Side Projects Podcast
Side Projects is a strategy studio and creative outlet that helps brands, marketers, and everyday people think critically about how advertising shapes culture across digital surfaces, generational cohorts, and social fabric. Every Tuesday, the podcast features conversations with interesting voices from tech, media, and art to give marketers an inside look at the forces shaping culture before they hit the mainstream. Hosted by Clara Malley, Eli Williams, and Trey Traylor.
Episodes
Gentleminions for Tech Dweebs
What’s one thing bringing high-flying Hollywood directors and regular Americans together en masse? Vilifying tech billionaires. Just as anti-tech populism is simmering to a boil ahead of the midterms, a slate of biopics and documentaries with hubristic tech billionaires—Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Elizabeth Holmes—are hitting the theaters. Eli gets Trey’s thoughts on The Social Rec
What Exactly Is a “Knowledge Creator”?
Over the past few years, we’ve been seeing a new genre of creators gain prominence. Maybe you've heard them referred to as “knowledge influencers,” “brandsplainers,” or the “alternatively influential.” Their credibility comes less from sales-savvy or attention hacking as it does from a depth of knowledge and expertise across a range of niches—from advertising to AGI. On this episode, Trey and
Are There Too Many “Social-First” TV Shows?
Clara, Trey, and Eli discuss everything becoming TV, New York morphing into one big content backdrop, navigating Washington Square Park like it’s ABC’s Wipeout, and whether or not there are too many branded social series. Plus, Aliens, DraftKings VIP list, and Unzipped. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.c
One Novelty Popcorn Bucket to Rule Them All
This week on the pod, Clara, Trey, and Eli discuss the Grey Lady’s campaign celebrating 175 years of print advertising, and the quote “advertising reflects the moments that shape our world,” really means in its current context. Plus, Bumble cribbing (to put it lightly) friend of the show Amy Rose Spiegel’s “Most Eligible New Yorkers” piece, and an exploration of novelty popcorn buckets. IG: @sidep
How to Find Cool Music
Georgia Jaffe is the founder of Indie Hourzz: an online music, media, and culture platform which hosts intimate live sessions, concerts, and more. We spoke with her about hosting shows in her college apartment, cold-calling the Coca-Cola hotline, whether there are still regional differences in music scenes, and how to build an audience that trusts your point of view. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @S
A Whole Earth Catalog for the New Space Age
When you think about space exploration today, it’s easy to scoff at the profligate spending of billionaires drunk on ambition, the vanity trips laced with an impressive lack of self-awareness (best characterized by Gayle King’s “have you been?”), or even Space Force uniforms “inspired by the discipline of the Starship Trooper uniform.” But there are actually good, insightful, and even artful
When Life Gives You Lemons, Drink a “Pink Lemon Drop Suncloud Lemonade”
It’s been a while since we’ve had the full gang together, and there’s much to discuss. Trey gives the run down on Corgi Cafe—and makes the case for Capitol One Café. Clara rants about how “special drink” culture has gone too far. Eli closes us out on a positive and optimistic high: Flock Cameras. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ H
The Case Against “Cool Parent” Brand Strategy
Recently, there’s been a lot of anxiety around the health of subcultures: “Subcultures aren’t dead, they’re just not where you’re looking,” “Teen Subcultures Are Fading. Pity the Poor Kids,” “Alt Erasure: Has TikTok Killed Alternative Subcultures?.” Brands like to think of themselves as conduits to subcultures, or, if you’ve spent time in the hefty, vertigo-inducing haze of a brand strategy d
Don’t Hate the Creator, Hate the Economy
The creator economy has officially won, and periodic waves of influencer backlash have become a perennial feature of online discourse. Some recent examples include the “no influencers sign” in Nantucket, whether “hating influencers has become a socially acceptable way to hate women,” and talk of an influencer recession as the landscape becomes more crowded and competitive. To parse legit grie
How Do You Rebuild America’s Lost Sense of Community?
