Side Projects Podcast

The World Cup is less than one month away. The lead up has been marred by craven opportunism, flagrant price gouging, and worst of them all—a Jelly Roll theme song. It’s the most potent symbol of where global football is headed—endlessly mediated, ultra-exclusive, and heavily commercialized—and what it’s leaving behind: the fans. Our guest this week is Thomas Gorton, the co-founder of unk Studio. We get his take on how to ensure brand collaborations feel generative to the culture rather than extractive, gamified upstart leagues like “Baller League,” how gambling has zapped the viewing experience, and the beauty of lower league football.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eli, Clara, and Trey are back together again and talking about what the proliferation of reading clubs reveals about how brands and savvy entrepreneurs are trying to literally capitalize on the analog bandwagon. We cover $1,000 reading retreats, friendship as KPI, and what makes attempts to scale and/or market “analog” succeed or fall flat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max Tani is the Media Editor at Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast. He also writes the must-read Semafor Media newsletter every Sunday evening. Max is a longtime friend of the pod (and in real life) and we’re honored to have him on as our first guest. We wanted to get Max's take on some of the puzzling and contradictory phenomenons we're noticing in media. We discuss how long of a runway he gives the “dumb question” interview format, whether MrBeast is just a reskinned version of Home Makeover but with a creepier host, and why CNN’s fake podcast gamut was a misreading of why audiences don’t trust media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re going on a break for a few weeks! But before we do, we talk about how the most sauceless couple you know are doing Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr. cosplay, the viral Interview magazine piece about the “Finest Boys in Finance,” and why fashion was better when it was about the clothes, not the business.  Recommended this week:JFK (Dir. Oliver Stone)Angel's Egg (Dir. Mamoru Oshii)The Play PodcastBenjamin Edgar on Navigating Cultural Tipping PointsThe Verge’s Nilay Patel Believes Gen Z Will Revolt Against the “Brand Deal” Economy“Trend Bipolarity” and How Brands Kneecapped Cool Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We dive into Greg Ip’s article in the Wall Street Journal talking about how people aged 65 and older are healthier, wealthier, and, essentially, propping up the entire American economy. We also discuss if brands are going to shift their attention towards the “silver economy,” stretched adolescence, rotisserie chicken, books as cultural signals, and the death/end of the mass-market paperback. Recommended this week:The Faltering by Tristan TaylorRonin (dir. John Frankenheimer)Canada - John Beltran and Placid Angels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin with a very brief Super Bowl recap, where Eli was one lazy holding call away from a handful of benjamins. Then, we put some respect on some of the American athletes sweeping, skating, and skiing in Milano Cortina. Nothing cooler than being extremely good at one specific thing. And finally, Clara and Trey dive into a lively debate centered around Joshua Rothman’s latest piece in The New Yorker, “Is Good Taste a Trap?” Yes. Recommended this week: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley (dir. Amy Berg)3 Women (dir. Robert Altman)The Culture Journalist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick writes The Trend Report™️ on Substack and co-hosts the HIP REPLACEMENT podcast alongside friend of the pod, Ben Dietz. We talk about Kyle’s early trend reports while at Nickelodeon, working in broadcast news, why America isn’t so bad actually, Barcelona internet vs. American internet, why advertisers often don’t talk to real people, how people are pouring themselves into “brand lore” instead of fighting for healthcare, “letting people just enjoy things,” and more.Recommended this week: “GALA” – XG “Tati Quebra Barraco” – Montagem GuerreiraJeff Mills Live At The Liquid Room - Tokyo 1996Where to find Kyle:@1234kyle5678Trend Report™️HIP REPLACEMENT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Lindsay is the author of internet culture substack, “Embedded,” and host of Slate’s ICYMI podcast. She joins us to unpack social media’s cause of death in 2026, analog bags, how we got too addicted to stay addicted, brain rot as political resistance, and what happens when social platforms become places of entertainment instead of places to connect. Plus, stay tuned until the end for the reveal of Kate’s family secret. Recommended this week: Ancestry.com Where to find Kate: @kathrynfionaEmbeddedICYMI podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Tum Town. Long time listeners will know that we often center our distaste for marketing slop and feral commercialism around a few brands, namely Crumbl, Blank Street, and MrBeast. So in our final episode of the year, we decided to actually try the stuff for ourselves and review it live. Stay until the end for a small crumb of analysis on brands trying to “tap into culture.”Here’s what we got: Crumbl (6 pack): The Cookie That Stole Christmas, Chocolate Crumb Cookie ft. OREO®, Holiday Red Velvet Sandwich Cookie, Candy Cane Brownie Cookie, Peanut Butter Cup Cookie ft. REESE'S, Confetti Cake Cookie Blank Street: Iced Strawberry Shortcake Matcha, Iced Blueberry MatchaMrBeast: Feastables BarPrime: Ice Pop, Mystery flavor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Francombe is a contributing editor at Vogue Business and writer of the amy_coded newsletter on Substack. We talk about why news is out and gossip is in, moving from a post-truth society to a post-meaning one, how unplugging became luxury’s most valuable currency, entertainment vs. conversion, why engagement metrics are junk, whether or not it cheapens a brand to have TikTokers sitting front row at fashion week, restoring fashion brands to a level of cultural leadership, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Annie Rauwerda is a comedian, long-time Wikipedian, and founder of the must-follow @depthsofwikipedia Instagram. In this special live episode, we ask her about the current right-wing attacks on Wikipedia, the Wikimedia awards, what it takes to be a Wikipedia editor, “Corn” being such a controversial entry page, muffins, why she’s optimistic about the next generation of internet users, and a wonderful story about making life-long friends from her “Perpetual Stew.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anu Lingala is a trend strategist and founder of the must-read Substack, WHAT’S ANU. We get a crash course in trend forecasting methodology, and then move on to who killed cool, the collapse of the irony/sincerity cycle, why people are trying to escape being seen by brands, Anu’s new theory on “trend bipolarity,” why we need to return to the basics of brand strategy, Anthony Bourdain, shareholder value, the Grimace shake, Peter Thiel, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daniel-Yaw Miller is an award-winning journalist and writer of the newsletter, SportsVerse. We talk to him about whether or not streamers and influencers are welcome disruptors or interlopers, not watching upstart sports leagues out of principle, what makes Stone Island a “smart collaborator” brand, depth vs. breadth, Loewe and On’s partnership with stone skipping GOAT Kurt Steiner, and NIL.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.