308: The Politics of Beatles with Candy Leonard

In 2014, sociologist Candy Leonard published Beatleness: How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade The World. It was a groundbreaking work, representing a serious exploration into the phenomenon of fandom and the reciprocal relationship between artist and audience, and the impact that all of it had on lives - and the world - that reverberates ever onward even today, sixty years on.  Candy has twice been a guest on the show (155: 1968 and 180: "...I buried Paul...") but for this conversation, we focused on the politics of Beatles: not their personal convictions per se but what they meant fresh out of the gate - what they represented and how they were received by fans and the establishment alike.   In this talk, we covered hair (as a statement) - drugs - evolution - One to One - Beatles '64 - feminism - Taylor Swift.   Check out Candy's site for her essays and more (https://www.candyleonard.com/beatleness ).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices