Aryeh Cohen-Wade speaks with a variety of guests about culture, politics, and American society in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Claire Carusillo discusses her debut novel, "The Responsible Party," which just received a rave review in the New York Times. Claire uses bizarre real events from her family history to tell a comic multigenerational story of shipwrecks, the Chicago suburbs, humidity, and murder. She also discusses Storyboard, her new bookstore/skate shop/coffee shop in Midway, Utah — and the famous "tradwife"…
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…
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"…
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…
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"…
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 October…
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"…
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…
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…
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"…
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…
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/…
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…
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"…
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)"…
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…
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…
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"…
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"…
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…
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…
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…
Will Sommer talks about his new book, "Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America." Why didn't January 6th deflate QAnon? How has conspiracy thinking changed the GOP? Is the "cabal" that Q believers see themselves fighting against just…capitalism? Plus: Do Fox News hosts believe their own nonsense? Recorded March 23, 2023 Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter…
Journalist Nicky Woolf discusses his podcast "The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome." What really caused the strange symptoms afflicting American diplomats in Cuba? What, if anything, do loud crickets have to do with it? Is the whole thing simply a mass delusion? And why hasn't Biden acted to undo the damage Trump did to Cuba? Recorded March 17, 2023 LINKS The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome on…
Stephen talks about his new book, "On Writing and Failure." Aryeh and Stephen discuss morality and art, Canadian vs. American literary culture, the link between writing and mental illness, and more. Recorded February 22, 2023 LINKS Stephen's new book, "On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer"…
A kooky tweet from Rebekah Jones, the Florida Covid whistleblower who might not actually be a whistleblower, inspires Aryeh and Nick to debate whether the left has a grifter problem, the morality of Al Sharpton, whether liberals willfully misunderstand the right, Joe Biden's tall tales, and more! Recorded February 15, 2023 LINKS Nick's tweet that launched the debate…
Aryeh speaks with his cousin Ora Peled Nakash about the growing Israeli protest movement, which was sparked by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's move to limit the independence of Israel's judicial system. Ora explains why she was personally motivated to join the protests and to give a speech at the first large rally in Tel Aviv. They discuss how Israeli politics reached this perilous point, the many…
Raina Lipsitz discusses her new book, "The Rise of a New Left: How Young Radicals Are Shaping the Future of American Politics." Are charismatic figures like AOC and Bernie responsible for the resurgence of socialism in the US? Or did structural/economic forces make a left revival inevitable? What lessons have organizers learned from the failures of past generations? Is "defund the police" a good…
Writer and "BookTok" expert Leigh Stein tries to assuage Aryeh's fears about the wildly popular video app. Should we be worried about TikTok's Chinese origins? Is the app poisoning the minds of America's youth—or is that idea just the sign of a xenophobic moral panic? Could Gen Zers teach Millennials how to stop looking at their phones? Plus: The two self-confessed Twitter addicts discuss whether…
Comedian Sophie Zucker talks about her new one-woman musical, "Sophie Sucks Face," which tells the story of a young Jewish woman who makes out with her cousin at their grandfather's funeral. Recorded November 21, 2022 LINKS Sophie Sucks Face https://www.sophiezucker.com/sophie-sucks-face Sophie's Instagram @stringcheesezucker https://www.instagram.com/stringcheesezucker/?hl=en Follow…
Josh Barnard, a software engineer and tech-industry veteran who worked at Twitter during and after the 2016 election, discusses Elon Musk's chaotic changes at the company. Were Twitter's employees a bunch of woke leftists? Does Musk understand how to code? Could the site suffer a massive technical failure? Plus: Can the moderation dilemma ever be solved? Recorded November 18, 2022 Follow…
