Richard Prince is one of the most influential, important, and controversial fine artists on the planet. Renowned for pioneering appropriation art, his “Untitled (Cowboy)” series of rephotographed Marlboro ads includes a piece that sold for $3.7 million, ranking among the most expensive photographs ever auctioned. In 2021, his “Runaway Nurse” painti…

Big Willie is back! He's traded his larger than life, excessively positive raps for something more dark and complex but equally inspiring. Anyone following Will’s trajectory the last handful of years, or those who've read his wonderful autobiography knows he’s been on a journey of self-discovery and healing. That’s left him wide open to be a bit of…

Nothing says romance like a perfect playlist—except, maybe, a special network-wide episode about love songs. In this Valentine’s Day special, Broken Record hosts Justin Richmond and Leah Rose make their cases: is R&B the undisputed sound of love? Are sad songs more romantic? Can country win the day? Plus, the legendary songwriter Babyface talks abo…

Adrien Brody is an Academy Award-winning actor. Known for his nuanced performances across a wide range of films, such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Detachment, and multiple collaborations with film director Wes Anderson, he became the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Pianist by age 29. In addition to his 202…

As if having one of the most beautiful and distinctive voices of all time weren’t enough, Smokey Robinson is also one of the greatest songwriters ever, a top-notch producer, engaging performer, and an indispensable part of Motown's legacy. In other words: he’s an institution of American music unto himself. On February 19th, Smokey turns 85, and as …

Daron Malakian is a composer, guitarist, vocalist, and record producer, best known as a founding member of System of a Down. Introduced to heavy metal at four years old when he first heard Kiss, Malakian began playing guitar at 11, developed his own style by 15, and is now cited by Loudwire as one of the “Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists of All …

Indie rock band Nada Surf first hit big on college radio in 1996 with their driving, guitar forward song, “Popular.” The band started playing together four years earlier while attending college in Vermont. But they’re perhaps best known as a New York City band, where their lead singer and primary songwriter, Matthew Caws came of age. Caws is known …

Ky Dickens is an award-winning director, filmmaker, and host of the podcast, The Telepathy Tapes. Venturing into audio storytelling, she explores consciousness, human potential, and the profound abilities of telepathy among non-speakers with autism. Alongside neuroscientist Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, Dickens travels the globe to learn more from non-…

Jerry Cantrell has been the lead guitarist and songwriter for Alice in Chains since the band formed in 1987. By the mid ‘90s after a run of multi-platinum albums, Alice secured their spot as one of Seattle’s “big four” grunge bands along with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana. Legend has it that Alice In Chains’ early whirlwind of commercial succ…

Today Justin Richmond has a quick chat with Laura Segura, the Executive Director of MusiCares—a Recording Academy non-profit that's currently offering support to musicians and music professionals affected by the ongoing fires in L.A. MusiCares can provide assistance with costs related to evacuation, relocation, instrument replacement, home damage, …

Al Pacino is a screen and stage actor. Emerging from New York’s underground theater scene in the 1960s, he refined his craft under mentors including Lee Strasberg and Charlie Laughton. Best known for his iconic portrayals in The Godfather trilogy, Scarface, and more recently, House of Gucci, he is cited as one of the most respected actors of his ge…

Coming off the loss of Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Roy Haynes and Lou Donaldson at the end of 2024, it’s truly a treat to bring you a fresh interview with one of the last musicians of the Bebop era, the saxophone colossus himself, Sonny Rollins. Since we last spoke, a couple interesting artifacts from Rollins life have surfaced: "The Notebooks of S…

In this episode, Rick connects with writer, director, and actor Orson Welles. His work spanning the worlds of radio, television, film, and theatre, Welles is widely regarded as “the ultimate auteur.”Par Rick Rubin

RZA is a rapper, producer, composer, actor, director, and the creative mastermind behind the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Since the group’s classic 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), he has produced the most albums for the group and its respective members, pioneering a style rooted in stark booming beats, vintage soul samples, and gritty n…

David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and a bestselling author. His neuroscience research spans the areas of brain plasticity, sensory substitution, human perception, synesthesia, and beyond. As the co-director of the Center for Science & Law, he works at the intersection of neuroscience and the legal system, using new discoveri…

Bruce Johnston is a musician, singer, and songwriter, widely recognized for his influential role in the Beach Boys. Johnston began his musical career in high school, collaborating early-on with musicians including Eddie Cochran and Phil Spector. Joining the Beach Boys in 1965, Johnston was involved as a vocalist and keyboardist, and he continued to…

Mike Love is a singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the Beach Boys. In 1961, Love, alongside his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, defined the California sound of the 1960s as the Beach Boys, co-writing hits including “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” while weaving the themes of youth, s…