Is it a fun new beverage? Fast food innovation? Celebrity wedding? A disdain for data centers? An underdog sports story? We’re living through a moment of seemingly calcified cynicism and alienation, but there are palpable signs that people are looking to involve themselves in something bigger than themselves that’s positive. As America celebrates its Semiquincentennial, we wanted to get a gut
How Sotheby's Conquered the Attention Economy
Phyllis Kao is a senior auctioneer at Sotheby’s. You might’ve recently seen clips of her taking bids for a 67-million-year-old T-Rex named Gus, which sold for a whopping $50.1 million to an unnamed buyer. Being an auctioneer (auctioneering is not a verb) has always sat at the intersection of performance and expertise. And in the attention economy, Kao has displayed a knack for both in a way that’s
AI Won’t Get You Laid
Brands have rightly diagnosed a desire for connection and romance, hosting “mixers,” posting personals, and even producing dating shows on social. But what role should they really be playing as matchmakers? We wanted to hear from someone with a real pulse on the dating scene and hit up Amy Rose Spiegel, a senior editor at The Cut and author of the publication's Personals newsletter to come on the
The FYP Halftime Show, Brought to You by FIFA
Eli and Clara discuss the highs and lows of the World Cup, with an eye toward how brands leveraged big-name talent like Madonna, Messi, the Muppets, and David “the Coca-Cola of humans” Beckham. Plus: our thoughts on the FIFA Peace Prize, Hidden Valley Ranch, Erling Haaland’s vlog, and (unexpectedly) Kamala Harris. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsc
Good Style Requires an Interesting Life
Clara and Trey sat down with Jalil Johnson—fashion professional, writer, and creator of popular Substack ‘Consider Yourself Cultured’—to talk about the changing role of fashion in culture and the current obsession with taste. They discuss how social media incentivizes reference curation over developing a point of view, “buying the look” instead of learning the ropes, Covid-era style experimentatio
“Advertising Is So Highly Hypnotic”
Hypnotist and hypnosis instructor Désirée Eckert joins Eli and Clara to talk about the trance states we enter every day (scrolling on our phones for one) and why building our awareness of trance is a useful tool for seeing both how our attention is extracted and how we can reclaim it.We discuss the infinite scroll, quitting cigarettes, prescription drug commercials, The Twilight Zone, hate-reading
Is the Rick Rubin Polymarket Ad Good?
As prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket stretch their tentacles across culture, their advertising has become ubiquitous. Ahead of the World Cup, Kalshi has inked partnerships with a slew of high-profile athletes and football personalities, like José Mourinho and Lionel Messi. Polymarket, for its part, was a marquee sponsor for the UFC 250 fight at the White House earlier this mon
Linking & Consensus Building on the Croisette
For our second special edition pod, we spoke with Mark Stenberg, Senior Media Reporter at AdWeek, to compare notes on what people are talking about this year: AI FOBO, the proliferation of creators, and the increasingly blurry purpose of the festival itself. We get into why Cannes may be less about new ideas than consensus building, why public panels feel more PR-approved than ever, and data disso
Cannes Lions Is an Endless Times Square
This is the first of two special edition podcasts this week, recorded on the ground at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity ™️. Today, we’re joined by breakfast aficionado and friend of the show, Ben Dietz. Ben is ½ of the Hip Replacement podcast alongside our friend Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick. Ben is a longtime Cannes attendee, so we pick his brain about how the festival has evolved for bet
The Limits of Gatekeeping Fandom
An enduring theme of the Knicks’ historic finals run has been squabbling over who and what constitutes “a real fan,” exacerbated by astronomical ticket prices, the intrusion of Kalshi, and the Side Talkification of New York. But what, exactly, is the role of gatekeeping when you want these moments of mass enthusiasm? On the pod this week, we talk about New York after the Knicks’ win, why the
What Is “Youth Culture” in a Gerontocracy?
Youth is vanishing. In a material sense, birth rates are plummeting around the globe and older people are staying in positions of power across both the public and private sector for longer periods of time. It’s also vanishing in a cultural sense, too thanks to a steady stream of reboots, remakes, and de-aged celebrities, as studios and execs bet on proven hits vs. net-new creative.Against this oss
Why Every Brand Wants a Piece of Bravo
Reality TV has shaped the fabric of American society, from the White House to Summer House (sorry, had to). And Bravo-lebrities are some of the hottest tickets in town: racking up brand deals and starting their own companies and media empires which succeed or fail by their on-screen reputations.To better understand the state of play on all things Bravo and brands, we invited Gibson Johns to join u
Would You Buy a Luxury Shampoo For Your Dog?
