At Large with Scott Norton

At the summit of fine dining, success can feel like a treadmill. Your signature dish becomes an obligation. You work to maintain accolades, not be surprised by them. You are coordinating more than creating.

Daniel Humm knows the feeling. After taking Eleven Madison Park to three Michelin stars and the title of best restaurant in the world, he reopened after the pandemic with a radical proposition: an entirely plant-based menu. In a business defined by animal entrées, vegetables would have to carry the room. This was interpreted by many as a political statement, though in this interview I realized it was to twist the knob on his own creative energy through self-imposed constraints.

This is the restless mind of a former professional cyclist who takes an athletic approach to artistry. No vegan restaurant had earned three Michelin stars. Humm wanted to be first, which they did handily.

This is the tao of Daniel: Set a goal, achieve it, then change the rules on yourself for the thrill of climbing new peaks. Twice through our conversation, Humm quotes Willem de Kooning: “I have to change to stay the same.”He seems to draw more inspiration from artists outside food than from within it: Philip Guston abandoning abstraction, Miles Davis going electric, Monet’s water lilies. He invokes Gesamtkunstwerk (German for "Total Work of Art"), to describe a restaurant where food, room, people, and feeling form one composition. Every dimension has been pushed with love and craft.

What surprised me when we first met was his calm. Humm’s standards are exacting, but his presence is almost breezy (that's a good thing, I assure him). We discuss the harder origins of his ambition, how he builds a kitchen where “it’s cool to care,” and how he leads with the standards he sets.

We also follow that ambition beyond the dining room: Rethink Food’s work feeding underserved communities, and Riff, a dinner-in-a-box business he’s building with my longtime friend and Sir Kensington’s co-founder, Mark Ramadan. The proposition: $6.99 meals for two that are easy to whip together or an extended creative endeavor, should you so choose. For a chef used to composing an entire evening, the challenge is clear: make an ordinary Tuesday worth gathering around, and nudge home cooks to keep twisting the knob on their own artistry. Full disclosure, I'm a small investor.

Along the way, we discuss meditation, the emotional utility of ice cream, and a Japanese rice dish cooked in clay.

This is Daniel Humm, At Large.

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03:09 Creative constraints: making a hard job harder
13:11 Changing course at Eleven Madison Park
16:58 The athlete behind the chef
25:22 It's cool to care: culture and leadership
37:12 Looking beyond the kitchen: art and reinvention
41:38 A little more Miles: jazz as a North Star
44:59 Monet and the art of being moved
46:58 Gesamtkunstwerk: the total work of art
49:39 Rethink Food: a bigger table
52:36 Riff: fine-dining thinking for weeknight dinner
1:01:28 Searching for the light: meditation and balance
1:06:24 Off the Cuff: good taste and bad-day ice cream
1:11:30 One Good Recipe: Japanese clay-pot rice

Special Thanks to Wiz from Spacecadet and Mark Ramadan for making this episode what it was

W. David Marx lives in Tokyo, which is perhaps the only place left on earth where one can still observe culture operating according to pre-internet logic—where scarcity creates value, where obscurity breeds desire, where you still have to know a guy to know about the thing. From this vantage point, thirteen time zones away from the algorithmic churn of American pop culture, Marx has written what may be the first comprehensive autopsy of our current century.

Blank Space: A Cultural History of the 21st Century arrives with a thesis that feels both obvious and devastating: we are living through a period of unprecedented cultural stagnation. Not the absence of content (God knows we're drowning in content) but the absence of the kind of radical creative invention that used to mark historical time. The innovations that made us say "everything is different now." The art that divided generations. The subcultures that became countercultures that became cultures.

Marx's argument is structural, not conspiratorial. No one woke up and decided to lobotomize culture. Rather, a series of incentive structures like smartphone ubiquity, advertising precision, algorithmic optimization, quantified validation, and now generative AI, aligned to reward the immediately popular over the lastingly meaningful. The result is what Marx calls the "omnivore monoculture": a glossy, cross-pollinated, infinitely remixable soup where everything can fuse with everything else because nothing means much anymore.

