About this episode

This episode explores the contradictions of John Lennon and the factors leading to his murder by Mark David Chapman.

John Lennon was a walking contradiction: a violent pacifist and a creative genius marred by creative inconsistency. Just as he was getting his groove back, he was gunned down by Mark David Chapman, a self-loathing narcissist who was obsessed with his contradictory hero, as well as with Lennon’s musical rival, Todd Rundgren and J.D. Salinger’s angsty, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye. Hear how all of these factors and more contributed to the musical icon’s senseless murder in the first installment of a two part Disgraceland episode. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at  ⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠ . This episode was originally published on July 10, 2018. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at  ⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠ . Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠   Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠X⁠ (formerly Twitter)  ⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠ ⁠TikTok   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics covered

• John Lennon
• Mark David Chapman
• musical rivalry
• creative genius
• senseless murder
• true crime
• cultural impact

Keywords

• John Lennon
• Mark David Chapman
• murder
• music
• true crime
• creative genius
• cultural impact

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Catcher In The Rye

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• Bonus Episode: A Rock ‘N’ Roll World Cup, Criminal Minded English Musicians and Here’s Wonderwall · July 16, 2026 · 35 min
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• John Lennon (Pt. 2): “The phony must die, said the catcher in the rye.” (Rewind) · July 12, 2026 · 27 min

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