Our resident cat owners Trey and Clara discussed the white space for luxury pet care with Alexandra Pauly. She’s the founder of Biche: a pet grooming brand bringing beauty industry standards to the category. We look at how pet care products fit within the larger trend towards “premiumized” household staples (ex. Graza and Fishwife) plus the ins and outs of developing a dog shampoo, DINKWADs, and t
The Coolest Thing in Tech Is Nothing
They’ve poached the CMO of Loewe, have a compelling social presence, and recently tapped Charli XCX as a shareholder and global ambassador. In doing so, Nothing, the nascent UK-based tech startup, seems to be aspiring to bring a measure of intrigue and cultural cachet to an industry otherwise highly deficient in cool: tech. On the pod this week, we go Marques Brownlee mode to discuss what the last
Football After Fans
The World Cup is less than one month away. The lead up has been marred by craven opportunism, flagrant price gouging, and worst of them all—a Jelly Roll theme song. It’s the most potent symbol of where global football is headed—endlessly mediated, ultra-exclusive, and heavily commercialized—and what it’s leaving behind: the fans. Our guest this week is Thomas Gorton, the co-founder of unk Studio.
Why Does Palantir Want to Be a Lifestyle Brand?
They’ve got Hollywood ambitions, buzzy merch drops, and swarms of loyal fans (and drones). Why is Palantir, a shadowy data analytics company that many view as emblematic of America’s slide into an unaccountable surveillance state, building a brand universe? This week, our guest is Daysia Tolentino. She’s a freelance writer covering internet culture, with bylines in GQ, Teen Vogue, Vulture, and NBC
BREAKING: Your Favorite IG Reading Club Has IPO’d
Eli, Clara, and Trey are back together again and talking about what the proliferation of reading clubs reveals about how brands and savvy entrepreneurs are trying to literally capitalize on the analog bandwagon. We cover $1,000 reading retreats, friendship as KPI, and what makes attempts to scale and/or market “analog” succeed or fall flat. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack:
What Does a Men’s Magazine Look Like in 2026?
Lauren McCarthy is the Editor-in-Chief of NYLON and the newly-relaunched NYLON GUYS. We asked her about the opportunity she identified to speak to young men at a moment in which the culture around what it means to be a man is often controversial (and a bit American Psycho-coded). We also discuss nightlife coverage, where and how Nylon finds rising talent, and the value proposition of a magazine pr
Semafor's Max Tani Says People Are Still Reading News (Sometimes)
Max Tani is the Media Editor at Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast. He also writes the must-read Semafor Media newsletter every Sunday evening. Max is a longtime friend of the pod (and in real life) and we’re honored to have him on as our first guest. We wanted to get Max's take on some of the puzzling and contradictory phenomenons we're noticing in media. We discuss how long of a ru
Welcome to Side Projects
Day One FM is now part of Side Projects: a strategy studio and creative outlet helping brands, marketers, and everyday people think critically about how advertising shapes the cultural landscape. Eli and Clara share some context about what Side Projects is and what this transition will look like for the pod: what’s new (our theme song, a studio revamp, and YouTube Channel) and what’s staying
Carolyn Bessette, Love Story, and Let Them Eat Cake Marketing
We’re going on a break for a few weeks! But before we do, we talk about how the most sauceless couple you know are doing Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr. cosplay, the viral Interview magazine piece about the “Finest Boys in Finance,” and why fashion was better when it was about the clothes, not the business. Recommended this week:JFK (Dir. Oliver Stone)Angel's Egg (Dir. Mamoru Oshii)The Pla
The Verge’s Nilay Patel Believes Gen Z Will Revolt Against the “Brand Deal” Economy
Nilay Patel is the editor-in-chief of The Verge and host of Decoder with Nilay Patel. The Verge is “about technology and how it makes us feel,” and Nilay knows people don’t feel so hot right now. We speak with him about how founders have never been more transparent about the negative impacts of their product, how AI products are actually bad, the poison that is prediction markets on our informatio
What Happens to Youth Culture When Everyone’s Old?
We dive into Greg Ip’s article in the Wall Street Journal talking about how people aged 65 and older are healthier, wealthier, and, essentially, propping up the entire American economy. We also discuss if brands are going to shift their attention towards the “silver economy,” stretched adolescence, rotisserie chicken, books as cultural signals, and the death/end of the mass-market paperback.