The book traces a brutal arc: from the nerd internet of the early 2000s (when 2 million monthly views made you the biggest blog on earth) to the attention economy of the 2020s (where MrBeast's craft isn't storytelling but thumbnail optimization). From Paris Hilton as cautionary tale to Paris Hilton as misunderstood girlboss. From "selling out" as the ultimate sin to Jimmy Iovine getting a hagiographic HBO documentary for his entrepreneurial genius at making artists more commercial.

Marx is often accused of elitism, a charge he neither fully accepts nor entirely denies. His defense is pragmatic: the formulaic pop culture we consume today is always parasitic on innovation from the past. Hip-hop invented on the margins now powers billions of people's daily entertainment. If you don't maintain the conditions for radical invention, the entire system becomes—and here's where he'll lose the optimists—cooked.

The stakes, it turns out, aren't just aesthetic. They're about whether we can maintain the capacity for the kind of creative disruption that refreshes culture, that makes us see the world differently, that gives us new ways to understand what it means to be human. Without it, we're left with an ever-more-polished version of what we already have—which is to say, we're living in the blank space.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present W. David Marx, at large.

Topics:

• 00:35 Introducing W. David Marx and His Book 'Blank Space'
• 02:28 Writing the Cultural History of the 21st Century
• 06:38 The Influence of Financial and Technology Platforms on Culture
• 12:48 "Poptimism" and the Shift in Cultural Values
• 17:56 The Rise of "Omnivore Monoculture"
• 28:05 The Impact of the Internet on Cultural Production
• 39:00 The Evolution of Food Culture in the Internet Era
• 42:02 The Rise of Restaurant Reservations as Status Symbols
• 44:21 MMA and UFC as a Cultural Artifact
• 48:37 "The Zynternet" and the Counter-Counterculture
• 01:00:38 The Artistic Mindset in the 21st Century
• 01:07:08 At Large and Off the Cuff + Collard Greens Recipe

References:

• Blank Space - A Cultural History of the 21st Century
• David's Instagram
• David Halberstine - The 50s
• Ametora
• Status and Culture
• The Defiant Ones
• Geese
• Lil Nas X - Old Town Road
• DJ Danger Mouse - The Grey Album
• The Weeknd - House of Balloons
• How to Succeed in Mr Beast Production
• Bed Intruder Video
• The Rehearsal
• The Chair Company
• Adam Smith's Invisible Hand
• Honor Levy - My First Book

--

@swhnorton

http://atlargeshow.com

On a sun-bleached afternoon in Venice, California, where the ghost of the counterculture still haunts every exposed-brick studio and cosmic juice bar, Raed Khawaja sits beneath an iconic skylight that once illuminated the work of James Turrell and Robert Irwin. The light here is different. Anyone who's spent time in Los Angeles knows this instinctively: it's the reason artists have migrated west for generations, chasing something ineffable in the quality of atmospheric illumination itself.Khawaja, the CEO and co-founder of Open, has built something curious in this space. Not quite a studio, not quite a sanctuary, not quite a brand, though it is emphatically all three. Open offers breathwork, meditation, and movement practices in a market so thoroughly saturated with wellness grifters, Instagram yogis, and overpriced adaptogens that even using the word "wellness" has become an act of self-incrimination. Khawaja knows this. "I hate that word," he admits without hesitation.Yet here we are, in perhaps the most self-consciously well square mile in America, where green juice costs $16 and everyone you meet is either microdosing, macrodosing, or preparing a 30-day reset that will definitely, finally, be the one that sticks. The contradictions are almost too obvious to catalogue: the abundance masquerading as asceticism, the consumption marketed as consciousness, the $200 leggings required for the privilege of learning to simply breathe. We can do better, and thankfully, Raed knows this.Khawaja's background—PepsiCo, Bank of America, the machinery of billion-dollar brands—suggests someone who understands exactly what he's doing. He describes himself as "the anti-guru," more interested in curation than revelation, in stripping away the mystical theater to reveal what actually works. Open's synthesis of breathwork, sound, and movement into something immediate and accessible represents, if not an invention, then a thoughtful construction of building blocks.The timing feels urgent. Gen Z is 50% religiously unaffiliated, up from 8% in the early nineties. Mental health diagnoses have reached crisis levels. And now, artificial intelligence threatens to render our last claim to uniqueness (our cognitive superiority) utterly obsolete. "We're entering a purpose and meaning crisis," Khawaja observes, and he's not wrong. When machines can think, what's left for us?This is the existential backdrop against which Open operates: a secular space for seeking in an increasingly untethered age, located in a neighborhood that has always attracted seekers, housed in a building that once belonged to artists obsessed with perception itself. The symbolism borders on too perfect, which is perhaps the point.What follows is a conversation we recorded in his space with a live audience, about altered states and applied philosophy, about what it means to build something genuine in a landscape of post-consumerist materialism, and about whether we're all just one good breath away from figuring this whole thing out—or at least getting through the day without doom-scrolling ourselves into oblivion.

