Punkast

About Punkast

Jessica Schwartz, Associate Professor of Musicology and Music Industry at UCLA, sets out to explore the meaning of punk through conversations with the people who shape, live, and remix it—musicians, videographers, cultural producers, and the academics who study it—while animating punk’s DIY creativity, resistance, and sense of possibility. Schwartz also co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast (https://www.punkscholarsnetwork.com/about/podcasts). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Punkast

Category

education · music · music

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

5 Nov 2020

Latest episode

23 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

91 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Gabe Colhoff (Northern Cheyenne · Blackfeet) (Pow Wow Punk Rock) with Kristy Martinez

   “If someone in the sweat goes down, you pick them up. Well, then I'd go to these punk shows ... you're shoulder to shoulder with your people.” “So us walking into clubs with like hats and braids and stuff and everyone's just like, where's your mohawk, bro? And like, I don't, I don't, I have braids dog.” Continuing Punkast's guest-hosted conversations highlighting Indigenous creativity and music, guest host and producer Kristy Martinez, UCLA PhD candidate, musician, and archivist, speaks with Gabe Colhoff of 1876, an Indigenous punk band based in Portland, Oregon. Gabe traces his musical upbringing through powwow music, hip-hop, punk, ska, and two-tone, recalling the connections he found between Northern Cheyenne ceremonial life and punk shows through singing, community, and mutual care. They discuss forming 1876 during the pandemic, DIY recording, and the Pow Wow Punk Rock EP series, which brings powwow drumming, traditional languages, and experimental sounds into punk. Kristy and Gabe also discuss the women who shaped his life and music, from relatives featured on the band's album covers to “Nississa,” a song on which Kristy collaborated. Their conversation explores songwriting, Indigenous representation, resistance, censorship, and the contradictions of punk scenes that don't always live up to their stated commitments. Moving through touring, festival politics, and community organizing, they consider the relationships and responsibilities that sustain 1876's music across Turtle Island. About the guest 1876 is an Indigenous punk band founded by Gabe Colhoff in Portland, Oregon, in 2020. The band proudly represents the Northern Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Comanche, Kanaka Maoli, Pikanii, Siksika, and Tsitsitsas nations. Playing across Turtle Island, from sweat lodges to punk clubs, 1876 infuses rebellious, aggressive punk rock with powwow drumming, traditional languages, and experimental sounds, drawing on ska, hip-hop, and hardcore. Through music, visual art, and community work, the band brings attention to Indigenous experiences and narratives often neglected by the music industry while giving back to its communities. They have performed and collaborated with Lo Ca$h Ninjas, Subhumans, Total Chaos, the Casualties, Patrick Stump, and others. Guest host and producer Kristy Martinez is a UCLA PhD candidate in Musicology, vocalist, and archivist researching punk, emo, and subcultures in Southern California through music, ephemera, placemaking, and visual culture. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, with family roots in Sonora, Mexico, she founded the DIY Indigenous Punx Archive, documenting Indigenous punk through flyers, photographs, videos, and band histories. The archive has been featured at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas and the Denver Art Museum. Recorded September 2026. Content note: This episode includes discussion of violence against women, the Highway of Tears, police brutality, and political conflict. Links + References 1876 — Official Website (https://1876band.com/) 1876 — Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/1876band/) Bandcamp: 1876 (https://1876band.bandcamp.com/) Indigenous Punks Archive (https://www.instagram.com/indigenouspunxarchive/?hl=en) Credits Punkast is hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz. Guest hosting, production, and audio editing: Kristy Martinez. Transcript: Audio-synced transcript (https://sonix.ai/share/CSmWr1843aW7xQGEwPNFU9r4) Theme Music: Lady Bits, "Bitch-a-thon," Lady Bits (https://lady-bits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-bits). Related: Jessica Schwartz co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast (https://www.punkscholarsnetwork.com/about/podcasts). About Punkast: Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration. Connect with Punkast: Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7z5b8RMgRNi4KyGFGqyxF8?si=1ed945c4314a44a8) Instagram: punkastucla (https://www.instagram.com/punkastucla/) Email: punkastucla@gmail.com Stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   16 Oct 2026

