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Slow Burn

Decoder Ring: What's Really Going On Inside a Mosh Pit?

Slow Burn

Slate Audio

Politics, Society & Culture, History, News, Documentary

4.6 • 25.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The mosh pit has a reputation as a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression. There’s some truth to that, but it’s also a place bound by camaraderie and—believe it or not—etiquette. In this episode, we explore the unwritten rules of this 50-year-old, live-music phenomenon with punks, concertgoers and a heavy metal physicist. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin with Katie Shepherd. This episode was written by Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Willa Paskin and Andrea Bruce, with help from Joel Meyer. Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Thank you to Vivien Goldman, Paolo Ragusa, and Philip Moriarty whose insights and research on moshing were crucial to this episode. You can create your own mosh pit using this simulator developed by Jesse Silverberg and his colleagues. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends. If you’re a fan of the show and want to support us, consider signing up for Slate Plus. As a member, you’ll get to listen to Decoder Ring without any ads—and your support is crucial to our work. Go to slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:23.1

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0:30.6

Savings accounts provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, member FDIC, terms apply.

0:37.9

Hey listeners, I'm Joel Anderson, host of SlowBurn, becoming Justice Thomas.

0:42.4

Thanks to all of you who listened to our four-part series on the unlikely journey of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

0:48.9

We're already hard at work on our next season of SlowBurn, but in the meantime,

0:52.9

we're going to use this space to showcase some of Slate's other great narrative podcasts,

0:57.1

starting with Dakota Ring, which is all about cracking cultural mysteries.

1:01.3

Many of them from the past.

1:02.9

After that, you'll hear our history podcast one year,

1:06.1

which explores the forgotten stories and wildest moments that changed America one year at a time.

1:11.7

So keep listening. Here's Dakota Ring host, Willapaskin.

1:17.3

Before we begin, this episode contains adult language.

1:23.3

In 1991, when Joel Meyer, a senior editor and producer at Slate, was 14 years old,

1:34.3

he went to the very first La La Paloza concert tour, when it stopped in St. Paul, Minnesota.

1:39.7

It might have even been my first concert without a parent involved.

1:43.9

There were so many bands he and his friends loved playing.

1:47.9

Jane's addiction, living color, and especially Henry Rollins, from the hardcore band Black Flag.

...

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