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Ravi sits down with cultural critic W. David Marx (author of Blank Space) to ask a simple question: if there’s more music, TV, and art than ever, why does culture feel so… stuck? Marx argues it’s not that people stopped creating—it’s that we’ve stopped treating new, daring work like it matters, so breakthroughs rarely spread and change the mainstream. They unpack how algorithms and money-driven incentives steer us toward what’s already popular and easy, instead of what might challenge or surprise us. If you’ve ever wondered why everything feels like sequels, recycled trends, or endless scrolling, this conversation puts clear language to that feeling—and offers a way out.
W. David Marx’s book Blank Space and newsletter Culture: An Owner’s Manual
Ravi’s Substack https://realravigupta.substack.com
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Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084
Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta
Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/
Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com
Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F
Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/
By The Branch4.6
600600 ratings
Ravi sits down with cultural critic W. David Marx (author of Blank Space) to ask a simple question: if there’s more music, TV, and art than ever, why does culture feel so… stuck? Marx argues it’s not that people stopped creating—it’s that we’ve stopped treating new, daring work like it matters, so breakthroughs rarely spread and change the mainstream. They unpack how algorithms and money-driven incentives steer us toward what’s already popular and easy, instead of what might challenge or surprise us. If you’ve ever wondered why everything feels like sequels, recycled trends, or endless scrolling, this conversation puts clear language to that feeling—and offers a way out.
W. David Marx’s book Blank Space and newsletter Culture: An Owner’s Manual
Ravi’s Substack https://realravigupta.substack.com
-----
Leave us a voicemail with your thoughts on the show! 201-305-0084
Follow Ravi at @RaviMGupta
Notes from this episode are also available on Substack: https://thelostdebate.substack.com/
Read more from Ravi on Substack: https://realravigupta.substack.com
Follow The Branch at @thebranchmedia
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-debate/id1591300785
Listen to more episodes of Lost Debate on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xR9pch9DrQDiZfGB5oF0F
Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

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