Something About The Beatles (podcast)
Article
Something About The Beatles is an acclaimed podcast created in 2013 by Beatles author Robert Rodriguez. Currently (2024), it has surpassed 3 million downloads worldwide, spread over nearly 300 episodes. The show is known for its high-level discussions of every aspect of The Beatles’ art and career, both together and solo. Occasionally, there have been featured discussions of peripheral artists and subjects, but on the whole, every Beatles-related topic is fair game. Richard Wey has served as the show’s Executive Producer since its inception. He is also responsible for the artwork for each episode.
History of Something About The Beatles Podcast
The show was started by Robert as a thought experiment, as a way to promote his books beyond the usual 90-day window accorded by publishers. Given a lifelong history of deep conversations about The Beatles with like-minded friends, he conceived the idea of pairing himself with a British author, offering points of view from either side of the Atlantic. Richard Buskin served as co-host from 2013 through episode 122 in 2017. Beginning with 123, Robert has hosted every episode with an occasional guest co-host.
The show very quickly found an audience around the world, notably written up by the UK’s Radio Times in 2017, and by Forbes in 2019. The show was the subject of two more articles in Forbes in 2021 and 2022, following Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson tracking down Robert to offer himself up as a guest to promote his Get Back TV mini-series.
The show was named after the song, “Something About The Beatles,” written by James Warren and recorded by The Korgis in 2006.
Something About The Beatles Podcast logo
Format
Though not easy to categorize, SATB (as it is abbreviated) can, since episode 123, be broken
down generally into one of several types of shows:
Interviews – These are conversations with guests, often but not always authors, discussing a book or a project.
Presentations – Wherein a guest with a particular expertise on an area of Beatles scholarship presents their research.
Topical – This is where Robert invites a guest or guests specifically to discuss a particular subject of his choosing. One example would be the December 2023 show on “Now and Then,” The Beatles’ “last” new song.
The “Olympiad” series – These are opinion shows, featuring recurrent guest Gary Wenstrup, a lecturer and teacher, wherein specific releases are presented for discussion and the top three songs are ranked gold, silver or bronze.
Guests
There are several categories that the guests
can be broken into for easy classification.
Beatle Witnesses: These are people, often
themselves notable, who had intimate
connections with The Beatles, either
as family, friends, romantic partners, or as
people they regularly connected with
through proximity/work.
Some listed here knew The Beatles
intimately or else crossed paths with
them in their line of work.
| Nancy Lee Andrews | Michael Hill | Tom Murray | Ethan Russell | ||||
| Gary Astridge | Tony King | Chris O’Dell | Paul Saltzman | ||||
| Jenny Boyd | John Leckie | May Pang | Bill Schnee | ||||
| Pattie Boyd | Ken Mansfield | Alan Parsons | Chris Thomas | ||||
| Roger Ferris | Mike McCartney | Dan Richter | Nick Webb | ||||
| Kevin Harrington | Michael Medieros | Bill Rotari |
Beatle Historians: Folks who have researched the history and produced books, not necessarily directly connected to The Beatles
| Andy Babuik | Laura Cortner | Steven Gaines | Allan Kozinn | ||||
| David Bedford | Terry Crain | Glenn Greenberg | Andrew Grant Jackson | ||||
| Dr. Thomas Brothers | Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett | Jerry Hammack | Candy Leonard | ||||
| Dr. Allison Bumsted | Dr. Duncan Driver | Dr. Robert Heironimous | Mark Lewisohn | ||||
| Alex Cain | Tim English | Jude Kessler | Chip Madinger | ||||
| James Campion | Walter Everett | Axel Korinth | Steve Mateo | ||||
| Terry McCusker | Dan Rivkin | Sara Schmidt | Erin Weber | ||||
| Sibbie O’Sullivan | Robert Rosen | Dr. Susan Shumsky | David Whelan | ||||
| Luca Perasi | Doug Sulpy | Carol Tyler | Ken Womack |
Journalists: Some listed here knew The Beatles intimately or else crossed paths with them in their line of work.
| Noah Berlatsky | Andy Martino | Sylvie Simmons | |||
| Ray Connolly | Michael Salfino | Bill Wyman | |||
| Ivor Davis | Jon Savage | Terry Zobeck |
Musicians: Some were influenced by The Beatles; some worked with them.
| Apple Jam | Dennis Diken | Mona Lisa Twins | Pat Sansone |
| Randy Bachman | Elliott Easton | Jessica Morgan | Jody Stephens |
| Sam Brown | Derek Forbes | Luther Russell | Bruce Thomas |
| Marshall Crenshaw | Ian McNabb | Arion Salazar | Lon Van Eaton |
| Ann Wilson | Ramsey Lewis | Jim McCarty | Jack Petruzzelli |
| Cameron Greider | Mike Pachelli |
Film and TV: Folks with direct Beatles connections.
| Debbie Gendler | Dave Mirkin | ||
| Peter Jackson | Andrew Solt | ||
| Jeff Martin | Gary Weis |
Articles
Metapod interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBDJSh4xR38&ab_channel=MetaPod
Dennis Diken, Pat Sansone, Arion Salazar, And More Discuss ‘Get Back’ On ‘Something About The Beatles’ Podcast
