh and relive your past too. 

DJ one3 - Flashback 2 the 80s/iHeart80s      (an hour & a half of Time Travel) • iHeart Special Presentation • Kurtis Blow • Back 2 the 80s Intro featuring Christopher Lloyd (2026) yes it's him!• New Order- Bizarre Love Triangle (feat. DJ one3 Dance Mix 4 Shell)• Donna Summer & INXS - I Feel Love/Need u 2nite feat. DJ one3 (1977 & 1987 reMixes mashUp)• Prince & Sheila E. - Love Bizarre (DJ one3 Club Mix 1985 recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio)• Ultravox - Dancing with Tears in My Eyes (feat DJ one3 '1984 Atomic Dance Mix')• Judas Priest & James Brown - Sex Machine feat. DJ one3 (1982 reMix)• Madonna - Borderline (12 inch) yes, that's Madonna talking in the beginning...• Madonna & ABC - Holiday (1987 reMix)• Yaz & Foreigner - Situation: Urgent feat. DJ one3 (1982 reMix)• Echo & the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (DJ one3 Club Vampire reMix)• The Fixx - One Thing Leads to a DJ one3 Dance Mix feat. Porkey's (1984 reMix)• Rick James, Ozzy Osborne & Metallica - You, I & Whom the Bell Tolls (feat. DJ one3)• Michael Jackson & Iron Maiden- Beat Trooper (DJ one3 1983 reMix)• The Cult & Siouxsie and the Banshees - Sanctuary Mash feat. DJ one3 (1986)• Wham - Everything She Wants (DJ one3 1985 Club edit)• Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (DJ one3's Summer 1980 reMix)• Sly & the Family Stone feat. Peter Gabriel & Stevie Wonder- Thank YOU for letting DJ one3 be Himself (1986 reMix)• GOODBYE feat. Matthew Broderick DJone3.com & Apple Music & iHeartRadio Social: @theRealDJone3 

Send a textLeviathan - 1989Director - George P CosmatosWriters - David Webb Peoples, Jeb StuartMusic - Jerry GoldsmithStars:Peter WellerRichard CrennaAmanda PaysDaniel SternErnie HudsonMichael CarmineLisa EilbacherHector ElizondoMeg Foster

Louie's girlfriend Zena is back!  Unfortunately, her friend Emily gets in the way of Louie's planned evening of watching the Miss Universe pageant.  What started as Louie taking Emily home turns into a fling, much to Louie's delight.  How will Zena react to this betrayal?  Will Louie ever see the error of his ways?  And will Alex help Louie in his moment of need?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss season 4, episode 5, "Louie's Fling".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

Referring to the music of the 1980s means a lot of different things to different people, including our Imbalanced Boys! The variety of genres, subgenres, and new kinds of things evolving (constantly), could make your head spin. They weigh in this week with their 5 Favorite Heavy Metal axe pairings, delving into the realm of dynamic duo six string slingers!! It was a hairy, scary time in Rock, and the boys took different musical paths in this decade! Whatever the Eighties meant to you, it's time plug in, and crank it up! Email us about "your Eighties" at imbalancedhistory@gmail.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Referring to the music of the 1980s means a lot of different things to different people, including our Imbalanced Boys! The variety of genres, subgenres, and new kinds of things evolving (constantly), could make your head spin. They weigh in this week with their 5 Favorite Heavy Metal axe pairings, delving into the realm of dynamic duo six string slingers!! It was a hairy, scary time in Rock, and the boys took different musical paths in this decade! Whatever the Eighties meant to you, it's time plug in, and crank it up! Email us about "your Eighties" at imbalancedhistory@gmail.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the White Rocket Music Podcast! Connie and Andy Fix join Van once again to dig into the greatest music of the Sixties, Seventies, Eighties and beyond! This episode: Connie, Andy and Van choose their 5 Albums that are ALL KILLER, NO FILLER-- albums that may not be their favorites, but you never want to skip a single track! Thanks to all of our patrons for making shows like this possible! We have no advertisers and are entirely supported by our great listeners! Be a part of the White Rocket Entertainment family by becoming a patron of the shows: https://www.patreon.com/whiterocketreviews Brought to you by White Rocket Entertainment. http://www.plexico.net

We bid a fond farewell to our Acteurist Spotlight on Delphine Seyrig with the greatest movie of all-time (as of the most recent BFI critics' poll), Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai de Commerce 1080 Bruxelles (1975) and its "sequel," Golden Eighties (1986), Akerman's retro-80s-while-it's -still-happening musical. We give our latest thoughts on anxiety, oppression, and orgasms in Jeanne Dielman before turning to a very different Jeanne played by Seyrig and a different aspect of Akerman's grappling with her family history. In Golden Eighties, Akerman takes a wistful snapshot of the moment when postwar capitalism was undeniably failing but denial hadn't yet failed, smuggling social commentary and emotive dramaturgy into goofy musical comedy.  Time Codes: 0h 00m 25s:       JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (1975) [dir. Chantal Akerman] 0h 41m 06s:       GOLDEN EIGHTIES (1986) [dir. Chantal Akerman] +++ * Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: "Sunday" by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's piece on Gangs of New York – "Making America Strange Again" * Check out Dave's Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at therebuggy@gmail.com We now have a Discord server - just drop us a line if you'd like to join! 

Tom Hunyady joins as we look at the decade after Paul was a "Man on the Run".     Tug of War through Flowers in the Dirt.     Paul and Linda.    Paul and Stevie.    Paul and Michael.   Paul and Declan.        More than just    Tom Hunyady (2 Legs) joins for a chat on the decade bookended by the tour that wasn't and the tour that was.   #madeonzencastr.