Jenkem Magazine Founder Ian Michna Still Thinks Skateboarding Is a Healthy Subculture
Ian Michna is the founder of Jenkem Magazine. We talk with him about bringing an outside perspective to skateboarding, being a good beginner, why a combination of fear and shame keeps skateboarding alive, cold plunges with “Andy” Huberman, how Jenkem works with brands as a boutique agency, and why most things that turned out well also could’ve been terrible.Recommended this week:Be a beginnerGo to
Too Much Taste and Excellence on Ice
We begin with a very brief Super Bowl recap, where Eli was one lazy holding call away from a handful of benjamins. Then, we put some respect on some of the American athletes sweeping, skating, and skiing in Milano Cortina. Nothing cooler than being extremely good at one specific thing. And finally, Clara and Trey dive into a lively debate centered around Joshua Rothman’s latest piece in The New Yo
A Super Bowl LX Special Report with Adweek’s Mark Stenberg
Ahead of the Super Bowl, we caught up with Adweek’s Senior Media Reporter Mark Stenberg to help us contextualize the trends we’re seeing in this year’s crop of commercials and identify what you should look out for as you watch on Sunday. We cover the rise of the multi-week attention ecosystem, why we’ll see more health-focused ads, and more. Plus, we get Mark’s thoughts on the integration of
The Laziness Epidemic with The Trend Report™️’s Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick
Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick writes The Trend Report™️ on Substack and co-hosts the HIP REPLACEMENT podcast alongside friend of the pod, Ben Dietz. We talk about Kyle’s early trend reports while at Nickelodeon, working in broadcast news, why America isn’t so bad actually, Barcelona internet vs. American internet, why advertisers often don’t talk to real people, how people are pouring themselves into “
Netflix, Alex Honnold, and the Future of Live Spectacle
We talk about Alex Honnold’s Taipei 101 climb on Netflix, the return of David Blaine-style spectacle, greasy poles, construction YouTube, and more. Recommended this week: The B1MPrehistoric Planet, Season 3Wigwam socksIG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Death of Social Media with Kate Lindsay
Kate Lindsay is the author of internet culture substack, “Embedded,” and host of Slate’s ICYMI podcast. She joins us to unpack social media’s cause of death in 2026, analog bags, how we got too addicted to stay addicted, brain rot as political resistance, and what happens when social platforms become places of entertainment instead of places to connect. Plus, stay tuned until the end for the revea
OnlyFans and O-1B Visas
Welcome back! To kick off the year, we’re talking about a new exposé in the Financial Times, which found that OnlyFans creators and influencers are now increasingly dominating requests for O-1B visas, a speciality visa reserved for “exceptional” creatives with “extraordinary ability or achievement.” Recommended this week: "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" - E.D. Hirs
Eating Our Words: The 2025 Slop Review
Welcome to Tum Town. Long time listeners will know that we often center our distaste for marketing slop and feral commercialism around a few brands, namely Crumbl, Blank Street, and MrBeast. So in our final episode of the year, we decided to actually try the stuff for ourselves and review it live. Stay until the end for a small crumb of analysis on brands trying to “tap into culture.”Here’s what w
BNPL, QVC, and the New American Dream
We talk about how Saudi Arabia has renewed Dakota Johnson’s faith in film and Clara eavesdropping on Gen Alpha sleepover semantics. We also dive into the broader implications of younger consumers’ preference for Buy Now, Pay Later, Gary Vee evangelizing livestream shopping, and how frictionless access to credit has allowed the creator economy and the trend ecosystem to rise at scale. IG: @sid
Amy Francombe on Touch Grass Marketing
Amy Francombe is a contributing editor at Vogue Business and writer of the amy_coded newsletter on Substack. We talk about why news is out and gossip is in, moving from a post-truth society to a post-meaning one, how unplugging became luxury’s most valuable currency, entertainment vs. conversion, why engagement metrics are junk, whether or not it cheapens a brand to have TikTokers sitting front ro
No Good Deed Goes Unposted
We talk about Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy’s desire to “go back to an era where we didn’t wear our pajamas to the airport,” real bread lines at Meadow Lane, only doing charity if it’s a good content opportunity, and being “ghosted” by brands. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor
LIVE: Annie Rauwerda Takes Us Into the Depths of Wikipedia
Annie Rauwerda is a comedian, long-time Wikipedian, and founder of the must-follow @depthsofwikipedia Instagram. In this special live episode, we ask her about the current right-wing attacks on Wikipedia, the Wikimedia awards, what it takes to be a Wikipedia editor, “Corn” being such a controversial entry page, muffins, why she’s optimistic about the next generation of internet users, and a wonder
Brands Are Taking the Wrong Lessons from Mamdani
The crew unpacks Zohran Mamdani’s electoral victory and what it says about a younger generation of New Yorkers who are looking to claw back a sense of agency, power, purpose, and connection beyond the “brand universe.” IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anu Lingala on “Trend Bipolarity” and How Brands Kneecapped Cool
Anu Lingala is a trend strategist and founder of the must-read Substack, WHAT’S ANU. We get a crash course in trend forecasting methodology, and then move on to who killed cool, the collapse of the irony/sincerity cycle, why people are trying to escape being seen by brands, Anu’s new theory on “trend bipolarity,” why we need to return to the basics of brand strategy, Anthony Bourdain, shareholder
Would You Shave Your Head to Watch a Movie for Free?
