Eugene and Charis talk about musical anhedonia, the condition where people feel no pleasure in music, and whether that has implications on the world of audio. They also discuss the anatomy of a TikTok hit and what kind of music goes viral on that platform.

00:00:55 Musical anhedonia

00:27:34 TikTok hits

00:41:19 Banter

https://reallifemag.com/vox-populi/

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-anatomy-of-a-tiktok-hit/

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Charis and Eugene talk about Disney+ and Apple TV+, two new streaming services, launching with series that cost an unprecedented amount of money per episode to make. They also discuss tokenism: what it is, how to deal with it, and whether there are silver linings to it.

00:01:16 Streaming services

00:16:42 Tokenism

00:37:16 Banter

https://qz.com/1735700/apple-and-disney-are-creating-an-explosion-of-tv-series-budgets/

https://qz.com/844918/with-the-crown-the-grand-tour-and-westworld-tv-shows-have-become-insanely-expensive/

https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/46571/1/how-to-deal-with-tokenism-as-an-artist-according-to-the-white-pube

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Eugene and Charis discuss why new technology is difficult to convince people to adopt. They also talk about the habits of the ultra wealthy as well as a new study that shows a key factor in becoming very rich is luck.

00:01:20 Ultra wealthy

00:27:22 New tech

00:44:45 Banter

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610395/if-youre-so-smart-why-arent-you-rich-turns-out-its-just-chance/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/style/rich-people-things.html

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/tech/

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/10/17/18647521/capitalism-age-of-addiction-phone-david-courtwright

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Charis and Eugene talk about TikTok hiring a law firm to advise them on their content moderation policies due to increasing scrutiny of the app. They also discuss Adobe being required to block Venezuelan users from their products due to the latest sanctions on the country.

00:01:24 TikTok

00:19:32 Adobe

00:31:54 Banter

https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/15/tiktok-taps-corporate-law-firm-kl-gates-to-advise-on-its-u-s-content-moderation-policies/

https://stratechery.com/2019/the-china-cultural-clash/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evjmqj/venezuela-will-be-cut-off-from-adobe-products-because-of-trump-sanctions

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Eugene and Charis discuss Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy and the evolving role of shopping malls. They also talk about the monetization of esports apparel and the possibilities for brands within the gaming industry.

00:01:22 Forever 21

00:20:12 Esports apparel

00:40:15 Banter

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/29/business/forever-21-bankruptcy.html

https://hypebeast.com/2019/9/esports-apparel-fashion-adidas-ninja-nike

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Charis and Eugene talk about the 2019 MacArthur Grant winners and how money supports innovative work. They also discuss Greta Thunberg, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault’s comments about her, and the relationship between luxury and climate crisis activists.

00:01:11 The MacArthur Grant

00:21:48 Luxury and climate crisis

00:41:21 Banter

Links

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-luxury-environment/luxury-leader-lvmh-in-green-mode-laments-thunbergs-pessimism-idUSKBN1WA2AY

https://www.businessinsider.com/macarthur-fellowship-genius-grant-winners-2019-9

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Eugene and Charis talk about whether good grammar matters, especially when it comes to material written by southeast Asian influencers. They also discuss YouTube’s announcement regarding overhauling its verification program and then the quick walk-back of that announcement.

00:02:42 Influencer grammar

00:21:57 YouTube verification

00:43:15 Banter

Links

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/style/influencer-grammar-watchdog-accounts-southeast-asia.html

https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/19/youtube-overhauls-its-problematic-verification-program/

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Charis and Eugene discuss Frances Bean Cobain launching the “Kurt Was Here” clothing collection and what the purpose is of releasing posthumous products. They also talk about the union drive occurring at Kickstarter and how unions can function within companies. 

00:03:04 Posthumous work

00:19:00 Unions

Links

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kurt-cobain-clothing-collection-881429/

https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/kickstarter-turmoil-union-drive-historic-tech-industry.html

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Eugene and Charis celebrate making it to 100 episodes by taking one week off to ask each other hard-hitting big picture questions about creativity plus some lightning round either or questions.

00:03:20 Big questions

00:34:55 Lightning round

Links

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/career-myths-making-good-money-means-selling-out-creatively/

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/carly-ayres-the-end-of-hawraf-graphic-design-180319

Charis and Eugene talk about why products for older people are poorly designed and how to include older people in the design process. They also discuss Johanna Hedva’s disability access rider and why constructing society around what we often see to be niche groups is actually the best course of action.

00:03:10 Older people

00:28:11 Disability access

Links

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614167/why-are-products-for-older-people-so-ugly

https://sickwomantheory.tumblr.com/post/187188672521/hedvas-disability-access-rider

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