Jason , Frederic en uiteindelijk Dennis komen bij elkaar om de He-man trailer te bespreken. Verder duiken ze in de annalen van de popcultuur om te zien welke 80s franchises een tweede leven verdienen. -He-man Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEx7wQI6RY

In this masterful, groundbreaking work Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence. On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens, Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz's young victims would become villains. Out of this dramatic moment would emerge an angry nation, in which Rupert Murdoch's New York Post and later Fox News Network stoked the fear and the fury of a stunning number of Americans. Drawing from never-before-seen archival materials, legal files, and more, Heather Ann Thompson narrates the Bernie Goetz Subway shootings and their decades-long reverberations, while deftly recovering the lives of the boys whom too many decided didn't matter. Fear and Fury is the remarkable account and a searing indictment of a crucial turning point in American history. Host: Michael Stauch is an associate professor of history at the University of Toledo and the author of Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

In this masterful, groundbreaking work Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence. On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens, Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz's young victims would become villains. Out of this dramatic moment would emerge an angry nation, in which Rupert Murdoch's New York Post and later Fox News Network stoked the fear and the fury of a stunning number of Americans. Drawing from never-before-seen archival materials, legal files, and more, Heather Ann Thompson narrates the Bernie Goetz Subway shootings and their decades-long reverberations, while deftly recovering the lives of the boys whom too many decided didn't matter. Fear and Fury is the remarkable account and a searing indictment of a crucial turning point in American history. Host: Michael Stauch is an associate professor of history at the University of Toledo and the author of Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this masterful, groundbreaking work Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence. On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens, Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz's young victims would become villains. Out of this dramatic moment would emerge an angry nation, in which Rupert Murdoch's New York Post and later Fox News Network stoked the fear and the fury of a stunning number of Americans. Drawing from never-before-seen archival materials, legal files, and more, Heather Ann Thompson narrates the Bernie Goetz Subway shootings and their decades-long reverberations, while deftly recovering the lives of the boys whom too many decided didn't matter. Fear and Fury is the remarkable account and a searing indictment of a crucial turning point in American history. Host: Michael Stauch is an associate professor of history at the University of Toledo and the author of Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In this masterful, groundbreaking work Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence. On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens, Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz's young victims would become villains. Out of this dramatic moment would emerge an angry nation, in which Rupert Murdoch's New York Post and later Fox News Network stoked the fear and the fury of a stunning number of Americans. Drawing from never-before-seen archival materials, legal files, and more, Heather Ann Thompson narrates the Bernie Goetz Subway shootings and their decades-long reverberations, while deftly recovering the lives of the boys whom too many decided didn't matter. Fear and Fury is the remarkable account and a searing indictment of a crucial turning point in American history. Host: Michael Stauch is an associate professor of history at the University of Toledo and the author of Wildcat of the Streets: Detroit in the Age of Community Policing, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the publisher: "In this masterful, groundbreaking work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and violence.On December 22, 1984, in a graffiti-covered New York City subway car, passengers looked on in horror as a white loner named Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teens,  Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur, at point-blank range. He then disappeared into a dark tunnel. After an intense manhunt, and his eventual surrender in New Hampshire, the man the tabloid media had dubbed the “Death Wish Vigilante” would become a celebrity and a hero to countless ordinary Americans who had been frustrated with the economic fallout of the Reagan 80s. Overnight, Goetz's young victims would become villains."Dr. Heather Ann Thompson's website can be found at https://www.heatherannthompson.com/Information on her book can be found at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771433/fear-and-fury-by-heather-ann-thompson/AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at https://twitter.com/axelbankhistoryhttps://instagram.com/axelbankhistoryhttps://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

We start of 2026 with many predictions, who will win? Who will lose?  Will anyone care? Grab your goo belt and pull up your big boy pants, it is 2026 baybeeee!

Heather Ann Thompson, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy and her latest, Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, 2026) argues that the roots of white rage and violence can be traced back to the Reagan Era and, specifically, the Bernie Goetz shootings of four Black teenagers on a NYC subway in 1984.

Special guest star Martin Short is a beleaguered network executive whose job is on the line.  Jim, leveraging his psychic abilities, gives programming predictions that actually come true.  But Jim is not getting paid for his efforts, nor is he even treated fairly.  Will Jim ever get the proper credit for his advice?  Is Louie's cage a disgusting cesspool of old food?  And what is it about old variety shows that we both find so appealing?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss season 4, episode 4, "Jim Joins The Network".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

In the heat and the steam of the city, Al, Ryan & Louie discuss "Mama," one of Genesis' most bizarre songs and the music video where Phil Collins freaked generations of children before "The Land of Confusion" did.

Send us a textThis 80s brat pack weren't your standard yuppie romantics, they were hardened killers. Swayze puts his Roadhouse kill count to shame in this cold war thriller that scared the crap out of us, but taught us the only good commie was a dead commie.  Wolverines!

Girls can be gross right?  Yeah.