Topics:01:31 Taste of a Guided Breath Work Session03:40 The Philosophy Behind Open07:31 Raed's Journey and Creation of Open14:42 The Role of Religion and Spirituality Today19:47 Community and Connectivity in Modern Wellness29:05 AI and the Future of Humanity33:48 The Purpose of Education in the Age of AI34:27 Techno-Optimism and the Future36:42 The Human Experience and Altered States39:17 The Role of Drugs in Society41:22 Balancing and Integration47:31 At Large and Off The Cuff: Quickfire57:35 Conclusion and Farewell

Links:

• Open
• Raed's Instagram
• Holotropic Breathwork
• Hamilton Morris
• Arete
• Kikagaku Moyo

---📸@swhnorton 🐦@swhnorton🖥️http://atlargeshow.com

My guest today is Nick Guillen, co-founder of Truff, the brand that dared to ask: what if hot sauce had swag? What started as an Instagram handle became a culinary empire, it's sold at nearly every major grocery store, served at Starbucks, and backed by Kim Kardashian’s investment firm. But behind the viral moments and celebrity co-signs is something deeper: a commitment to craft that borders on obsession.

In this episode, we'll hear how Nick and his co-founder didn't just build a brand, they've architected a vibe, pulling inspiration from the worlds of streetwear, luxury fashion, and internet culture to bottle something that felt improbably both exclusive and accessible. And of course, you'll get a premier on truffles.

Please enjoy my conversation with the meticulous, magnetic, and mildly spicy Nick Guillen.

Show Notes:

• Truff's Instagram, @Sauce
• Nick's Instagram
• Search Engine - A Dubai Chocolate Theory of the Internet
• Jon Buscemi
• The War of Art
• Radha Arora on Gstaad Guy podcast

• Chapters:

  • 01:24 Understanding Truffles and Umami
  • 04:21 The Origin of Truff: From Instagram to Culinary Empire
  • 05:47 Building a Brand: The @Sauce Handle
  • 07:28 Creating a Singular Hot Sauce
  • 18:48 The Influence of Fashion and Streetwear
  • 23:56 Social Media Evolution and Retail Expansion
  • 31:31 Building a Cool Team
  • 32:24 Partnerships with Restaurants
  • 34:50 The Rise of Hot Sauce in America
  • 36:25 Fundraising and Celebrity Endorsements
  • 38:53 Leadership Culture and Bias for Action 
  • 42:03 At Large and Off The Cuff
  • 52:21 Omlette Recipe

  
  

  
  

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️⁠www.atlargeshow.com⁠

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.

Following in the tradition of artists before him like Madonna and Prince, our guest today refers to himself by a single name: Wiz.

Wiz is co-founder and general partner of Spacecadet ventures, which invests in breakthrough technologies at the edge of impossible.

But why did I choose Wiz to be the first investor interviewed on At Large? As Wiz says, technology may be the fuel, but storytelling is the oxygen. A creative marketer by background, Wiz partners with early stage companies on story sprints and vision quests to help shape what might be a wonky technology into an infectious narrative arc.

He tells us about some of the moonshot ideas he's backed, how he evaluates founders (which he calls space cadets), and we'll get into our shared love of cooking over open flame.

This is Wiz from Spacecadet, At Large.

