33 | Podcasts to listen to

on culture, AI, and getting into Berghain.

Dear Friends-of-the-letter. I’ve been writing a lot about brands and branding. Marketing branding. Experiential branding. Company narratives. Personal narratives.

I’m happy to do it. I look up the weird perfume companies and German home goods stores so you don’t have to. I flog the book I just wrote incessantly so that as many of you as possible can help spread the word.

I hide my shame at this well, by the way. And for all of you in this situation, Tyler the Creator’s talk on overcoming your inner hemmschwelle helps a great deal.

“I know a lot of people who make things, and don’t stand proudly by their stuff. I don’t know if they’re too cool, or don’t want to look thirsty … You went through something, you wrote words down, you figured it out in the structural format … You mean to tell me you’re going to be passive with your own shit? Are you crazy bro? It’s a year in and I’m still promoting my album!”

- Tyler, the Creator

So let’s take a break this week and dive into some podcast episodes that struck a chord in the last few months. Some highlight great interviewers, others great discussions (on AI, social media and creativity) and a couple drill down into the work and legacies of some influential figures, beginning with this gentleman, below.

Legendary Berghain bouncer Sven Marquandt. You probably won’t get in.

How to get into Berghain
After hearing his friends’ failed attempts to get into the world’s most elusive club, host PJ Vogt travels to Berlin to try it himself. I lived there for 7 years and still learned so much about the intersection of the city’s history and its nightlife. Shout out to friend-of-the-letter Alana Corbett for the recommendation.

Why culture is getting boring
No idea who Ruby Thelot was before this, but I saw a clip of his audio on Instagram: in it he talks about the failings of tech leaders in elevating culture. He blames it on the slow death of liberal arts education and the fact that we’re no longer “cultivating audiences”. It’s a good discussion.

Why social media looks generic
Patreon CEO Jack Conte has a very punchable voice. But there’s no doubt that what he’s built offers a stark departure from the cynically run tech behemoths he competes against. This episode features two super successful creators (Colin and Samir) in conversation with a creator-cum-CEO (Jack) about Patreon’s new creator report, and when algorithms dictate creative decisions.

And another guy who wants to change it
Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti paved the way for a hundred million Gary Vee’s and MrBeasts with his mathematical approach to bite-sized storytelling. Now he thinks that sucks (mostly). Brian Morrisey is there to challenge his new concept: turning Buzzfeed into a social network.

Richard Prince’s recreations of random users Instagram posts.

“It’s better to be hated, than ignored”
Rick Rubin doesn’t set the table well, and more context would’ve been nice. But the controverisal Richard Prince’s appropriation/reinvention art couldn’t be more current in this AI age, and this interview finds him in a reflective mood.

The Prince documentary you’ll never see
A wonderful investigation into the 9-hour long Prince documentary crafted by Oscar winner Ezra Edelman that his estate refused to release to the world. And how Netflix caved. An enlightening journey into narratives, and who owns them. Thanks to friend-of-the-letter Gerhard Stochl for this one.

Making sure Vimeo doesn’t turn into YouTube
How did Vimeo go from beloved insiders-only film club, to a “tools provider”? I like how host Nilay Patel pushes CEO Phil Moyer on Vimeo’s changed mission and all the AI blather. But it turns out Vimeo’s new path is to be a different, more personal (and private) type of platform. And that’s something I can get behind.

Recent collection from Whitner’s A Ma Maniére.

Building fashion brands with intention
James Whitner has built a stable of fashion brands that center Black culture and experience. His pathway there was unconventional (which is usually enough to hook me), but it’s what he says about the oft-used, oft-misunderstood word ‘community’ that gave me much to think about.

The science of the click through
The secret to people clicking on your YouTube video or opening your newsletter isn’t art, it’s science. Well, mostly science, according to Jake Thomas, who’s got an interesting business helping people craft episode titles and newsletter headlines. Here he is in conversation with Aaron Lutze, the creator of his own successful YouTube channel.