The disco era of the Seventies is characterized by a danceable "four-on-the-floor" beat, lush orchestration, synthesizers, and glamorous fashion, ultimately exploding into mainstream pop culture with hits, iconic clubs like Studio 54, and films like Saturday Night Fever, before fading by 1980. Filmed in 1977, Saturday Night Fever was a critical and commercial success, helping to popularize disco around the world. The soundtrack, featuring songs from the Bee Gees, has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums and the second-biggest-selling soundtrack of all time. I don’t know about you but I still like dancing to Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin, and More than a Woman. By all accounts, so does my lunch guest Alyssa Lundy, Founder & CEO of 5 to 9 Dance Club, a sober, early-evening dance club for women only. Turning coffee shops into Miami-themed dance floors, 5 to 9 Dance Club transforms each venue into a full, nightclub experience with lighting, screens, DJ production, and beach décor. Every event also includes access to mental health professionals, business resources, and women-focused non-profits, as well as a welcome committee to ensure no one feels excluded. The most famous dinosaur, Barney, an anthropomorphic purple Tyrannosaurus rex, didn’t come onto the scene until 1992 but was as ubiquitous on television and in toy stores for three decades as the disco ball was on dance floors in the Seventies and Eighties. Beloved by school children, Barney, of Barney & Friends, conveyed educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. Dinosaurs dominated Earth for over 165 million years, and still dominate the imagination of scientists and children alike today. Martin Wilmott, owner of The Dinosaur Experience, has seen for himself both the wonder and delight children have for dinosaurs. A Londoner, Martin first came to Louisiana in 2009 for a Saints game. In 2013, he moved to Baton Rouge after marrying his wife, a Louisiana native. Martin began noticing children’s love for dinosaur themes while hosting water-slide and bounce house parties. Armed with his first dinosaur costume purchased from a specialty store in England, Martin began performing. The business exploded during COVID when he and his wife created a drive-around dinosaur show to cheer up children, growing his Facebook page from 400 followers to 10,000 in one month. Today, Martin is one of only a handful of dinosaur entertainers in the U.S., and the only one in Louisiana. He performs at birthday parties, school events, corporate events, and museums. He’s especially popular at libraries across multiple states. What’s striking about both of Alyssa and Martin is neither of them set out to “disrupt an industry.” They weren’t trying to invent trends. They were trying to solve human problems—loneliness, disconnection, stress, isolation—with experiences that feel safe, playful, and immersive. Alyssa has built a space where women don’t have to be impressive—they just have to show up. Martin has built a world where adults remember what it feels like to be amazed. And what I think they both remind us is that joy isn’t decorative. It’s functional. It heals. It rebuilds. It gives people permission to breathe. So whether it’s through dancing or dinosaurs, what Martin and Alyssa are really offering is the same thing: a moment where people feel seen, lighter, and less alone. And in today’s world, that’s not entertainment—that’s infrastructure. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the basement room of an East London flat one rainy January morning, Jack sat down with the Irish writer Rob Doyle to discuss the publication of his third novel, Cameo, and delve into his long and complex love for the work of Martin Amis.Rob chose to talk about London Fields, the novel we first encounter on this series through the Financial Times columnist, Janan Ganesh. But whereas Ganesh grew up in Croydon in the late Eighties, with the London Amis depicts in the novel practically on his doorstep, Doyle had never been to England's capital when the cover of London Fields first caught his eye, aged 23, from the shelves of a book exchange at a backpacker's hostel in South East Asia.On a long bus journey in this far-flung part of the world, Doyle recounts coming to terms with the alchemic mastery of Amis's prose in this 1989 masterpiece. London Fields, he says, blended seamlessly the very highest ideas with the very lowest, all to great comic effect. Writing about London, Amis was engaged in an act of philosophy, dredged up from the deepest pits of urban and human decay.Rob and Jack go on to discuss that force of nature that is of course Keith Talent. Talent is for Doyle, as he is for Ganesh, not just one of Amis's greatest characters, but one of the greatest characters ever to cast a shadow on the history of English literature. Of all Amis's beleaguered and benighted male creations, Talent is also arguably the happiest, since apart from anything else, he would be the least bothered by Amis's contempt for him. Later on, Rob and Jack talk about the world Amis so often condemns his male characters to live in. Whether we look to John Self (a man consumed by his own oniomania), the bleak rivalry that sets Keith Talent and Guy Clinch on their fateful course with Nicola Six, or indeed that which Richard Tull and Gwyn Barry must see through a novel later in The Information, Amis's men are rarely sanguine creatures.Male conflict and humiliation were two of Amis's greatest subjects, but while Doyle still regards Amis as one of the best writers ever to interrogate them in their art, he is less convinced by Amis's opposition outlook on male relationships now, in his forties, than he was as a younger man.Happy New Year to you, dear listener. 2026 has begun.FOLLOW US ON TWITTER/ X: @mymartinamisFIND US ON YOUTUBE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latka's worsening problem with multiple personalities leads to a trip to see a psychiatrist.  But instead of helping, a new personality emerges - Alex Reiger.  Not only is Latka a spot-on version of Alex, Latka turns out to be an even better Alex than, well, Alex.  Will Latka's personality disappear forever?  Will the real Alex be driven to insanity?  And why does the actor playing the psychiatrist look so familiar to Father Malone?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss season 4, episode 3, "Mr. Personalities".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

Kathy Fang was born in the Chinese Hospital in Chinatown in San Francisco. In this episode, meet and get to know Kathy. These days, she's the co-owner (with her dad) and chef at Fang restaurant in South of Market. She's also joined her parents in running their restaurant, the legendary House of Nanking. But her story starts with Lily and Peter (her mom and dad). We'll get to Lily and Peter's story, of course. But Kathy begins by talking about her unique position being born just up the hill from her parents' restaurant, and essentially growing up at House of Nanking. She sees herself as perfectly positioned not only to continue their story but also to share it widely. This podcast serves exactly that purpose. Prior to emigrating from China, neither Lily nor Peter had any professional kitchen experience. They came to the United States having been educated and were looking for good jobs and a better life. But they landed and reality hit. They needed money. Besides a lack of funds, there was the language barrier. Getting jobs in Chinatown restaurants proved the path of least resistence. Time spent behind the scenes in restaurants helped them learn English. Kathy describes her mom as the "risk-taker" of the pair. Lily started noticing that the folks who owned the places they worked in and ate at owned homes, had cars, sent their kids to private schools … that sort of thing. Opening a restuarant was her idea. After convincing her husband to pivot away from his plan to become a realtor, Lily's dad (Kathy's grandfather) found the location on Kearny Street, almost at Columbus, that became House of Nanking. With no experience running a business, let alone a restaurant, the Fangs opened in 1988. When they first welcomed diners, Peter was cooking traditional Shanghainese food, something fairly new to San Francisco at the time. Peter saw right away that they needed to make food for more than the 10 or so folks who knew their cuisine. He saw how incredible the locally grown and raised food in Northern California was, and soon sought to incorporate those ingredients into his dishes. One example was replacing the pork in a bun (bao) with fresh zucchinis and peas, to be accompanied by a side of peanut sauce. It was an instant hit. If Lily is the risk-taker of the couple, Peter is the creative force. From a young age, in a family with four kids total, he was always interested in food. He read cookbooks and watched his mom closely while she made food. She was always one to put her own spin on things, and that carried through to her son many years later. Though he obviously never fully pursued it, Peter did dabble in real estate. But between that and opening his restaurant, he had little time for administrative work. His young daughter, Kathy, started answering his calls when she was six. She repeated his requested message verbatim, doing her best to sound like an answering machine (remember those?). Kathy is pretty sure he never sold a single house. Success for House of Nanking wasn't immediate. After some time, Peter realized he needed to pivot away from Shanghainese food. But they needed some luck, too. And they got it when Peter Kaufman, the son of moviemaker Phillip Kaufman, showed up outside the restaurant with the daughter of famed Chinese actress Bai Yang, who lived in Shanghai. The daughter insisted that they try the restaurant because it smelled "like home." Peter Kaufman loved the food Peter Fang had made him so much that he told his dad, who soon came back with food critic Patty Unterman. Unterman's review of House of Nanking appeared in the Sunday paper—the Bible for folks in the days before the internet. That review appeared next to a column about a little place called French Laundry. Both restaurants got three stars—but their affordability dollar signs were dramatically different. The next day of service at House of Nanking saw the first of its now trademark long lines to get in. We turn at this point in the conversation to talk about Kathy and her life. From her earliest memories, she recalls just being in her parents' restaurant all the time. It was an exciting time in San Francisco—the late Eighties/early Nineties. Broadway and its liveliness were basically next door. Life was colorful for young Kathy. She knew her life was atypical. "Sometimes I wish I could (be like the other kids and) go to sleep at a decent time," she says looking back. She sometimes slept in the restaurant. But she also go to eat at North Beach restaurants with her parents after they closed up their own eatery for the night. I ask Kathy to name drop names of places they went—New City (the best Alfredo) and Basta Pasta (veal piccata) stand out. Kathy didn't do quote-unquote normal kid things until middle school. Up to that point, it was all restaurant, all the time. One notable exception was seeing Chinese movies at the Great Star Theater, another thing kids didn't normally do. At my prompting, Kathy rattles off the San Francisco schools she went to. It starts with Jefferson Elementary. Then she went to Convent of the Sacred Heart for middle school and high school. Around the time she started middle school, as noted earlier, her life changed. She spent less and less time at the restaurant and more time doing homework. She saw her parents much less in this era, too. But she did get to see her dad when he'd pick her up from school. They'd almost always go eat in Chinatown after that. Those meals formed the foundation of a strong father-daughter relationship for Kathy and Peter. We end Part 1 with Kathy sharing all the sports she played throughout her school days. In varsity volleyball, playing back row, she had a "killer serve that no one could return." Check back Thursday for Part 2 with Kathy Fang. We recorded this episode at House of Nanking in Chinatown in December 2025. Photography by Dan Hernandez

A Warm Welcome to Wellness When Marcy Campbell greets newcomers at Downtown Studios Unlimited, she's not just welcoming them to a fitness class—she's inviting them into a family. As co-owner of this Luray-based group exercise studio, Marcy has spent decades transforming the way her community approaches health and wellness. In this episode of The Valley Today, she talks with host Janet Michael and co-host Gina Hilliard, president of the Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce, to share her vision for accessible, enjoyable fitness. From the Eighties to Today: A Fitness Journey Marcy's story begins in the era of leg warmers and Jane Fonda workout videos. Together with her business partner Tammy Landis, she started teaching group exercise classes at what was then known as the Luray Fitness Center back in the 1980s and 1990s. However, their approach has evolved far beyond the aerobics craze of decades past. "We've always enjoyed and loved the idea of having a group exercise venue," Marcy explains, "just because some people aren't as motivated to do it independently as they would be with the help and support of others." Something for Everyone Today, Downtown Studios Unlimited offers an impressive array of classes designed to meet every fitness level and interest. The schedule includes everything from "Fit for Life"—a beginner-friendly class offered twice weekly—to more challenging options like cycling, step aerobics, and Tabata (a high-intensity interval training format). Moreover, the studio caters to those seeking mind-body balance. Gentle morning yoga classes provide stretching and relaxation, while evening sessions deliver more challenging workouts. Additionally, the studio offers bar Pilates, meditation with sound bath therapy, and even karate classes for ages six through adult. "We try to make sure that we offer classes that will fit all levels and all abilities," Marcy emphasizes. Furthermore, she personally helps newcomers find the right fit, ensuring they don't wander into a class that feels too intimidating or too easy. Breaking Down Barriers One of the studio's greatest strengths lies in its welcoming atmosphere. Marcy actively works to eliminate the intimidation factor that keeps many people from trying group fitness. When potential members express concerns about competition or judgment, she quickly sets the record straight. "Nobody really watches anybody but me because they're too worried about what I'm doing," she reassures. "It's very individualized, yet you're with your friends." Indeed, the studio has become a hub for building genuine connections. New residents frequently discover that Downtown Studios offers more than just exercise—it provides a pathway to community integration. As Marcy notes, many members have expressed relief at finally knowing people in their new hometown. Age Is Just a Number The studio's membership spans an remarkable age range. High school athletes come to improve their performance in track or basketball. Meanwhile, members in their eighties continue to maintain their strength and balance. This diversity creates a rich, multigenerational environment where everyone learns from each other. Marcy particularly emphasizes the importance of functional fitness as people age. "There's little things that as we get older, we wanna still be able to do," she points out, referencing everyday activities like reaching high shelves or playing with grandchildren. Consequently, the studio's strength and balance training helps members maintain independence and quality of life. Beyond the Workout Downtown Studios Unlimited also addresses mental and emotional wellness. Rich, the studio's meditation coach, leads sessions featuring sound bath therapy—a deeply relaxing experience that helps participants clear their minds and reset. "By the time you're over, you're kinda like, was that an hour?" Marcy laughs, comparing it to the timeless feeling of a good massage. Additionally, the studio has partnered with Forever Dancing Studio next door, which offers Jujitsu and Zumba. This collaboration allows members to access dual memberships, expanding their fitness options even further. A Higher Calling Throughout the conversation, Marcy's passion for community health shines through. She views her work not as a business venture but as a mission to promote wellbeing throughout Luray. "Any of us in the fitness industry, we're not in it just for ourselves," she reflects. "We're in it to promote health and wellbeing regardless if they come to us or they go somewhere else for it." This philosophy extends to her relationships with other fitness professionals. She regularly receives referrals from local physical therapists who recognize the value of continued exercise in a supportive group setting. Getting Started For those interested in joining this vibrant fitness community, Marcy recommends starting with the studio's Facebook page or website at DowntownStudiosUnlimited.com. There, prospective members can view the full class schedule and sign up for sessions. Marcy personally reviews new registrations and reaches out to help newcomers find their perfect fit. Looking Ahead As the conversation wraps up, Gina announces upcoming Chamber events, including a Women in Business paint and sip session and an annual networking breakfast with local elected officials. She also floated the idea of hosting a Women in Business event at Downtown Studios, allowing participants to sample different classes—an idea that Marcy enthusiastically welcomed. For anyone who made a New Year's resolution to get healthier, try something new, or simply meet more people in their community, Downtown Studios Unlimited offers a low-barrier entry point. As Marcy's newest member discovered, sometimes you fall in love with a place before you've even broken a sweat.

