A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison

Episoder

• 
  Alex Cox - Alex Cox and Oliver Stone Walk into a Bar 29.07.2026 56min

  Alex Cox directed Repo Man fresh out of UCLA film school in the summer of 1983. As is the case with most cult classics, it took years before it found its audience. Turns out the soundtrack was a hit before the film. What followed over the next few years was a string of films, Sid & Nancy, Straight To Hell, and Walker, that established Alex Cox as a filmmaker who embodied the punk rock ethos of that time. As Alex pushed boundaries, he fell out of favor with the Hollywood studios. Over the ...
• 
  Andrew Hessel - The Bio Punk 22.07.2026 1t 7min

  If you're ever feeling depressed about our troubled times, go talk to a bio futurist to get some perspective. From plastic-eating microbes to CAR T-cell therapy for autoimmune diseases, we're on the brink of a bio-revolution. Today's guest, Andrew Hessel, is a pioneer in synthetic biology, microbiologist, geneticist, inventor, entrepreneur, and world-class optimist. Andrew's idea of digital biology is that DNA works like computer code, so we can use technology to read, edit, and even program ...
• 
  Mark Arm - Don't Call Him a Rock Star 15.07.2026 48min

  Today I talk with Mudhoney's frontman, Sub Pop warehouse manager, and old friend, Mark Arm, or as we like to call him… The Wizard. We talk about Mark's Pomeranians, his early musical influences, and, despite his aversion to nostalgia, some fond memories of the good ol' days. We talk about Mark's relationship to his status in the pantheon of punk rock icons - call him a rock star at your own peril. We also discuss the longevity of Mudhoney, to which Mark credits a lack of inertia. Mark is not ...
• 
  Lachi - The Day I Woke Up Blind 08.07.2026 1t 2min

  Lachi is an American singer / songwriter, record producer, media personality, author, and disability culture advocate. She is legally blind and neurodivergent, but don't call her differently abled, she doesn't play that. As her book title says, Lachi proudly identifies as a blind woman. She is confident, fiercely independent and wildly creative. Lachi is also full of grace and gratitude for her gifts and is very open about her experiences. So many dumb questions answered!! This was one of the...
• 
  Kim Thayil - Ultramega Guitar God 24.06.2026 58min

  Before grunge had a name, Kim Thayil was helping invent it. As the founding guitarist of Soundgarden, he spent four decades building one of rock's most singular sounds. Today we talk about those early Seattle days, and the punk and metal collisions that became the Seattle sound. He opens up about the brotherhood he built with Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, Ben Shepherd, and Hiro Yamamoto — and what it feels like to carry that legacy forward. Kim opens up about being on the autism spectrum AND h...
• 
  Jasper Craven - God Forgives, Brothers Don't 17.06.2026 1t 2min

  Today I talk with journalist and author, Jasper Craven about his book, God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood. Jasper explores how military culture has come to define American values. From the Graham Platner's sordid past to cage matches at the White House we talk about our culture of violence and how the lasting traumas of war seep into our daily lives. Jasper charts how this culture evolved through Vietnam, the antiwar movement,...
• 
  Benoit Denizet-Lewis - You've Changed 10.06.2026 1t 3min

  As a novelist, I firmly believe that the defining characteristic of a remarkable character lies in their capacity for transformation, whether it be for the better or the worse, as a direct consequence of their choices. In his book, “You’ve Changed,” author and journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis delves into the very essence of self-transformation. Through a series of case studies, Benoit explores our remarkable ability to authentically alter our beliefs, values, temperaments, political affiliatio...
• 
  Ann Larson - Cleanup on Aisle Five 03.06.2026 57min

  Do you love hearing me rant about late-stage capitalism and the struggles of the American working class? Well, grab your hammer and sickle, comrade, I have an episode for you! Today, I talk with journalist Ann Larson about her experience of working as a checkout clerk at a supermarket in Utah. Ann's book "Cleanup on Aisle Five“ dives deep into supermarkets and how they operate, from the low-wage workers stocking the shelves to the communities these stores serve and the larger capitalist force...
• 
  Danny O'neil - More Grudges 27.05.2026 1t

  In an effort to get some of our older episodes up on YouTube we've decided to revisit the episode on Grudges with my friend, journalist and radio host, Danny O'neil. Danny has a newsletter called Grudgery.com where he explores famous grudges, as well as some of his own. This episode was intended to be light fun fare but ended up being a little more therapeutic than expected. We dig in deep on our grudges: the how, the what, the why of them. Which grudges are forgivable, and which ones irredee...
• 
  Nancy Barile - Catholic Girl Interrupted 20.05.2026 1t 2min

  I've spent a fair bit of time talking about early 80's hardcore on the West Coast. In past episodes, we've covered Seattle, San Diego, and Los Angeles, but today we head east. Nancy Barile's memoir "I'm Not Holding Your Coat" is about her experience in the 80's punk scenes of Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, DC, and Boston. As a disaffected Catholic schoolgirl, Nancy became a central figure in the northeast corridor as a DIY concert promoter and band manager. She survived punk riots ...
• 
  Stacy Carlson - Escape from Mount St. Helens 13.05.2026 50min

