American Eagle’s summer campaign with Sydney Sweeney blew up in ways no one could’ve imagined – but chief marketing officer, Craig Brommers, knew they were going to hit a cultural nerve. This week, Ben and Max bring on the AE CMO to give us an inside look into the “Great Jeans” campaign, what he made of the controversy that surrounded it, and how Donald Trump and JD Vance boosted their sales. They also discuss how marketing today is like running an entertainment company, why he ignored the advice of what he calls the “crisis communication industrial complex,” and whether their campaign with Travis Kelce was timed to Kelce’s engagement to Taylor Swift.

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Chicago is either a war zone quickly spiraling out of control, or a peaceful city under siege by an overreaching federal government. It all depends on who you ask — and which channel they watch. This week, Ben and Max bring on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to talk about how he’s navigating a communications crisis and a messaging battle against the Trump White House in the new media landscape. They also talk about how conservative media is shaping the situation on the ground, what he thinks of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s trolling approach to Trump, and whether we should bet on the Chicago Bears.

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Alison Roman was one of digital media’s first food stars – she’s had recipes go viral since 2018 and an infamous ‘cancellation’ in 2020. Now, with her latest cookbook, Something From Nothing, she’s trying to move away from life on the Internet. This week, Ben and Max bring on the chef and author to talk about food media, the value of a physical cookbook in a digital world, and how AI is influencing her recipes. They also talk about why cooking, and her new book, are the ‘antithesis of the Internet.’

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Blackbird Spyplane, a style and culture newsletter, launched in 2020 as one of the early adopters and success stories on Substack. This week, Ben and Max bring on co-author and longtime magazine journalist, Jonah Weiner, to talk about how the newsletter has evolved, how it changed his marriage, and why he’s ‘grossed out’ by affiliate links. They also talk about if he wants to expand the business further, and why Obama epitomizes ‘the state of the art of dad pants.’

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MSNBC and 10 other television channels, from CNBC to Golf Channel, are splitting from NBC over the next several weeks to form a new digital-focused, publicly traded company called Versant. In his first interview about the new “SpinCo,” Ben and Max talk to CEO Mark Lazarus about how he envisions the company will operate, how he wants to grow each of the brands, and what independent outlets he’s looking to acquire. They also discuss how he looks at MSNBC and progressive media’s place in the company and how he’s navigating the media environment under the current administration and Brendan Carr’s FCC.

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Malcolm Gladwell is a man of many theories – he’s made a career of it through his books and podcasts through Pushkin Industries. This week, Ben and Max bring on the author and Revisionist History host to get his current theories about the state of podcasting, how that industry can extend your career, and why he’s betting on narrative shows when everyone else is running towards chat shows. They also discuss his take on Joe Rogan as a “tightly muscled possum,” and why he’s skeptical of the power of the internet and optimistic about America.

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This week, a special episode featuring Josh Spanier, VP of marketing at Google, who you might recognize from our branded segments. In this sponsored episode, Ben asks Josh about how Google thinks about advertising, how he’s navigated the technological changes in that space, and if AI is going to homogenize all of the ads we see. Josh also answers some listener questions about how advertisers work with creators and what the biggest blind spots in marketing are today. This episode is partner content presented by Think with Google.

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The Financial Times is the paper for business and world leaders, and comes with a hefty subscription price of $45/month. But what does it mean to serve the elite in a growing age of populism, and what are the consequences of high quality journalism only being available to the 1%? This week, Ben and Max bring on the editor of the FT, Roula Khalaf, to talk about the paper’s position in a populist world, who it ultimately serves, and the surprising success that older FT journalists have had on social media. They also discuss the ways the paper is experimenting with AI, what Khalaf has learned through her conversations with tech leaders like Sam Altman, and how she thinks about reporting on Trump.

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Five years since the start of the pandemic and the racial reckoning post-George Floyd, we’re still seeing the effects that 2020 had on culture and politics. This week, Ben and Max bring on The Atlantic staff writer, Thomas Chatterton Williams, to talk about how we can trace Donald Trump’s re-election to that summer, the role that media played in fueling the right-wing backlash, and how his experience on social media at the time spawned his latest book, Summer of Our Discontent. They also discuss the criticism of the book, if leftist illiberalism can really be to blame for the current administration’s actions, and why The New York Times and other elite media institutions have more influence than we give them credit for.

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After his dramatic breakup with CNN and failed partnership with Elon Musk’s X, Don Lemon now has almost 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. This week, Ben and Max bring on the broadcaster-turned-streamer to discuss what he’s learned in the transition to new media, the latest on his legal battle with Musk, and if there’s a place for centrists on YouTube. They also get his take on his former TV “friend,” Chris Cuomo, his thoughts on corporations “bending the knee” to the administration, and why he believes he’ll eventually make more money on YouTube than he did at CNN.

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