About the podcast
Rhythm Nation explores the intersection of activism and music through interviews and playlists of people living in both worlds. The goal of each episode is to help listeners better understand the political context behind music and are inspired to make activism a larger part of their life. The podcast can be streamed on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Soundcloud and is also broadcasted on KBOO 90.7 FM Portland.
About the community
Since it started in 2020, Rhythm Nation has more than just a podcast. That the Rhythm Nation community organized over one-hundred people from Portland’s music communities to help pass Measure 110, Oregon’s first-in-the nation drug decriminalization law. The community has put on numerous live streams from Holocene and in person events at Produce Row and Epicenter. In 2021, Rhythm Nation filed an intent to operate as a 5014c, but ultimately the effort of maintaining a non-profit organization did not make sense for the community, so it currently operates on an informal basis.
About the host
The show was started and is hosted by Peter Marks, a civic technology professional who currently works as a Presidential Innovation Fellow and was previously a technology staffer on the Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden campaigns. His ongoing hobby of promoting electronic music events as Occasion Vibration continues to inspire his music-based perspective on community organizing.
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