🎙️ 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.
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Data updated on 26/09/2026
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Arlen Schumer on the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, Twilight Zone Favorites, and Bruce’s Legacy
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 01:11:56
Host Jesse Jackson welcomes returning guest Arlen Schumer, who discusses his Twilight Zone book and debates standout episodes including “Eye of the Beholder,” “To Serve Man,” and “Walking Distance,” while previewing a September webinar deconstructing “Shadow Play.” Schumer then shares his opening-day visit to the newly renamed Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, praising its first-class architecture, interior design, and dense, well-presented exhibits, including a detail about matching wood to Bruce’s guitar. The conversation ranges into Springsteen’s influences, the “Boss” nickname, Bruce’s cultural stature compared with Elvis, Dylan, The Beatles, and Hendrix, and the role of managers Mike Appel and Jon Landau in his career. Schumer also notes rising interest from Black audiences via reaction videos and plugs his website and upcoming events.
https://arlenschumer.com/
00:00 Patreon Thanks
01:29 Meet Arlen
02:03 Twilight Zone Favorites
07:47 Serling Legacy Today
11:13 Twilight Zone Meets Bruce
13:07 Springsteen Center Opens
14:21 Design Details Tour
20:48 Why Not The Boss
21:48 Bruce As The King
27:06 Biopic Scenes And Myth
30:02 Appel Hammond Landau
36:28 Appel Versus Landau
38:11 Outtakes And Alternate Albums
39:17 Bruce As Generational Icon
41:10 Dylan Beatles And Jungleland
48:05 Modesty Influences And Museum
51:47 Unreleased Songs Deep Dive
54:59 Archives Beyond Bruce
56:42 Race Audience And Reaction Videos
01:02:47 Where To Find Arlen
01:03:51 Twilight Zone Events
01:06:47 Farewell And Listener Outro
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Widow’s Bay vs. Haven, TV Binge Frustrations, and Why Musical Episodes Work
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 • Duration 26:51
Jesse Jackson and his friend Ken Schaeferdiscuss Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay after Ken watches it, comparing its supernatural-small-town premise to Haven. Then they pivot to loving Galavant and memorable musical TV episodes (Buffy’s “Once More, with Feeling” and Strange New Worlds). They briefly touch on accents, songwriting for TV, and plan to discuss Supergirl next month.
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Setlusting Football - Week 2 - Rich joins the fun!
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 • Duration 35:37
🎙️ Dive into the heart of NFL week 2 and Bruce Springsteen's legacy with us on Set Lusting Bruce! Jean Marie, Holly Mac, Rich and Jesse share their thoughts on week two in the NFL. Catch our episode now! #SetLustingBruce #NFL #Springsteen
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Pitchfork Editor Sam Sodomsky on Springsteen Obsession, Wrecking Ball Tour Magic, and His New Album “Take Leave”
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Duration 59:33
Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Sam Sodomsky, senior editor at Pitchfork and musician behind The Bird Calls, to discuss how a childhood encounter with a “Dancing in the Dark” parody sparked a lifelong Springsteen obsession that led him to guitar, songwriting, and writing about music. Sam shares growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania, collecting bootlegs and books, and even creating a mock Springsteen biography, then traces his path through blogging, an MFA in nonfiction at Columbia, and a decade at Pitchfork. He recounts standout Wrecking Ball Tour memories, including receiving Bruce’s harmonica, singing “Waiting on a Sunny Day” at Jazz Fest, and briefly meeting Bruce and Jon Landau backstage in London. Sam also talks about his new record “Take Leave,” his interest in poetry, his thoughts on Tracks II, and answers the “Thunder Road” question.
https://www.instagram.com/samsodomsky/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OvIlGI9oNdXSUBTggvQrC?si=qOxLiXqxRci2bWbMyG8zVQ
00:00 Podcast Intro
00:39 Opening Lyrics Montage
02:22 Meet Sam From Pitchfork
03:35 Growing Up In Reading
04:49 Why Bruce Hit Home
07:57 From Fan To Musician
09:40 Books Bootlegs And Obsession
12:08 Counting Shows And Setlists
14:50 Wrecking Ball Tour Stories
17:05 Onstage At Jazz Fest
20:39 Meeting Bruce Backstage
22:17 Pitchfork Writing Journey
25:08 Brian Wilson Tribute Essay
27:04 Beach Boys Mythos
28:49 Writing Beyond Journalism
30:11 Dream Interviews
31:25 Learning Songcraft
33:17 Springsteen Album Lessons
36:41 New Album Take Leave
40:20 Tracks II Deep Dive
45:30 Future Music Plans
47:23 Thunder Road Mary
50:59 Wrap Up And Plugs
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Set Lusting Football - Week 1 Cowboys Lose and all hope is gone
Friday, September 18, 2026 • Duration 28:19
It's week one of the NFL season and Jean Marie's Giants are feeling good, Jesse's hand is hovering over the panic button and Wendy is enjoing the Music of David Bryne from The Talking Heads but still had time to share her thoughts. IF you want to get into the action where you know you will have a winning ticket, send in your thoughts at 972-591-1460
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Bow Thayer on DIY Music, Vermont Creativity, and the Making of ‘Ninevah’
Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 01:06:20
Jesse and his Perfectly Good Podcast cohost Sylvan Groth sit down to talk with her friend and neighbor, Vermont songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bow Thayer.
Bow shares his journey from growing up in Massachusetts to finding a home making over 30 albums in the small town of Vermont. He shares stories of connecting with Levon Helm, touring, having a family and his latest venture of a campground and concert venue called KnowTown.
