Known Associates

In episode four of Known Associates, a podcast brought to you by New Pony in affiliation with Southwest Review, the Paranoid Style singer-songwriter and cultural critic Elizabeth Nelson talks to Ann Powers—feminist, writer, editor, and beloved NPR correspondent. With a career that began when she was just a teenager writing for The Rocket in Seattle, Powers has spent the better part of her life chronicling, and commenting on, popular culture for our edification and enjoyment. She is the author of several books, including 2017’s Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music and 2024’s Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell. One of her major passions is re-creating the rock and pop canon to focus on the achievements of women artists. She is a beacon.
During their conversation, Elizabeth and Ann talk about her new projects, including an NPR+ podcast with Daoud Tyler-Ameen and an upcoming, career-spanning anthology of her work from the University of Texas Press (2:27). They also discuss her work creating the Turning the Tables series and its attendant book How Women Made Music (9:35). Then, they dive into what it’s like being a woman critic in the rock space (17:14), as well as the current state of music and music criticism (26:43), and the role artists (and their fans) may or may not play in the telling of their stories (1:06:25). They dive into Ann’s recent Joni Mitchell biography, her process writing this book, and the decision to not speak to a subject (1:13:00). They also spend some time talking about legacy artists, the art of live performance, the notion of artistic authenticity, and the increasing role technology plays in the creative process (1:26:13). Finally, they discuss what it feels like to experience the despair of writer’s block and what techniques they use to overcome such an impasse (1:45:10).  
Be sure to keep up with Ann Powers here. Subscribe to Known Associates and check out Southwest Review’s website here. Pick up a subscription to the magazine while you’re at it!  
Host: Elizabeth Nelson
Producers: Greg Brownderville, Robert Rea, Hannah Smith
Mixed by: Clay Jones

In episode three of Known Associates, a podcast brought to you by New Pony in affiliation with Southwest Review, the Paranoid Style singer-songwriter and cultural critic Elizabeth Nelson talks to music writer, director and producer, author and feminist badass Jessica Hopper. From the ’zines of her earliest years to her bestselling books The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic and Night Moves to her groundbreaking work in film, TV, and podcasts, Jessica Hopper doesn’t just move the needle. She IS the needle. 
Over the course of their conversation, Elizabeth and Jessica discuss the mighty Lilith Fair (1:35)—a late 90s festival founded by Sarah MacLachlan with an emphasis on elevating women musicians—and Hopper’s involvement as an executive producer on the 2025 documentary Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery—The Untold Story, currently streaming on Hulu. They also talk about the University of Texas Press’s seventy-fifth Anniversary, Hopper’s American Music Series on UT Press, and the books that she has helped get published (20:33). Of course, they get into what the future holds (43:40), but they also talk about Hopper’s past: her upbringing in Minneapolis and how she became the force of nature she is (46:44). Finally, they dive into her friendship with Known Associate Craig Finn from the Hold Steady, the flavor of the region she comes from, some of her favorite bands from her hometown, and the Twin Cities’ critics who inspired her (58:00).      
Subscribe to Known Associates—and check out Southwest Review’s website here. Pick up a subscription to the magazine while you’re at it!  
Host: Elizabeth Nelson
Producers: Greg Brownderville, Robert Rea, Hannah Smith
Mixed by: Clay Jones

In episode two of Known Associates, a podcast brought to you by New Pony in affiliation with Southwest Review, the Paranoid Style singer-songwriter and cultural critic Elizabeth Nelson talks to Patterson Hood from Drive-By Truckers. For over forty years, this indefatigable performer and overall force of good has been releasing records both with his band and as a solo artist and delivering sterling live shows to packed crowds night after night. 
Over the course of their conversation, Elizabeth and Patterson talk about his early influences and the watershed moment that convinced him he could make his living as a songwriter (2:28). They also discuss the Drive-By Truckers’ origin story and how DBT’s bold decision to release the ambitious, audacious double album Southern Rock Opera took the band to the next level (8:52). Then, they revisit the story of his growing up in Muscle Shoals, Alabama; what it was like being the son of the beloved session ace, David Hood; and what impact that legacy had on his own career choices (15:54), and dive into the nuances of Hood’s friendship and songwriting partnership with the great Mike Cooley, whom he has collaborated with for four decades (27:05). Patterson then tells Elizabeth what it was like working with artists like Booker T., Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (32:50). Later, they explore DBT’s decision to be an explicitly political band that fights for the causes they believe in (39:21). Finally, they get into Patterson’s new solo record, Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams (48:20); his fall 2025 tour with Known Associate Craig Finn from the Hold Steady (55:40); and, of course, what the future holds (60:40). 
Subscribe to Known Associates here and check out Southwest Review’s website here. Pick up a subscription to the magazine while you’re at it!  
 
Host: Elizabeth Nelson
Producers: Greg Brownderville, Robert Rea, Hannah Smith
Mixed by: Clay Jones

In our first episode of Known Associates, a new podcast brought to you by New Pony in affiliation with Southwest Review, the Paranoid Style singer-songwriter and journalist Elizabeth Nelson talks to Craig Finn from the Hold Steady. A songwriting institution and accomplished prose writer, Craig has been delighting audiences with his rowdy domestic picaresques and deeply flawed but highly lovable character studies for decades. 
In this episode, Elizabeth and Craig talk about his upbringing in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, where he started his first band, Lifter Puller, as well as the romance of regional scenes and how Minneapolis helped inform his sound (6:09). They also discuss Craig’s enduring fandom of the Minnesota Twins and talk about the time that he went fishing with legendary Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek (13:05). Then, they get into the twentieth anniversary of the Hold Steady’s masterpiece Separation Sunday (17:49) and Craig’s new solo record Always Been, its accompanying book Lousy With Ghosts, and what working with Adam Granduciel and the War on Drugs was like (22:14). Later, they discuss his upcoming shows with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers and how their friendship developed (39:20) and how Craig deals with being called a literary songwriter and the labels that get applied to his band in general (45:49). Finally, they break down Craig’s recent tour with the Mountain Goats, the tedium of touring, the enduring mysteries of buses and frontage roads (52:09), and of course, they discuss Bob Dylan (57:13) and what the future holds (61:50). 
Don’t forget to follow Known Associates and check out Southwest Review’s website here. Pick up a subscription to the magazine while you’re at it!  
Host: Elizabeth Nelson
Producers: Greg Brownderville, Robert Rea, Hannah Smith
Mixed by: Clay Jones