Set Lusting Bruce: The Bruce Springsteen Fan Podcast

Set Lusting Bruce: The Bruce Springsteen Fan Podcast

🎙️ Set Lusting Bruce is more than a podcast—it's a celebration of connection through the music of Bruce Springsteen. Hosted by longtime contact center leader and community builder Jesse Jackson, each episode invites fans from all walks of life to share their personal stories, favorite lyrics, and the moments where Bruce’s music met them right where they were. Whether you're a die-hard E Street devotee or someone who just discovered Thunder Road, this show is your backstage pass to heartfelt conversations, unexpected insights, and the kind of camaraderie only music can spark. From tales of redemption and resilience to laughter over setlist debates, Set Lusting Bruce is where fandom becomes family. Because as Bruce once sang, “We learned more from a three-minute record than we ever learned in school.” Proud Member of the Pantheon Podcast Network.

Episodes

August 26, 2026 • 49 mins
In this episode of Set Lusting Bruce, host Jesse Jackson and guest Joe K step off the Springsteen track to honor Dolly Parton following news of her death on August 25, 2026, reflecting on her six-decade career as the “Queen of Country,” her landmark songs, acting roles, business success with Dollywood, and rare talent for reimagining other artists’ work. They share personal first memories of Dolly, discuss the sto...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Boston-based consultant and lifelong Springsteen fan Andy Freed to discuss Freed’s book, "Lead Like The Boss: The Bruce Springsteen Framework to Elevating Your Leadership." Freed shares how discovering "Born to Run" at age eight sparked a fandom that’s led to nearly 100 shows, and explains how the arc of a Springsteen concert maps to practical leadership and communication lessons—prepar...
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In this B-side episode of Set Lusting Bruce, host Jesse Jackson talks with Joey Register, who records as itsrihhomie, about his path from growing up in Rochester, New York to making melodic rap as an emotional outlet and running his own studio to help others create. Joey describes his freestyle, bar-by-bar recording process, early influences from friends and artists like Juice WRLD and Lil Wayne, and how his album Population Mars p...
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In this B-side episode of Set List and Bruce, Jesse welcomes back Dale Hansen for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with Hansen reflecting on long-winded interviews and leads into his love of Rod Stewart, first seeing him live at the Cowboys’ 1996 Super Bowl in Phoenix, and why Stewart’s persona, gravelly voice, and story-driven songs resonate with him—so much so that he’s planned Rod Stewart songs for...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes writer and musician David Starkey to Set Listing Bruce to discuss Starkey’s book On Track: Bruce Springsteen 1973–1987, Every Album, Every Song and his lifelong relationship to Springsteen’s recorded work. Starkey shares how growing up between Sacramento and summers in Beaumont shaped his musical tastes, from Johnny Cash and Aerosmith to discovering Springsteen via Greetings and being c...
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Pride Month Reflections, Bruce as Lifeline, and the Thunder Road “Mary” Question (with Beverly) Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Beverly, a longtime Bruce Springsteen fan from Missouri now living in Kentucky, to discuss how Springsteen’s writing—especially around gender and politics—has resonated throughout her life. Beverly shares growing up with little music at home, discovering Bruce through “Danc...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes John Gulla to Set Lusting Bruce for a wide-ranging conversation beyond Springsteen. John, a Miami native, describes discovering music early, teaching himself by ear, forming a high-school a cappella group that pursued recording contracts and moved from Miami to New York and Washington, DC, before he left the group around age 25 due to financial realities and marketing challenges. He discusses choosing ba...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Springsteen fan Audrey Hunn, a Philly-born travel agent and craft business owner, who recalls discovering Bruce through The River at summer camp and building friendships via the E Street community and her nearly 10,000-member Facebook group, “Calling All Bruce Springsteen Fans.” Audrey estimates she has attended close to 200 shows, praises the latest tour’s sound, song choices, and the ...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Denver-based Springsteen fan Tracey Konigsbauer, who grew up in Philadelphia and says Bruce has always been in her blood. Tracey shares her musical influences (soul, R&B, Prince, The Roots, classic hip hop, The Beatles), her own playing (saxophone inspired by Clarence Clemons, plus guitar), and her move to Colorado. She discusses how Tunnel of Love became her gateway to deeply absorbing Bruce’s...
