Everybody Loves Our Town: A History of Grunge by Mark Yarm - published exactly twenty years after the release of Nirvana's landmark album Nevermind - is said to be the definitive word on grunge.

Grunge, also known as the 'Seattle sound', is the sludgy fusion of punk rock and heavy metal that emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the early part of the 1980s. But it was the unexpected, seemingly overnight success of Nirvana's single 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' in the fall of 1991, that made grunge a household word and launched an American music movement on par with punk and hip-hop.

20 years later, Mark Yarm captures that era in the words of those at the forefront of the movement (and the music's lesser-known champions). Everybody Loves Our Town will tell the whole story: the founding of originators like Soundgarden and the Melvins, the early successes of Seattle's Sub Pop record label, the rise of powerhouses Nirvana and Pearl Jam, the insane media hype surrounding the grunge explosion, the suicide of Kurt Cobain, and finally, the genre's mid-to-late-'90s decline.

Mark Yarm is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia Journalism School and the former tech desk editor at BuzzFeed News (RIP). Prior to BuzzFeed, he worked at Input, BreakerMag, and Blender. In addition, he has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Wired, WSJ. Magazine, and Rolling Stone. His book Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, was named as a Time magazine book of the year.

Buy the book: Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge

Mark Yarm: online

Twitter: https://x.com/markyarm

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The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith

The fortunes of Africa have changed dramatically since the independence era began in 1957. As Europe's colonial powers withdrew, dozens of new states were born. Africa was a continent rich in mineral resources and its economic potential was immense. Yet, it soon struggled with corruption, violence and warfare, with few states managing to escape the downward spiral.

So what went wrong? In this riveting and authoritative account, Martin Meredith examines the myriad problems that Africa has faced, focusing upon key personalities, events and themes of the independence era. He brings his compelling analysis into the modern day, exploring Africa's enduring struggles for democracy and the rising influence of China. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the continent's plight and its hopes for a brighter future.

Martin Meredith is a journalist, historian and biographer who has written extensively on Africa. A former foreign correspondent and then a research fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford, he is the author of The State of Africa (Simon & Schuster, 2005), a best-selling history of the continent since independence, updated in 2011. He has written biographies of Nelson Mandela; Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe; and South African Communist lawyer Bram Fischer.

Buy the book: The State of Africa

Other books mentioned:

Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa by Dipo Faloyin

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence by Zainab Badawi

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Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England’s Pop Rebels and Outsiders by Dr Guy Mankowski

Albion's Secret History compiles snapshots of English pop culture’s rebels and outsiders, from Evelyn Waugh to PJ Harvey via The Long Blondes and The Libertines. By focusing on cultural figures who served to define England, Guy Mankowski looks at those who have really shaped Albion’s secret history, not just its oft-quoted official cultural history. He departs from the narrative that dutifully follows the Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Oasis, and, by instead penetrating the surface of England’s pop history (including the venues it was shaped in), throws new light on ideas of Englishness. As well as music, Mankowski draws from art, film, architecture and politics, showing the moments at which artists like Tricky and Goldfrapp altered our sense of a sometimes green but sometimes unpleasant land.

Dr. Guy Mankowski is a writer and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lincoln School of Creative Arts. His research interests include music writing, particularly depictions of post-punk and subculture. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.

He holds a Ph.D. from Northumbria University, an MPhil from Newcastle University, and a BSc Hons from Durham University. Mankowski trained as an Assistant Psychologist at The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in London. He was also the singer of the band Alba Nova.

Guy has published four novels, The Intimates (2011), Letters from Yelena (2012), How I Left The National Grid (2015) and An Honest Deceit (2016), with his fifth You Complete the Masterpiece (2024) to be released this November. He is currently writing a biography on the life of Kristen Pfaff, the late bassist of the band Hole. It was the subject of his 2022 TEDx talk.

Additionally, in 2021 Dr. Mankowski wrote Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders which is the subject of today’s podcast. The book compiles snapshots of English pop culture’s rebels and outsiders, from Evelyn Waugh to PJ Harvey via The Long Blondes and The Libertines.

Buy the book: Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England’s Pop Rebels and Outsiders

Extract from upcoming biography 'I Know How to Live': The Life of Kristen Pfaff by Guy Mankowski

Guy Mankowski: University of Lincoln

Guy Mankowski: TEDx Talk on Kristen Pfaff

Guy Mankowski: online

Guy Mankowski: Wikipedia

Guy Mankowski: Instagram

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