Adam Yauch threw himself into every detail of the 1996 Tibetan Freedom Concert, and a new podcast launching today documents how that commitment unfolded.
According to Rolling Stone, the six-part narrative series Freedom Needs a Soundtrack revisits how Yauch and activist Erin Potts brought attention to the Tibetan human rights crisis through a major cultural event. The San Francisco benefit featured Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Björk, A Tribe Called Quest, Foo Fighters, Beck, Fugees, and Yoko Ono.
Potts, who co-founded the Tibetan Freedom Concerts, says meeting Yauch shifted her trajectory. "Adam didn't just perform at the concerts, he threw himself into every part of the work, from conferences to workshops to organizing," she tells Rolling Stone. "Together with a small group of friends, we turned that shared love, commitment, and a lot of humor into the Tibetan Freedom Concerts."
The podcast traces Potts' path to activism, beginning with U2's 1983 Red Rocks performance, which she watched on VHS as a child. "Bono moved through the fog with a white flag while the crowd chanted 'No more' to oppression and violence," she recalls. "I did not have the language for it then, but I felt it. Music could make people feel less alone."
After San Francisco, the concerts expanded to New York City and Washington, D.C., then went international in 1999. Yauch died in 2012 after battling cancer, leaving a model for how artists and activists can work together on human rights campaigns.
Freedom Needs a Soundtrack launches June 15 via KALW Public Radio, combining archival recordings with fresh interviews from artists, organizers, and Tibetan voices involved in the movement.
