Side Projects Podcast

As 2024 fades into the rearview, the crew unpack their lessons and cultural favorites from this year, and cast their hopes and predictions for a ‘Post-Social’ 2025. We’ll discuss how to find hidden gems in culture, why integrity matters and how brands can shape culture and stand out — spoiler alert it’s not just by going viral. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone’s got a take on the post-election state of media, including us now. We went behind the headlines with Max Tani, media editor at Semafor, to unpack the changes, challenges and opportunities facing new and legacy media: the rise of podcasts, the proliferation of niche outlets, and the sustainability (or not) of the influencer-journalist model. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

On the pod this week, we’re unpacking who and what the Jaguar rebrand is for, (same with The New York Times’ advice for how to avoid awkward holiday conversations), “reckless dreamers,” and what Dean Kissick gets right in his polarizing essay, “ The Painted Protest .” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the pod this week we get serious about unseriousness. The crew discusses lookalike contests, “ The Eczema Experience ,” tinned fish pop-ups, intergenerational grudges held by crows , ‘joy sobriety’, and the growing lack of seriousness in otherwise once serious settings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Hartman is the mind behind Nolita Dirtbag , a “niché and nouveau riche” meme page covering greater-downtown Manhattan (and sometimes Brooklyn). We chat about spending $180 before 11AM on “day in the life” videos, Dirtbag messaging hierarchies, why you shouldn’t put the place of your employment in your IG bio, bringing showmanship back to restaurants, being in a room full of Nolita Dirtbag rep...

This week on the pod, the crew discusses missing out on Juul settlement money, Philip Morris’s new status as a growth stock, Addison Rae, “pasteurized vice,” (more) slop, recalls, betting on the election on Polymarket, “the Nutter B*tter trap,” and why sometimes you should just lean on your product and stop trying to be culturally relevant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Lauren Sherman is the Chief Fashion Correspondent at Puck and co-author of “Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon.” We chat about Eric Adams’ controversial hat, the return of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, bralettes, OMNY, luxury fashion woes, finding out about how the stock market works, her son thinking R.E.M is called “R.E.M Essentials,” and too many people...

The crew discuss the pros and cons of gatekeeping, Chappell Roan v. superfans, why customized beverages are for children, and what the Broadway play ‘JOB’ gets right and wrong about the consequences of being “extremely online.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Archie Lee Coates IV is the co-founder of PLAYLAB, INC., an extremely multidisciplinary creative studio “with no focus.” They’ve worked with a range of clients, including Virgil Abloh, American Express, and Post Malone. We discuss the lost art of pranks, Charles Eames, Archie’s upcoming studio album, why you can’t focus too much on data and metrics, swimming in the East River, Ernest Shacklet...

As Haliey Welch, aka Hawk Tuah Girl, gets her own relationship advice podcast on Jake Paul's network, the crew discusses how the virally famous are rewriting the playbook to capitalize on their moment in the spotlight. People like Welch, Jools Lebron ("very demure, very mindful") and Big Justice are outmaneuvering traditional industry players by brokering their own deals and monetizing on their ca...

Rachel Karten is a social media consultant and author of the Link in Bio newsletter. Previously, she led the social media team at Bon Appétit and Epicurious . On a rare bicoastal recording, she joins the pod to talk about why we’ve reached peak reactive social content, how teleprompters work, why no one actually wants a chronological feed, and the important work the Utah Department of Transportati...

Delia Cai is a New York-based writer, editor and author of Deez Links . You may know her as the mind behind the outstanding “ Hate Read ” pop-up newsletter. She’s held stints at BuzzFeed and Vanity Fair, and published her debut novel Central Places last year. She joins the pod to talk about digital etiquette, the power of a good format, why everyone needs to go see Twisters in 4DX and why people w...

Adam Faze is the co-founder and “Head Coach” of Gymnasium : the production company behind “Boy Room”, “Bodega Run”, and “Clockwork Dynasty.” From the highlight reel: finding next-gen talent, he thinks “TikTok is the most powerful cultural tool on earth” (and is unapologetic about his screen time), “viral” is meaningless, enough with the tiny mics, why Quibi failed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

Eli and Clara rattle off the best-of Cannes Day 4, including a panel from the production designers behind ‘Poor Things,’ a live recording of Brian Morrissey’s “The Rebooting” podcast, and Scott Galloway’s take on Cannes and the state of advertising. Plus, we revisit (and coin) Linda Yapparino. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eli and Clara recap bold fits and even bolder proclamations about X’s future. Plus, is Cannes ready to get real about cultural mid-iocrity? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clara and Eli discuss the *voicey* merch flooding the Croisette and how lazy Gen Z insights make for lazy briefs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eli and Clara apply sunscreen and critical thinking skills to this week’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. They discuss whether Saudi Arabia’s tourism rebrand is hitting, unpack a British royal* appearance, and weigh the benefits of data personalization. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crew discusses (with colorful metaphors) how no-context data shapes the online conversation around fandoms, artists, brand campaigns and J-Lo’s ‘ Atlas ’ movie. Plus, Trey gives the TLDR on his breakup with Spotify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Dietz is the author of a weekly newsletter called [SIC] Weekly. He also hosts a weekly podcast [SIC] Talks, and (IRL) breakfast club every wednesdays. We chat Williamsburg before it became a mall, good band names, he’s working on a new media model called Superformats, Brawndo, not buying the “AI sludge” argument, “culturations,” and more. You can subscribe to [SIC] here: https://sicweekly.subs...

Joe Hollier is the co-founder of The Light Phone , an anti-smartphone “designed to be used as little as possible.” We talk taking inspo from Brian Eno, recalibrating our attention spans, how you gonna be mad on vacation, bible belt families, avoiding the word “addiction,” don’t overthink the research process, and building a more honest tech company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Why Is This Interesting? is a daily Substack spearheaded by Noah Brier and Colin Nagy about interesting things. On a rare five-panel pod, they chat reclaiming agency from the algorithm, the power of niche, the masochistic struggle of writing a daily substack, “mensch” is added to the pod vocab, Mr. Beast is very very very good at thumbnail imagery, the level of commentary around AI is not as sophi...

Steff Yotka is the Head of Content at SSENSE. Fresh off of a return flight from Michèle Lamy’s 80th birthday rave at a discreet Venetian airport hanger, she joins the crew to discuss the merits of caviar and egg sandwiches as drunk food, non-algo bait editorial, storytelling around product, if you don’t like Lana Del Ray please leave, whether or not “menswear is in crisis,” and more. Hosted on Aca...

The crew discusses the gambling scandal involving MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, and what it means for the future of sports betting. Plus, a quick interlude on the weather and Meghan Markle’s new brand lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Sundberg is a New York-based writer, director and consultant who authors a daily business and internet culture newsletter called Feed Me . She joins us on the pod to discuss her closely guarded media diet, meeting readers out in the wild, she’s not a fan of putting stickers on phone cameras, why she’s bullish on Zyn and bearish on prebiotic sodas, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

The crew explores the internet’s fascination with “tradfluencers” like Nara and Lucky Blue Smith. Plus, Eli forgets to drink water and has gripes about the dogs on the train, Trey talks about why the lack of friction in our lives has led to loneliness, and Clara has thoughts on how algorithms are impacting a growing gender divide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.