By becoming a more vulnerable frontman, Nick Cave has transformed after a major tragedy. To understand this better, we cover his latest album Skeleton Tree, the companion film One More Time With Feeling and the Bad Seeds' latest North American tour.

Additional Resources:

• The Love and Terror of Nick Cave
• Nick Cave Finally Tells His Most Painful Story
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds x Hingston Studio – Skeleton Tree
• All Songs +1: A Devastating New Film About Nick Cave
• Nick Cave Talks About Living and Writing Through Grief
• Nick Cave Will Never Be Forgotten
• THE IMMENSE GRIEF OF NICK CAVE’S ‘SKELETON TREE’
• Nick Cave financed the documentary One More Time with Feeling so that he would not have to speak with journalists about the death of his son

As part of the big four bands breaking out of the Seattle "grunge" scene in the early 1990s, Soundgarden was a combination that was not quite metal or punk. We look at why their record Badmotorfinger acts like such a strong signifier of meaning in the wake of Chris Cornell's death.

With a comparison of their staff rosters, we try imagining a television show that idolizes the White House today, the way The West Wing did in 1999. Believe it or not, Aaron Sorkin's fantasy of public service let some people admire civics again.

Donald Glover once described his FX sitcom Atlanta as "Twin Peaks for rappers." As residents of the eponymous city, we were doubtful. But this show came through with a weird, wondrous take on our local African-American culture. Special guest Swain Hunt (Sidebar, The Metronome) joins us to discuss.

China Miéville's novel Kraken is a meandering fantasy comedy full of political themes and a love for weird monsters. How does this author manage to weave together so many themes and genres into one book? And why does he think J.R.R. Tolkien is a "wen on the arse of fantasy"?

Additional Resources:

• Reveling in Genre: An Interview with China Miéville
• Kraken: China Miéville interview
• A Category Unto Himself: The Works of China Miéville
• China Miéville: My new book takes the idea of the squid cult very seriously
• CHINA MIÉVILLE [SCIENCE-FICTION AUTHOR]
• This Squidpocalypse Makes Its Own Fun: Kraken by China Miéville
• Tolkien - Middle Earth Meets Middle England
• Making Squid the Meat of a Story
• With "Kraken," China Miéville sinks tentacles into contemporary London