You heard him on the first episode alongside Russ Bestley in a discussion about co-founding and sustaining the PSN and its significant role in growing the field of punk scholarship globally. You heard him as co-host, helping shape the form and direction of this podcast. In this episode, co-hosts Jessica Schwartz and Paul Hollins take a deep dive into the work of prolific punk scholar, Mike Dines, as he traces his inspired journey from classical music and anarcho-punk to an epiphanic realization and Krishnacore, and recently, serving as lead editor on a handbook on popular music methodologies and hosting a podcast, as well as continuing his academic position and leadership role in the PSN. Speaking of which, we've included a clip from an AMASS song called "Academia" about the Punk Scholars Network. You won't want to miss this and, more importantly, our compelling conversation that takes new directions and, at times, probes the depths of our musical affinities in a critical context--all shared by a familiar voice amidst familiar voices.

Guest Bio. 

Mike Dines is a British musician, writer, scholar and publisher who has written widely on subcultures and popular music, co-editing The Aesthetics of Our Anger: Anarcho-Punk, Politics, Music (2016), Punk Pedagogies: Music, Culture and Learning (2017), The Punk Reader: Research Transmissions from the Local and the Global (2019), Punk Now!! Contemporary Perspectives on Punk ( 2020), Trans-Global Punk Scenes: The Punk Reader Vol. 2 (2020) and Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media (2021). His current writing takes him in the direction of popular music and spirituality with the co-edited collection Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music: Beatified Beats (2021). He was lead editor on The Intellect Handbook of Popular Music Methodologies (2025), the first comprehensive overview of methodological approaches within the field of popular music studies. He is currently Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Music and MA Professional Arts Practice at Middlesex University and is an avid supporter of Portsmouth Football Club.

Links

Email: m.dines@mdx.ac.uk

Dr Mike Dines | Middlesex University

Tales From the Punkside | Itchy Monkey Press

Punk Scholars Network

Intellect Books | Global Punk

Song excerpt

AMASS, "Academia" Gamekeepers Gallows. 2024.

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We’d love to hear from you and are soliciting episode ideas and guests. Contact us at: punkscholarspodcast@gmail.com

The PSP theme music is excerpted from “Crows” by Watch You Drown. All rights reserved. 

Season 2, Episode 2, was recorded on July 9, 2025, on Zoom with participants in the UK and the US. Paul Hollins and Jessica Schwartz co-hosted and co-produced this episode and edited the transcript, available here.

Jessica Schwartz edited the audio.

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