   Viki Eagle (Sicangu Lakota) (Rez Metal) with Kristy Martinez (Guest Host)

   “And she wore this Iron Maiden T-shirt and she wore these Navajo moccasins. And I was like, wow, that's like the coolest picture to this day that I think I've ever taken.” In recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day and the upcoming Native American Heritage Month, Punkast welcomes Kristy Martinez, UCLA PhD candidate and researcher, as guest host and producer for conversations with Indigenous scholars, musicians, and community organizers across punk and adjacent scenes. Kristy speaks with Viki Eagle (Sicangu Lakota), a photographer, anthropologist, and educator whose work explores Indigenous creativity, alternative music, and community. Growing up in Denver's urban Native community, Viki found belonging in the punk, emo, and metal scenes along Colfax Avenue. These experiences inform her research documenting rez metal in the American Southwest through photography, ethnography, and community engagement. Kristy and Viki discuss how journalists, filmmakers, and academics represent Indigenous metal communities. While acknowledging hardship, loss, and resistance, Viki challenges narratives that overshadow musicians' artistry, joy, and community. They explore Indigenous visibility, media stereotypes, and Viki's photography project Real Life Indian, which challenges conventional images of Native identity. From an Iron Maiden T-shirt paired with Navajo moccasins to everyday portraits, Viki emphasizes self-representation, consent, and community relationships. The conversation also moves through Indigenous punk, metal, and emo; academic research; and the importance of creating spaces for musicians, students, and communities to connect. Kristy and Viki discuss rez metal concerts, the UCLA symposium, all-ages shows, DIY organizing, and bringing Indigenous music and knowledge into university spaces. They consider everyday acts of resistance and close with recommendations for Indigenous punk and metal bands worth discovering. Content note: This episode includes brief discussions of Indian boarding schools, forced relocation, school shootings (including Columbine), mental health, suicide, and stereotypes linking emo and metal to self-harm. About the guest Viki Eagle is a Sicangu Lakota and Japanese photographer, anthropologist, and educator from Denver, Colorado. Her project Real Life Indian documents contemporary Indigenous lives and challenges stereotypes of Native identity. Her research explores rez metal through photography and ethnography, and she organizes concerts and community programs connecting Indigenous musicians, scholars, and audiences. Guest host and producer Kristy Martinez is a UCLA PhD candidate researching Indigenous punk, alternative music cultures, and BIPOC emo communities in Southern California. As guest host and producer, she brings her research, musical knowledge, and relationships with Indigenous scholars and artists to Punkast. Links + References: Real Life Indian - Viki Eagle (https://reallifeindian.wordpress.com/) Native Bruins: Viki Eagle - UCLA American Indian Studies Center (https://main.aisc.ucla.edu/2021/11/17/native-bruins-past-present-emerging-viki-eagle/) Ancestor's Rez Metal: (Re)Mapping an Indigenous Sonic Resistance (https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4h62q0rr) Credits: Punkast is hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz. This episode is guest-hosted, produced, and edited by Kristy Martinez. Transcript: Audio-synced transcript (https://sonix.ai/share/jhxakHGoF9mi4ZrTxPt6V6AT) Theme Music: Lady Bits, "Bitch-a-thon," (https://lady-bits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-bits)Lady Bits (https://lady-bits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-bits). Related: Jessica Schwartz co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast (https://www.punkscholarsnetwork.com/about/podcasts). About Punkast: Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration. Connect with Punkast: Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7z5b8RMgRNi4KyGFGqyxF8?si=1ed945c4314a44a8) Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/punkastucla/)punkastucla (https://www.instagram.com/punkastucla/) Email: punkastucla@gmail.com (mailto:punkastucla@gmail.com) Stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   9 Oct 2026

