Jan
17
Why do we provide status to others?
We are logical to seek status to improve our lives. But our reason for granting higher status to others requires
3 min read
Latest
Dec
14
Rap Capital: Trap as 21st Century Culture
Joe Coscarelli's new book is essential reading on Atlanta's emergence as a major force in contemporary
6 min read
Nov
22
Links on Culture - November 2022
Drake's daft Daft Punk, Moneyball culture, Third Eye Blind as cool, the other Gallagher brothers, and natural wine
6 min read
Oct
18
Links on Culture - October 2022
Restaurant reservations, preteen painters, cultural appropriation, and the end of the internet
Once a month I analyze the latest culture-
6 min read
Oct
05
The X of Generation X
Douglas Coupland's book Generation X ended up giving his demographic cohort a permanent name, but we shouldn'
4 min read
Sep
27
Aesthetics are Everywhere... and They're Social Constructs
Virginia Postrel’s excellent The Substance of Style charts how aesthetics took over consumer society — but aesthetic conventions themselves always
4 min read
Sep
20
Links on Culture for September
Beer cooler status symbols, wet putty cars, and how #oldmoney isn't very Old Money
The last few months
4 min read
Sep
02
21st Century Culture: Boring or Static? (Or both?)
Whether the 21st century ecosystem of pop culture is suffering from stasis is a separate question from whether its output
5 min read
Aug
22
My New Book: Status and Culture
A sneak peek into my new book that links individuals’ fundamental desire for social status to the formation of taste,
4 min read
Jul
21
Notes on Our Tasteless Era
Recent journalism, criticism, and social media posts suggest a surge in bad taste across art, fashion, and media. What does
7 min read