Don and Dude continue the “I Love the 80s” tour with a stop in 1982, a year when rock still ruled the charts even as the culture splintered into cable TV excess, recession anxiety, and neon‑lit moral ambiguity. One host brings a haunted, lo‑fi folk song cycle from Bruce Springsteen that strips away arena gloss to stare down American failure, while the other counters with Brian Eno's fog‑shrouded ambient landscapes, where memory, geography, and unease blur into one continuous sound world. Together, the records trace how 1982 stretched rock from bombastic stadium anthems to cassette‑recorded confessions and experimental soundscapes that felt more like places than songs.The AlbumsBrian Eno – Ambient 4: On Land (1982) A dark, place‑obsessed ambient record, Ambient 4: On Land finds Eno retreating from pop structures into immersive soundscapes built from drones, treated instruments, and environmental textures. Working largely alone with tape composting and field‑recording‑like sounds, he reconstructs half‑remembered English coastal and marshland environments so the listener feels inside foggy, unstable “memory spaces” rather than listening to background music. The album pushes ambient away from soothing wallpaper toward quietly unsettling figurative music that would shape film scores, dark ambient, and textural rock for decades.Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska (1982) Recorded at home on a four‑track cassette, Nebraska strips Springsteen down to voice, guitar, and harmonica for ten stark story‑songs about killers, drifters, laid‑off workers, and families coming apart on the American margins. Intended as demos for the E Street Band, the tapes were released essentially as‑is because their raw immediacy captured a moral and emotional weight the studio could not, turning lo‑fi hiss and dead room sound into part of the storytelling. Long viewed as one of his bravest works, the album reframes the early‑80s landscape as recession‑era noir, where debts “no honest man can pay” blur the line between crime, survival, and faith.Diggin' AlbumsAlter Bridge – Alter Bridge (2026) Hard‑rock veterans Alter Bridge deliver towering riffs and soaring melodies that refine the heavy, emotionally charged sound they have been sharpening for two decades.Toto – Toto IV (1982) Studio‑honed pop rock at its most polished, Toto IV marries big hooks and meticulous production on songs that helped define early‑80s radio sleekness.Butch Dains – “Amelia” (2025) Retro‑minded singer Butch Dains leans into gentle, 50s‑inspired pop that matches his “always clean never nasty or mean” ethosPeter Gabriel – “Been Undone” (o, Dark‑Side Mix) (2026) The lead track from Gabriel's forthcoming album o turns a mid‑90s idea into a quietly luminous meditation on all the ways a life can come apart, carried by subtle grooves and harmonium‑like warmth.Follow & SupportFollow the show on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky @albumnerds, and support by subscribing, rating, reviewing, and sharing."There is some Eighties music that is just timeless, and some that is so dated it's embarrassing.” - Grace Jones

Everybody get on board the steamboat Chameleon as Louie, Ryan & Al embark on a discussion on Culture Club's 1983 classic, Karma Chameleon! Do we keep it afloat, or do we torpedo this music video? Listen to find out!

