Tasteland

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Jamie Wilkinson, co-founder of Know Your Meme, VHX, and most recently, Glif . __ Jamie Wilkinson Glif Website GitHub Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Coke and Wall St 03:26 Memes are a business of their own 11:30 The evolution of memes 17:03 Relationships with social media by generation 26:45 Software sub-cultures of consuming and creating 34:37 The intention of creation 38:45 Creating for yourself 45:02 The state of vibecoding 50:40 The art and value of software creation __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Ochuko Akpovbovbo, creator and writer of the culture and marketing newsletter as seen on . __ Ochuko Akpovbovbo as seen on LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Naturist, not nudist 05:38 Resident of nowhere 10:07 Books of 2025 14:20 Nuremberg is boring 17:00 Writer vs. Substacker 27:22 An aversion to defining 34:30 Avoiding the parasocial 42:21 For business reasons, I need to be perceived 52:32 Influencers shaping brand narratives __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by technologist and artist, Zane Kind . Zane is the co-founder and CEO of Silk , a blogging platform for creative research,moodboarding, and subculture. __ Zane Kind Silk Twitter/X LinkedIn Website Zane's FWB Fest talk __ Timestamps 00:00 Notebook vandalism and clone hype 08:57 Building the zoomer Facebook 17:06 The slow scale business model 19:28 Defining taste 23:38 Scaling without killing subculture 30:07 Where are the Silkers? 36:51 Celebrity is changing 47:09 Creation starts with consumption 49:02 Rapid-fire hot-potatoes __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Ethan Sawyer, a field producer at CBC and curator of the newsletter Human Pursuits , a newsletter for navigating modern existence with help from need-to-know names in media and culture. __ Ethan Sawyer Human Pursuits Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 beats to write/edit to 04:08 Writer's block is not real 07:57 Nights in the Gardens of Brooklyn 11:46 An analysis of social climbers 18:40 Olivia Nuzzi did it all for love 24:23 The art of guest selection 32:15 Francis tells a bad joke 32:57 Music for work and focus 37:46 Music is so good 43:16 Defining slop 54:46 Introducing the "content economy" __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

No guest this week on Tasteland so Daisy and Francis discuss whether Frankenstein should've shown hog, the introduction to the polycene and quote tweeting the Pope. __ Daisy Dirt Twitter/X LinkedIn Francis Creator Spotlight Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 The hog of Frankenstein 09:55 It was all yellow 16:29 Welcome to the polycene 27:15 Gambler's wives 30:24 Don't die, take mushrooms 34:00 Marc Andreessen vs. the Pope 39:29 Vibe shifts are vibe shifts 44:00 Affordability vs abundance in politics 46:50 But I'm not a rapper, I'm mayor __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we’re joined by novelist Adam Voith. Adam is the editor and publisher of Little Engines magazine. __ Adam Voith Substack Instagram Little Engines __ Timestamps 00:00 Did Zohran win? 03:14 Dirt’s new podcasts 08:01 Relationship between art and commerce 13:29 Submission culture in publishing 20:29 Conservatism in publishing 26:35 Culture reflected in literature 33:32 Monetizing early support in creative industries 43:29 The rise of freelancing and founding 48:00 Writers are small business owners __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Nick Susi, a strategy executive and entrepreneurial builder for 13+ years, exploring the technological, societal and psychological forces that shape our identity, perception and culture. __ Nick Susi Website Substack LinkedIn Instagram Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Creators are consumers of the self 07:51 Posts are the cheetle of your identity 15:19 Presence in marketing 17:11 Start a war, create a monoculture 29:16 Building trust vs capturing attention 36:59 How myths shape modern media and technology 45:25 Separating the technology for the myth 51:45 Ice Cube got it right __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by startup founder, developer, and runner, Cole Townsend. Cole has been a product designer for over a decade and is the head of tech and co-founder of Sole Retriever . __ Cole Website Sole Retriever LinkedIn X/Twitter __ Timestamps 00:00 Jury duty 06:54 Post Tokyo crash 17:20 Every app is a marketplace or dating app 24:49 Running is becoming lifestyle 29:53 Crewing an ultramarathon 34:12 Performance culture 37:17 Founding Sole Retriever 43:36 Never had a New Balance 50:20 Moth tech __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Daisy and Francis are joined by NYC based journalist, Claire Landsbaum. Claire is the Deputy Editor at HighSnobiety and has formerly held positions at The Cut, Vanity Fair, and Business Insider. __ Claire Website HighSnobiety LinkedIn Instagram X/Twitter __ Timestamps 00:00 Show and tell 09:02 The bowling alley is the new afterparty 11:27 Writing for magazines 15:06 Finding journalistic honesty 19:03 Fake adult in Berlin 26:53 Are Veronika and Kyle for real? 32:40 I saw this tweet 37:08 Can The Daily Beast be saved? 48:35 Revenue and editorial integrity 54:29 Tattoos and steaks 57:53 The dream profile __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Jose Mejia, the CEO and Co-Founder at Scene Infrastructure Company , a software company building better instruments for socialization. __ Jose Mejia SIC X/Twitter LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:42 Stress-induced tramp stamp 04:07 Zero-slop pop-up gets pwned 10:44 Daisy bullies Chat-GPT, again 13:16 Addison Rae Iconic Magazine scene report 15:10 Wild soda flavor combos 17:45 Shopify for the experience economy 21:31 World Cup 2026 ticket prices 26:17 The endgame of the attention economy 33:38 The decline of consensus reality 41:34 Rebuilding consensus reality 48:38 Matryoshka doll of meaning 51:08 When did everything become so intentional? __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Francis and Daisy go guest-free and dive into everything from small farms and soybeans to the future of media and paywalls. Is media all media marketing now? Life is good. __ Timestamps 00:00 Sourdough fatherhood 01:43 Venture agriculturalism 05:34 Soybean political own goal 10:06 All media is marketing 15:40 Not all media is marketing 22:37 Retiring the op-ed 27:46 The future of micropayments and paywalls 35:27 Distasteland 38:11 Nostalgic scent of manure 39:33 AGI is coming, go to party school 42:04 Life is good; drip __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Casey Lewis, founder of the After School newsletter and Gen Z consumer trends expert. Casey has been an editor at Teen Vogue, MTV, and New York Magazine, and in 2016, she started a media company for Gen Z, which was acquired by another media company for Gen Z. __ Casey After School Newsletter Instagram LinkedIn TikTok __ Links & References A Taste of Thomas Bernhard __ Timestamps 00:00 Thomas Bernhard renaissance 05:25 Double dogs and doubled subs 08:00 Gen alpha are the marketing generation 10:11 Denim is back 18:51 Individuality vs. conformity in youth culture 26:46 Brand loyalty in gen z and gen alpha 30:45 Mom's influence on tween shopping 34:00 The uncanny valley of fashion 38:09 Refragmentation of youth culture 44:03 You stole my brainrot 51:30 The ethics of child influencers 58:27 I wanna be your billboard __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Dani Loftus. Dani is a founder, writer and investor focused on the digital evolution of culture. After founding content platform This Outfit Does Not Exist in 2021, she became a leading voice in the digital fashion space working with brands like Chanel, Dion Lee, and Google and writing for publications such as HUNGER, DIRT and Jing Daily. __ Dani Substack Instagram LinkedIn X/Twitter __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Dani 01:00 Gimmicky martini epidemic 05:10 The return the hipsterdom 17:27 Happy victims 20:28 Fashion is fine art 28:18 Pandemic shopping habits 31:22 The Doji problem 38:58 The commodification of taste in fashion 46:52 Putting a watermark on humanity 51:22 Class structure in the UK vs US __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Andy Hunter, the founder and CEO of bookshop.org , an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops. __ Bookshop Website Instagram Bluesky Andy's LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Andy and Bookshop 02:08 Press Publish NYC 06:26 Introducing e-books on Bookshop 08:00 