Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge

The programme revisits the magazine's landmark 1993 interview with Bill Clinton, its early adoption of hip‑hop culture, and the controversial 2008 cover story featuring Britney Spears. It examines how these moments reflected broader shifts in American politics, music and celebrity, culminating in the title “Inside an American Tragedy”.

The programme offers a retrospective look at a magazine that caused a stir with its 1993 interview of Bill Clinton, later embraced the emerging hip‑hop scene, and featured a 2008 cover story on Britney Spears titled “Inside an American Tragedy”. It frames these moments as key points in the publication’s history, presenting them as a cohesive narrative about the outlet’s evolution. In the first segment the show revisits the explosive 1993 conversation with then‑presidential candidate Bill Clinton, highlighting why the interview generated such a reaction. The next part turns to the magazine’s shift toward hip‑hop culture, illustrating how it began to champion the genre and its artists. The final focus is the 2008 cover story on Britney Spears, which examined her personal struggles under the banner “Inside an American Tragedy”. Throughout, the episode ties these three episodes together, showing how the publication moved from political interview to music champion to a high‑profile celebrity feature. By linking the Clinton interview, the hip‑hop embrace, and the Spears cover, the programme paints a picture of a magazine willing to push boundaries and tackle varied cultural moments.