This week we have part two of Daisy and Francis' conversation with Maya Bakhai, founder of Spice Capital, a venture capital firm focused on taking big bets in areas primed for rapid change in the coming decades.

Listen to part one:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

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Maya Bakhai

• Newsletter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X/Twitter

Spice Capital

• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok
• X/Twitter

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing part two

03:11 The role of small businesses in today's economy

07:56 Asset class creep

11:43 The rise of women in wealth management

15:53 Micro changes vs. shock changes in the economy

21:43 The crypto divide: Manhattan vs. Brooklyn

27:21 The crypto infrastructure grift

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Daisy and Francis are joined by writer, producer and publisher Cole Nowicki. Cole runs the newsletter Simple Magic, a newsletter about skateboarding, the internet, and other means of escape.

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Cole

• Simple Magic
• Cole's books
• Instagram
• Bluesky
• LinkedIn

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Links & References

• Dirt x Simple Magic Introducing... Nosegrab
• Cole's piece Boom and echo
• Cole's piece Falling or failing
• Cole's piece Is social media dead?
• Hardbody Skateboarding NEVER ENUFF III
• Gail.com

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00:00 Introducing Cole

04:08 Unstated notes of piss

06:24 Early skater media influences

12:30 Skate culture and third spaces

15:48 The current state of the skate industry

21:26 Younger generations' relationship to skate culture

28:00 Right, Down + Circle

33:48 Is social media dead?

40:33 The dangers of happinessmaxxing

46:46 Bringing the swagger back to Vancouver

52:47 Betting on the future of skateboarding

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Francis is joined by financial content creator, educator, and author, Kyla Scanlon. Kyla writes about everything from crypto to macroeconomics to similarities between grief and love, bringing the human aspect of economics to the forefront.

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Kyla

• In This Economy?
• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Newsletter
• Podcast

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References

• Kyla's essay The Most Valuable Commodity in the World is Friction
• Kyla's essay Economic Lessons from the Screwtape Letters
• Tasteland Ep. 14 ft. David Rudnick

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Animal Cracker friction

00:06:32 Understanding friction as a commodity

00:11:25 The simulation economy

00:18:07 Is the American dream a frictionless world?

00:25:25 The purpose of life is friction management

00:30:50 Corporate responsibility and alternatives to frictionlessness

00:34:56 Economic literacy for all

00:43:58 Making an impact through content creation

00:51:35 Crafting a unique style

00:55:55 Vibe report: Reagan National Economic Forum

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Maya Bakhai, founder of Spice Capital, a venture capital firm focused on taking big bets in areas primed for rapid change in the coming decades.

__

Maya Bakhai

• Newsletter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X/Twitter

Spice Capital

• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok
• X/Twitter

__

References

• Lenny: How tech works really feel about work right now
• LinkedIn Post: Why PRIME hit a $3.2B valuation overnight
• TBPN: Technology Brothers podcast
• The Information: How the 'Technology Brothers' Seized Silicon Valley

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Vineyards and interstates

00:06:41 Venture capital: The invisible curator of millennial taste

00:14:38 To be investable you must be legible

00:19:20 Naive optimism of a startup founder

00:29:55 From Crocs to stocks

00:36:33 The hype cycle of creator-led products

00:44:50 The barnacles of tech industry

00:52:18 Embracing the power of cultural arbitrage

00:57:02 Taking over Silicon Valley

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Daisy and Francis are joined by comedy, culture, and perfume writer, Carly Silverman. Carly is also a TV and video producer, and host of the new podcast Smell That Movie.

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Carly

• Smell That Movie
• Twitter/X
• Instagram

Links & References

• Dirt / Greta Rainbow: Where will the next literary movement come from?
• Cosmo / Carly Silverman: The PerfumeTok influencers have got it all wrong
• Substack / Kyla Scanlon: The most valuable commodity is friction

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Carly Silverman

00:56 The sign of a good party

03:35 Literary movement = scene + genre

07:09 We're back to selling out

11:41 Smell that movie

17:32 The Talented Mr. Zierer

22:07 Aesthetic perfumes go against the idea of humanity

27:19 Smell and friction

34:18 The great fragrance and culture writers

35:41 What does the internet smell like?

41:25 What book do you want to smell like?

