Common-X with Jared and Ian

About Common-X with Jared and Ian

The CommonX Podcast is a Gen-X media platform built for listeners who are done with manufactured narratives and shallow debates. Hosted by Jared Mayzak and Ian Primmer, CommonX explores music, culture, identity, work, resilience, and the systems that shape everyday life—through long-form conversations with people who’ve actually lived it. Past guests include Ivan Doroschuk (Men Without Hats), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot), veterans, creators, entrepreneurs, and small-town innovators —voices rarely heard but deeply felt. Balanced. Independent. Human. visit CommonX — A Gen-X Media Platform (https://www.commonxpodcast.com/) to learn more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Ian Primmer & Jared Mayzak

Category

music · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jul 2024

Latest episode

22 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

101 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Jul 2026

   Episode 90: KC Returns

   Join us as KC returns to the show and talks about life after the Netflix Documentary and what he is taking on next. Watch his Documentary on NetFlix - The Kings of Tupelo Like and Subscribe The CommonX Podcast features long-form conversations with musicians, cultural voices, veterans, entrepreneurs, and independent thinkers who bring lived experience to the table. Hosted by Jared Mayzak and Ian Primmer, CommonX explores music, culture, work, identity, resilience, and the systems that shape everyday life—without talking points or manufactured outrage. From iconic artists and creative pioneers to everyday people with extraordinary stories, each episode prioritizes honesty, curiosity, and meaningful dialogue. This is a Gen-X–driven show for listeners who value depth over noise and conversation over clicks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   20 May 2026

   Save $1,000+ per year on groceries: The affordability crisis and how one founder is fighting back

   Grocery prices are crushing American families. They're up 32% since the pandemic, and one entrepreneur is building a solution. Andy Ellwood, founder of Stretch (the Expedia for groceries), joins us to explain how his free app can save you $1,000+ this year by finding the cheapest stores for your shopping list. We dig into the affordability crisis, the data behind it, and what real change looks like when you give power back to the shopper. The CommonX Podcast features long-form conversations with musicians, cultural voices, veterans, entrepreneurs, and independent thinkers who bring lived experience to the table. Hosted by Jared Mayzak and Ian Primmer, CommonX explores music, culture, work, identity, resilience, and the systems that shape everyday life—without talking points or manufactured outrage. From iconic artists and creative pioneers to everyday people with extraordinary stories, each episode prioritizes honesty, curiosity, and meaningful dialogue. This is a Gen-X–driven show for listeners who value depth over noise and conversation over clicks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   13 May 2026

   One Poem Stopped a Stranger from Ending His Life. He Never Quit After That. | Daniel Villegas

   There are artists who perform. Then there's Daniel Villegas -- a Colombian-born slam poet, bilingual hip-hop emcee, and conga player who has spent over a decade making music that actually means something, without a label, a machine, or a shortcut behind him. In this episode, we get into how a Hamlet assignment in English class at 16 cracked him open, what it took to come back after a decade of near-silence caused by Lyme disease, and the night a stranger walked up after a college open mic and told him a poem kept them from ending their life. We also talk about how he writes in both English and Spanish and why it took years to get there, what the cultural weight of a song like "Time Travel" means right now, the real economics of being an independent artist in the streaming era, and how he's using creative writing workshops to unlock voices in young people who've been told they have nothing to say. Plus: an epic story about going completely blank on stage while opening for Immortal Technique, and the moment in a hospital bed when he decided to go all in anyway. Daniel's new album "Beats and Lyrics" is out now on all platforms. His vinyl "Evolution Gold" is available at his shows. → Going from the back of an English class to performing spoken word in front of crowds → How "Time Travel" captures the cultural moment around immigration, identity, and freedom → Big Pun, DMX, Vico C, and the 90s golden age that shaped his craft → Why independent artists win on creativity but lose on the business side → The bubble technique he uses to unlock voices in young people → What happened when he blanked onstage opening for Immortal Technique → The turning point: a stranger's confession about "I Wanna Live in America" Find Daniel: Instagram: @DanielVjGuys Music YouTube: Daniel Villegas Music Album: "Beats and Lyrics" -- out now on all platforms --- 00:00 Intro / Welcome to CommonX 00:57 Colombia, his grandmother, and the first music 01:49 The Hamlet poem that changed everything 03:38 Hip-hop influences: Mos Def, Big Pun, DMX, Vico C 05:07 How bilingual music evolved over time 07:04 "Time Travel," immigration, and cultural weight 10:13 Writing without a target in mind 11:36 Do artists have a responsibility to speak truth? 13:15 Pressure to represent vs. just being yourself 14:31 Stepping outside the lifestyle matrix 16:33 How he describes his own sound 18:19 "Jaguar" and writing music to lyrics (not the other way around) 20:27 Merging slam poetry and hip-hop 21:19 The hardest part of staying independent 23:38 Teaching creative writing to youth 25:12 The bubble technique for unlocking student voices 27:03 Epic stage fail: going blank opening for Immortal Technique 28:35 The hospital moment he almost walked away 31:21 Biggest breakthroughs: KRS-One, Flowbots, and "I Wanna Live in America" 34:32 New album "Beats and Lyrics" + where to find Daniel 36:09 Jared's Five --- Like what you heard? Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. CommonXPodcast.com | Check the X-Files ⚠️ Chapter timestamps are estimated from transcript. Spot-check against final edit before publishing. The CommonX Podcast features long-form conversations with musicians, cultural voices, veterans, entrepreneurs, and independent thinkers who bring lived experience to the table. Hosted by Jared Mayzak and Ian Primmer, CommonX explores music, culture, work, identity, resilience, and the systems that shape everyday life—without talking points or manufactured outrage. From iconic artists and creative pioneers to everyday people with extraordinary stories, each episode prioritizes honesty, curiosity, and meaningful dialogue. This is a Gen-X–driven show for listeners who value depth over noise and conversation over clicks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on Common-X with Jared and Ian

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ivan Doroschuk
• Gary Ferrell
• Chance Bernard
• Dr Kenneth Womack
• Mullet Malone

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

13,292

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

115 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

65

Social presence

0

YouTube

72

Engagement

32

Contact Common-X with Jared and Ian

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.