This week is all about bands playing other bands' songs… that are completely awesome and radical… whatever! Whether they play it straight, note-for-note, or re-interpret it, bands love to pay tribute to great songs they love. In this episode, we showcase bands being able to interpret 80s and 90s songs as their own. Which decade is more fun to cover and which translates better to listeners in the 2020s???What's this InObscuria thing? We're a podcast that exhumes obscure Rock n' Punk n' Metal and puts them in one of 3 categories: the Lost, the Forgotten, or the Should Have Beens. From metal bands heavying up classic 80s & 90s rock standards, to punk bands speeding up 80s & 90s pop… we got ya covered! Songs this week include:Margarita Witch Cult – “White Wedding (Billy Idol)” from Strung Out In Hell(2025)Fishbone – “Them Bones (Alice In Chains)” from Them Bones - single (2025) Lucifer Star Machine – “Naked City (KISS)” from Ssik Action! A High Energy Tribute To The Hottest Band In The World (2022)Horseburner – “Spoonman (Soundgarden)” from Superunknown (Redux) (2023)Phil X & The Drills – “Allied Forces (Triumph)” from Magic Power: All Star Tribute to Triumph (2025)Lesbian Bed Death – “Hellraiser (Ozzy Osbourne / Motörhead)” from Born To Die On VHS (2019)Marvelous 3 – “I Melt With You (Modern English)” from Melt With You - Single (2025)Softcult – “Been A Son (Nirvana)” from Been A Son - Single (2022)Please subscribe everywhere that you listen to podcasts!Buy cool stuff with our logo on it: InObscuria StoreVisit us: https://inobscuria.com/https://www.facebook.com/InObscuriahttps://x.com/inobscuriahttps://www.instagram.com/inobscuria/

When two friends step into “Eighties World” for a day of hairspray and synth-pop, they discover that behind the colorful facade of their favorite decade lies a brutal historical reality—and a rogue army of Soviet robots determined to ensure they never reach the Nineties.If you have a story you'd like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.comBy becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lethal Mullet Podcast #300: Chatting Eighties with Dee Tails  

In a fit of spontaneity, Elaine decides to travel Europe for a month, and she takes Alex along for the trip.  However, Alex has deluded himself into thinking that European women will find him irresistible.  Will Alex find romance on their vacation?  Will the trip live up to Elaine's expectations?  And what does any of this have to do with Rubik's Cube?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss season 4, episode 2, "Vienna Waits".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

Season 4 kicks off with a bang, as Jim has a psychic dream which foretells Alex's death.  As the coincidences start to mount, it becomes harder and harder to dismiss Jim's prediction, but Alex refuses to give in to superstition.  Will Alex escape doom?  How much can Latka incense Tony before he explodes with rage?  And who out there remembers chain letters?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss season 4, episode 1, "Jim The Psychic".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

Well, here we are again, this time to watch the 2006 Christmas Dud "Deck the Halls", could a movie with a title this generic written by the guy who wrote "Big Momma's House 2" and directed by the guy who directed "Big Momma's House 2" be all that bad?   Yes.

In Part 2, we pick up right where we left off in Part 1. Continuing her history of 3117 16th Street, Lex notes that "The Roxie has lived many lifetimes." She describes the Eighties and Nineties as busy times for the theater. They ran a series of Werner Hertzog films in that era. Akira Kurisawa visited for some of his movies. Many local films and film festivals took place at The Roxie. Frameline was set there. San Francisco and the greater Bay Area were becoming something of a cinema mecca. The aforementioned Roxie Releasing ended up helping the business in times when ticket sales weren't so hot. Even then, the theater went through some really rough patches financially. That persisted into the early 2000s. And then, The New College came along. The Roxie became the school's film center, in fact. Hope emerged … until The New College lost its accreditation and had to shutter. In 2009, with a still-uncertain future ahead of it, The Roxie officially became a nonprofit, one of the first of its kind. It was a huge turning point for the theater—but it didn't solve all their problems. There were numerous "Save The Roxie" campaigns, and about 10 years ago or so, the Board contemplated closing down for good. Obviously, that didn't happen. But in 2020, like every person and business on the planet, The Roxie fell victim to the pandemic. Lex walks us through how COVID and the ensuing shutdown impacted the theater. In the years leading up to 2020, the theater was finally thriving again. But they were the first movie theater in San Francisco to shut down, which they did so voluntarily before the mandate. The Roxie stayed shuttered for 434 consecutive days during COVID. In that time, employees sent postcards to Roxie members; they did pop-up drive-in cinemas; they did "Virtual Roxie," in which the theater curated movies folks could watch from home; and they held online panel discussions with filmmakers. Once they felt it was safe and they reopened The Roxie, it all felt worth the sacrifices. Instantly, the theater was full of people and life and joy. Despite all that, though, financial struggles resumed once again. Eventually, as many businesses were able to do, they got back to full capacity movie screenings. The conversation shifts to The Roxie's ongoing efforts to buy the building it's situated in. Henry describes the process, which began with a feasibility study. The study came back in the affirmative—they had a real shot at raising the money needed for such a huge endeavor. He describes the current board members as a cohesive bunch. No factions exist and they all are aligned with laser-sharp focus. The next step was convincing the landlords to sell to them, to prove that the non-profit was capable of raising the kind of money it would take to get the deal done. That took about a year of back-and-forth. But after that process of negotiating with the building's previous owner, they had an asking price. They could then raise money. The first donations came from Roxie Board members. In fact, within two weeks of launching the capital campaign, every member of the Board had donated. Then many of those Board members began pitching … and pitching … and pitching. This April, the efforts went public, and to great success. The lovefest began. The goal from the outset was to raise $7 million in three years. As The Roxie approaches the end of the second year of its fundraising (meaning nowadays), it's within striking distance. Because the total amount that they're raising includes money for way overdue maintenance and upgrades, they already have enough for the basic purchase. In fact, the building is already under the ownership of The Roxie Theater nonprofit organization. Now that the goal is in sight, they're aiming to close 2025 with a final push to make it to $7 million in two years instead of three. And that's where you and I come in. If you or anyone you know would like to help a San Francisco landmark further cement its legacy in our city by buying its building, find more info and make a donation, please visit the Forever Roxie page. For donations of $30 and above, you will receive a Forever Roxie enamel pin. Donations of $60 and above receive the pin and a specially-designed pair of Roxie socks. For a donation of $120 and above, you receive all of the above along with a long-sleeve Roxie tee shirt. Also, from now through December 31, the Walter and Elise Haas fund will match every gift to the campaign. We end this episode with Lex reminding folks about The Roxie's weekly newsletter, which goes out every Wednesday and is always a delight. Go to roxie.com and click the "newsletter" button at the top-right to sign up.

