Light Culture

Light Culture

By David HershkovitsSociety & CultureBusinessArts
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Light Culture episodes

  • Jim Jarmusch’s Un-Hollywood Ways
    While Hollywood pursues it's blockbuster driven agenda, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch continues to do it his way, most recently the zombie-com “The Dead Don’t Die.” Whether casting accomplished actors Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Johnny Depp and Adam Driver or musicians Iggy Pop, Neil Young, Joe Strummer, Tom Waits and RZA,  his off-beat movies never fail to enchant and surprise. A Cannes Film Festival regular, Jarmusch’s low-budget 80s trilogy “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Down By Law” and “Mystery Train” established him as a new voice of American cinema and he’s never looked back, spinning off a growing body of idiosyncratic music and, most recently, art. We talk about his obsession with collage, Adam Driver, Neil Young, avant rock, Spike Lee and why Bill Murray gave him the keys to his car.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  • Jason “Problem” Martin -- From Rapper to Rapreneur
    With LA the epi-center of cannabis and hip hop, it’s not surprising to find the two worlds cohabiting in the music and mindset of Problem. Immersed in LA rap royalty that includes Wiz Khalifa, Snoop and Kendrick LaMar, the one-time party bad-boy from Compton “changed the narrative” and it shows in his dress, demeanor and desire to transcend labels, set tables, and still stay true to his community and ongoing relationship with cannabis. When he’s not dropping mixtapes like “Coffee and Kush'' and inhaling its eponymous cannabis brand, he’s building a superteam to create nothing less than a “new future.” We talk Nipsey, Kendrick, Compton and his favorite set-in-New York TV show “Billions,” its new season centered around the emerging world of finance and cannabis. We caught up with him at Chace Infinite’s Harum Coffee Shop in Leifert Park

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min
  • Madison Margolin and the Psychedelic Evolution
    Along with cannabis, psychedelics like Ayahuasca, ‘Shrooms, MDMA, LSD, Ketamine and other mind altering substances are resurgent, finding their place as part of the plant-based health and wellness movement. Spurred on by medical studies and the support of the psychiatric community in search of answers to PTSD, depression and a growing list of mental problems, the movement to legalize these previously outlawed psychedelics is rapidly advancing what many have suspected all along: that far from being the killer portrayed in the war on drugs, what we today call plant based medicine, is actually good for you. As a journalist and cofounder of Double Blind Magazine, Madison Margolin is a leading figure in the 21st century movement to benefit from these plants and their off-shoots. We talk about psychedelics, spirituality and religion, Ayahuasca’s potential for world peace, microdosing and the legacy of 60s LSD evangelist Timothy Leary.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • Fab 5 Fred Brathwaite & Bernard Noble — Team Up for Prison Reform

    Can you imagine how it must feel to be serving a 13 year prison sentence for possession of two joints in the midst of a gold rush in the growing, selling, and marketing of weed.  Well, Bernard Noble can. He was that guy, but now he’s in the cannabiz thanks to the efforts of, among others, filmmaker and hip hop legend Fab 5 Fred Brathwaite. How Bernard got released and went into business with Brathwaite on BNoble prerolls is both a cautionary tale and an inspiring rare example of justice served better late than never.  Both blessed with gifts of gab, their story is recounted here in vivid detail that will make you both jump for joy and gasp in alarm. 




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    44 min
  • Cheryl Dunn -- Dash Snow Doc Director
    One art world Insider called him “the most charismatic artist since Jean Michel-Basquiat.” Like the great Basquiat, Dash Snow was a graffiti writer who showed in galleries, was dismissed as a lightweight clown, became an international art star and died a drug-related death in his 20's. There's more, much more to the story of Dash Snow, an heir to a fortune who immersed himself in New York’s art world demimonde of the early 2000's. Now, Cheryl Dunn's long-in-the-making documentary begun with Snow's cooperation, “Moments Like This Never Last,” is out and destined to add to the legend of this self-destructive bad-boy artist. I talk to the director about what drew her to Snow, his impact on the art world, how the legend grew and its impact on the world.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  • Light Culture Classic - RIP Frenchy Cannoli
    Frenchy Cannoli’s legendary life came to an end on July 18th. Recognized world-wide as an evangelist for Hashish, he was also a throwback to another era when adventurers trekked the Himalayas in search of ancient wisdom. Having him on my podcast was one of my career highlights. We honor his life as we rerun this classic Light Culture podcast from January, 2020. RIP Frenchy Cannoli.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min
  • Light Culture Classic - RIP Ricky Powell
    Ricky Powell was a living legend who died earlier this year. A photographer who documented popular culture including hip hop, graffiti and pop art, he toured with the Beastie Boys and took some of the most iconic photos of that era. He was also very funny as you will hear in this rerun of one of my all time classic Light Culture podcast episodes from 2019. RIP Ricky Powell.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
  • Jeremy Elkin – When Hip Hop Met Skate
    Jeremy Elkin’s documentary “All the Streets Are Silent” tells the story of New York in the 90s, a decade in downtown history when hip hop met skate and set off a combustion of energy that catapaulted a youth culture to stardom and mainstream appeal. We talk about Elkin prepping at Vanity Fair; finding vintage vids of Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Method Man; Eli Gesner’s legendary Zoo York “Mixtape”; the influence of Larry Clark’s “Kids” on the scene, and much more.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  • Leo Fitzpatrick – Still In It For The Kids
    From his unlikely casting in Larry Clark’s movie “Kids” at 16 to his cult status as an actor and consummate art world outsider, Leo Fitzpatrick’s don’t-give-a-shit ethos has worked, landing him a role in the Wire and a co-director gig at the blue-chip Marlborough Gallery. Though he recently shut his St. Mark’s Pl. gallery, his commitment to youth-driven culture continues unabated. We talk about New York’s mean streets and the tragic loss of his friend, artist Dash Snow, his reverence for Larry Clark, the “Beautiful Losers” generation, and being the father of a five-year-old boy.

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    39 min
  • Verena von Pfetten – She Also Smokes Weed
    What would make an editor/writer with a Conde Nast and Huffington Post pedigree chuck it all to start a cannbis-centric lifestyle magazine? As the co-founder of Gossamer, von Pfetten has channeled her love for travel, design, art, culture et al into a print venture that looks to update the stoner aesthetic for the 21st Century. We talk with the Vancouver born von Pfetten about her pride for BC Bud, her love-hate relationship with “wellness,” women in weed and why she thinks we make fun of Gweneth Paltrow and Goop.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min

About Light Culture

From the publisher's feed

Hi, my name is David Hershkovits. As a founder of Paper magazine, I have been a long-time supporter of cultural disruptors from the alternative worlds of skate, hip hop, graffiti and streetwear scenes…