Tuesday, 30 September 2025

Episode #8: A History of Kristen Pfaff with Dr Guy Mankowski

 


Listen to Episode #8: A History of Kristen Pfaff with Dr Guy Mankowski

In this episode of The Neo Historian we are joined by Dr Guy Mankowski to talk about a history of Kristen Pfaff. 

Kristen Pfaff was an American musician best known as the bassist for the alternative rock band Hole and the noise rock band Janitor Joe. She was also a backing vocalist for Janitor Joe and contributed to Hole's critically acclaimed 1994 album, Live Through This. Pfaff died in 1994 at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose, just two months after her close friend Kurt Cobain's suicide.  

Guy speaks with us in this episode about Kristen Pfaff's family life, her feminist activism, 
life in Hole, how she reacted to the death of her friend Kurt Cobain, just six weeks before 
her own death and how she is remembered today. 

I know How to Live: The Life of Kristen Pfaff by Dr Guy Mankowski
With access to her audio diaries, personal notebooks and other archives Guy Mankowski has written a biography of Kristen Pfaff, with the close co-operation of her brother Jason Pfaff and other people who knew Pfaff well. The resulting project title 'I Know How To Live Well' is now a very popular Substack where subscribers can access the biography of the iconic bassist through various mediums. 

Dr. Guy Mankowski is a writer and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the Lincoln School of Creative Arts. His research interests include music writing, particularly depictions of post-punk and subculture. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority.



Follow Guy on: Instagram

Guy's Ted Talk: YouTube

Guy's First Appearance on the Podcast: A History of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders



Hit So Hard: A Memoir by Patty Schemel