Topics Mentioned:

• Spacecadet Ventures

• Spacecadet's Fund I Deck

• Wiz on Twitter

• Rijksmuseum

• The Dutch East India Company

• Rainmaker

• Glitterbombs

• Parallax Worlds

• Francis Mallmann - Chef’s Table Episode

• Noma

• Beurre Monté

• 01:26 – The American Dream is a Psyop
• 08:00 – Startup Storytelling
• 10:00 – The Theater of Fundraising
• 14:10 – Make It Rain: The Moonshot Called Rainmaker
• 27:00 Betting on the Dreamer not the Deck
• 37:00 – Reframing Narritives: Parallax Worlds Digital Twins  
• 47:20 – The AI Bubble & Sources of Edge in AI 
• 56:00 – Talking Food: Cooking with Fire, Francis Mallmann, Noma
• 01:06:00 – At Large and Off The Cuff

Working from a home office outfitted with a built-in test kitchen, Jerry Greenberg has launched six distinct restaurant concepts—from elevated sushi to handmade pasta to Philly cheesesteaks. The most iconic of these is Sugarfish, a cult-favorite sushi chain revered for its meticulous yet effortless approach to the dining experience.

Tall, trim, and totally composed, Jerry is not what you picture when you hear “restaurateur.” Yes, he once took a tech company public in the ’90s, but don’t mistake him for the money guy. For Jerry, it’s all about the food.

In this conversation, Jerry shares how he and his partners treat each concept like a Rubik’s cube, twisting every detail until it clicks. From menu to lighting to timing, every element serves a singular mission: to deliver that one transcendent bite when a guest says, “Damn, that’s good.”

On this show, I seek out “business artists.” These are artists who build a business to get their creations into the world, and businesspeople who approach company building with the intentionality of an artist. Jerry fits both of these definitions.

Please enjoy my conversation with a restaurateur, business artist, and obsessive entrepreneur. This is Jerry Greenberg, At Large.

Show Links:

Sugarfish

Nozawa Bar

Kazu Nori

Hi Ho Cheeseburger

Uovo 

Matu

Sugarfish’s Rice Cookers

First Light Farms Grass Fed Beef

Unagi

Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️www.atlargeshow.com

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.

Today’s guest is culinary powerhouse Missy Robbins. Chef and co-owner of the acclaimed Lilia and Misi in Brooklyn, she’s written standout cookbooks and carved her reputation one hand-rolled pasta shape at a time. 

But this conversation isn't just about accolades. It’s about brinksmanship. Missy opens up about nearly walking away from cooking altogether, and the unlikely business partner who nudged her to greatness, changing her course, and maybe her fate. She tells the story of transforming a derelict auto body shop into one of New York’s most coveted tables.

And we host a game show segment where I quiz Missy on increasingly obscure pasta shapes, and she tests my knowledge of condiments to see if I’m a sauce boss, or a sauce fraud.

Here’s Missy Robbins, at large.

Show Links:

Milan: Butter and Olive Oil

Missy’s Instagram

NYTimes: Missy Robbins to Leave A Voce

NYTimes: Missy Robbins Embraces Simplicity at Misi

Worcestershires meme 

Pasta: The Spirit and Craft of Italy’s Greatest Food (Amazon)

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️www.atlargeshow.com

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.

Humberto Leon has spent his life setting the cultural thermostat — somehow always staying a few degrees ahead.

He has an uncanny ability to sniff out the world around him, stay true to his personal taste, and craft something that people are attracted to from across the room – or across the city – or across the ocean. A vibesmith of the highest order.

Quick background on Humberto: Alongside Carol Lim, he co-founded Opening Ceremony, the first-of-its-kind concept store that redefined retail by curating global designers and pioneering the high-low collaborations that now crowd every brand’s playbook.

Four store locations later, the leadership pair was tapped by LVMH to revive Kenzo — a turnaround that didn’t just restore the label but multiplied its size tenfold and returned it to profitability.

After selling Opening Ceremony, Humberto came home to Los Angeles, where he opened Chifa — a vibrantly electric Peruvian-Chinese restaurant that’s as much a mood as it is a meal (and where we filmed this episode).

And because one life is apparently not enough, he’s also the creative director behind Katseye, a K-pop-inspired girl group pushing the boundaries of style and sound.

