Ep 424 - How Does It Feel? w/ Charles L. Ponce de Leon

Ep 424 - How Does It Feel? w/ Charles L. Ponce de Leon

From Nostalgia Trap by David Parsons

February 4, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

David Parsons interviews historian Charles L. Ponce de Leon about the evolution of Rolling Stone magazine and its impact on American culture.

When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Rolling Stone magazine was an indispensable resource for discovering the hip edge of American pop culture. Of course, I didn't realize at the time that the magazine had its roots in the 1960s counterculture, crafted by entrepreneur Jann Wenner as a subversive Trojan horse within the staid landscape of Cold War America. On this episode, historian Charles L. Ponce de Leon joins me for a conversation about his new book Rolling Stone and the Rise of Hip Capitalism: H ow a Magazine Born in the 1960s Changed America (UNC Press 2026), as we explore the magazine's complex evolution and the ironies of "counterculture" becoming "mainstream." Check out my '90s music podcast/video series with John Lombardo, 120 MONTHS: https://substack.com/@120months Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to listen to our News Trap freakouts and other bonus content: https://patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

People in this episode

Host: David Parsons

Guest: Charles L. Ponce de Leon

Topics covered

  • Rolling Stone
  • counterculture
  • pop culture
  • history
  • capitalism
  • media

Keywords

  • Rolling Stone
  • Charles L. Ponce de Leon
  • counterculture
  • hip capitalism
  • media history
  • pop culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rolling Stone, UNC Press

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