This week on the pod we unpack what stunt movie marketing, the rise of fan edits, exclusive Glen Powell pics, and the not-advertising-advertising of the Louvre art heist reveal about what it takes to make a film relevant. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Into the SportsVerse with Daniel-Yaw Miller
Daniel-Yaw Miller is an award-winning journalist and writer of the newsletter, SportsVerse. We talk to him about whether or not streamers and influencers are welcome disruptors or interlopers, not watching upstart sports leagues out of principle, what makes Stone Island a “smart collaborator” brand, depth vs. breadth, Loewe and On’s partnership with stone skipping GOAT Kurt Steiner, and NIL.
Tipping Points
Everything is an ad and no one is paying attention. Trey and Eli discuss if it’s possible to cut through in an era of calcified apathy, ad blockers, toilet TV, and “brandspeak” afflicted gen pop. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
AJ Wolfe on the Polarizing Power of Disney Adults
AJ Wolfe is a blogger and author of Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture. We dive into Disney Adult culture, what’s behind a sort of religious fervor for the House of Mouse, how Disney is shifting its business priorities and offerings to meet an older, childless consumer base, why “the worst part about being a Disney Adult is other Disney Adults,” why you don’t
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
We—and the rest of New York—have a few thoughts on the sprawling, million dollar subway campaign for “Friend,” the AI-powered companion pendant that listens to whatever you’re doing and offers a running commentary on your interactions. It’s yet to ship a single product. Plus, Meta’s new “Vibes,” Palantir tote bags, ChatGPT and Claude’s new marketing pushes, and we ask “why do some brands have so m
A Definitive Answer to “Should My Brand Be On Substack?”
Christina Loff is the Head of Lifestyle on the partnerships team at Substack. She also writes her own newsletter called The Dry Down Diaries. We talk to her about recruiting new writers to the platform, not being held to an algorithm, leaning into “founder-led” brand stories (but not every brand should be, or needs to be on the platform), bathhouse readings, and the importance of downloading the a
Ad-Based Psychosis? GNARLY.
We delve into Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick’s apt and unrestrained diatribe on the “era of ad-based psychosis” in his newsletter The Trend Report, and what happens when we leave people with nothing other than products, branding, or a community manager in the comments section to bind their entire identity to. On the brighter side, stay to hear about a hamster riding a motorcycle, Owen Cooper and the ret
Why Your Favorite Artist Is at Derrick Gee’s House
Derrick Gee has established himself as one of the internet’s most authoritative voices and purveyors of taste in music, amassing almost two million followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. His Sydney home/studio (shoes off, please) is also the backdrop for his show “Solid Air,” where he’s welcomed Lorde, beabadoobee, MJ Lenderman, Jamie xx, and more. We discuss the road to becoming a Profe
Bucket Hats and Bogus Ads
In this episode, we discuss AI’s increasingly complex role in advertising, from the way it's used to churn out social feed filler, to how consumers react when they find out the “authentic” campaign they loved was never real in the first place. We talk about the Oasis concert over the weekend—bucket hats and pre-rolls included—J.Crew’s faux-vintage lookbook, and Skechers’ sketchy subway ads. I
The Hater Report
On this episode we’re joined by our Day One colleague, Jordan Stone. We start off with a quick examination of the global elites’ music tastes, recently uncovered via the ‘Panama Playlists,’ and then move on to debate what we have to gain, or lose, when we have a more critical, curatorial lens to the ad world and culture at large. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://si
Taylor Swift Is Like Crumbl Cookie For The Ear
Belly buttons, Morse code, Miami Dolphins colorways… We’re talking Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Era™. But beneath the bright orange or purple glitter and brand commenting chaos, the creator economy is still grinding away — and not in a good way. We break down why it feels like a “race to the bottom for human dignity,” per ZINE’s Matt Klein, how brands are fracking culture for quick hits, and what a mor
