History Mixtapes explores how music and history intertwine. We will explore how the past can come alive by using music as a primary source, but also think about how listening to music and musical exploration can help us see the past through different lenses and lead us into new ways of connecting. We all tell stories with music: in playlists or mix tapes or other myriad mechanisms. And no one puts their story -- or the past's story -- to the same soundtrack.
Send us a text Exploring the Suburban Punk Rebellion: History Mixtapes with Kyle Riismandel In this episode of History Mixtapes, host Katherine Rye Jewell announces the start of season two, reflecting on her creative journey and the inspiration behind her new book project, A History of Alternative in 10 Bands. Katherine then engages in a detailed conversation with Kyle Riismandel, Associate Teaching Professor at Rutgers Newark, covering everything from the historic suburban punk scene to the ...
29 May 2025
HISTORY MIXTAPES - Austin McCoy Part II: Getting Meta about Creepy Music
Professor Austin McCoy reflects on childhood musical influences and the significance of context in shaping musical appreciation, offering insights into personal history and cultural understanding in this interview.
20 Mar 2025
HISTORY MIXTAPES - A Stealth Labor History of Mixtapes with Austin McCoy (Part I)
In this episode, historian Katherine Rye Jewell and historian Austin McCoy use their parents' record collections to interrogate the personal meanings of various music formats—from vinyl to cassettes to CDs—and their influence on their musical sensibilities . They discuss the role of mixtapes in hip hop and punk cultures, their significance in creating connections within underground scenes, and their transformation into digital playlists. The conversation highlights how their parents' mu...
21 Feb 2025
HISTORY MIXTAPES - Poverty and Homelessness with Dave Hitchcock
In this episode, historian Dave Hitchcock, a Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, discusses how his expertise in vagrancy and poverty in early modern England and British Atlantic world use of music, such as broadside ballads, set up his exploration of themes of poverty and homelessness across musical expression. He contextualizes songs reflecting modern urban poverty and illuminates underlying common themes that include individual versus structural explanations of pov...
23 Jan 2025
HISTORY MIXTAPES - Jazz and the Rhythm Club Fire with Karen Cox
This episode explores the music at the center of the story historian Karen Cox is currently reconstructing about the Rhthym Club fire in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1940. Jazz music becomes a character in her story, illuminating not just the lives lost, but the movement and connections across space during the Great Migration. Her playlist features: “It’s Tight Like That” 1928, Jimmy Noone. You can hear piano, banjo, trumpet, clarinet, trombone. It follows that traditional jazz formula of highlig...
26 Dec 2024
Extra Episode - Voices of WXPL: From New Kids to Metal Legends
In this episode, Katherine Jewell revisits her ongoing research into WXPL, the college radio station at Fitchburg State University. Despite being caught up with end-of-semester duties, she shares their her oral history project insights, including the station's journey since the 1980s, its musical influence, and some notorious events. The episode highlights the station's deep connection with metal music, mentioning notable DJs, iconic artists they collaborated with, and memorable promos from b...
28 Nov 2024
History Mixtapes: Punk and Precarity with Chris Deutsch
History Mixtapes host Katherine Rye Jewell and historian Chris Deutsch explore the intersection of punk rock, hardcore music, and the late 20th century's precarity through DIY ethos and alternative institutions.
24 Oct 2024
HISTORY MIXTAPES - Joshua Greenberg
In Episode 2 of History Mixtapes, historian Joshua Greenberg discusses how his research unfolds in conversation with music. Check out his playlist here and stay tuned for more news about History Mixtapes!
26 Sept 2024
HISTORY MIXTAPES - Kevin M. Kruse
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,648
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 36 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
25
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
51
Contact History Mixtapes
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of History Mixtapes?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
