Peter Richardson
Historian and author of Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine (U California Press, 2026), specializing in San Francisco cultural history and the origins of Rolling Stone magazine.
Top 3 podcasts with Peter Richardson
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Apr 7, 2026 • 49min
Peter Richardson, "Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine" (U California Press, 2026)
Peter Richardson, historian of San Francisco culture and author of Brand New Beat, explores Rolling Stone’s chaotic rise from 1967 onward. He traces founders Gleason and Wenner, the magazine’s counterculture roots, its shift from music to politics and celebrity, Hunter S. Thompson’s influence, and surprising early coverage of women and gay culture. Short, lively tour of a magazine that reshaped American journalism.
Apr 7, 2026 • 49min
Peter Richardson, "Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine" (U California Press, 2026)
Peter Richardson, historian and author of Brand New Beat, traces Rolling Stone’s wild early years from 1967 San Francisco roots. He covers the magazine’s founding, its embrace of Bay Area counterculture, gonzo journalism and campaign reporting, the 1977 move to New York, shifts into celebrity and film coverage, and surprising early reporting on women and gay culture.
Apr 7, 2026 • 49min
Peter Richardson, "Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine" (U California Press, 2026)
Peter Richardson, a music and cultural history scholar and professor at San Francisco State, chronicles the chaotic rise of Rolling Stone in late 1960s San Francisco. He traces its Berkeley founding, ties to the counterculture, Gonzo journalism's impact, political campaign reportage, the 1970s golden age, the New York move, and surprising stances on gender and gay culture.
