THIS PODCAST STRIKES FIRST!

jesse And jamilah Watch 'Decades: 1980s – Season 1, Episode 1'

After a few years of conversation, curiosity and anticipation; on the 2nd of June Bad Religion's official Youtube channel premiered the first episode from the first (of two) season(s) of the 'Decades' series, aired in 2020- at the time when concert venues were shut down to the public.   
jamilah (of course) has seen this before but she wanted to share this moment with jesse, particularly to see if he'd change his views on BR as a live band.  Has this episode changed his mind, or is he still not convinced of their greatness? 
Thanks for listening- and watch along with us if you'd like!
jamilah's piece on Punk Rock Bowling, mentioned in the episode:  https://theonewomanapollo.com/2025/06/06/punk-rock-bowling-and-reconnecting-to-my-roots/
If you have any questions or comments for us, go to:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com    
 
 

Some Of Our Favorite Oozin' Aahs!

(Currently, jamilah is in Las Vegas, Nevada for Punk Rock Bowling, but she recorded this quick episode right before packing to go.)
Harmonies and background vocals are an integral part of Bad Religion's sound in many ways- so much that they are famously (of infamously, depending on whom you speak to) known on the albums as the 'Oozin' Aahs'. While they are beloved in the BR community, jamilah doesn't necessarily hear a lot of people talking about them... Hence, this episode, which of course was incredibly difficult to do.
Thanks for listening!  We would love to hear what some of your favorite Oozin' Aahs moment are!  Let us know at: thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com   
 

Mistakes Made And Lessons Learned (feat. jesse)

On March 5, jesse and jamilah recorded a whole episode together, discussing their favorite songs on all the Graffin solo records (as well as the Population Wars 7"), only to discover after the fact that JESSE'S MIC WAS NOT ON!!!!  Despite the fact that picking only three songs per record for jamilah was incredibly difficult (because she pretty much loves all of the songs), and that jesse was not at all into his second album Cold As The Clay (but was more into American Lesion and Millport); it was an incredibly fun episode to record.  So we decided to post it anyway.  Hopefully we got it to where jesse was audible enough to hear, and that the variation in sound is not distracting to the point of not enjoying the episode. 
Our full conversation was not featured here (so we don't torture you too much).  This most likely means that jamilah will be doing episodes covering the albums (plus the 7") as a whole, as a part of our 'In Defense Of' series. 
Apologies for our error and mishap, and thank you for listening!!!!!
If you wanna (lovingly) yell at us and stuff (about our error, and about how jesse is a hater of Cold As The Clay), go to: thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com
 

The Writings Of Greg Graffin (pt. 1): 'A Punk Manifesto'

As promised (somewhere in the scope of an episode- or two or three), we are taking time to discuss the non-lyrical material of Professor Graffin, whom jamilah very openly considers to be one of her favorite writers.  This first episode has her musing about his 'Punk Manifesto', which was, if we are not mistaken, written in the late 1990s (of course, if we are incorrect, please correct us). 
There's also a discussion of current events, because of course there is.
Music Featured:
-Evangeline-Epiphany-Infected-The State Of The End Of The Millennium Address-Dream Of Unity-Strange Denial-Sanity-Lose Your Head-Whisper In TimeThe Dichotomy-Empty Causes-The Voracious March Of Godliness-Faith Alone-To Another Abyss
Thanks for listening!
To read 'A Punk Manifesto', you can check it out here:  https://punxinsolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/punk-manifesto-by-greg-graffin/
Or here (in Spanish, though not a complete version): https://gargantas-libertarias.blogspot.com/2012/09/manifiesto-punk-por-greg-graffin-bad.html
Petition for the Kononovich Brothers: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/ukraine-stop-the-assassination-of-the-kononovich-brothers
Reach out to us at:thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com

Our 15(.5) Favorite BR Live Performances

This episode was directly inspired by the announcement of the mini tour with Dropkick Murphys.  Nothing more, nothing less.  We are absolutely excited to be seeing the band live again (and we hope you get to see them too); until then, we hope you enjoy this episode. 
If you want to tell us about some of your favorite BR shows, or if you have any questions or comments, we are at:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com 

TPSF's 1st Anniversary Episode- A Conversation With Jim Ruland, Co-Author Of 'Do What You Want: The Story Of Bad Religion'

We innocuously recorded this on February 13 (because it was a fit for everyone's schedules); but to be reminded after the fact that this humble little podcast was started one year ago to the day of this episode's recording, was an incredible surprise.
We feel nothing but gratitude for Mr. Jim 'punk whisperer' Ruland to have spent part of his day with us (again, innocuously) on this anniversary.  The contributor to fanzines such as Flipside and Razorcake (respectively), he is also the author of various short stories (Big Lonesome) and novels (Forest Of Fortune, Make It Stop); as well as Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall Of SST Records.  He is the co-author of Giving The Finger (with Scott Campbell, Jr.), My Damage (with Keith Morris), and of course, Do What You Want: The Story Of Bad Religion. 
jamilah and Mr. Ruland discussed everything from the connectivity and joys of punk and the vulnerabilities of relationship building (as well as its heaping contradictions), our shared friendships with Keith Morris (whether brief or longer term), surviving the struggles with addiction, the gift of the tattoo journey, the importance of Bad Religion's music around the world, the gift of watching the band at work...  and of course, the minimal coverage of the amazing Into The Unknown in Do What You Want. 
Thank you for being here with us, and sticking with us!  it means a lot. 
To keep up with Jim Ruland, subscribe to Message from the Underworld.
For any questions or comments, we are at:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com 

Why 'I Love My Computer' Is Greg Graffin's Greatest Composition

Yes, we have a(nother) episode where jamilah reads far too much into some lyrical content...  That is how her brain works though, and a podcast is a pretty good outlet for these sorts of ruminations. 
One of the most contested songs in Bad Religion's catalog, jamilah attempts to make a case for the brilliance of 'I Love My Computer', due to the juxtapositions of emotions/sensibilities, as well as its ability to effortlessly weave through commentary, humor and pathos. 
What are your thoughts of the song?  Let us know at:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com 
Thanks for listening!
 

In Defense Of 'Age Of Unreason'... Critiques And All

Well...  An inauguration in the Yew Ess Uv Ayyy just occurred.  Given where we're at, at this point in time; it is certainly apropos to have an episode where we discuss the 2019 album, Age Of Unreason.  While jamilah does have quite a few unsurprising critiques, she ultimately considers it to be a beautiful work of art, and massively on time. 
And on time it is, because sometime in the course of recording this episode, certain (obvious) harmful executive orders have been immediately signed, a certain Elon Musk is out here doing certain salutes, and the MAGAites are imploding. 
And in a last-ditch effort to attempt to get people to not think about his war crimes, Biden (before the end of his term) pardoned Marcus Garvey, but only commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier, because revolutionaries who are still walking this earth are too much of a threat for these people, regardless of age of physical condition. 
What a time to be alive.  Another day in the life in the Snakes... 
Also, in the midst of editing this episode we found out the Santa Ana winds have started up again, prompting more fires- this time in San Diego.  Please, everyone be safe.  
i have not seen specific things regarding assistance for people dealing with the fires yet; however, there's the San Diego County Mutual Aid site: https://www.weallwegotsd.com/
And again, mutual aid for Los Angeles: https://mutualaidla.org/
Another mutual aid list: https://www.fireaid.info/
Assistance for our non-human friends in Los Angeles:  https://www.animalwellnessfoundation.org/
If you want to contact us, go to:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com 
Thanks for listening!
 
 

Discussing Brett Gurewitz' Music (outside of Bad Religion) (feat. jesse j.)

While jamilah absolutely adores Bad Religion (as a band); we could not think of a better person to be on this episode than jesse, the resident Brett Gurewitz fanboi.  We know about his work regarding the running of Epitaph Records; we know of his history and present role as a producer, mixer, and other behind-the-scenes activities; and of course, we know him as the main co-songwriter, guitarist and Oozin' Aahs contributor of Bad Religion.  However, we don't really hear many people talking about his musical projects outside of Bad Religion- this includes Gurewitz himself.
While we give Mr. Brett his flowers and discuss three short-lived musical projects in particular- The Seeing Eye Gods, Daredevils and Error- we ask the question, 'WHY??!!'  Why were these projects not really discussed in Do What You Want, and how many people know about these records?
(We think Dean Opseth's name also kept getting mispronounced as 'Ospeth'; we apologize!!!)
Thanks again for listening!
For anyone in Los Angeles needing resources, go to:  https://mutualaidla.org/
Another mutual aid list: https://www.fireaid.info/
Assistance for our non-human friends in Los Angeles:  https://www.animalwellnessfoundation.org/
If you want to contact us, go to:  thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com 

Introducing a 'How Could Hell Be Any Worse?' fan to the rest of the BR catalog (feat. Abby Denson)

Both inspired and influenced by punk culture and music, Abby Denson and jamilah met as teenagers in the 1990s, and immediately started a band (where jamilah played guitar, and Abby played bass, respectively.  Mayumi (who is still in both of their lives) played drums).  While jamilah's introduction to Bad Religion was No Control; Abby's was the band's first album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?; in terms of the band, this is where the two part ways- jamilah continued to purchase their records (as well as going backwards); Abby never found the interest to move beyond that.  We suppose that she found other bands to inspire her to pick up the thesaurus. 
When we found out that Abby was only familiar with the first album, we knew that she was the perfect candidate (no pun intended) to be on an episode.  What made it even more interesting was that she's actually seen them live (with her husband, who is a longtime BR appreciator).  We gave her one song from every album to listen to (except the first one, of course), And she and jamilah converse, leading to a few interpretations of select songs that are...  interesting, to say the least.
There is also discussion of how Los Angeles is burning (and of course, this has never been a truer song more than now); how some music and art have been misappropriated by people who do not mean well, as past works have the capacity to lose context as time goes on; how some parents refuse to teach their kids about the world around them; as well as a personal evolution of the Crossbuster's significance. 
Thanks so much for listening!
For anyone in Los Angeles needing resources, go to:  https://mutualaidla.org/
To go to Abby's site, go to:  https://www.abbydenson.com/
Give us a holler at: thispodcaststrikesfirst@gmail.com