There’s more — there’s always more with Humberto — but it’s time to let him tell it.

Show Links:

Humberto’s Instagram

Opening Ceremony

Kenzo

Chifa Restaurant

Katseye

Hybe

Wong Kar Wai

Food Mahjong Club 

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️www.atlargeshow.com

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.

TIMECODES:

00:00 - Introduction to Humberto Leon

03:27 - Humberto Quits to Start Opening Ceremony 

08:05 - How Havaianas Flip Flops Blew Up OC

14:29 - Humberto’s View on Collaborations

18:41 - Humberto’s Take on the Current Fashion Industry

23:14 - The Pitch to Kenzo

28:51 - The Infamous Kenzo Tiger Sweatshirt

31:00 - Private Equity comes to Opening Ceremony 

33:20 - KATSEYE and Empowering Female Voices 

38:35 - CHIFA: a Restaurant Ode to his Mother

44:05 - At Large & Off The Cuff

Hunter S. Thompson said: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” 

Perhaps there is no truer living practitioner of professional weirdness than Eric Wareheim, a polymath of life’s pleasures.

If you've heard of Eric Wareheim, you already know that he's one of the greatest living minds in comedy. You practically couldn't press play fast enough when you saw his name pop up in your feed.

And if you haven't heard of Eric Wareheim, don't be ashamed - you're in for a treat. His breakout show, Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! is a genre-defining masterstroke of absurdist television. I’ve linked a bunch of clips from this show and his other work below for you to watch and laugh uncontrollably.

But even if you have heard of Eric, did you know he wrote a cookbook, called Foodheim and has another one on the way called Steak House? Do you know he makes really good natural wine under the brand Las Jaras? Did you know his production company abso-lutely produced other groundbreaking shows like Nathan for You and the Eric Andre show?

Well, today, at Eric's loft, which he calls Loftheim, we sit down to talk about all of those projects and more. I loved hearing his story about how he and Tim Heidecker first got Bob Odenkirk's attention to break into Hollywood. I was thrilled to hear the unexpected creative inspiration behind their shows, and how Eric is paying it forward by creating space for other renegade humorists to give their gifts.

On this show, Eric treats me to a tasting of Las Jaras, educating me about natural wine, and I reciprocate with a pairing of Sir Kensington's mustard and pretzels. Enjoy my conversation with the prolific, hilarious, and professionally weird Eric Wareheim.

Show Links:

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️www.atlargeshow.com

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.

Our guest today is Sophia Amoruso, founder of the first internet native fashion brand, Nasty Gal. Since growing Nasty Gal to global prominence and then taking it through a sudden bankruptcy sale, she’s subsequently founded three other businesses including Trust Fund, her VC firm. Sophia coined the term #Girlboss, which is the name of her second business, a Netflix show based on her life, and the title of her memoir which spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

I admire Sophia for her courage and action in the face of fear. Fear of failure and fear of not looking good can be overwhelming to the point of paralysis (certainly I am governed by these fears) but today we'll get into how Sophia has achieved a buoyancy to rise above them.

Good brands transcend the reality of the businesses they represent, and in this show, she talks about what it's like for her personal brand to decouple from her lived experience - to the extent of taking a company through bankruptcy just as a Netflix series debuted about her company's success. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

Sophia and I talk about the scrutiny put on female leaders, her recent rumspringa, what she thinks is cool right now in fashion and music, and I ask her to roast my outfit.

Enjoy my conversation with Sophia Amoruso, a refreshingly real storyteller and entrepreneur who's dedicated to living on her own terms. 

Show Links:

📸@swhnorton 

🐦@swhnorton

🖥️www.atlargeshow.com

…….

This podcast is made available solely for entertainment and educational purposes. The information presented here does not constitute investment, legal, or other professional advice, and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, or as a solicitation to buy, an offer to sell, or a recommendation of any securities or other financial instruments. The thoughts and opinions expressed by or through this podcast are those of the individual guests and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of any investment advisor. The discussion on this podcast of any entity, product or service does not imply an endorsement thereof, and the guests may have a financial interest, whether through investment or otherwise, in one or more of any such entities, products or services. 

Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a 5 star rating on your podcast app and comment below.