Aligning against big tech 11:36 Best performing genres on Bookshop 14:12 The catalyst for Bookshop's impressive growth 15:52 Rejecting investment to maintain the company's mission 19:51 Support bookstores, not billionaires 28:03 Innovating the e-reader 35:00 Bookshop's impact on local book stores 37:25 AI vs human book recommendations 46:42 Taking the Bookshop model beyond books 53:40 The value of physical books 57:40 Current reads __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Ben Dietz, a long-time media/entertainment business guy. __ Ben Substack LinkedIn [SIC] Talks Podcast __ Timstamps 00:00 Do not disturb 05:12 No new luxury brands 11:11 Cybertruck: a future classic 16:20 Can software be luxury? 23:23 AI email summaries, with emotion 30:34 Brand safety is dead 34:56 Podcasting for the generations 38:31 Job tenure trends 47:39 Well-mannered, socialized and curious 51:13 Psychological foot binding 54:00 A month of sobriety __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by W. David Marx, an American fashion and culture writer who works and lives in Tokyo, Japan. He is the author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style and Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change. Preorder Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century __ W. David Marx Newsletter Twitter/X Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00:00 Subway tastes 00:02:26 There's no song of the summer 00:09:05 Skinny pants are never coming back 00:12:10 Only Fads 00:17:10 Fad consumerism culture, US vs Asia 00:21:27 The age of the double sellout 00:24:00 The 21st century crisis 00:35:49 Rich enough to not have a smartphone 00:41:25 Cultural roots of contemporary politics 00:51:04 Everyone is a marketer 00:56:37 You can't be unfamous 01:01:04 Capitalism without morality __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Greta Rainbow . Greta is an editor at the Creative Independent , arts columnist for the New York Review of Architecture , and she's the anchor contributor for Dirt's books newsletter, Blank . __ Greta Website Twitter/X Instagram Igno-fiction piece __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Greta 04:33 Genre + scene = literary movement 08:37 Disney adults of alt-lit 11:03 In defense of perfection 16:44 An audatious literary sandwich 24:22 Literary gnats 31:09 Unfulfiled references come as great surprise 34:51 Books that we hate __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined Sam Valenti IV. Sam is the founder and leader of Ghostly International, a 25-year-old collective that has grown from a dorm room-based record label to a recognized platform for the work of great artists, designers, technologists, and musicians. The New York Times says Ghostly “transcends its record label roots to sell and ethos.” Ghostly International is the first label alongside upstart drink sum wtr in All Flowers Group, a label unit formed as an affiliate of Secretly Group. An inveterate collector , Valenti also writes the weekly newsletter Herb Sundays , which features a personal playlist by a noted artist or enthusiast. __ Sam Instagram LinkedIn Substack Ghostly __ Timestamps 00:00:00 Igno-fiction 00:05:45 Cultural beatdowns 00:11:18 The knowledge requirement of fandoms 00:18:15 Sycophancy vs. fandom 00:21:50 Community in record labels 00:27:45 Archiving culture 00:33:29 Nostalgia and new media engagement 00:36:52 Preserving artists legacies 00:42:36 New media monetization strategies 00:50:00 AI and the future of media consumption 00:57:31 The best music journalism right now __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Reggie James, a writer, product architect and investor. __ Reggie LinkedIn Twitter/X Substack Instagram __ 00:00 02:09 Best hardware of 2024 06:11 Interviewing Jasper of Teenage Engineering 08:06 The most contemporary city in America 12:07 Secular tech vs spiritual tech 17:25 Heriticon loses its edge 22:30 The tech right and religious right cannot coexist 28:41 Faith and doubt in startup tech 35:31 Private vs public capital in innovation 42:26 Having a startup is a lifestyle choice __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Rax King, a James Beard Award-nominated writer and host of the podcast Low Culture Boil. Rax is the author of the 2021 book Tacky, and her new release Sloppy is out