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According to Claude, there have been some 5000 substantive pieces since the start of 2026 published on looksmaxxing and its main protagonist, Clavicular. You thought you were safe with New Models, you trusted us to not bring more looksmaxxing content into existence and yet here we are… bringing you not just a new episode that looks at this trend, but an entire new vertical we’re calling “CONTENT T...

We discuss Gianmarco’s slow start and early failures in creative life. What is the value of higher education in the US? We explore the craft and art of performance while learning about his early political influences.

My guest is Gianmarco Soresi, a comedian and host of the Downside Podcast. We discuss comedy’s right-wing pivot and the long arc of entertainment merging with real world politics. In 2026, every big talk show is hosted by a comedian and this format dominates our political discourse. How did this initially progressive project shift course? Later, we discuss online cancel culture, free speech, the a...

We explore the current crisis and recent history of the Democratic party. Emma describes her background and early entry into the world of politics. Doomscroll is confirmed “best produced show” but gets a -3 penalty on all Charisma rolls by the host.

My guest is Emma Vigeland, a co-host of The Majority Report. We discuss Jefferey Epstein’s sick obsession with “jerky”, nationalist affordability and the shifting media landscape. Later, we explore some of the most difficult topics on the left; popular backlash to activist rhetoric and more. What should the left bring to the table for midterms and 2028?

We speak often in the New Model sphere about scanning and sensing rather than reading—communication through vibes . Peli Grietzer is a comparative literature PhD (Harvard) who has spent over a decade developing a rigorous theory of what a “vibe" actually is , how the ineffable feelings we increasingly use to navigate our world in fact exist as empirical objects in mathematical space. On this episo...

We dive deeper into pseudo-archaeology’s racist classifications and implicit myth structures. Later on, we explore the concept of sortition, Greek democracy and the early Aztec parliamentary system.

My guest is David Wengrow, an archeologist and professor at University College London. He joins me to discuss his best-selling book “The Dawn of Everything”, co-authored with the late David Graeber, published in 2021. David Wengrow takes us on a powerful journey into the deep history of human societies. “The Dawn of Everything” offers a staggering historical survey and philosophical argument that...

We discuss online media strategies and the political movements taking place in Latin America. The region is shaped by neoliberal trade agreements, a resurgent Pink Tide and an uncanny mix of pro-US right-wing nationalism.

My guest is David Adler, a general coordinator of the Progressive International. Adler was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which sought to bring life-saving humanitarian aid to the shores of Gaza. Forty-two nautical miles from the coast, the flotilla was intercepted by Israeli naval forces. Flotilla crew members were kidnapped, imprisoned, subjected to physical abuse and psychological torture. D...

Back in Berlin to show their new film work “ The End of Theater ” at Isabella Bortolozzi Gallery, artists Calla Henkel & Max Pitegoff drop by New Models to chat about that film’s primary set: New Theater Hollywood , the DIY theater they opened on Santa Monica Boulevard after decamping to LA in 2023. We discuss their layered process — creating a space that generates a scene, which produces its...

Gideon Jacobs returns to NM with his third essay in a trilogy for the LA Review of Books that tracks, in real-time, the American Political machine’s delamination from everyday life through runaway story-drive. In “ MAGA as Fan Fiction, ” Gideon shows US politics both left and right as having become a read-write medium for collective creative expression more than material governance—a kind of kayfa...

I no longer saw the highway, I felt it, viscerally, overwhelmed by the colossal, conquering thrust of capital. The velocity of the vehicles became tangible, massive aggregations of steel, plastic, glass, rubber, precision electronics, combustion engines and gasoline in violently accelerating streams of headlights and taillights... — LIL INTERNET A psyche-delic meditation by Lil Internet on what it...

We explore World of Warcraft’s influence on crypto libertarianism, the Habermasian digital public sphere, and US private ownership of social media. Where does democratic legitimacy come from?

My guest is Ro Khanna, a congressional representative from California’s 17th district. We discuss Khanna's political and philosophical vision for American democracy, the crisis of runaway inequality and tech’s fair share in the social contract.

Liz and I discuss the early accelerationist blogosphere that overlapped with certain music scenes of the 2000s - 2010s. We touch on the work of Simon Reynolds, Mark Fisher, Nick Srnicek and an uncertain meth addicted psychopath who spends too much time on Twitter.

My guest is Liz Franzcak, a co-host of TrueAnon. We discuss conspiracy theory, Lacan’s psychoanalytic insights and the influence of the early blogosphere. Is techno-capitalism a rogue AI retroactively assembling itself from the future? No, this will not be explained later.

Vivek and I get in the weeds about strategy and economy. We discuss how the Marxist theory of declining rates of profit will impact the 21st century struggle for social democracy. Our conversation touches upon voucher systems, nationalization and state-led investment programs. Most importantly, we compare the right and left populist visions to tackle American inequality and explore why only one of...

My returning guest is Vivek Chibber, a professor of sociology at New York University. He is the author of several books including Confronting Capitalism. What do we mean by the word “socialism” in 2025? Vivek Chibber answers foundational questions for political struggle in the 21st century.

You’ve heard us reference the work of Jay Springett (aka @thejaymo ) on nearly every pod this year — so with his new book Slop Machines of Loving Grace near completion, we invited Jay on the show to chat through some of its themes. The book takes 2008 as a breaking point, a moment where the late-20th century financial system imploded and, in its place, society was given a new operating system: one...

For Part 2 of this “Neo-Orality” edition of NM Reads, Lil Internet reads excerpts from Jacqueline Fendt, “ Beyond Wicked: Vibocratic Problems in the Post-Truth Era ” International Journal of Social Science Studies , Vo. 13, No. 2, (Redfame, Jun 27, 2025) [Copyright: CC BY 4.0] To the best of our knowledge Jacqueline Fendt is the first to define “neo-oral” in the way that we’ve come to use it. She...

We discuss the legacy of the Gravel Institute, the “Felix Biederman to Marc Andreessen pipeline” and the “Bernie to New Right” culture of Dimes Square (RIP). Later, we explore Felix’s background in internet culture and online politics. I laugh so hard I spit.

My guest is Felix Biederman, a co-host of Chapo Trap House. We discuss Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in NYC. After the 2024 presidential election, progressive media focused on the rightward swing of young men. However, in 2025, Zohran carried young men (ages 18 - 29) with an overwhelming +40 margin. These historic outcomes shatter many previous interpretations and force us to reframe certain n...

Grimes and I map the possible future horizons for a politics beyond western-style liberal democracy and explore the deep philosophical impacts of AI. We discuss post-enlightenment thinking, the crisis of digital art, artist compensation and the aesthetic stagnation of creative work today.

My guest is Grimes, an artist and musician. We discuss the profound impacts of social media and AI, her new album and the role of art during periods of political transformation. In the 20th century, artists served as an avant-garde. Movements on both the left and right, such as the Bauhaus or Italian Futurism, offered radical new visions for a modernizing society. In the 21st century, we see a sim...