Culturally Determined

Phoebe discusses her new nonfiction book, "The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men," which critiques the contemporary discourse about female heterosexuality. Recorded June 4, 2026 LINKS Phoebe's new book, "The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men" https://www.amazon.com/Last-Straight-Woman-Desiring-Men/dp/0771013027 Phoebe on what she didn't want the cover to be https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.c...

Sarah Wang discusses her debut novel, "New Skin," a dark comedy about a young woman whose mother is addicted to plastic surgery. After a bad nose job ruins the mother's face, she becomes a contestant on a reality show where people with botched plastic surgery compete to win reconstructive surgery. The novel explores class, immigrant lives, the labor of marginalized women, Los Angeles — and is also...

Adrian Bonenberger, a writer and Army veteran, is running for governor of Connecticut on a platform of establishing a voluntary state guard. He explains how a state guard would decentralize power to the local level, and how his experience training military volunteers during the Ukraine War informed his view on threats to America and possibilities for a different kind of civic engagement. Recorded...

On an episode that surely will not make anyone mad, Dave discusses his recent essay on how Jeffrey Epstein used his Jewishness to further his crimes. Aryeh and Dave then debate the merits of staying on Musk's Twitter/X vs. fleeing to cringey Bluesky. Recorded March 6, 2026 LINKS Dave's piece, "The Line Between Affinity and Conspiracy" https://jewishcurrents.org/the-line-between-affinity-and-conspi...

Magdalene Taylor, a senior editor at Playboy Magazine who writes about sexuality and culture, talks about whether we are finally sick of dating apps, whether AI will change social interactions, the forces encouraging men and women to hate each other, the decline of the manosphere, and Trump's strange performance of masculinity. Recorded January 20, 2026 LINKS Magdalene's newsletter, "Many Such Cas...

Adam Gurri, editor-in-chief and cofounder of the website Liberal Currents, discusses his recent piece about the fight against Trump titled "We Are Going to Win."  Recorded January 6, 2025 LINKS Liberal Currents https://www.liberalcurrents.com/ Adam's piece, "We Are Going to Win" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/we-are-going-to-win/ Adam's piece, "Impeach and Remove the Bastards" https://www.li...

Bob Wright reflects on the legacy of the Bloggingheads.tv, the pioneering website he co-founded in 2005. Aryeh and Bob discuss how the site and the technology that powered it anticipated modern trends in online media. They also consider whether Twitter still has any use for journalists, the pros and cons of Substack, and whether Culturally Determined should pivot back to video.  Recorded Octo...

Leigh talks about her new novel, a modern gothic with a satirical edge about an unemployed Millennial journalist who becomes the manager of a hype house for Gen Z content creators — one of whom goes missing. Aryeh and Leigh also discuss whether the internet is bad now. Recorded September 3, 2025 LINKS Leigh's new novel, "If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You" https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Seein...

Gina Tron discusses "Suspect," her recent memoir about her childhood growing up as an outsider in a small Vermont town and the bad teenage joke that led everyone to think she was planning to be a school shooter. Recorded Feb 20, 2025 Follow Culturally Determined (still) on Twitter @CulturallyDet LINKS Gina's book,"Suspect" https://www.ginatron.net/suspect/ Gina's website https://www.ginatron.net F...

Aryeh and Phoebe discuss Bluesky, the newly popular Twitter alternative—and how Phoebe's mild critique of the site went mega-viral. Aryeh explains why he finally, finally quit Twitter. Is Bluesky for anti-Trump social media "refugees," or a retirement home for posting addicts? And are people on there actually nice? Recorded December 20, 2024 Follow Culturally Determined (still) on Twitter @Cultura...

Aryeh talks with writer Hannah Gold about her reported essay in Harper's on the literary festival celebrating Philip Roth's 90th birthday, which was held in Newark, New Jersey last year. Recorded December 5, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS Hannah's piece, "Your Mind’s in the Hands of Everything: Letting Go of Philip Roth" https://harpers.org/archive/2023/12/philip-roth-newar...

Aryeh talks to Kiki Freedman, the co-founder and CEO of Hey Jane, the leading virtual reproductive and sexual health care clinic. Recorded July 16, 2024 Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS Hey Jane website https://heyjane.com/ KFF on the Comstock Act and abortion https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortion-care-nationwide/ Follow @k...