Kat discusses her recent essay in National Review, "Why I Keep Getting Mistaken for a Conservative." Has online political life swallowed offline political life? Has technology made concerns about book bans a thing of the past? Plus: Is Aryeh a Twitter bully? Recorded November 9, 2022 LINKS: Kat's essay, "Why I Keep Getting Mistaken for a Conservative"…
Aryeh and Dave Karpf, an associate professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, discuss Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter. Is he going to run the company into the ground—and would that be good for America? Is Twitter in fact the online public square? What would a non-toxic version of the site look like? Plus: Why does Mark Zuckerberg think we all want to join…
Laura Mayer talks about "Shameless Acquisition Target," her new podcast series about how market forces and bad choices have changed the podcast industry. Mayer has worked as a radio and podcast editor, producer, and executive—but this is her first time hosting her own show. Recorded October 27, 2022 LINKS Shameless Acquisition Target website https://www.shameless.biz/ Shameless Acquisition Target…
Aryeh and Joanna analyze Nathan Fielder's HBO series "The Rehearsal." What is the show actually about? Can the viewer separate reality from "reality"? Is Nathan the show's villain, hero, or something else? How sympathetic should we feel toward Angela? And what does the final scene actually mean? Recorded September 11, 2022 LINKS Trailer for "The Rehearsal"…
William Deresiewicz, author of the new book "The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society," discusses how technology is changing our sense of self, how every aspect of higher education is failing, the late Harold Bloom, Great Books courses, and more! Recorded August 18, 2022 LINKS: Bill's new book, "The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society"…
Photographer and writer Chris Arnade talks about his project of walking across foreign cities. Recorded August 11, 2022 LINKS Chris's newsletter, "Walking the World" https://walkingtheworld.substack.com Aryeh's conversation with Chris about his book "Dignity" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culturally-determined/id981282353?i=1000441345930 Chris's walking tips…
Historian Daniel Bessner discusses his recent cover story in Harper's about the waning of US global hegemony. In a wide-ranging conversation, Aryeh and Daniel debate human nature, the true toll of the Cold War, whether conflict with China is inevitable, whether American culture is decadent, and more. Recorded July 25, 2022 LINKS Daniel's essay, "Empire Burlesque"…
Kaitlyn Tiffany talks about her new book, "Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It," a study of how fans of the boy-band One Direction changed online life. Recorded July 13, 2022 LINKS Kaitlyn's book, "Everything I Need I Get from You" https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-Get-You-Fangirls/dp/0374539189 Follow @kait_tiffany Follow @AryehCW Hosted on…
Filmmaker Kirby Ferguson, creator of the series "Everything Is a Remix," recently announced that he is retiring from content creation. I spoke to him about that decision, redoing his classic series on remix culture, conspiracy theories, the "vibe shift," and more! Recorded June 2, 2022 LINKS: "Everything Is a Remix Remastered" youtube.com/watch?v=nJPERZDfyWc Kirby's website…
Film critic Dana Stevens discusses her new book "Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century." Recorded May 26, 2022 LINKS: Dana's book, "Camera Man" https://www.amazon.com/Camera-Man-Invention-Twentieth-Century/dp/1501134191 Follow @thehighsign Follow @AryehCW Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Comedy writers Toria Sheffield and Shawn DePasquale cohost the podcast "Oh, Mr. Sheffield!," which recaps Fran Drescher's '90s sitcom "The Nanny." They discus how the show depicted Jewish themes and gay characters, why it was mostly forgotten by the culture, and what its legacy is today. Recorded May 12, 2022 LINKS "Oh, Mr. Sheffield!" on Apple Podcasts…
Max Read, who writes the tech and culture newsletter "Read Max," argues that Elon Musk won't save Twitter, but he won't ruin it either—because the famously lousy site already works just great for him. Recorded May 2, 2022 LINKS: Max's essay, "Elon Musk won't fix Twitter (but he won't kill it, either)"…
Author Sam Lipsyte discusses his recent cover story in Harper's, "Ghosting the Machine: Humans, Robots, and the New Sexual Frontier." We talked about "digisexuals," sex bots, virtual reality, Las Vegas, loneliness, and the gamification of everything. Recorded April 29, 2022 LINKS: Sam's article, "Ghosting the Machine"…
On a special crossover edition of "Culturally Determined" and "The Wright Show," Aryeh asks Bob about cognitive empathy and how to apply it to Putin's war in Ukraine. Plus: Is Mickey Kaus infecting Bob's brain? And does Bloggingheads.tv still have a reason for being? Recorded April 13, 2022 LINKS: The Nonzero newsletter https://nonzero.substack.com/ The Wright Show on Bloggingheads.tv…
Comedian and musician Howell Dawdy talks about writing a funny song in just 30 minutes, the vanished artistic medium of Twitter Fleets, magicians who make Facebook videos of women using banana peels to slowly tie-dye their underwear, and more! Recorded March 31, 2022 LINKS: "Howell Dawdy's Fast Track" podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/howell-dawdys-fast-track/id1558186545 Howell's…