now. __ Rax Sloppy Podcast Instagram Twitter Bluesky __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Rax 02:37 Write sober, edit sober 07:26 The goal of personal writing 13:20 Reframing past experiences 20:25 Service industry draft 29:11 Banjos in the sky 31:27 Drink the Kool-Aid but know your dosage 35:21 Reverse abundance mindset 38:00 Nobody does bread anymore 42:59 Didn't make the cut 45:55 Sex tourism and calamari 48:40 Noble savage reply guys __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Jeremy Kirkland, host of the podcast Blamo! — a podcast exploring the world of fashion with the personalities that shape it. __ Blamo! Podcast Instagram Jeremy Instagram LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 I always make my knock a little song 05:36 All podcasts are restaurant podcasts 08:13 Nine years of podcasting 14:47 The business of Blamo! 22:28 The culture of criticism online 29:29 You should do embarrassing things 37:45 The cost of existing in the creator economy 41:08 E-commerce recovery 52:15 There's no runway in Missouri 57:38 Bag check survival instincts 01:01:01 Running up that hill __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we're joined by writer, producer, and podcaster, Mike Rugnetta. Mike is the host of Never Post , a podcast that asks questions about why the world of the internet – and the world, because of the internet – is the way it is. __ Follow Mike Instagram Bluesky Website Linktree __ Timestamps 00:00 Sunday summer derangement 03:25 Changing the way the world changes 08:50 The age of the platform has ended 14:16 The rise of the agentic web 17:06 Hentai explains everything 22:50 Bob Geldof's flaming pitchfork 27:48 Attention is a zero-sum game 33:00 You cannot recreate attention 39:18 AI vs. the library __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland we are joined by writer and award winning journalist, Cora Lewis. Cora's fiction has appeared at The Yale Review , Joyland Magazine , Epiphany , and elsewhere. She currently works at the Associated Press in New York, and she previously worked at BuzzFeed News. Cora's debut novella, Information Age, comes out on July 15th. Pre-order Cora's book Information Age __ Follow Cora Twitter/X LinkedIn Website __ Timestamps 00:00 Reading Information Age 04:37 Book design and unique literary devices 11:46 Title inspiration and influences 14:12 The artistry of fragmented writing 20:14 Composing fragments into a finished piece 26:09 You can't write life to scale 34:42 Honing the aesthetics of a novella 37:36 Cora's lack of social media presence 44:58 The duty to represent life accurately 51:25 A clearheaded view of AI __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Webby Award-winning content creator, social strategist, and meme enthusiast, Ariel Rubin. Ariel is the the head of content at Air and one of Francis' greatest enemies. __ Follow Ari LinkedIn Website Twitter/X __ Links & References The Cycle Book ick.fyi on Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00 Introducing Ariel Rubin 01:40 Recent icks 07:33 LinkedIn hates Bonnie Blue 11:45 Wife guys, one hell of a fraternity 14:24 SaaS is the most honest industry 20:19 Selling out is compulsory now 28:14 Daisy's ultimate black pill 31:53 You can't get rich in Canada 37:21 Never think again 42:58 Cigs are back 44:54 Ari's SaaS persona 47:38 Startup founder bravado __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Daisy and Francis are joined by design strategist, writer, journalist, and educator, Nika Simovich Fisher. __ Nika Simovich Fisher Website LinkedIn Instagram __ Links & References More about Nika's Hard Pack piece Nika's piece on Digitizing and Preserving Cyrillic Typefaces in Serbia Nika's website, Wildflowers Nika's piece on The evolution of the trash icon __ Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:41 Berlin fragrance experience 05:49 The design of modern political campaigns 15:06 The relationship between midcentury design and skiing 22:12 Digitizing and preserving Cyrillic typefaces in Serbia 27:34 The parallels between gardens and websites 33:15 Digital memorializations 42:40 Drawing conclusions from digital footprints 46:01 Data is litter 50:15 The impact and legacy of Kate Spade's death 53:55 Invisible nightlife __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.