Making a Modern Magazine with i-D’s Thom Bettridge
Thom Bettridge is the editor in chief of the newly-relaunched i-D magazine. He’s previously held stints at 032c, SSENSE, Highsnobiety, and Interview. We talk about building off of the publication's 45+ year legacy, scouting unknown talent, the importance of actually talking to people, how Gen Z insights are just Millennial insights, and why he launched his own Substack, CONTENT.IG: @sideprojects__
A Revolutionary Pretzel Platform and Dissonant Insights
Clara’s seeking out angel investors for a pretzel brand by women, for women. Plus, a discussion around why brands just can’t help themselves from using bleak insights as jumping off points for gimmicks. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
No-B.S. Insights with The New Consumer’s Dan Frommer
Dan Frommer is the founder of The New Consumer: a publication which draws upon his expertise as a business and tech journalist to examine how and why people spend their time and money. He joins us to talk through some of the takeaways from his recent 2025 Mid-Year Report. We cover Gen Z’s uneasiness on AI, why people would rather meet their favorite podcaster in the wild than an A-list movie star,
Earnestmaxxing and Viral Infidelity
Trey kicks things off with a quick (hopefully final) recap of the Coldplay “Jumbotron Incident” and a momentary return of monoculture. You can’t just cheat in today’s surveillance culture, sorry. Then, Clara shifts gears to talk about the new “gentle-jacked” Superman, and how the film’s refreshingly earnest plotline highlights a much-needed cultural shift away from irony-pilled junk. Finally, Eli
A Tale of Two Gen Zs with Rachel Janfaza
Rachel Janfaza is a writer, political analyst, and founder of The Up and Up: the authoritative newsletter tracking the cultural and political forces influencing Gen Z. We discuss how Covid split Gen Z in two, why MAGA appeals to young women, wedge issues, voting against your interests, whether or not young voters who shifted right in 2024 are up for grabs, purpose-driven branding, and a wishf
Snack Jail and Mystical, Magical Data
We discuss snack jail (aka CVS’s shopping-proof shelves) and Crumbl’s Moonbeam Ice Cream Cookie, inspired by the Benson Boone song “Mystical, Magical.” Plus, the Cannes Lions have been marred in controversy over the past few weeks, following several exposés around wonky data and AI-filled case study videos. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.c
What We Lose When We Optimize Sports with Writer Zito Madu
Zito Madu is an author, sports journalist, and cultural critic. We talk about why there are empty seats at the Club World Cup, why sports betting is here to stay, losing a multi-million dollar contract on a three figure parlay, how pay-to-play sports eliminates a diversity of playing styles, why we need to bring more whimsy back to sports marketing, and the joy of seeing waterfalls.IG: @
This Matcha Tastes Like Private Equity
Today, we’re talking about how Blank Street Coffee built a $500 million dollar empire, “Lower East Side Dimes Boy” matcha personas, fellas…, the founder of an Erewhon-adjacent grocery store in Tribeca is letting his “fans” stock the shelves, and betting markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are letting you bet on the end of the world. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: htt
Palais Intrigue with Matt Klein
On a very hot day four, Matt Klein joins us to talk about the work exhibit in the Palais basement (where ad-hoc insights and very creative data points abound), what’s missing from conversation about the creator economy, and giving up personal data for a piece of fruit. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. S
Talking Media Business and Getting Sunburnt with Max Tani
Semafor Media Editor, Max Tani, joins us for day three. We talk about sunburns, the evolving media presence at Cannes, pre-fab buildings, YouTube eating TikTok’s lunch, Chat J'ai Pété, Substack’s will-they-won’t-they dance with advertisers, the changing tide in the culture wars, and where to get the best Thai food in Cannes.IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideproj
WWDPP? (What Would Dolly Parton Pitch?)
