Tasteland

No guest this week. Daisy and Francis discuss the concept of 'The Great Slowdown' as a response to media overload and the desire for deeper engagement with content, the idea of 'vibes gambling' in media, and Dirt's recent contest for essays on health a...

Raihan Anwar is a marketing leader for web3 products and communities at scale. He was a co-founder of FWB and also has his own fragrance business in addition to being a coffee connoisseur – all things we love talking about on this pod. Twitter Desire Paths - 00:00 Navigating Travel Chaos 02:25 Enter Raihan: The Intersection of Culture and Business 06:01 Exploring Fragrance and Identity 08:53 The Art of Taste and Experience 12:11 Podcasting Landscape and Market Dynamics 15:34 The New Media Landscape 17:16 Web 0.5 and Early Internet Ventures 19:22 Coining Terms and Cultural Commentary 25:37 The State of Web3 and Cryptocurrency 30:03 Guy Hobbies and Their Cultural Significance 31:45 Stripe Press and Innovative Publishing _ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by

Elliot Aronow is the host/producer of minor genius, a culture imprint that publishes zines, hosts parties, and occasionally produces very handsome neckties. Inside that there's also a very discreet private studio where he works as an editor/co-conspirator with visible weirdos to ship finished artifacts. __ Elliot Aronow Instagram LinkedIn minor genius __ Timestamps 00:00 A year as a degenerate gambler 04:00 What is minor genius? 08:25 The tension between punk and preppy 18:46 Reading in public 22:25 Scene vs audience 24:49 Jiu jitsu midlife journey 27:25 A scene memoir 33:08 Never going to be a Beastie Boy 37:42 Artifacts of the 2020s 41:18 What sucks about menswear? __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Jesse Hirsch is editor of Offrange. He has spent years working as a journalist focused on food and agriculture, most recently as managing editor at The Counter. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appétit, Eater, and other outlets. Offrange is a digital publication covering American agriculture, food production, and natural resources. We publish three original stories each week, a monthly podcast, and a weekly newsletter. __ Jesse Hirsch Offrange Twitter/X Instagram LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Laptop at the cinema 04:15 Sod and cranberry bog 07:15 Offrange and its mission 15:35 Knowing when to rebrand 19:57 The best meal of 2026 21:45 Covering agriculture vs food 27:27 The farming and agriculture audience 33:40 Diversification of writers and contributors 35:45 The evolution of agricultural journalism __ 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 books they haven't read, iPods, a sad monkey, and the state of modern media startups. __ Daisy Francis __ Timestamps 00:00 Monitoring the situation 02:35 The barbell of modern media 09:11 The 4 revenue streams of a media startup 13:33 Sober in New Orleans 18:26 Health is wealth 24:45 A bit vague 26:59 Texting less, going out more 28:54 25 years of iPod brain 32:46 Punch, the monkey 38:25 Stolen taste __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week we're joined by Pritanka Desai, the COO at Tribute Labs & Partner at ADIN. __ Priyanka Desai LinkedIn Twitter/X The Physical Renaissance: AI Makes You Look Up __ Timestamps 00:00 Hammy Mad Men 04:38 Doomslop moving markets 12:06 The world's transition period in now 17:00 Information overload affecting perception of reality 23:24 Prediction market's role in society 30:27 True crime and information gaps 38:30 AI powered venture capital 45:05 The physical renaissance __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Today on Tasteland we're speaking to James Webster, the co-owner of Recluse Books, an indie bookstore in Dallas-Fort Worth. __ Recluse Books Website Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00 Doing Italian things 03:53 Recluse best sellers 07:28 Logistics of picking and stocking 6,000 books 11:40 Bookstore culture of Fort Worth 15:05 Receiving feedback on book recommendations 17:11 Current reads 24:15 Running bookstore events 29:47 Bookstore location and community impact 36:04 Making books approachable 41:57 Reading hard books because they're hard __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Charly Wilder is writer, award-winning journalist and executive editor at Roads & Kingdoms. __ Charly Wilder Instagram Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Respect the Quad God 05:45 Maintaining a unique travel journalism perspective 10:51 Looking at the world through many lenses 17:10 The deepest culinary tours on Earth 