Reckoning with Jason Herbert
Reckoning with Jason Herbert is a long-form conversation podcast about history, the outdoors, and the stories that shape who we are.
Each episode features historians, writers, scientists, and thinkers in wide-ranging conversations about wild places, forgotten pasts, cultural memory, and the forces—human and natural—that continue to shape our lives.
This isn’t a news cycle show or a debate podcast. It’s a space for reflection, curiosity, and serious conversation—meant to be listened to slowly.
If you’re interested in history beyond textbooks, the outdoors beyond recreation, and stories that linger long after they’re told, this show is for you.
Reckoning with Jason Herbert
Episode 27: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood with Jeffrey Melnick
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This episode may be the very epitome of why I started this podcast. This week I'm joined by my friend Jeff Melnick to talk about an absolutely batshit film called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Jeff is the perfect guy to talk about this movie; he wrote a terrific book about the Manson murders called Charles Manson's Creepy Crawl: Inside the Lives of America's Most Infamous Family. But that only hints at what's inside this episode. Using this movie, Jeff and I get into all sorts of dialogue about pop culture, the conflicts in Florida, hip hop, course design, anti-fandom, and yes, Hootie and the Blowfish. I think you're gonna love this episode.
About our guest:
Jeffrey Melnick has been thinking about the Manson Family since first encountering the book and miniseries Helter Skelter in the 1970s. Melnick is a professor at University of Massachusetts Boston and the author of 9/11 Culture: America Under Construction (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), Black-Jewish Relations on Trial (University Press of Mississippi, 2000), and A Right to Sing the Blues (Harvard University Press, 1999). You can find him on twitter at @melnickjeffrey1