Day two of Cannes Lions kicks off with former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, advocating a Dolly Parton approach to brand purpose followed by a refreshing marketing talk break from James Blake. In other news, will.i.am says we’re not prepared to be good hosts to aliens, Paris Hilton’s husband talks about AI and VC (two things you really don’t hear about enough), and our AG1 partnership con
Human Creativitymaxxing
Clara and Eli are on the ground reporting from day one of the Cannes Lions. Highlights include: Willa Bennett’s plans for rebooting Cosmopolitan’s IP, Apple’s VP of Marketing saying “human creativity” over 18 times in 20 minutes, a potential new sponsor, Chinese soft power, being in the Nashville of France, and our ideas for a Bravo buildout on the Croisette.IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjec
See you in Cannes
Bonjour. Eli and Clara will be dropping daily episodes of the podcast, recorded live and uncut from the Cannes Lions Festival next week. We’ll break down some of the Croisette’s highs and lows, plus get the rundown of what some former D1FM guests are seeing on their end. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See a
Benjamin Edgar on Navigating Cultural Tipping Points
Benjamin Edgar is a Chicago-based designer who’s been making a lot of very cool things for a very long time. He co-authored the early aughts blog THE BRILLIANCE, founded Boxed Water, and more recently started An Object Company. We talk about the importance of design consistency, how we’re at an inflection point with “phone stuff,” Dieter Rams, bar etiquette, applied design, Adrien Brody’s art, why
The “Flyover Finals” and “Establishment Podcasts”
Today we’re talking about the NBA’s “crisis of cool,” and whether that’s also inclusive of Timothée Chalamet’s Chrome Hearts, Adam Friedland’s interview on Mixed Signals, the rise of “establishment podcasts,” cruise ships, space ships, and waiting in line at pop-ups.IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p
How Recho Omondi’s The Cutting Room Floor Became Fashion’s Most Honest Podcast
Recho Omondi is the host and creator of The Cutting Room Floor, the popular fashion podcast featuring guests like Cynthia Erivo and Law Roach. In this episode, we explore why blue chip design names like Steve Madden and Brendon Babenzien of Noah open up on her mic, revealing unfiltered takes on the business of fashion. We also dive into Omondi’s “clipping” technique, the politics of taste, and why
Cinematic Sports and OnlyFans Pickleball
Forget the score, on this week’s episode we unpack how the real action isn’t happening on the court, but instead on the second screen and…OnlyFans? We’ll unpack SNY’s surprisingly good social content, “Smash City,” Engelbert Humperdinck, pollen, and “water-based cooking.” IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast
John Paul Brammer: ¡Hola Papi! ¡Adios Twitter!
John Paul Brammer is an author, artist, and writer of the popular advice column, ¡Hola Papi!. He joins us on the pod to discuss midwest debauchery, advice on giving advice, high-profile penguins, his top 5 birds, why Bluesky is “giving gas leak,” standing behind something you 100% do not believe in, house parties, and much more.IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://side
Bird Flu Bailouts and AI Cheaters
Today we’re talking about friend supply versus “friend demand,” AI designed specifically for cheating on your Costco job interview, naming a sandwich after a disease epidemic (bad idea), thirst trap strategies, and how the West Village is now filled with identikit personalities wearing scrunch bum leggings. IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: https://sideprojectsco.substack.c
We’re Running Out of Ways to Sell Things
Back with another impromptu in-house episode, this week we take stock of the grocery store shelves which are packed with protein: Khloé Kardashian Khloud popcorn, dry as sawdust Quest bars, and… Hormbles Chormbles. Also, why does every new product sound like it was named by a toddler? And are we experiencing a mass cognitive decline or does every advertisement sound nonsensical?IG: @sideprojects__
Scam Alert: MrBeast, Fyre Fest and Baby Back Ribs
We’re being scammed. The latest Mr Beast experience was a flop, Fyre Festival is back, Chinese manufacturers are exposing the luxury goods industry, and everyone is buying now and paying later. Between financing your Coachella tickets and your Chilli’s baby back ribs, this week on the pod we unveil the many ways scams have gone mainstream.IG: @sideprojects__YouTube: @SideProjectsPodcastSubstack: h
Archiving the Internet with Meme Researcher Aidan Walker
Aidan Walker is an internet culture and meme researcher and writer, former editor at Know Your Meme, and self proclaimed ‘Slopimist’. He joins us to discuss Skibidi toilet and the surveillance state, the “War and Peace” of our times, John Pork lore, why he’s optimistic about Gen Alpha’s chances, historicizing memes, and how “God didn’t want us to drink slushies, red 40, or vapes that taste like cr
Have We Finally Reached Bot on Bot Warfare?
Adolescence on Netflix. White Lotus on Max. Bot on… bot? This week on the pod, people are having withdrawal symptoms from overuse of ChatGPT. Tinder is rolling out the opportunity to practice flirting with AI before moving into the real world, and we question whether or not too much conversational practice with a digital entity is turning every man into an incel. The one good use of AI: a new app