Patties down, buns up, that is the way we like to... make Culvers Curdiracle rice. *Note, Born in the Eighties and its subsidiaries will not be held accountable to any intestinal distress by the consumption of Curdiracle Rice.    

This short revisits America between 1980 and 1985, a moment suspended between analog innocence and digital destiny. It's a story of loud colors, quiet tension, and a country rehearsing who it wanted to become-long before it realized it was being watched.

Welcome to Star Wars Reactions!For the first time in a long while, our hosts Aaron Harris and David Modders bring back our Vintage Reactions series! For those of you who are new to SWR, our Vintage Reactions series is where Aaron and David sit down and share their reactions to the vintage Star Wars animated shows from the 80's. This week, they react to the season one finale of the animated series Ewoks entitled “Asha”. Listen in as they breakdown the episode, characters, connections and creatures. Plus, Aaron shares an all new Star Wars Dad Joke of the Week!Show Outline:Episode 232 IntroEwoks “Asha”  DiscussionEpisode IntroductionInitial ReactionsThe Character of AshaSaga ConnectionsVintage Creature CornerHappy EndingClosingStar Wars Dad Joke of the WeekStar Wars Reactions: Elegant discussions for a more civilized age!Join the discussion! Click on any of the show links and send us your thoughts about this or any Star Wars topic!Click here to leave us a voicemail via SpeakPipe!Email us here!Follow us on X!Follow us on Facebook!Follow us on Instagram!Follow us on  TikTok!Follow us on Threads!Follow us on Bluesky!Follow us on Pinterest!Subscribe on YouTube!Follow Aaron and David on X!Follow Aaron and David on Instagram!

Nick Heyward, frontman of Haircut 100, is currently touring the US alongside Howard Jones as part of Jone's 2025 'Dream Into Action" anniversary tour, and Nick stops by the studio to talk 80's music, tourning with Howard and more! Nick discusses all the excitement at the start of the tour, held at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, along with talk about the classic Haircut energy style of music he and his bandmates are famous for! Listen in as we discuss the band's early hits from the album Pelican West (MTV mainstays 'Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) 'Love Plus One' and 'Fantastic Day' were always a fave), the excitement of touring again with the band, and - before he wraps up our interview - he will share the latest on their new album coming up in 2026.  Join us!About the Spotlight Conversations podcast:Tune in as I invite friends inside my cozy linoleum free recording studio to talk about all things media - radio, television, music, film, voiceovers, audiobooks, publishing - if guests are in the spotlight, we're talkin'! Refreshingly unscripted and unusually entertaining, listen in as each guest gets real about their careers in the entertainment biz, from where they started to how it's going. Settle into my swanky studio where drinks are on ice and the conversation starters are music + media - always a deal breaker for the rock and roll homemaker! Listen to Donna every night starting at 9 on Houston Radio Platinum, along with a special program she hosts every Tuesday and Thursday night at 10 called 'Late Night Music Stories'. Love the conversations? Follow @donnareedvo @spotlightconversations @rockandrollhomemaker New episodes drop every Tuesday. Social media links, website and more hereFollow and subscribe to my podcast hereBooth Announcer: Joe Szymanski ('Joe The Voice Guy')Theme Song Composer: Mark Sparrow, SongBird Studios...

The story of how Randall Ann Homan got her name is a unique one. In this episode, meet and get to know Randall and her partner, in life and in neon, Al Barna. Today, the couple are all about all things San Francisco neon. But we'll get to that. When Randall's dad was a teenager, he saved a young girl named Randall from drowning. After saving the little girl, he taught her to swim. Years later, when he had his own daughter, he carried the name forward. Randall Homan grew up in Goodyear, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. The town was named for the tire company, and it was where, back in the day, the eponymous blimp lived when not in use. Randall has a fun story about being brushed by the Goodyear blimp's ropes when she was a kid. She considered her hometown "Nowheresville" and left as soon as she could—at 17, after graduating from high school early. Randall came straight to San Francisco to attend Lone Mountain College (the University of San Francisco today). "It was wild," she says about her time in the Seventies in The City. Art school is what brought both Randall and Al to San Francisco. At her school, there was a dorm where all the art students, including Randall, lived. Views out the window of that dorm were always completely foggy except for one thing—the neon sign at the Bridge Theater on Geary pierced that blanket of gray. It left a strong impression on them both. Rewinding a bit, Randall says that there was a little neon in her hometown of Goodyear, and she was fascinated by it. She was interested in how it worked, but also was drawn to the beauty of the colored light. When I ask Randall whether she ever left San Francisco after her initial move here, she rewinds a little bit to talk about how young they both were when she and Al met. "Cupid hit us both square in the heart," she says. But they wanted to see the rest of the country. They both wanted to visit where the other is from (Al came here from Pennsylvania), but they compromised on New Orleans. They were drawn to NOLA by the music, and they sure did see a lot of that. But getting jobs was a different story. That didn't come easy in "the Big Easy," and so they came back. They've been in their San Francisco apartment for 30-plus years, and they're not going anywhere. As mentioned, Al comes from Pennsylvania, specifically the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre northeast area of the state. It was coal country, but young Al wanted to pursue art. And so he came to The City to go to the San Francisco Art Institute (RIP). It was 1976, and even though he was in college, Al never intended to stay longer than a year or two. The Beats influenced Al, and though San Francisco figures largely in their history, so does travel. But he and Randall were here during the so-called Season of the Witch—1978. Randall is quick to point out how much easier it was to move within The City back then, something they did every six months or so for a stretch. I ask them to rattle off the different neighborhoods, and they oblige me: Lower Nob Hill, North Beach, and The Mission figure prominently, among others. Al goes into a little more detail about how the two met. It was at a going-away party for a mutual friend. For him, that first meeting settled it. Randall was about to go to school in Los Angeles, and Al decided to join her down south. After a couple years at SFAI, Al left school to work for a film company, where he did a lot more learning. He was taking lots of photos, and it wasn't until Randall pointed out the abundance of neon signs in the backgrounds of his pictures that Al picked up on it. In addition to LA, they also spent some time in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they both got jobs at a silk screen company. Randall also got a job working for a sign painter whose hands were too shaky for his craft. The work she did painting signs left a big impression on Randall, and you can see it in her love of old neon signs today. Between the Eighties and early 2000s, they each worked in their respective crafts—photography for Al, and graphic design for Randall. Al worked for several decades for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the parent org for the de Young and Legion of Honor museums). He shares a story of helping prevent a bomb from exploding at the old de Young museum building, just before it was scheduled to be demolished anyway. Randall's graphic design work had her, among other jobs, designing album covers for bands. She did show posters, logos, and branding—work she still engages in to this day. In the Nineties, she designed the cover page for one of the Bay Guardian Best of The Bay issues. Eventually, the two decided to create a book all about neon. Putting together that first book—San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons—took five years. We'll talk in more depth about that and their other, more recent projects in Part 2. We end Part 1 with the story of how neon became the central focus of both Al's and Randall's lives. It involved a sign in the Mission that was there one day and gone the next. Check back Thursday for Part 2 with Randall and Al. We recorded this podcast at Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store in North Beach in November 2025. Photography by Nate Oliveira