   "Women in Punk" Part 2 (Punk@50)

   “Because it was a do-it-yourself thing where we just rejected the norm and did our own thing.” In Part 2 of the Women in Punk panel, recorded live at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles as part of Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50, Jessica Schwartz continues the conversation with Pleasant Gehman, Jula Bell Liebi, and Tequila Mockingbird, with additional contributions from Cloudia Wintermute of Die Schlaflosen (Sleepless) and Stella Stray Pop of KXLU. Moving through stories of music, friendship, touring, and artistic influences, the participants reflect on the relationships and creative encounters that shaped their experiences of punk. The conversation turns toward women’s experiences in bands, the artists who inspired them, and the ongoing work of making things. From Bowie, Exene Cervenka, Chrissie Hynde, Nina Hagen, and Lydia Lunch to stories of touring, performing, writing, dancing, and recording, the panelists consider what punk made possible and how those experiences continue to inform their creative lives. Tequila discusses Punk School and her work preserving punk histories, while the conversation opens onto the possibilities of contemporary tools for independent music-making. As the discussion moves toward archives, ephemera, and intergenerational exchange, the panelists reflect on what they saved, what they learned, and what younger artists are making possible today. Stella Stray Pop joins the conversation near its conclusion, sharing memories of KXLU, independent radio, and the freedom to play music outside commercial formats. Collectively, these stories return to punk as an ongoing practice of creativity, community, and doing things for oneself—together. “Women in Punk” is part of (https://goethe.de/usa/punk50)Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50 (https://goethe.de/usa/punk50), a project of the Goethe-Institutes in the United States and Mexico marking the 50th anniversary of punk through a series of exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, and discussions that focus on punk as a subculture, protest movement, and catalyst for self-determination. Featuring: Tequila Mockingbird (https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ver.cfm?event_id=27339124#accordion_toggle_53406_1) Jula Bell Liebi (https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ver.cfm?event_id=27339124#accordion_toggle_53406_2) Pleasant Gehman (https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ver.cfm?event_id=27339124#accordion_toggle_53406_3) Additional participants: Cloudia Wintermute — Die Schlaflosen / Sleepless Stella Stray Pop — KXLU 88.9 FM Los Angeles Moderated by Jessica Schwartz. Introduced by Luisa Rath-John, Director, Goethe-Institut Los Angeles (Part 1 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fdMOH5AMALul4UlMFagAv?si=2L6SmF0dQsq3b_7B07ccvw)). Recorded live at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, September 2026. Links + References: Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50 (https://goethe.de/usa/punk50) Women in Punk — Goethe-Institut Los Angeles (https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/kua/pun.html?wt_sc=usa_punk50) Stray Pop — KXLU / Spinitron (https://spinitron.com/KXLU/show/190234/Stray-Pop) Die Schlaflosen / Sleepless — Official Website (https://dieschlaflosen.com/) Credits: Punkast is hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz. Editorial support: Arrow Menendez– audio editing and audio-synced transcript. Panel photograph by Gary Leonard @tmpgaryleonard. Transcript: Audio-synced transcript (https://sonix.ai/share/m3JV4te2JQKJbT1yzoBLLbeu) Theme Music: Lady Bits, "Bitch-a-thon," (https://lady-bits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-bits)Lady Bits (https://lady-bits.bandcamp.com/album/lady-bits). Related: Jessica Schwartz co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast (https://www.punkscholarsnetwork.com/about/podcasts). About Punkast: Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration. Connect with Punkast: Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7z5b8RMgRNi4KyGFGqyxF8?si=1ed945c4314a44a8) Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/punkastucla/)punkastucla (https://www.instagram.com/punkastucla/) Email: punkastucla@gmail.com (mailto:punkastucla@gmail.com) Stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

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Spotify

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