Bow also discusses his upcoming album. Inspired by both Vermont’s remote Lake Ninevah and the ancient city of Nineveh, Ninevah explores nature, division, transition, and rebirth. After spending nearly a year recording the project alone, Bow scrapped much of it, took the songs on an Alaskan tour with guitarist Krishna Guthrie and percussionist Steve Ferraris, then returned to Vermont to record the album’s core live. The record also features Val McCallum, James Rohr, Chazz Canney, Jabe Beyer, and Tyler Bolles and was mixed by three-time Grammy winner Justin Guip.
Here's the bandcamp link https://bowthayer.bandcamp.com/album/ninevah
Spotify and the others just have the single out for now
https://open.spotify.com/album/2fG9WNXw1pstyyDUuPG7KH?si=HVpkGWrIRRiZMQ_xqP5Zyg&utm_source=copy-link
https://music.apple.com/us/song/old-news/6804823311
https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0HGDJM38Q?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_bIfpT9jWrxbAoYjKXLquDmv3k
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Songwriter Bob on Recording-Only Projects, Concept Albums, and being part of The Disappearing Act
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 58:07
Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Texas songwriter Bob Blumenfeld to discuss his recording projects Welcome to the 21st and The Disappearing Act, both featuring longtime collaborator alim Nourallah and John Dufilhoo. Bob shares growing up in El Paso, discovering Springsteen’s Born to Run, and seeing Bruce live in the Bay Area, plus early influences from his brothers and his mother’s music. He explains his path from band and guitar lessons to constant songwriting, a DIY El Paso label (Tortilla Records), and his former band Low Dog. Bob outlines recent and upcoming releases including The Disappearing Act’s Proof of Existence (vinyl) and concept albums under Welcome to the 21st (Dyatlov Pass, coffee, UFO/UAP), plus a forthcoming rock-only album Chamberino 99, future cover and instrumental plans.
https://palosantotx.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WT21ST
https://www.instagram.com/wt21st/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ZhEgzxJQbrh7JGyWtVogi?si=10VizqnlRpeoZEwumDG2GQ
https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/article/disappearing-act-new-album-dallas-musicians-22318500.php
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Set Lusting Football Kickoff: Fans, Fandom Stories & 2025 NFL Predictions
Friday, September 11, 2026 • Duration 31:14
Jesse Jackson launches “Set Lusting Football,” a seasonal spin on his Bruce Springsteen podcast where music fans representing different NFL teams gather for weekly football talk, friendly rivalries, and laughs. Guests share their fandom origin stories: Wendy Hembrock (Bills), Jean Marie Anderson (Giants), Holly Mac (Packers), and Joe K (Commanders/Packers), while Jesse recounts becoming a Cowboys fan after moving to Dallas. The group gives season record predictions and Superbowl picks.
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Harmonizing Worlds: Indie Folk Meets Classical with William John Titus Bishop
Thursday, September 10, 2026 • Duration 50:41
William John Titus Bishop performed orchestral works and other musical genres before learning to play the guitar and perform at smaller venues on the London circuit. He has gone on to play international festivals and tour widely. In a breakaway from his stifling classical background, he went on to writing his own songs. He then recorded three full-length studio albums and amassed a following of over 1.5 million on social media and his last album gained 4 million Spotify streams in its first week. His music is used on degree courses at The Universities of York and Sussex. His music has been featured on BBC Radio 3 in the UK.In late 2025 his essay on Early Modern libertinism was published in an international academic journal. He has showcased at Live at Heart festival in Sweden, Tallinn Music Week in Estonia, the Brighton and Edinburgh Fringes and Focus Wales and 2000 Trees festivals in the UK. Social Media and Streaming: https://www.Instagram.com/williamjohntitusbishophttps://www.Facebook.com/williamjohntitusbishophttps://www.Twitter.com/WJTBishophttps://www.TikTok.com/@williamjohntitusbishophttps://open.spotify.com/artist/1kZEr9lsH0f57fqofUiiUN?si=QPjnntbjSZeDkYNojv26xw
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Set Lusting Bruce: A Long Walk Home - Episode 1500
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 • Duration 01:17:29
Set Lusting Bruce celebrates its 1,500th episode with congratulatory messages from fellow podcasters, friends, and listeners, praising Jesse Jackson’s consistency, kindness, interviewing skill, and the community he’s built. Jesse is joined by Chris Jackson for a milestone conversation covering Jesse’s regrets about guests he hasn’t booked, how his signature opening question helps people share their music origins, and why storytelling is central to the show. They discuss podcasts they enjoy, parallels between Bruce fandom and WWE—including “hate watching,” nostalgia, and escapism—and how music functions as a time machine tied to life memories. Chris shares favorite Springsteen songs like “Highway Patrolman,” and Jesse reflects on early country influences and his dream guests, including Bruce and E Street members. Jesse closes by recounting key Springsteen eras, albums, films, tours, and guests featured across the show’s run.
00:00 Congrats From Podcasters
01:14 More Listener Shoutouts
02:32 Welcome To Episode 1500
03:15 Regrets And Milestones
05:51 Pride In Community
08:48 Ireland Congrats Message
10:05 Favorite Podcasts Today
12:24 Why Music Matters
15:04 Rediscovering Wrestling
20:15 Bruce And WWE Parallels
25:31 More Congrats Voicemails
27:24 Becoming A Bruce Fan
29:54 Highway Patrolman Emotions
33:51 What The Podcast Means
36:38 Final Round Of Shoutouts
37:44 Listener Congrats Montage
42:21 Guest Booking Confidence
46:13 Dream Bruce Interview
48:32 Early Music Memories
55:23 Beverly Questions Prophet
01:00:01 Worst Songs Debate
01:04:40 E Street Favorites Stories
01:09:56 Wrap Up Reviews Guests
01:11:36 1500 Episode Reflection
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