The Bridge: Dylan Was Always Electric

[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]

In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy welcomes musician, writer, and historian Elijah Wald. His book Dylan Goes Electric: Newport, Seeger, Dylan and the Night That Split the Sixties became the basis for the Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. While the movie compresses and invents certain aspects of the Dylan story, Wald says it also captures the ’60s folk scene and depicts how the shapeshifting artist benefited from and stood apart from it.

Also: Chris tests a Slate Plus listener’s music knowledge, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own—and previews the next episode of Hit Parade. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.