Latka has had it with being the meek, child-like person that everyone patronizes.  Through an intense course of psychological re-training, Latka emerges with an entirely new personality.  But not everyone is a fan, and Latka risks losing himself in the process.  Will Latka lose his friends in the bargain?  Can Latka ever come back the way he was?  And when did Perrier and other sparkling beverages become a thing?  Join HP and Father Malone as they discuss the season 3 finale, episode 19, "Latka The Playboy".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

[REBROADCAST FROM October 15, 2025] A new Lévy Gorvy Dayan exhibition "Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties" features artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, and others. Art dealer Mary Boone and Lévy Gorvy Dayan co-founder Brett Gorvy, who both worked on the exhibition, join us to discuss the show which is on display through Saturday, Dec. 13.

We now come to the gold standard of Narnia adaptations! Andrew's wife, Dr. Christin Ditchfield Lazo, joins us to discuss the BBC adaptation of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".[Show Notes]

Sunshine Cab has gone bankrupt, sending the cabbies scrambling to find other work.  Gathering a month later at Mario's, they take turns regaling each other with tales of the job market.  What sort of jobs did they take?  Is there hope for the future of Sunshine Cab?  And just what is Lobster Thermidor anyway?  HP and Father Malone run it down as they discuss season 3 episodes 18 & 19, "On The Job pt. 1 & 2".Father Malone: FatherMalone.comHP: hpmusicplace.bandcamp.comemail: hpmusicplace@gmail.com

Edition 422 of Sounds That Can Be Made is now available as a podcast! Playlist: Gary Moore – Out in the Fields (from Run For Cover)Queen – Hammer To Fall (from The Works)Magnum – Vigilante (from Vigilante)Marillion – Hotel Hobbies/Warm Wet Circles/That Time of the Night (from Clutching At Straws)Twelfth Night – We Are Sane (from […]

A new Lévy Gorvy Dayan exhibition "Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties" features artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, and others. Art dealer Mary Boone and the gallery's co-founder Brett Gorvy, who both worked on the exhibition, talk about the show which is on display through Saturday, Dec. 13.

So many amazing stories about running away, or ending up on the wrong flight back in the 80s and 90s have come in and they're all AMAZING. This particular one was a fave and it absolutely hits the brief. Tickets for Joanne's tour Pinotphile are now LIVE: www.joannemcnally.comIf you'd like to get in touch, you can send an email to hello@MTGMpod.comPlease review Global's Privacy Policy: https://global.com/legal/privacy-policy/For merch, tour dates and more visit: www.mytherapistghostedme.comThis episode contains explicit language and adult themes that may not be suitable for all listeners.

Who really ended the Cold War, Ronald Reagan or a ten-year-old girl? Eighties correspondent Maris Kreizman joins us for a heartfelt conversation about America's Youngest Ambassador, Samantha Smith, a child who wrote a letter to Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov in hopes of cooling nuclear tensions. Then, Andropov wrote back. Maris and Sarah discuss the burden we place on the youth to “change the world” while simultaneously scolding them for their naivety. Digressions include the millennial urge to cut up plastic soda can rings, Christina Applegate's SNL infomercial, and an important lesson from the Golden Girls.More Maris Kreizman:Buy the book, I Want to Burn This Place DownSubscribe to the newsletter, The Maris ReviewMaris on BlueskyMore You're Wrong About:Bonus Episodes on PatreonBuy cute merchYWA on InstagramSarah's other show, You Are GoodSupport the show

John welcomes Jonathan Mahler, New York Times Magazine staff writer and bestselling author of “The Bronx Is Burning,” to discuss his new book, “The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990.” Mahler unpacks the reinvention of the Big Apple in the second half of the Eighties; riffs on the outsized characters (from Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani to Larry Kramer, Al Sharpton, and, of course, Donald Trump) who played key roles in it; and argues that the rise of Zohran Mamdani signals an end to the 40-year era spawned by that transformation. He and Heilemann also reminisce about crossing paths as undergrads in 1987—first as teammates and then as cellmates. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices