Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Shirley Manson rose to '90s fame as the magnetic front woman of Garbage, but she was already a seasoned singer when guitarist Steve Marker spotted her in a music video for her previous band, Angelfish. She joined the Garbage in 1994. The band was made up of Steve Marker and producers Duke Erikson and Butch Vig—renowned for his work with Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins.

Nearly 30 years and over 17 million albums later, Garbage is preparing to release their eighth studio album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light. Shirley’s voice remains as sharp and compelling as ever.

On today’s episode, Leah Rose sits down with Shirley Manson to discuss how an unexpected piece of advice from an acting coach during her time on the Fox sci-fi series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles continues to shape her creative process. Shirley also opens up about the challenges of communicating with her bandmates—and shares a hilarious story about meeting one of her musical heroes, Patti Smith—only to discover she had green curry smeared across her face.

Today, we're revisiting a gem from our archives. In late 2020, Wilco's frontman and acclaimed songwriter Jeff Tweedy released his compact yet powerful book, "How to Write One Song" – a remarkable guide for unlocking anyone's creative potential through songwriting. This exploration of creativity immediately resonated with Broken Record host Malcolm Gladwell, leading to a fascinating conversation about the book and examining what has established Tweedy as one of the most distinctive songwriters of the 21st century so far.

For close to three decades, Ben Kweller’s been crafting deeply personal indie rock that's both intimate and expansive. From his early days fronting the band Radish as a teenager in the '90s to his acclaimed solo career that began in the early 2000s, he's consistently delivered songs that feel raw, honest and almost conversational. But his latest album, Cover the Mirrors, finds Ben in a different place entirely. It's an unflinching examination of grief, healing, and the complicated process of moving forward after unimaginable loss.

In today’s episode we’ll talk with Ben about the death of his teenage son, Dorian. How Ben and his family embraced grief and managed to not retreat from their lives and work. And what it means to return to making and releasing music.

Over the past few years, Kali Uchis has released three standout albums: Red Moon in Venus, Orquídeas, and now her latest, Sincerely. Each has made a powerful contribution to the evolving legacy of R&B and Latin music—but Sincerely marks a striking leap forward in her artistic journey.

So it’s no surprise that in her conversation with Justin Richmond, Kali reveals she took a different approach this time—writing most of the album on her own before stepping into the studio. It also, heartbreakingly, makes sense that Sincerely was shaped in the shadow of a traumatic, life-altering experience involving her mother.

In today’s episode, Kali opens up about that experience, along with her reflections on parenthood, her family’s immigration story, and the challenges of her first tour.

Rico Nasty is a genre-defying force in contemporary hip-hop, known for her raw, unapologetic style and fearless experimentation. Rico started releasing mixtapes while still in high school in Maryland, with early tracks like “iCarly” and “Hey Arnold” catching fire online.

After dropping five mixtapes independently, she signed with Atlantic Records in 2018 and introduced the world to her signature “sugar trap” sound—a blend of aggressive nu-metal energy and trap production—on breakout tracks like "Smack a Bitch" and "Rage."

Today, Leah Rose sits down with Rico as she prepares to release her fourth studio album, Lethal. They dive into everything from the beautiful chaos of female-heavy mosh pits at her shows, what it was like to suddenly come into lots of money as a teenager early, to how she landed her first acting role in the upcoming A24/Apple TV series Margo’s Got Money Troubles.