Influenced as much by punk as folk music, England’s great singer/songwriter Billy Bragg has always placed politics and social activism at the center of his creative life. Bragg has a new book out about the history and impact of skiffle: Roots, Radicals, and Rockers.

He paused during his book tour to talk about why he wrote the book (1:00); examples of genre mixing in music that don’t qualify as cultural appropriation (2:50); hip-hop as the musical language of today (5:15); music as revolution, citing the example of Beyonce (6:15); the importance of empathy in music (10:30); and why his best songs connect with audiences (13:00).