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In a cross over episode, JKL Media Reviews discusses Rebecca Ross’s YA romantasy Divine Rivals, chosen by Karen after previous picks by Lou and Jesse. Lou, not a romance fan, says the book didn’t change his view of romance novels and critiques passive characters, trope-heavy misunderstandings, and underdeveloped worldbuilding, especially the vague setting and limited exploration of the warring gods Dakra and Enva. Jesse...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes John Mountain, a longtime Bruce Springsteen fan now living in Bakersfield, California, who first connected with Bruce through the 1981 “No Nukes” concert film and was especially moved by “The River.” John shares his early musical influences, love of movies and horror, and how Springsteen’s songs feel cinematic, including connections between “Nebraska” and Terrenc...
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Jesse Jackson welcomes retired Dallas sportscasting legend Dale Hansen, who reflects on covering the Cowboys across decades, loving sports more for drama than wins and losses, and feeling lucky throughout a 41-year TV career. Hansen discusses his 2019 journalism speech about speaking truth to power and worries about U.S. politics and media capitulation, then traces his lifelong connection to music through radio, his eclectic tastes...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Dallas sportswriter Tim Cowlishaw to Set Lusting Bruce, beginning with a discussion about Dallas teams potentially leaving the American Airlines Center area and the impact on fans and downtown. Cowlishaw shares his upbringing in Tulsa, New Jersey, and Texas, early musical influences like Beatles and The Who, and how a King Biscuit Flower Hour Columbia Records ad led him to Bruce Springsteen’s The W...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes new guest Dr. Rob Yonover, a Hawaii-based scientist, inventor of military survival gear, and lifelong music fan. Rob recalls seeing Bruce Springsteen in Miami in 1975 and shares his connections to Perry Farrell, along with a deep love for Bob Dylan and a desert-island album pick list (Dylan’s "Highway 61 Revisited," Jane’s Addiction’s "Nothing’s Shocking," and Sublime’s "40 ...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Mireille Cameron, his Zendesk account manager, to Set Lusting Bruce to discuss her South Louisiana and North Carolina upbringing, early musical influences (Cajun, Zydeco, jazz, bluegrass, Prince), and how music shaped her life. Mireille shares why she finally saw Bruce Springsteen for the first time on the current tour in Cleveland over Memorial Day weekend, drawn by his longevity, message, and the commu...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes returning guest Scott Shea—author of All the Leaves Are Brown and a forthcoming Waylon Jennings book—to discuss the anniversary of Bruce Springsteen signing with Columbia Records in June 1972 and the recent death of Clive Davis. Shea highlights Springsteen’s rare 54-year label loyalty, early rocky years, and how Born to Run marked progress before larger commercial success arrived with T...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes back musician and actor Levi Petree to catch up on Bruce Springsteen, starting with reactions to recent shows and the tour’s purposeful, righteous energy, including standout moments like “War” into “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Long Walk Home,” “House of a Thousand Guitars,” “American Skin (41 Shots),” and the Tom Morello “Tom Joad” p...
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Host Jesse Jackson welcomes writer, podcaster, and comedian Courtney Kocak, who grew up in small-town Minnesota and now splits time between Austin and Los Angeles, to discuss her debut memoir, Girl Gone Wild. Courtney traces her musical influences from classic rock radio and movie soundtracks to college-era rap, indie, and classic rock, and shares how reading and acting shaped her love of storytelling. She recounts joining the Girl...
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On a JKL Media Podcast one-off special, Lou introduces Canadian prog-rock/metal trio Rush and asks Karen and Jesse for reactions, starting with a yes/no on Geddy Lee’s voice (Karen yes, Jesse no). Lou frames Rush as a technically revered “musician’s band,” outlines the members’ roles, and compares their music to headphone-focused listening like Pink Floyd. Karen and Jesse discuss songs from Lou’s...
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Host Jesse Jackson steps outside the Springsteen universe for a B-side conversation with Ernest Lineberger, a retired Naval officer and former Texas Instruments supervisor/industrial engineer who ran for Congress in a tough Texas district, lost the 2024 general election, then continued organizing town halls, protests, and outreach before losing a subsequent primary. Lineberger discusses why voters change their minds, the need for b...
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