27 Rouge

In early 2023, I sat down with a titan of the growth-hacking and personal development podcast game: Danny Miranda. I've discovered some real gems from this guy and appreciate his free-flowing interview style. We cover self-invention, forgiveness, goal-tracking, dream realization, and thinking big. We spar a bit. I learn a lot. And the conversation covers an enormous amount of ground. If you’re specifically interested in entrepreneurship, I’d suggest browsing through Danny’s catalog and pulling out some gems. As always, happy listening

27 Rouge💄 is a reader-supported publication. My independence as a writer, podcaster, and idea sharer affords me the freedom to write, speak, and produce unencumbered. If you find my work to be engaging and useful, please share 27 Rouge and consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-off or recurring donation. You won’t regret it. Or maybe you will. But I’ll appreciate it. And you’ll get access to the spicy, salacious, musings of a disillusioned pseudo-intellectual Holden Caulfield type such as I. It’s either this or Onlyfans ;D

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The Romans referred to the sweltering heat of July and August as the Dog Days, so-named for Canis Major—a constellation whose brightest star, Sirius, appears near the sun in this period. It was the presence of both stars together, the Romans believed, that created the heat. Each year, the Dog Days run from 3 July to 11 August and have become synonymous with the height of summer. It’s no surprise then that Sidney Lumet chose to call his beloved 1975 film starring Al Pacino and John Cazale Dog Day Afternoon. What I didn’t know is that this wild affair was actually based on a true story. In 2022, Daniel Edward Rosen penned a terrific article on the subject aptly titled “The Deacon and the Dog.” Set to the backdrop of a gritty, noir, Brian De Palma-era New York, petty crooks, crimes of passion, showmanship, and tragedy ensue in heart-wrenching, truly bizarre story that affirms something we already know: truth really is stranger than fiction. Before beginning in earnest, I’d like to thank The Manhattan Institute and plug their City Journal, a quarterly magazine whose contributors like Heather Mac Donald and Dan have made for some great episodes. 

27 Rouge💄 is a reader-supported publication. My independence as a writer, podcaster, and idea sharer affords me the freedom to write, speak, and produce unencumbered. If you find my work to be engaging and useful, please share 27 Rouge and consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-off or recurring donation. You won’t regret it. Or maybe you will :D

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This is the second installment of my series on the Venice Film Festival, focusing chiefly on Virtual Reality as an exciting new means of creative storytelling. My last episode consisted of an interview with Thomas Villepoux. This one features three truly talented and exceptional directors and products with whom I had the pleasure and good fortune of speaking. They are: French director Mélanie Courtinat (project: All Unsaved Progress will Be Lost); American-born, Taipai based director Craig Quintero of Riverbed Theater (project: All that Remains); and French Producer Marie Blondiaux  of Red Corner (Fight Back, directed by Celine Tricart of Lucid Dreams Productions)  

nota bene: The Image above is from All Unsaved Progress Will be Lost (dir Mélanie Courtinat)

27 Rouge💄 is a reader-supported publication. My independence as a writer, podcaster, and idea sharer affords me the freedom to write, speak, and produce unencumbered. If you find my work to be engaging and useful, please share 27 Rouge and consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-off or recurring donation. You won’t regret it. Or maybe you will :D

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While at the Venice Film Festival this past summer, I interviewed Thomas Villepoux, a French Storyverse Designer at Digital Rise and the director of Mandala: A Brief Moment in Time. We sat down Canal-side to chat about his project, the creative process, and all things virtual reality.

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Ivan Fece Firči is one of Yugoslavia’s greatest, most beloved rockstars. He’s played in over half a dozen bands, but is best known for Luna and Ekatarina Velika (EKV). Over Schnapps, we sat down in Novi Sad late last summer and dove into a fusillade of rich insights, hilarious anecdotes, and improbable stories that could come only from a man in his 6th decade of life who has, quite literally, seen it all. Or at least most of it. Happy listening

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In 2011, Michael Cannell published The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix. It’s the story of a Santa Monica mechanic and a German Count who went head to head in Formula One’s most dangerous era. Without seatbelts, halos, or any of the trappings that protect drivers today, these two raced in an era  where “crushed, burned, and beheaded with unnerving regularity." This is their story. 

27 Rouge💄 is a reader-supported publication. My independence as a writer, podcaster, and idea sharer affords me the freedom to write, speak, and produce unencumbered. If you find my work to be engaging and useful, please share 27 Rouge and consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-off or recurring donation. You won’t regret it. Or maybe you will :D

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Bill Deresiewicz is one of the sharpest cultural critics of our time. I may not agree with everything he says, but I have to hand it to the guy. He’s a powerhouse of incisive, piercing insight into all things culture. His books include A Jane Austen Education and The Death of the Artist as well as my personal favorite Excellent Sheep. And now he’s got a new one on the way. In July, we sat down and talked about The End of Solitude, an exceptionally well curated set of essays that I’d recommend to anybody. For those interested, the book drops on August 23rd and can be snagged here. Be sure to check out the Quillette website soon for an exclusive excerpt from The End of Solitude. And while you’re there, throw in a subscription and join the club. You can thank me later.

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Iona Italia is the editor in chief of Areo, host of of the Two for Tea podcast, and the writer of The Second Swim Substack newsletter. She’s also the author of a two-part book: Our Tango World, published by Milonga Press in 2018.

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Bardee is a Melbourne-based tech startup in the circular economy space. They take food waste and feed it to black soldier flies who gorge themselves on it and blow up to the proportions of William Boss Tweed. This week, I sit down with founder & CEO: Phoebe Gardner, who has earned a spot on The Australian’s top 100 innovators list two years running

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The Manhattan Institute’s Thomas W. Smith Smith Fellow, Heather McDonald is a tour de force. One of the most incisive voices of our time, her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New Republic, and the New Criterion, among others. This week’s episode comes on the heels of two terrific but worrisome City Journal essays from Heathers: Classical Music’s Suicide Pact and Making Beethoven Woke. While we focus mainly on music, museums, art galleries, and cultural commentary on higher education and moral cowardice also feature.

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