Tom Morello

Tom Morello

From Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond by Pushkin Industries

September 8, 2026 · 1h 0m · Season 6 · Episode 223

About this episode

Tom Morello discusses his new solo album and his journey through the music industry.

Tom Morello arrived in Los Angeles from Libertyville, Illinois, in the mid-1980s with a Harvard political science degree in his pocket and a guitar slung across his back, determined to become the next great guitarist on the scene. Instead, he found himself locked out of the glam-rock world that had taken over the Sunset Strip. By day, he worked as a secretary to a state senator; by night, he played clubs, searching for a way in. Then, in 1991, Morello co-founded Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha—and everything changed. The band fused hip-hop, punk, metal, and politics into something entirely new, becoming one of the biggest rock bands of the 1990s. Rage has been on and off over the past 25 years, but Morello has rarely stood still. He formed Audioslave, recorded folk protest songs as The Nightwatchman, toured as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D and B-Real to Johnny Cash. Now, for the first time in his decades-long career, Morello has made a true solo album. Everyone Gets Everything They Want combines high-energy rock with social consciousness—and features his 15-year-old son, Roman, as…

People in this episode

Host: Justin Richmond

Guest: Tom Morello

Topics covered

  • music
  • rock
  • politics
  • social consciousness
  • personal journey
  • collaboration

Keywords

  • Tom Morello
  • Rage Against the Machine
  • Everyone Gets Everything They Want
  • music career
  • collaboration
  • political music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave

Books & works: Everyone Gets Everything They Want

Places: Los Angeles, Libertyville, Illinois, Sunset Strip

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