In this episode, co-hosts and producers, Jessica Schwartz (UCLA) and Paul Hollins (Bolton), are immersed in the world of British punk history as it unfolds as a creative, complex, critical, and artistically heterogeneous way of experimenting with identity and/as culture.

And, we were kept in suspense with the Sham 69 question…

You won’t want to miss the breakdown of this question and our overall journey into Britain’s punk history with Professor Matthew Worley who explains the messiness of it all in such a clear way–offering connections between punk and porn (via the Enlightenment!), and how punk can be appreciated as decidedly political while also having its historical connections to (and, at times being co-opted and pulled between) capital “P” political movements.

About Our Guest

Matthew Worley is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Reading. His books include No Future: Punk, Politics and British Youth Culture, 1976–84 (2017) and Zerox Machine: Punk, Post-Punk and Fanzines, 1976–88 (2024). Associated articles may be found in such journals as Contemporary British History, History Workshop, Twentieth Century British History, and Journal of British Studies. He is a co-founder of the Subcultures Network and sometimes a collaborator with the artist Scott King under the banner of Crash!

For More Information

Subcultures Network

Punk in the East

Our Subversive Voice · The history and politics of the English protest song

Past! Future! In Extreme!: Looking for Meaning in the "New Romantics", 1978-82 - YouTube

Full article: Whip in my valise: British punk and the Marquis de Sade, c. 1975–85

Zerox Machine | Reaktion Books

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We’d love to hear from you and are soliciting episode ideas and guests.

Contact us at: punkscholarspodcast@gmail.com

The PSP theme music is excerpted from “Crows” by Watch You Drown. All rights reserved.

Season 1, Episode 3 was recorded on July 2, 2024 on Zoom with participants in the UK and the US. Paul Hollins and Jessica Schwartz co-hosted and co-produced this episode. Jessica Schwartz edited the audio. Jessica Schwartz and Paul Hollins edited the transcript, available here.

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