45:44 Nostalgic summer camp smells

53:37 From letterboxd to podcast

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Matt Rodbard, a seasoned writer, editor and author in the food and culture space. Matt is the Editor in Chief of the award winning food publication TASTE and co-host of podcast This is TASTE.

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Matt

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Taste

• Website
• Newsletter
• Podcast
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Twitter/X

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Links & References

• Nieman Lab piece on Clone

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Introducing Matt Rodbard

00:01:39 Food content at The Webbys

00:06:39 The shift to creator-first journalism

00:14:32 Rising critical food content online

00:18:37 Visual identity in a sea of sameness

00:27:41 The relationship between written and audio content

00:32:10 The financial landscape of the food industry

00:35:58 Diners habits are changing

00:40:20 Pop-ups are the newsletters of restaurants

00:45:40 The old thing is someone's new thing

00:55:43 Like it or not, you're a founder

01:01:58 The best German food outside of Germany

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

Francis is out of town this week and Daisy is joined by Tove Danovich, a journalist and writer who has featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Ringer, and Dirt. She is the author of the 'Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them', an immersive blend of chicken-keeping memoir and animal welfare reporting.

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Tove

• Website
• Substack
• Instagram
• Bluesky

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Links & References

• Dirt x Boys Club: clone.fyi
• Tove's book list: Nine amazing books about animals
• Tove's climate change piece: On hope and hopelessness
• Daisy's essay: Attention is what makes us human

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Tove

01:50 Curiosity is the topic of life

06:49 Our relationship with urban wildlife

12:33 Impactful responses from Tove's readers

17:56 Chicken's in culture through the ages

22:04 The political power of the egg

27:00 The deeply feminist story of chickens and egg-money

31:32 Beekeeping and pollination myths

36:00 Nine amazing books about animals

41:17 The challenges of writing about climate and nature

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by Sarah Leonard, editor in chief of Lux Magazine, a feminist magazine of politics and culture founded in 2021. Sarah is also a contributing editor to Dissent and The Nation, and her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, and elsewhere.

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Lux Magazine

• Website
• Twitter/X
• Instagram

References

Interview with Sarah: Creative Independent

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Timestamps

00:00 American tourists irritate American tourist

09:10 The joys and difficulties of print media

12:33 Designing a website that feels like a magazine

15:02 Customizable databased for your personal life

17:18 Fundraising for a politically opinionated media business

19:27 The versatility of an editor

23:19 Who is the Lux reader?

32:13 Helping young writers

43:21 Highlights from Lux

50:15 Don't fall into the clout trap

56:56 How the internet works

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week on Tasteland, Daisy and Francis are joined by Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins of Boys Club, a media and creative studio. They're also the hosts of the Dumb B!tch Hour, a podcast for the deeply online, where they chat about all things tech, crypto, and pop culture news.

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Boys Club

• Website
• Twitter
• Dumb B!tch Hour Podcast

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References

• Ben's play: Rich Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
• Francis' essay: What is the creator economy?

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Boys Club

01:17 New verticals & what is the creator economy?

03:52 Chet and Pret

06:02 The internet is where we live

09:16 Twitter, ribbed for your pleasure

16:06 Black Mirror, a zone 2 show

19:35 Rich beyond our wildest dreams

22:26 The sustainability of a cosy internet

28:04 Google Doc website, the ultimate no-code

36:28 Strong memories loosely accurate

41:59 Daisy's latest Chat-GPT beef

43:45 AI companionship and the lack of refusal

50:55 Putting your mouth where your money is

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.

This week Daisy and Francis are joined by versatile writer and editor, Paula Mejía. Paula specializes in arts and culture journalism and is currently a leading contributor at Dirt.

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Paula

• Instagram
• Twitter/X
• Website

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Other references

• Francis' brand sillage piece
• Paula's Barnes and Noble piece

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Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Paula Mejía

00:28 Festival experiences

03:40 Coachella emergency dental

07:15 The best and worst of Coachella

12:16 Flower crowns out, assless chaps in

14:36 Spa day festival hack

18:15 Hot Topic and the evolution of subculture

25:58 Embrace the spoilers

30:48 The power in mischief in brand collabs

36:26 The revival of the bookstore

43:46 Facebook marketplace is the place

45:30 The role of festivals in social connections

50:06 County fair community nostalgia

53:09 The corporatization of modern life

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.