We owe you an apology for the delay. We ran into some major computer issues and had to take an unexpected break — turns out internal storage has limits (who knew). This episode was actually recorded on October 27, and thankfully we had the foresight to move our files to an external hard drive before everything went sideways.

In this episode, Chris leads a deep dive into Midwest emo — where it came from, how it grew out of the D.C. hardcore scene, and why its emotional honesty still resonates decades later. We trace the connections between bands like Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Sunny Day Real Estate, American Football, Dashboard Confessional, and beyond, all the way to modern revivals and TikTok rediscoveries.