Links on Status and Culture - October 2023
Creator non-revolutions, non-luxurious queuing for luxury goods, non-songs of the summer, and meta-commentary on meta-celebrities
Each month I review the
Ametora: Revised 2023 Edition
Today Basic Books is releasing a revised English version of my first book, Ametora, with an afterword looking at the
They Might Be Giants = the Early Internet
How a single band embodied and dominated online culture in its primordial days, simply because the only people wired in
Links on Status and Culture - August 2023
Two mini-essays on two big topics: an economics paper that provides new evidence for status value, and the social mechanics
Our Natural Human Defenses Against A.I. Culture
Culture is made of humans, and A.I. doomsdayers haven't explained why we'll all fall in love with A.I.
Why haven’t internet creators become superstars?
We’re a decade into online video emerging as the most powerful and popular form of mass media, and yet
Pleading Clemency for Pierre Bourdieu's Impending Capital Punishment
Okay, Bourdieu may misuse the word "capital," but his work remains invaluable for better understanding class stratification and its influence
How merchants of style became the institution of art
Natasha Degen’s new book Merchants of Style examines how the fashion industry piggybacked on the Warhol revolution to take
10,000 Gecs as 2023 Culture
Hyperpop provocateurs 100 gecs have a great new album. But if they are "the world's strangest band," what does this
Links on Culture - March 2023
Instagram face, Ozempic, olive oil coffee, Pynchon, and when that submarine most definitely does not come out
Each month I
