As The Doors celebrate their 60th anniversary this year, Talkhouse has launched a new podcast examining the legendary band’s legacy with The New Yorker’s Naomi Fry. On Really?? The Doors??, Fry and a cast of high-profile special guests reappraise The Doors’ impact on their time and their sustained relevance today, opening out into broader questions about myth-making in popular culture and the ways that music can reflect and re-orient the identities of its listeners.

“I’ve been obsessed with The Doors even since I was a young teen,” Fry said. “Over the years, I’ve come to discover that a lot of people think that this obsession is maybe a little embarrassing, and that Jim Morrison and The Doors aren’t a worthwhile object of love and curiosity. I’m interested in mining the gap between these perceptions, partly to understand why I’m still obsessed, partly to look at The Doors through a wider cultural lens.”

To understand the range of relationships that fans have with the music and memory of The Doors, Fry taps an intergenerational mix of musicians, writers and other cultural figures to share their unique perspectives and find new insights in comparison. Contributors enlisted for the six-episode season include Lucinda Williams, Weyes Blood, John Doe, Billy Idol, Amanda Petrusich, Lili Anolik, Chris Black, Walter Martin and The Doors’ drummer John Densmore, who participated in a special live conversation from On Air Fest LA at KCRW on Nov. 13. ‘Really?? The Doors??’ is produced by Jody Avirgan and executive produced by Noah Chernin.

“This podcast isn’t a straightforward biographical podcast; it’s the work of enthusiasts rather than historians, or, as Morrison might put it, feelers rather than analysts,” Fry reflected. “What it will offer are rich, varied, and funny conversations about a really significant if sometimes misunderstood band.”

New episodes of Really?? The Doors?? will arrive weekly through December 17.

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