Sep
26
Ametora: Revised 2023 Edition
Today Basic Books is releasing a revised English version of my first book, Ametora, with an afterword looking at the
7 min read
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Aug
29
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
6 min read
Aug
15
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
5 min read
Aug
09
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
4 min read
Jul
11
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
5 min read
Jun
07
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
5 min read
May
16
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
6 min read
May
02
10,000 Gecs as 2023 Culture
Hyperpop provocateurs 100 gecs have a great new album. But if they are "the world's strangest band,
5 min read
Mar
29
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
4 min read
Mar
07
How technology intersects with status signaling
As much as technologists view their creation of more efficient tools as a democratizing force, new gadgets and apps are
4 min read