Side Projects

You Can See Everything, the new documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim about the Theranos founder Elizabeth (or “Liz”) Holmes, has proven to be a real cultural moment — the biggest non-music documentary opening since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. In this episode, Clara, Trey, and Eli discuss the enduring cultural curiosity surrounding Elizabeth Holmes, her domineering, coke-addled boyfriend Billy Evans, and why the film’s success and hype can be attributed to its stripped back production and secretive rollout.

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 Reckoning, Musk, You Can See Everything, and Artificial, how much these movies will really do to change anyone’s mind, and whether or not “really good creativity” or structural change (like getting $$ out of politics) can help turn the tides.

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 Eli are talking with Jenny Rothenberg, the co-founder of Smooth Media, a creator rep agency/B2B conduit helping to expand the audiences and commercial viability of this growing crop of creators. We discuss how Smooth is building a new version of industry trade publications, why there’s so much demand for trend/brand creative breakdowns, and CatGPT’s equity deal.

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.

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.

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.

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 things happening. One of them is the launch of SPACE JUNK, a new print publication “examining the intersection of the culture of space travel and humanity’s relationship with the cosmos.” We spoke with Jack Mills about why space is both a “red herring” and an “excuse to think about the future and ways that we might rebuild,” an impending NASA partnership butt-dialling astronauts, and how he got Bottega Veneta to foot some of the bill.

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.