Archive - Dispatches From the Fringe

Give Me a Sign: What a Marquee Across the Street Taught Me About Failure

The night of my tiny book launch, I was already jittery. Then I saw the marquee: My punk-rock nemesis was having their own book party, in a giant…

Jun 20 •

Episode 40: Happiness

Where is happiness..??

Published on WALTER MARTIN RADIO • Jun 6

58:58

May 2025

"They Hate Babies and Old People": The Story of 9353, Evil Clowns of the D.C. Punk Scene

Rock is full of “shoulda made it” stories, but this isn’t one of them. In the D.C. punk scene, 9353 were the bad guys. They were also eerily gripping…

May 23 •

Heartbreak, Scandal & Soul: How Ed Cobb Brought Angst and Grit to Pop

If you were a music-obsessed kid scanning the airwaves for signs of life, songs like “Tainted Love,” “Every Little Bit Hurts” & “Dirty Water” gave you…

May 9 •

April 2025

Sonics Boom: My Afternoon with the Greatest Garage Band of All Time

A new documentary on The Sonics sheds some light—but not quite enough of it—on Tacoma’s favorite sons. Better still, it reignites memories of my own…

Apr 18 •

Here Are The Sonics

A frustrating new doc on the US garage greats sends me back to their wax

Published on Jagged Time Lapse • Apr 17

Listening to Our Ancestors: A Conversation on Recognizing—and Releasing—Intergenerational Trauma

Ancestral trauma is everywhere: In hit shows, web searches, and everyday conversation. But how do we tell it apart from the everyday stresses of…

Apr 4 •

March 2025

Punking Your Story: A Guided Journey for Writers, Non-Writers, and the Rest of Us

Whether or not you identify as a punk or you’re just someone who’s drawn to the margins, telling your own story—even if it’s just to yourself—can be…

Mar 28 •

Our Therapist Gave My Wife and Me MDMA—and It Saved Our Marriage

Julianna and I were on the brink of breaking up when we were met with an unexpected proposal that changed the way we saw ourselves and each other…

Published on Narratively • Mar 21

February 2025

Philadelphia Story: Kendrick, SZA, and The Human Flag

Stuck in Philly, I gave in and watched the halftime show. As I did, I felt something breaking inside: The humbling power of grief. We can resist it all…

Feb 21 •

The Great Dismantling

In Washington, D.C. the mood is grim. The administration is ripping the copper from the walls, and we’re all about to lose our heat. Maybe punk offers a…

Feb 7 •

January 2025

The Tree No One Could See: How My Friend's Sexual Assault Changed Everything

I tried to put my prep school years behind me, but the Kavanaugh report brought it all back: My favorite teacher, the girl from my neighborhood, and the…

Jan 17 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts