(This is a bonus April Fools’ episode of Disgraceland that is satire and not true crime.) John Denver was a one of the biggest stars of the Seventies. His easy listening mainstream folk and his squeaky clean, environmentally friendly image made him a favorite in homes all across America. But was John Denver hiding a dark secret? One born of a mysterious military upbringing? A secret he would do anything to protect? A secret he took to his early grave, but that may soon see the light of day...

This week in the After Party, Jake looks forward to the possibility of 2025 being a year of disgraceful disclosures about JFK, UAPs, Jeffrey Epstein, and Diddy. Plus, Jake gets your takes on the JFK assassination: the CIA, LBJ, UFOs, La Cosa Nostra, MK Ultra, the Secret Service and more. We're through the looking glass here, people! Next week, we're serving up an episode on The Band, Martin Scorcese, and their legendary collaboration on "The Last Waltz," one of the finest concert films ever...

One of Hollywood’s most eclectic and unpredictable actors, Woody Harrelson has played a hayseed barback, a streetball hustler, a natural born killer, a true detective, and so many more. But his most profound and difficult role might be his real-life role: the son of an infamous contract killer. Woody’s father, Charles Harrelson, was sent to prison for the assassination of a federal judge, only after he had been the subject of one of the largest federal manhunts in U.S. history – a manhunt...

Bootlegging whiskey, acid tests, grass, and songs about murder. The origins of the Grateful Dead are fascinating and not what most people think. Born out of the tradition of “old, weird America”; bluegrass, jug band music and deadly folk tales, the Grateful Dead, as young adults, were into some strange stuff and we are all better for it. The band would go on to create their very own “new, weird America” due in part to the cultural impact they would have over their near 40-year career. But...

The Grateful Dead became one of the most influential bands of all time and propelled themselves with improvisation, LSD and an ethos of “freedom”. Through drug busts and CIA surveillance, they thrived and created one of the largest, most fervent and commercially consequential fan bases of all time. Freedom, LSD and improvised blues in the key of bummed the f**k out on this episode of Disgraceland. For a full list of contributors, see the show notes at disgracelandpod.com This episode was...

This week in the After Party, Jake wonders about celebrities and the sincerity of their political convictions and hears more from you on great sports cities and films. As we ready next week's episode on actor Woody Harrelson and the possible connection between his father and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, we want to know: what's your take on the JFK assassination? Who do you think killed President Kennedy? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials...

Married to R. Kelly at 15 years old and dead by the age of 22. Aaliyah was supposed to be as big as Beyonce, but drugs, corruption, and a fiery crash prevented that from happening. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual abuse of a minor. Who are your favorite female R&B singers? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials...

Jay Z’s career defies easy categorization. His artistry and business sense are as influenced by his past career as a drug dealer as they are anything else. Jay Z has reached unprecedented heights as an entertainer and an entrepreneur, and it almost never happened. All because of a stabbing. A stabbing that was influenced by that same street hustle that created “Jay Z." To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode was originally published...

This week in the After Party, Jake talks about the 1986 New York Mets and what made them such a special baseball team. Jake hears your thoughts on great sports cities and muses on great sports films. We're preparing next week's episode on the late R&B singer Aaliyah, and we want to know: who are your favorite female R&B singers? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into our extensive...

The World Series-winning 1986 New York Mets were, in a word: assholes. But their fans loved them anyway. The Mets were brash, scandalous, addicted, violent, and when you got right down to it, a perfect reflection of their hometown of Queens, New York, and the perfect opposite of Manhattan and the hated New York Yankees who played there. The ‘86 Mets made headlines with their drug use, their on and off-field brawls, their nights in jail, their destruction, and, of course, their domination of...

Post Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses embodied the word “dysfunction." As the band prepared for their follow up release, singer Axl Rose was losing a very public battle with the press while heroin and alcohol threatened to completely derail the band. Axl’s “recovered memories” continued to fuel his erratic behavior and thus he continued to drive his band closer and closer to the edge. It all came to a head in St. Louis at the infamous Riverport Riot. This episode was originally...

Few hard rock bands lived the life portrayed in their songs as authentically as Guns N’ Roses. Singer Axl Rose was driven by deep-seated demons that drove the creation of his band’s legendary debut album, Appetite For Destruction, as well as his legendary bad behavior. His band was hardly any different. Nearly dysfunctional from drug use and excess, their record label feared they would all die before their first album was even released. This episode was originally published on March 10,...

Happy Halloween, disgos! This week in the After Party, Jake hears from you about the scariest books you've read and catches you up on the latest Diddy developments. As the World Series caps off the 2024 baseball season, we're preparing next week's episode on the rowdiest team to ever put on a New York uniform, the 1986 Mets. There's no doubt New York is a great sports city, but what's the greatest sports city in the world? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on...

William Friedkin's film The Exorcist terrified audiences upon its release in 1973. They fainted, vomited, and went into hysterics in the theaters. Some overwhelmed viewers left early, only to return the next day, buying another ticket to see if they could make it to the end. But the story behind The Exorcist is just as compelling as the story on the screen. The film's production was marred by tragedy and the unpredictable behavior of its volatile director. The novel the film was based on...

The Misfits were truly unique. Scary. Violent. Angry. Nihilistic. These words can easily describe not only their music, but also the band as people, particularly frontman Glenn Danzig. Rumored to have been arrested for grave robbery, locked up abroad and inciting riots here in the States, the Misfits blazed a path of annihilation trading on fictional B-movie and scandal rag imagery to create one of the most enduring cult followings of all time and combating the very real sense of alienation...

This week in the After Party, Jake sits down with Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie to discuss the state of rock n' roll and Adam's new film "Art Dealers." Plus, we hear from you about the movies that scared you when you were a kid. As we prepare for next week's episode on the ultimate scary movie, "The Exorcist" and the book that inspired it, we we want to know: What is the scariest book you've ever read? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials...

Four different actors from the 1980s horror franchise Poltergeist died within a 6-year span. Dominique Dunne was murdered. Julian Beck succumbed to stomach cancer. Will Sampson suffered from a degenerative disease. And Heather O’Rourke’s death at the age of 12, was deemed “distinctly unusual.” Was it an eerie coincidence...or something more sinister? This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including descriptions of domestic violence and graphic descriptions of...

Robert Johnson didn’t just play the blues. He embodied them. He drank and womanized his way through the South, New York, and Chicago in the 1930s, until he finally met the devil at the crossroads for a little trade. So the legend goes, anyway. With the same soul he supposedly sold to the devil, Robert Johnson belted lightning blues that captured trouble in 12 bars. But the trouble he touted would eventually trickle into his own life, one bottle of poison at a time. This episode contains...

This week in the After Party, Jake wonders if every disgraceful story covered in Disgraceland is mere child's play when compared to the latest Diddy allegations. We hear from you and get your thoughts on the greatest rock n' roll bands of all time. As we prepare for next week's episode on the cursed film "Poltergeist," we we want to know: Which movies scared the hell out of you when you were a kid? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. For...

The Cramps, led by the husband and wife team of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach, had one one mission: To save rock n' roll from the corporate monsters who threatened its destruction. The band blended rockabilly, blues, garage rock and the aesthetic of 1950s B-movies into a wholly unique and singular rock and roll concoction that set them apart from their punk contemporaries. But as they began their climb up the music industry's ladder of success, they encountered hordes of brainless...

Ozzy Osbourne, along with his bandmates in Black Sabbath, invented heavy metal, and throughout Ozzy’s post-Sabbath solo career he would invent new, self-destructive forms of sabotage. Arrested at an early age for breaking and entering, Ozzy Osbourne refused to conform to societal norms and common decency. He would go on to be arrested numerous times and escape too many near-death experiences to recount, including a plane crashing into his tour bus that would ultimately kill a dear friend and...

Black Sabbath are solely responsible for conjuring the diabolical power of heavy metal. When guitarist Tony Iommi lost his fingertips as a teenager, he turned to a less painful style of playing— a style that produced a new, genre-defining type of gloom and heaviness. The band climbed through the seven circles of British podunk hell to international rock star success, but the lore of their dark imagery compelled the freaks to flood out of the woodwork and to their shows. Despite composing...

This week in the After Party, Jake hears from you on which artists were taken from us too soon, and continues to dive into the latest scuttlebutt on Sean Combs. As Jake gets ready for Hurricane Milton and we prepare for next week's episode on the great rock n' roll band The Cramps, we we want to know: Which rock n' roll band is the greatest of all time? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, [email protected], or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into...

Haunted by the legacy of his superstar father and by an old family curse, Brandon Lee tried to outrun the past. But the past came after him all the same. It was said that his father, Bruce Lee, was taken by that family curse at just 32 years old, and that it then followed Brandon to the set of The Crow, a cross between a superhero blockbuster and a brooding art film that was all goth. The shoot was plagued by injury, electrocution, storms, fires, and car crashes – and culminated in tragedy...