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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 28, 2025
LINKS
Robert Wright's Nonzero podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robert-wrights-nonzero/id505824847
The Nonzero Newsletter
Max Read on his Substack stats
https://maxread.substack.com/p/four-years-of-read-max-on-substack
Andrew Thompson on the economics of Substack and money vs. attention
https://components.news/the-desire-distribution/
MeaningOfLife.tv
Follow Bob on Twitter: https://x.com/robertwrighter
Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social
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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-Seeing-This-Its-Meant/dp/0593983645
Profile of TikTok star William White
https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/will-white-tiktok-fandom-gen-x-middle-age-women-drama/amp
Jia Tolentino's review of Elizabeth Gilbert's new book
Leigh's Substack, "Attention Economy"
https://leighstein.substack.com/
Follow Leigh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighstein/
Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social
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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
Follow Gina on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ginatron.bsky.social
Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social
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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 @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Phoebe's piece, "The problem with Bluesky: It won’t broaden our horizons"
Aryeh and Phoebe's May 2023 episode about Twitter
Montreal man dies after leaving hospital following six-hour wait
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article612894.html
Phoebe's piece, "Does this book read as too parochial—or too ‘Zionist’? The pitfalls of Writing While Jewish"
https://thecjn.ca/opinion/zibby-vs-philip/
Waikiki Wanda says Bluesky is hospice for posters
https://bsky.app/profile/wanda.bsky.social/post/3lcmbzupslk2v
Phoebe's Substack
https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/
Feminine Chaos podcast
https://femchaospod.substack.com/
Bonjour Chai podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bonjour-chai/id1555600279
Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social
Follow Phoebe on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/phoebebovy.bsky.social
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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-newark-your-minds-in-the-hands-of-everything/
Aryeh's interview with Laura Marsh on Blake Bailey's Roth biography
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culturally-determined/id981282353?i=1000519264087
Follow @togglecoat
Follow @aryehcw.bsky.social
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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
KFF on the Comstock Act and abortion
Follow @kgfreedman
Follow @HeyJaneHealth
Follow @AryehCW
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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/
Max Read on the piece
https://maxread.substack.com/p/one-weird-trick-for-fixing-hollywood-6f0
Sean Clements's podcast, "Subtitles On"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/subtitles-on-with-sean-clements/id1694805292
Daniel's podcast, "American Prestige"
https://www.americanprestigepod.com/
Follow @dbessner
Follow @AryehCW
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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://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/election-profit-makers/id1136826256
Aryeh's 2021 interview with David Rees
Sarah Miller on Gen X
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/style/gen-x-generation-discourse.html
Aryeh's interview with Sarah
Follow @jonkimball
Follow @AryehCW
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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"
Kerry's 2017 profile of Reality Winner
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/12/who-is-reality-winner.html
The titular Monster Energy video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bntfUA6TmLs
Jorie Graham's poem, "Overheard in the Herd"
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/148785/overheard-in-the-herd
Kerry's piece, "Ginni and Clarence: A Love Story"
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/clarence-thomas-ginni-thomas-marriage-love-story.html
Follow @KerryHowley
Follow @AryehCW
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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://notebook.substack.com/p/1989-revisited
Aryeh's interview with Kaitlyn Tiffany about her One Direction book
On the Q of the Gaylor community
Kobe Bryant on Taylor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUa_RegHjg
Ted Gioia's open letter to Taylor
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/an-open-letter-to-taylor-swift
The Taylor fan who went to jail for refusing to serve in the IDF
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/taylor-swift-fan-account-twitter-creator-israeli-military-prison
Clare Coffey on Taylor and Bruce Springsteen
https://notebook.substack.com/p/miss-americana-and-the-heartbreak
Steven Hyden on Taylor
https://uproxx.com/indie/ask-a-music-critic-when-will-taylor-swift-popularity-fade/
Boswell the dog on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/life_of_boswell/
Follow @bdmcclay
Follow @AryehCW
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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 Twitter @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Sarah's NYT piece, "Hate Gen X? Get in Line (Behind a Gen X-er)."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/style/gen-x-generation-discourse.html
Sarah's NYT piece on not having kids
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/19/style/new-friend-children-conversation.html
Chuck Klosterman's book, "The Nineties"
https://www.amazon.com/Nineties-Book-Chuck-Klosterman/dp/0735217955
Big Fun, "Teenage Suicide, Don't Do It"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO3WEfBIPvM
Sara's Substack, "The Real Sarah Miller"
https://therealsarahmiller.substack.com/
Follow @sarahlovescali
Follow @AryehCW
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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 @CulturallyDet
LINKS:
Jeremy's book, "Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew"
https://www.amazon.com/Mel-Brooks-Disobedient-Jewish-Lives/dp/0300244274
Brooks's Oscar-winning short film, "The Critic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PramR5oxn50
Follow @JeremyDauber
Follow @AryehCW
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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/0525655115
Claire's 2017 essay, "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?"
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/11/20/art-monstrous-men/
Follow @aryehcw
Follow @ClaireDederer
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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 Aftermath"
https://www.thewhitereview.org/feature/chains-or-whips/
NBC on viral video of 2002 high school
Kristian's website
Follow @aryehcw
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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-Andrew-Lipstein/dp/0374606587
Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet
Follow @ailipstein
Follow @aryehcw
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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 Twitter @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Tom's piece, "Time Is a Violent Stream: On losing a father and finding Stoicism"
https://harpers.org/archive/2023/05/meditations-marcus-aurelius-stoicism/
Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Ward Farnsworth's book, "The Practicing Stoic: A Philosophical User's Manual"
https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Stoic-Philosophical-Users-Manual/dp/1567926118
Donald Robertson's book, "How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius"
Follow @aryehcw
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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
https://rossbarkan.substack.com/
Ross's piece, "MAGA Is Here to Stay"
https://rossbarkan.substack.com/p/maga-is-going-nowhere
Ross's piece, "The Tragedy of Jordan Neely"
Aryeh's podcast with Raina Lipsitz
Follow @rossbarkan
Follow @aryehcw
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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. Plus: Aryeh shares how sad he gets when no one likes his cute cat pics.
Recorded May 1, 2023
Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Willy Staley's piece, "What Was Twitter, Anyway?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/magazine/twitter-dying.html
Phoebe's podcast, "Feminine Chaos"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feminine-chaos/id1542656235
Phoebe's podcast, "Bonjour Chai"
https://thecjn.ca/series/bonjour-chai/
Phoebe's newsletter, "Close-reading the reruns"
https://phoebemaltzbovy.substack.com/
Follow @bovymaltz
Follow @aryehcw
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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 happen to it now?
Recorded March 16, 2023
Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Cory's piece, "The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok"
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
Cory's book, with Rebecca Giblin, "Chokepoint Capitalism"
https://chokepointcapitalism.com/
Cory's new novel, "Red Team Blues"
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/redteamblues
Cory's forthcoming book, "The Internet Con"
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/721311/the-internet-con-by-cory-doctorow/
Cory's site, pluralistic.net
Follow @doctorow
Follow @aryehcw
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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 @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Will's new book, "Trust the Plan"
https://www.amazon.com/Trust-Plan-Conspiracy-Reshaped-America-ebook/dp/B08XQRX3XQ
Will's 2018 appearance on "Culturally Determined"
https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/53218
Will's piece, "Meet the ‘Ghost’ Woman Fox Relied on for Voter Fraud Claims"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-the-ghost-minnesota-artist-fox-relied-on-for-voter-fraud-claims
Will's podcast, "Fever Dreams"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fever-dreams/id1558716930
Follow @willsommer
Follow @aryehcw
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