Podcast confessional: Punk and post-punk archiving, history and ‘afterlife’ conversations on the C86 Show

Abstract

Among the recurrent preoccupations of punk and post-punk is a critical consideration of the individual’s relationship to society. The emergence of podcasts in which hosts and musicians engage in historically contextualized conversations therefore presents an intriguing turn of events that will be of interest to punk and post-punk scholars. This article considers the possibilities of conversational podcasts via a discussion of the C86 Show, a popular UK-based podcast featuring interviews with punk, post-punk and indie musicians of the 1980s. Aided by the empathic interviewing style of its host, David Eastaugh, the show’s long-form, in-depth conversations connect musicians’ experiences and memories to historical contexts associated with the Thatcher era. Engaging two main fields of research – audio studies and punk and post-punk scholarship – I argue that the C86 Show offers listeners a rich window into punk, post-punk and indie during that time. By inviting musicians to reflect on their pasts (and their lives since the 1980s), the show sheds light also on how these musical movements and genres are remembered today. No less important, the show’s online collection of over one thousand interviews represents a significant archiving project that will be of interest to punk and post-punk scholars.