Fail Again: Kathleen Hanna’s Music is Her Message

Fail Again: Kathleen Hanna’s Music is Her Message

From Fail Better with David Duchovny by Lemonada Media

February 17, 2026 · 51 min

About this episode

Kathleen Hanna discusses her career in feminist punk music and the complexities of her activism.

This episode originally aired August 16, 2024 Being “indie famous” is complicated, and Kathleen Hanna isn’t here to water it down. Her career making feminist punk music — most notably in the band Bikini Kill — meant she was attacked for her activism by some and objectified as a symbol by others. But Kathleen and her bandmates continued to fight for respect and wrangle messy topics into punchy songs. Her new memoir, Rebel Girl, is a real treat, and it shows just how much change in the music industry and beyond can be traced back to those efforts. Does that mean Kathleen loves seeing her trailblazing messaging plastered onto throw pillows at Target? As you might expect, that, too, is complicated. Lemonada has teamed up with Apple Books to bring you the Lemonada Book Club. “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk” by Kathleen Hanna is our July/August 2024 audiobook of the month! For more details, visit http://apple.co/lemonadabookclub. Follow me on Instagram at @davidduchovny. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium…

People in this episode

Host: David Duchovny

Guest: Kathleen Hanna

Topics covered

  • feminism
  • punk music
  • activism
  • memoir
  • music industry
  • cultural commentary

Keywords

  • indie famous
  • feminist punk
  • Bikini Kill
  • Rebel Girl
  • music industry
  • activism
  • cultural impact

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bikini Kill, Apple Books

Books & works: Rebel Girl

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