ARCLight S01E6: Weasels, Blackouts and an Angel Named Clarence: A Conversation with John Jughead


John Jughead Pierson is, among other things, a musician, podcaster, actor and novelist. 

Plus, he is a 1985 Hersey graduate.

On this podcast, we sat down to talk with him about his novel, The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody. This novel reimagines the classic holiday movie, It's a Wonderful Life.  What if the angel, Clarence, did not save George Bailey on that Christmas Eve many years ago?

We discuss how he came about to write such a novel and the difficulties in writing a novel based on a beloved holiday classic.

We also discuss the various other things he has done since graduating Hersey:

He formed the influential punk band, Screeching Weasel in 1986. After leaving Weasel in 2006, he formed Even in Blackouts and currently put out an album with the Mitochondriacs.

He performed with the Neo Futurists and could be seen for over a decade in Chicago's longest-running play, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.

He has played the wizard Ollivander in the wand shop at Universal Studios, Tokyo.

He learned puppetry from a group that had trained with Jim Henson.

He wrote two novels: Weasels in a Box and The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody We have a couple of copies of The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody in the ARC.

He hosts a podcast called Jughead's Basement, where he interviews prominent musicians.




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