23:50 The Roads and Kingdoms audience 28:57 Curating contributors 34:16 Joining the Roads and Kingdoms team 37:36 Maintaining and updating city guides 45:03 Thinking about food as a storyteller 48:14 The qualities of a great travel and food writer __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Sam Levy is the former COO of Hinge and co-founder of Rodeo, a new app designed to wrangle the details of your social life and keep you organized. __ Sam Levy LinkedIn Instagram TikTok Rodeo Website App Store TikTok Instagram __ References Patient Capital Will Eat the World __ Timestamps 00:00 Somebody that I used to know 03:35 Patient capital will eat the world 09:27 Infrastructure for your social life 14:15 Managing the user experience 19:44 The expectation of apps as a memory layer 23:56 Types of Rodeo users 27:47 Using TikTok as a research group 35:32 Choosing the name Rodeo 37:13 The evolution of the idea 42:14 A business plan that maintains integrity 48:06 Get offline __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Julia Black is a tech and business correspondent at Vanity Fair and freelance writer whose work has also been published in the New York Times, MIT Technology Review, WIRED, The Verge, and others. __ Julia Black Website Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Resy anxiety 07:35 The reality of modern genetic testing 12:38 Substack on TV 17:50 Evolving opinions and journalistic integrity 23:48 TikTok takeover conspiracies 28:32 The shifting politics of big tech 39:00 Symbolism in politics and ideology 47:44 Holding on to what's meaningful __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Bre Morell, one half of the duo, crushed. __ crushed Tour dates Listen Instagram Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Judging a book by its cover 09:29 Brits in an Oasis 14:46 Entering eBay flow state 19:46 Late 90s musical influences 28:11 Nostalgic corners of the internet 33:00 Video game musical influences 38:33 Driving in Texas 41:37 Touring the country as a vegan 44:28 To make timeless music, be genreless __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week on Tasteland we're joined by the GM and co-founder of Boys Club, Natasha Hoskins. __ Boys Club Website Podcast Instagram Twitter/X Natasha Hoksins LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 The asperges defense 05:38 Into the archives 07:55 Boys Club extended universe 12:23 Golden Globes Polymarket collab 17:15 The Boys Club network 20:27 Twitter muted words reveal 29:17 Trump to Tom Brady chlamydia domino effect 35:50 Traitors in the Industry 41:43 Hooked on Reels 44:12 New year, new LinkedIn strategy __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week on Tasteland we're joined by Dena Yago, an artist, writer, and founding member of the trend forecasting group K-HOLE. Dena is currently working at Cosmos, a visual discovery and inspiration platform for creatives. __ Dena Yago Website Instagram LinkedIn Twitter/X __ Timestamps 00:00 Smoking Christmas gift 4:44 No smoke without fire 10:00 GQ editor-in-chief predictions 12:40 Name that trend 16:26 Parallel thinking and Darwinism 19:45 The Cosmos secret sauce 25:25 Why books still matter in fast media 32:19 Irony is dead, long live cringe 42:25 The rise of the Cosmos girl 49:04 AI and curation __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Daisy and Francis bring 2025 to a close by looking back on their defining media of the year and looking ahead to the world of tech and media in 2026. __ Timestamps 00:00 A New England Christmas 04:09 Invisible labor of the holiday season 08:15 Dirt Books 14:13 Songs and albums 2025 18:23 Is 2026 the year of the techlash 22:37 The creator economy in 2026 29:32 Dirt reader's top books of 2025 31:44 Daisy's viral tweet of 2024-2025 __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

This week on Tasteland we're joined by writer and editor, Daniel Spielberger. Daniel is also the executive editor of Study Hall and the host of the Study Hall Podcast. Read the Farmer's Almanac article we discuss here. __ Daniel Spielberger Study Hall Podcast Daniel Docs LinkedIn Twitter Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00 $45 well spent, $5 poorly spent 07:36 Surprise proposal and tweets going viral 11:09 Influencer culture in media 17:50 We need storytellers 24:39 Daniel Docs 28:09 Study Hall 33:08 Too much media about media 44:32 Olivia Nuzzi did it all for nothing 53:43 Grown men shouldn't have birthday parties 58:29 Worst movie of 2025 __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

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.