Alejandro Escovedo is a Texas-born singer/songwriter who comes from a rich family of musicians including his niece, Sheila E. Alejandro started out in the pioneering San Francisco punk band the Nuns in 1975. From there he moved to New York, and then eventually settled in Austin where he started playing rootsy rock with bands like Rank and File, as …

Víkingur Ólafsson is a world-renowned Icelandic pianist. Celebrated for his profound artistry and visionary programming, he has performed with premier orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2023, he performed his album of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations on a world t…

2024 has been a career-defining year for St. Vincent. In April she released her self-produced seventh album, All Born Screaming. Then in November she released the Spanish language version of the same album, called Todos Nacen Gritando, as a tribute to fans she met in Spain and Latin America. The album doesn’t serve to replace the English language v…

Peter Thiel is an entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, started in 1998, redefining the world of secure and fast e-commerce. Shortly thereafter, Thiel was the first outside investor in Facebook in 2004. Additionally, he co-founded Founders Fund, which has backed transformative companies like SpaceX and Airbnb, Wi…

This week we're sharing an episode from one of Slate's podcasts called Hit Parade. A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine called 1984 “Pop’s Greatest Year.” A bold statement…but a lot of critics agree. A confluence of factors—the comeback of dance music, the peak of MTV, the Second British Invasion and the emergence of metal and hip-hop—made the radi…

Ben Greenfield is a leading figure in health and wellness, renowned health consultant, New York Times bestselling author, and host of influential podcast, Boundless Life. Voted “America’s Top Personal Trainer” by the NSCA and named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness” by Greatist, he combines cutting-edge research with…

Conor Oberst's music is dynamic, deeply smart, captivating, funny, and sometimes biting. His extensive catalogue dates back to the early '90s and includes music with Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, the Mystic Valley band, the Faint, Commander Venus, Monsters of Folk, a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers, and of course his solo material. On today's epis…

Pharrell Williams is a Grammy-winning songwriter, producer, and performer. Getting his start in music alongside Chad Hugo as the production duo known as The Neptunes in 1992, Pharrell has produced chart-topping hits for artists including Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Snoop Dogg. He has co-composed the music for the Despicable Me film franc…

Hiatus Kaiyote is an incredibly talented group of four Australian musicians—vocalist and guitarist Nai Palm, drummer Perrin Moss, bassist Paul Bender and Simon Mavin on keys. But those aren’t permanent stations for any of them, they often move between instruments and all contribute to writing some of the most beautiful soulful music of the last dec…

In this episode, Rick connects with the physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman. Known for his groundbreaking contributions to quantum mechanics, Feynman’s work inspires curiosity and innovation in science. ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter…

Brianna Wiest is a bestselling author, speaker, and advocate for self-reflection and personal growth. Known for transformative works including 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, The Mountain Is You, and her latest release, The Pivot Year, she has sold over 2 million copies of her books which frequently top global bestseller lists. Now b…

Today we have Aoife O’Donovan on the show who was nominated for two Grammy awards this year: Best Folk Album for her latest release, All My Friends, as well as Best American Roots Song for the album’s title track. Aoife is a wonderfully prolific singer and songwriter from the Americana tradition—who also has an academic background, having studied i…

Bjarke Ingels returns to continue his conversation in Part Two. Bjarke Ingels is one of the world’s leading architects as the founder and creative director of renowned architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Recognized for his innovative approach to sustainable and futuristic design, Ingels has led transformative projects worldwide, including …

Bjarke Ingels is one of the world’s leading architects as the founder and creative director of renowned architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Recognized for his innovative approach to sustainable and futuristic design, Ingels has led transformative projects worldwide, including the Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art in China and groundbreakin…

Kim Deal is an indie-rock icon. In the mid-80s, she joined The Pixies as the band’s original bassist and co-vocalist. After the release of their debut album Come On Pilgrim in 1987, followed by the alt-rock classics Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, Kim took a break from The Pixies to form her own band, The Breeders. With the help of Kim’s twin sister Kel…

Matthew McConaughey is an Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, and professor of film, known for his captivating leading roles and versatility. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films, beginning with his breakout role in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, that have grossed over $1 billion. While he is most popular for his roles …

Soccer Mommy is one of the stand-out singer/songwriters to emerge over the last half decade. She was born Sophia Allison and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where she started playing guitar at six years-old. Sophia started posting her songs on Bandcamp in 2015 under the name Soccer Mommy the summer before moving to New York to study the music busine…

David Whyte returns to continue his conversation in Part Two. David Whyte is a prolific Irish poet, philosopher, and speaker whose work that spans nearly four decades has resonated with audiences around the world. Beginning his career in 1986, Whyte has published three books of prose and ten volumes of poetry, including Still Possible and Consolati…