Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Bassist, songwriter, and composer Esperanza Spalding sits with Bruce Headlam to discuss her latest work and the opera she’s writing with the legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter. They also discuss why Esperanza shies away from being labeled a prodigy, what it’s like jamming at Joni Mitchell's house, and how, despite her improvisational approach, she’s so much more than just a jazz musician.

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Run the Jewels recently took a (smoke) break while working on their fourth album at Shangri-La and taped this podcast with Rick Rubin. Killer Mike and El-P tell Rick about the music that first caught their imaginations as kids, how Run-DMC inspired their philosophy as a group, and who would be the court jester—and who would be a tribe leader—in their post-apocalyptic fantasy world.

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James Taylor's voice sounds sweet and carefree. It's a gift that hides the darker side to his lyrics and life. He and Malcolm Gladwell sat and uncovered some of the more troubling moments from his early life in this conversation. James also talks about it in his audio memoir, Break Shot, available now through Audible.

They also discuss the beach music scene of the Carolinas and the music that got James interested in music. Some of those tunes are represented on his new album, American Standard. Where James reworks classics of the great American songbook.

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RUN DMC were the first rap group on the cover of Rolling Stone. The first to go gold, platinum and multi-platinum. They were true pioneers of Hip Hop in the 80’s, releasing classic albums like “Raising Hell” and “Tougher Than Leather” — both collaborations with Rick Rubin. But by the 90s Hip Hop and changed. RUN DMC were struggling to find their way and so was Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. The self-proclaimed "King of Rock" tells Rick that at one point, the only thing giving him the will to live, was a Sarah McLachlan song.

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When Robbie Robertson turned a house perched above a Malibu beach into a home studio in the 1970's, he had no idea it'd remain a refuge for artists decades later. In this episode, Robbie returns to Shangri La—now the home of our own Rick Rubin—to discuss creating the studio, helping Bob Dylan go electric with The Band, writing "The Weight" and collaborating with Martin Scorsese on his films.

"Once Were Brothers" a documentary about The Band, comes out in theaters on February 21st. Visit https://www.oncewerebrothers.com/ to see where you can catch it.

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Just before the release of his first solo album in over a decade, Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon sat with Rick Rubin to talk about his tumultuous career that's spanned five decades. Friends since the early '80s, they discuss the early days of Black Sabbath, Ozzy's first encounter with his late guitarist Randy Rhoads, and how blown away Rick is by the power of Ozzy's voice at 71 years old.

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Booker T. Jones—as leader of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Stax record's house band—helped popularize the sound of Southern soul music. Working alongside Stax legends like Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Albert King and more, his finger prints were everywhere. He details it all in his new book "Time Is Tight: My Life, Note By Note." He sat with Bruce Headlam in Brooklyn to discuss his time at Stax, including some of the great songs he had a hand in writing, and about his incredible career after leaving the label.

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Broken Record brings you Season 3, Episode 2 of the podcast Slow Burn. Season 3 is focused on the murders of rap legends Tupac and Biggie. This episode of the series dissects a time in the 1990s when rappers pushed America to confront police brutality—and police claimed rap lyrics were turning black listeners into cop-killers.

Listen to more of this season and series at https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s3/biggie-and-tupac

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Broken Record presents an episode of "Cautionary Tales": Bowie, Jazz and the Unplayable Piano

It was the biggest concert of Keith Jarrett's career - but the pianist was in for a shock when he entered Koln's opera house. The only piano at the venue was a broken-down wreck. Should he risk humiliation and play anyway or simply walk out? The collaboration between pop superstar David Bowie and arch disruptor Brian Eno offers a lesson that staying in your comfort zone isn't always the best option.

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Lead singer of the Alabama Shakes, Brittany Howard, talks to Rick Rubin about making her first solo album, Jamie. She shares a never before heard demo from the album and talks about her high school band days, The Shakes first live show, and how she's overcome serious bouts of writer's block with just about every project she's ever released.

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