  Friday, May 16th, 1980, author and nature enthusiast, Stacy Carlson, attended a school camping trip just 35 miles from Mount St. Helens. She was just 5 years old and had no idea that she was camping at the base of an active volcano. Sunday morning, they woke up and got ready to head out for a hike when suddenly the world turned upside down. Stacy and I talk about her harrowing experience as their school camping trip turned into an action film as they pushed through walls of volcanic ash and l...
• 
  Andrea Suarez - Seattle's Fentanyl Crisis 06.05.2026 1t 2min

  Andrea Suarez, founder of "We Heart Seattle", claims that Seattle doesn't have a homeless problem, it has a serious fentanyl problem. Why is this an important distinction? For Andrea, it comes down to where we, and our elected officials, decide to focus our resources. Will more affordable housing slow the rampant theft, sex trafficking, and overdoses that plague Seattle? Does low-barrier housing really give addicts a chance to get clean, or do these tiny homes just become taxpayer-funded crim...
• 
  Isolde Raftery - Adults in the Room: Sexual Abuse at Garfield High School 29.04.2026 1t 2min

  Recently, several people recommended to me a limited series podcast called Adults in the Room, which deals with a series of sexual abuse allegations at Garfield High School in Seattle in late 90s. The story, told largely by show's creator, Isolde Rafferty, the managing editor at KUOW and a former reporter at the New York Times, follows a young Isolde as she and a friend, students at Garfield High, decide to report a beloved teacher for sexual abuse. At the time, their accusations faced huge o...
• 
  Steve Turner - Superfuzz Revisited 22.04.2026 1t 1min

  In the summer of 2024, we recorded our first Fresh Face interview with Steve Turner, the trailblazing guitarist of Mudhoney. We initially planned on being an audio-only podcast, but we quickly realized that America prefers to watch people talk, so we started the YouTube channel. We wanted to re-release some of the early episodes that didn't get the video treatment on the channel, so we're starting with Steve. In this episode, we talk about collecting records, the early days of the Seattle pun...
• 
  Francis Weller - The Sacred Work of Grief 14.04.2026 1t 2min

  Francis Weller is a retired psychotherapist and renowned author of "The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief". Francis believes that grief and gratitude are inseparable, and that our capacity to feel loss is proportional to our capacity to love. Believing that communal grieving is essential for genuine healing, Francis hosts weekend retreats in Northern California where participants share stories of loss, write, sing and engage in symbolic ritual to tend to the...
• 
  Eric D. Johnson - I Heart Fruit Bats 08.04.2026 1t 2min

  If I were tasked with creating a soundtrack for the Evison family, Eric D. Johnson would definetly be featured. My kids would know the lyrics already from repeated listens. From Bonnie Light Horseman to The Shins to Fruit Bats, Eric has amassed a discography of indie folk-pop amazingness that few could rival. Eric has also created scores for films such as Wild, Our Idiot Brother, and Spivak. A Chicago native, we get into some of the celebrated and unknown artists coming out of the Midwest. Fr...
• 
  Vanessa Reiser, LCSW - Are You a Narcissist? 01.04.2026 53min

  We're all a little vain and self-involved at times, does that make us narcissists? Today’s guest, therapist and writer Vanessa Reiser, posits that although we may all be guilty of manipulation and self-aggrandizing, most of us are not, clinically speaking, narcissists. In today's episode Vanessa breaks down the telltale signs of a proper malignant narcissist. We discuss the crossover of sociopaths and psychopaths with their common need to dominate others. We talk about how a narcissist will b...
• 
  Bruce Barcott - AI in Publishing: The Shy Girl Scandal 25.03.2026 1t 3min

  This month, Hachette Publishing cancelled distribution of their book Shy Girl after it was reported by The New York Times that large portions of the text had been created by AI. When the author originally self-published the novel, it garnered rave reviews with 4,900 ratings on Goodreads and an average of 3.52 stars. Eventually, readers started to notice the tell-tale signs of AI slop: repetitive phrasing, confusing metaphors, and maybe more than a few - em dashes. This poses some difficult qu...
• 
  Buzz Osborne - All Hail King Buzzo 18.03.2026 1t 6min

  Excited to talk to my old friend, Roger "Buzz" Osborne, King Buzzo, or as I like to call him, Buzz Melvin. Buzz is the founder and front man of the seminal punk band The Melvins. As the punk sound of the late '70s evolved into '80s hardcore, the tempo accelerated aggressively. The Melvins, inspired by Black Sabbath, decided instead to slow things down. This unique combination of hardcore and metal became the precursor for what became known as grunge. We talk about those early days and how The...
• 
  Exene Cervenka - The First Lady of Punk Rock 11.03.2026 1t 12min

  Thrilled to talk to one of my punk rock heroes today, Exene Cervenka. In 1977 Exene, along with John Doe, Billy Zoom, and D.J. Bonebrake, formed the seminal LA punk band X. We talk about those early days and how her music evolved over the years with collaborators like Dave Alvin, Mojo Nixon, and Ray Manzarek. We also talk about how art and punk overlapped in the '70s and how that time taught her to follow her passions in art, songwriting, and writing. An incredible portrait of a life dedicate...