Culturally Determined

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, 2022LINKSTrailer for "The Rehearsal"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fjPFt8cpicFollow @JoannaMang Follow @AryehCW

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, 2022LINKS:Bill's new book, "The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society"https://www.amazon.com/End-Solitude-Selected-Culture-Society/dp/125085864XBill's essay, "Why I Left Academia (Since You're Wondering)"https://quillette.com/2022/08/17/why-i-left-academia-since-youre-wondering/Bill's essay in Liberties, "Soul-Making Studies"https://libertiesjournal.com/articles/soul-making-studies/Louis Menand on Great Books courseshttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/whats-so-great-about-great-books-courses-roosevelt-montas-rescuing-socratesBill's personal websitehttps://billderesiewicz.com/Follow @WDeresiewiczFollow @AryehCW

Photographer and writer Chris Arnade talks about his project of walking across foreign cities.Recorded August 11, 2022LINKSChris's newsletter, "Walking the World"https://walkingtheworld.substack.comAryeh's conversation with Chris about his book "Dignity"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culturally-determined/id981282353?i=1000441345930Chris's walking tipshttps://walkingtheworld.substack.com/p/how-to-walk-12-miles-a-dayFollow @Chris_arnadeFollow @AryehCW

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, 2022LINKSDaniel's essay, "Empire Burlesque"https://harpers.org/archive/2022/07/what-comes-after-the-american-century/Follow @dbessnerFollow @AryehCW

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  LINKSKaitlyn's book, "Everything I Need I Get from You"https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-Get-You-Fangirls/dp/0374539189Follow @kait_tiffanyFollow @AryehCW

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=nJPERZDfyWcKirby's websiteeverythingisaremix.info/Allison P. Davis on the "vibe shift"thecut.com/2022/02/a-vibe-shift-is-coming.htmlFollow @remixeverythingFollow @AryehCW

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 @thehighsignFollow @AryehCW

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, 2022LINKS"Oh, Mr. Sheffield!" on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-mr-sheffield-a-podcast-about-the-nanny/id1562784247Follow @shawnwritesFollow @AryehCW

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, 2022LINKS:Max's essay, "Elon Musk won't fix Twitter (but he won't kill it, either)"https://maxread.substack.com/p/elon-musk-wont-fix-twitter-but-he?r=u0oj&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webThe "Read Max" substackhttps://maxread.substack.com/Follow @readmaxreadFollow @AryehCW