Daniel discusses his recent Harper's cover story, "The Life and Death of Hollywood," which focuses on the economics of entertainment as private equity and streaming have changed the industry. Recorded May 24, 2024 Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS Daniel's piece, "The Life and Death of Hollywood" https://harpers.org/archive/2024/05/the-life-and-death-of-hollywood-daniel-bessner/ Ma...

Aryeh talks to Jon Kimball, co-host of the podcast Election Profits Makers, about political prediction markets, Trump's VP options, the beauty of city skylines, the sorry state of the social media site formerly known as Twitter, whether Gen Xers have the worst politics, and more! Recorded April 26, 2024. Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS Election Profits Makers podcast https://podc...

Kerry Howley talks about her book "Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State," named one of the 10 Best Books of 2023 by the New York Times. Recorded November 14, 2023. Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS Kerry's book, "Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State" https://www.amazon.com/Bottoms-Up-Devil-Laughs-Journey/dp/0525655492/ref=tm...

B.D. McClay — essayist, critic, and scholar of Taylor Swift Studies — helps Aryeh understand the biggest cultural phenomenon of the year.  Recorded November 5, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDet LINKS B.D.'s Substack https://notebook.substack.com/ B.D.'s essay on illness, "The Bad Patient​" https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-bad-patient/ B.D. on "1989 (Taylor's Version)" https://no...

Sarah discusses her recent New York Times essay, "Hate Gen X? Get in Line (Behind a Gen X-er)." Why are young people lumping together Boomers and Xers? Why do so many Gen X writers spend time railing against "woke" ideas? Is Elon Musk more defined by being Gen X or by being a billionaire? And why do Xers find Millennials so annoying? Recorded September 14, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined on Twit...

Historian Jeremy Dauber talks about his new book, "Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew," which is part of the Yale Jewish Lives series. He discusses Brooks's Brooklyn childhood, his Borscht Belt years, writing on "Your Show of Shows" and working with Carl Reiner, his move to Hollywood, why parody was his main genre, and his comedic legacy. Recorded July 18, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @Cu...

Claire Dederer talks about her new book, "Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma," a blend of cultural criticism and memoir in which she thinks deeply about the work of great artists who were also horrible people. Recorded July 24, 2023. Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet LINKS Claire's new book,"Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma" https://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Fans-Dilemma-Claire-Dederer/dp/05256...

Art critic Kristian Vistrup Madsen discusses his essay on the 2000s, "Chains Or Whips? The Cruel Decade And Its Aftermath," in which he draws connections between Abu Ghraib, reality television, and Britney Spears to reflect on the culture of the Aughts. Recorded July 12, 2023. Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet LINKS Kristian's essay, "Chains Or Whips? The Cruel Decade And Its...

Andrew Lipstein discusses "The Vegan," his new novel about a hedge fund founder who has an unusual moral awakening after a dinner party prank he pulls goes disastrously awry. The novel considers artificial intelligence, Brooklyn mores, our relationship with animals, psychiatry, responsibility, and more. Recorded July 7, 2023 LINKS Andrew's new novel, "The Vegan" https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Novel-...

Author Tom Bissell discusses his recent essay in Harper's, "Time Is a Violent Stream," about embracing Stoic philosophy after the death of his father. Why is Stoicism so useful during a time of crisis? What do contemporary popular books about Stoicism get wrong? Why do online reactionaries love Marcus Aurelius? Plus: Is Stoicism just for men? Recorded May 8, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined on Tw...

Ross discusses his recent essay disputing that Trump and MAGA are on the wane. Is MAGA even separable from Trump himself to begin with? How do the dynamics of the 2024 GOP primary differ from those of 2016? Plus: Critiquing reactions from both left and right to the subway killing of Jordan Neely. Recorded May 9, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet LINKS Ross's Substack http...

Self-described "Extremely Online" writer and podcaster Phoebe Maltz Bovy joins Aryeh to ponder whether Twitter is finally really and truly dead. Phoebe talks about how she lost her bluecheck before it was cool, Aryeh explains why he's not eager to join the Twitter knockoff Bluesky, and they wonder whether anything could ever replace the site's mixture of usefulness, humor, chaos, and derangement....

Novelist and Internet activist Cory Doctorow discusses "enshittification," the term he coined for how online platforms start out great but gradually become nightmarish for users. How can we fight back against the forces of enshittification? Cory suggests some federal policies that would put power back in the hands of regular Americans. Plus: What made Twitter a once-thriving platform, and what wil...