Side Projects Podcast

Odcinki

• Is the Rick Rubin Polymarket Ad Good? 30.06.2026 32min

  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 month. They’re also currently under investigation for deceptive marketing practices (something for another podcast). But more recently, a new Polymarket spot, directed by Gabriel Moses featuring Rick Rubin, Future, and Peso Pluma, has caught people’s attention. In this episode, we break down the spot, discussing the deliberate dissonance between the ad and the product, tastewashing, if these people are too hot to be gambling, why tech seems to be the only place where brand marketing is alive, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Linking & Consensus Building on the Croisette 25.06.2026 25min

  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 dissonance in the basement of the Palais.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Cannes Lions Is an Endless Times Square 24.06.2026 24min

  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 better (and worse) over the past decade, why the work matters less and less, Toucan Sam snorting a line of stars, a theory of brands as mammals, the queen of Cannes Sara Fischer, the Pope, Cannes vs. Cannes, and more.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• The Limits of Gatekeeping Fandom 16.06.2026 22min

  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 gatekeeping discourse is almost as annoying as the kind of “GRWM to watch the Knicks at the White Horse Tavern”-type content, and avoiding a Jesse Plemmons in Civil War-style fandom litmus test. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What Is “Youth Culture” in a Gerontocracy? 09.06.2026 33min

  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 ossified backdrop, just how much is youth actually leading culture? And are we even giving them a chance? To learn more, we spoke with Samuel Moyn, a Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University and the author of the upcoming book “Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth—and What to Do About it.” He breaks down why gerontocracy poses one of the biggest challenges to a thriving youth culture and, by proxy, to creative risk taking.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why Every Brand Wants a Piece of Bravo 02.06.2026 47min

  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 us in the studio. He’s a Bravo aficionado, freelance writer, and host of the ‘Gabbing with Gib’ podcast. We discuss the Skinnygirl theory of brand building, the Bravo wink, why even the Kardashians keep coming back to reality TV, the new franchises he is most bullish on, and of course… the Summer House Reunion! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Would You Buy a Luxury Shampoo For Your Dog? 26.05.2026 44min

  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 the sorry state of dog etiquette in New York.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• The Coolest Thing in Tech Is Nothing 19.05.2026 25min

  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 cool moment in tech was, why Nothing’s strategy of carving a niche with young creatives is a smart play, Trey’s walkman, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Football After Fans 12.05.2026 38min

  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. We get his take on how to ensure brand collaborations feel generative to the culture rather than extractive, gamified upstart leagues like “Baller League,” how gambling has zapped the viewing experience, and the beauty of lower league football.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why Does Palantir Want to Be a Lifestyle Brand? 05.05.2026 40min

  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 News. She also writes the Yap Year newsletter on Beehiiv. We ask her about Palantir chore coats, her interview in GQ with Eliano Younes, the Head of Strategic Engagement at Palantir, and why tech’s pursuit of “good taste” is in bad faith and won’t work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• BREAKING: Your Favorite IG Reading Club Has IPO’d 28.04.2026 28min

  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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What Does a Men’s Magazine Look Like in 2026? 21.04.2026 38min

  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 profile in the age of TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Semafor's Max Tani Says People Are Still Reading News (Sometimes) 14.04.2026 40min

  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 runway he gives the “dumb question” interview format, whether MrBeast is just a reskinned version of Home Makeover but with a creepier host, and why CNN’s fake podcast gamut was a misreading of why audiences don’t trust media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Welcome to Side Projects 07.04.2026 6min

  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 the same (great conversations and your hosts Eli, Clara, and Trey). To learn more about Side Projects, check out side-projects.co where you can subscribe to our newsletter and order our first print issue.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Carolyn Bessette, Love Story, and Let Them Eat Cake Marketing 10.03.2026 24min

  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 Play PodcastBenjamin Edgar on Navigating Cultural Tipping PointsThe Verge’s Nilay Patel Believes Gen Z Will Revolt Against the “Brand Deal” Economy“Trend Bipolarity” and How Brands Kneecapped Cool Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• The Verge’s Nilay Patel Believes Gen Z Will Revolt Against the “Brand Deal” Economy 03.03.2026 50min

  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 information ecosystem, why Gen Z will ultimately turn on the brand deal economy, and the moment he realized everything is just fans. Recommended this week:The Conquest of Cool by Thomas Frank Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What Happens to Youth Culture When Everyone’s Old? 24.02.2026 25min

  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. Recommended this week:The Faltering by Tristan TaylorRonin (dir. John Frankenheimer)Canada - John Beltran and Placid Angels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Jenkem Magazine Founder Ian Michna Still Thinks Skateboarding Is a Healthy Subculture 17.02.2026 40min

  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 Amoeba and shop for records based on their album artWhere to find Ian:@ian.michna@jenkemmag jenkemmag.comyoutube.com/@jenkemmag  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Too Much Taste and Excellence on Ice 10.02.2026 26min

  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 Yorker, “Is Good Taste a Trap?” Yes. Recommended this week: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley (dir. Amy Berg)3 Women (dir. Robert Altman)The Culture Journalist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• A Super Bowl LX Special Report with Adweek’s Mark Stenberg 04.02.2026 38min

  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 prediction markets into media platforms and whether he buys that people trust journalists less than funeral home directors. Recommended this week: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryWhere to find Mark:@markstenberg3On Background Adweek Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.