The Last Mixed Tape

Ireland have been drawn against Israel in the Nations League and the question of boycott has resurfaced.

But musicians have been facing this question for decades.

From the Sun City boycott during apartheid South Africa, to artists like Brian Eno, Roger Waters, and Lorde refusing to perform in Israel and others like Nick Cave and Radiohead rejecting cultural boycotts the debate is not new.

In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, Stephen White delves into U2’s Days of Ash EP and breaks down the contrast between “American Obituary” and “One Life At A Time,” explores the tribute to Sarina Esmailzadeh in “Songs of the Future,” and asks whether U2’s latest release is truly their most political work or a carefully calibrated one.

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime show transformed the cultural stage in America.From Puerto Rican symbols, wedding moments, Spanish language performance and the message “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” this halftime show became a cultural flashpoint of unity, backlash, and identity. In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, we unpack why the backlash revealed more about America than the performance did, how love became a form of resistance, and what this moment means for culture, belonging, and artistry.

This week on The Last Mixed Tape, we look at how the announcement of Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl LX halftime performer exposed a deep cultural divide in America. The backlash from right-wing politicians and commentators, and the creation of an “alternative” halftime show framed around faith and tradition, reveal a fight over identity, belonging, and who gets to define what “American” means.

This episode of The Last Mixed Tape examines how pop culture is increasingly absorbed into the machinery of state authority from government agencies such ICE using pop music without consent, to the quiet violence through aesthetics, familiarity, and sound.