Because the Boss Belongs to Us
iHeartPodcasts
<p>If someone asked you to name a queer icon, who would you say? Cher? Britney? Whitney? Mariah? What about…Bruce Springsteen?</p> <p>In Because the Boss Belongs to Us, Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio try to get Bruce Springsteen recognised as the queer icon they know that he is. Over 7 episodes, they’ll be addressing important questions, like: </p> <p>Who wore it best? Bruce Springsteen or K D Lang?<br>What is the best Bruce song for your sex playlist? <br>Is Bruce Springsteen… the Ultimate Emo?</p> <p>And what the hell are they—trans / activist / abolitionist / DIY punk / drag king / working class / weirdos—doing, idolizing a cis, straight, rich, white man?</p>
- 1 hour 46 seconds7. The Verdict
After all of this work, have Jesse and Holly succeeded on their mission? Is Bruce Springsteen a queer icon? In order to know whether The Boss does, truly, belong to us, Jesse and Holly need to persuade a Panel of Queers who are so far unconvinced.
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
Our friends have released 6 absolutely STUNNING bruce covers to celebrate the series. Find them all on our Queer Springsteen playlist <3
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Resources for people interested in getting into audio.
Gna miss us? Check out more of Jesse’s work here and here, and more of Holly’s work here and here. Follow Butch Springsteen here.
Listen to Huw Lemmey’s Bad Gays
Listen to Zakiya Gibbons’ Hang Up
Read Joelle Taylor’s C+nto & Othered Poems
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Zakiya Gibbons, Huw Lemmey, Joelle Taylor, Jazmine (JT) Green and Talk Bazaar
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
23 July 2024, 4:00 am - 38 minutes 41 seconds6. Last Chance
Jesse and Holly just have one checkpoint to go before we can officially crown Bruce Springsteen with queer icon status. Quite simply – is there a vibe? Do other queer people agree that Bruce is a queer icon? This is their last chance to collate their evidence, gather their findings, and prepare their ultimate arguments for the Panel of Queers next week.
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
Read Alana Kumbier’s seminal zine Because the Boss Belongs to us
Read Holly Casio’s Graphic Memoir Looking for Bruce
Follow Butch Springsteen and Georgeous Michael
Read Eve Kosofsky Sedgewick - You’re So Paranoid, I Bet You Think This Introduction is About You
Our friends have released 5 absolutely STUNNING bruce covers to celebrate the series. Find them all on our Queer Springsteen playlist <3
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Alana Kumbier, Otto Wates and Afi Yellow-Duke
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Serena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
16 July 2024, 4:00 am - 35 minutes 45 seconds5: Cry / Dance / F**k
They’re back, baby. Jesse and Holly are donning their lab coats once again to see if Bruce Springsteen ticks off checklist point three: Good Music. Does Bruce Springsteen’s music help queer people access emotions that they have spent years learning to dissociate from? Or, in other works, can you dance to it, can you cry to it, can you f**k to it?
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
If this is your first time thinking about The Boss as a queer icon, and you want to explore these new feelings you’re having, me and Holly have made a playlist: Queer Springsteen. Think of it as a Queer Bruce 101 - it’s a combination of Bruce songs that we think are queer anthems, and then covers of Bruce songs by legendary queer artists. Some of them are their friends, who made the covers to celebrate the release of the show!
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Rudy Russell, Tasmin Bookey, Sergio Papini, Jazmine (JT) Green and Talk Bazaar
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Serena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9 July 2024, 4:00 am - 36 minutes 33 seconds4: Failure
Off the back of their conversations last episode, Jesse and Holly are really starting to doubt their mission. Sure, a lot of Bruce Springsteen's lyrics make them feel seen, but can they relate to actual Bruce Springsteen? He’s a multi-millionaire! And his fanbase is not representative of their identities and beliefs. Does that even matter?
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
If this is your first time thinking about The Boss as a queer icon, and you want to explore these new feelings you’re having, me and Holly have made a playlist: Queer Springsteen. Think of it as a Queer Bruce 101 - it’s a combination of Bruce songs that we think are queer anthems, and then covers of Bruce songs by legendary queer artists. Some of them are their friends, who made the covers to celebrate the release of the show!
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Jazmine (JT) Green, Lex , Tom Rasmussen and CJ Raey
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Serena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2 July 2024, 4:00 am - 35 minutes 53 seconds3: Underdog
It’s time to investigate item two on Jesse and Holly’s airtight queer icon checklist: Underdog Status. They need to find in him experiences of struggle that would make him relatable to queer people, so they can root for him as an underdog.
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
Live recording of The River where Bruce talks about his dad
If this is your first time thinking about The Boss as a queer icon, and you want to explore these new feelings you’re having, me and Holly have made a playlist: Queer Springsteen. Think of it as a Queer Bruce 101 - it’s a combination of Bruce songs that we think are queer anthems, and then covers of Bruce songs by legendary queer artists. Some of them are their friends, who made the covers to celebrate the release of the show!
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Naomi Gordon-Loebl, Jazmine (JT) Green and Lex
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Serena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
25 June 2024, 4:00 am - 36 minutes 14 seconds2. Camp
Jesse and Holly have anointed themselves with Queer Scientific Research Status and they’re ready to put The Boss to the test. Can he fulfill the first item on their checklist: CAMP?
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
If this is your first time thinking about The Boss as a queer icon, and you want to explore these new feelings you’re having, me and Holly have made a playlist: Queer Springsteen. Think of it as a Queer Bruce 101 - it’s a combination of Bruce songs that we think are queer anthems, and then covers of Bruce songs by legendary queer artists. Some of them are their friends, who made the covers to celebrate the release of the show!
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Eleanor Medhurst and Brooke Palmieri
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Selena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
18 June 2024, 4:00 am - 30 minutes 57 seconds1. The Mission
Jesse Lawson fell in love with Bruce Sprinsteen when they were 20. They knew who he was before then, but that’s the first time they’d properly heard his music. It went straight into their insides, pulling out feelings that they didn’t even realize they had yet, giving them new words as they were held up to the light.
It turns out, they are not alone. And Jesse has questions. What is it about Bruce? Why are queers so obsessed with him? And why don’t people know that Bruce is loved by queer people?
Show notes:
Read a transcript of today’s episode
Find more Butch Springsteen here.
If this is your first time thinking about The Boss as a queer icon, and you want to explore these new feelings you’re having, me and Holly have made a playlist: Queer Springsteen. Think of it as a Queer Bruce 101 - it’s a combination of Bruce songs that we think are queer anthems, and then covers of Bruce songs by legendary queer artists. Some of them are their friends, who made the covers to celebrate the release of the show!
Buy Jesse’s Gay Bruce Merch and support trans affirming surgeries and families evacuating Gaza xoxo
Credits:
Because the Boss Belongs to Us is a production of Molten Heart and iHeartPodcasts
Creator: Jesse Lawson
Hosts and Executive Producers: Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio
This episode features: Tom Rasmussen
Producer + Sound Designer: Jesse Lawson
Production Assistant: Tess Hazel
Mix Engineer: Michelle Macklem
Original music and theme: Talk Bazaar
Show Art: Holly Casio
Fact Checking: Serena Solin
Legal: Rowan Maron and Feil
Molten Heart Executive Producer: Jazmine (JT) Green
iHeartPodcasts Executive Producer: Lindsey Hoffman
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11 June 2024, 4:00 am - 2 minutes 4 secondsIntroducing: Because the Boss Belongs to Us
You know Bruce Springsteen, but did you know that he is a queer icon? Because The Boss Belongs to Us is a series presented by Jesse Lawson and Holly Casio that uses Bruce Springsteen as a lens through which to explore queer history, identity and politics. Through original reporting, tender personal narratives, and playful, sound-rich surprises, Jesse and Holly go on a journey to not only understand why The Boss low-key resonates with so many queer folks, but also what it even means to idolize a celebrity in this way.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4 June 2024, 9:34 am - More Episodes? Get the App