The Pattern

By Mike Litman

Before it's obvious. Daily culture intelligence from 150+ sources. Fashion, design, technology, brands, music, art, and lifestyle. The patterns others miss, every morning at 7am UK time.... more

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about The Pattern:

How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 33 episodes available.

The Pattern episodes:

March 29, 2026 No. 28: Tech companies keep announcing products they immediately cancel or get sued over
Culture Pulse: 72
Tech companies keep announcing products they immediately cancel. Sephora faces investigation for marketing to kids. The permission structure just tightened.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 28, 2026 No. 27: Italy criminalises marketing to children whilst luxury chases desirability metrics
Culture Pulse: 72
Italy prosecutes Sephora for child marketing, courts hold Meta liable for algorithmic harm, influencers cut open luxury bags. Value transparency is no longer optional.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 27, 2026 No. 26: Desirability replaces growth as the new CEO incentive metric at Kering
Culture Pulse: 72
Kering is paying CEOs based on desirability, not growth. Meta is liable for addictive design. The next advantage is what you measure and how transparently you operate the systems.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
6min
March 26, 2026 No. 25: Big tech launches music tools whilst Aerie wages culture war against AI
Culture Pulse: 72
Aerie wages culture war against AI whilst Google democratises music generation. Everyone's responding to the same authenticity crisis, just from opposite sides. No middle ground left.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 25, 2026 No. 24: Retail borders collapse as beauty consolidates and China exports store formats
Culture Pulse: 68
Puig-Estée Lauder merger isn't about growth, it's survival economics. Meanwhile Chinese retail exports store formats optimised under brutal competition. Scarcity is no longer defensible.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 24, 2026 No. 23: Beauty consolidation and Chinese retail expansion redraw global commerce maps simultaneously
Culture Pulse: 78
Beauty consolidates whilst Chinese retail colonises Western high streets. Both landgrabs exploit the same truth: algorithms drive discovery, physical space controls margins.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 23, 2026 No. 22: Chip sovereignty replaces platform wars as tech's defining battleground
Culture Pulse: 78
Chip sovereignty replaces platform wars. Amazon's Trainium now powers OpenAI, Anthropic, Apple. Musk wants 50x current production. Meta spent £80B to escape Apple's tax. Everyone's building their own infrastructure.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 22, 2026 No. 21: Hardware is back, and everyone's building their own chips now
Culture Pulse: 78
Hardware's back. Amazon opens its chip lab, Musk announces Terafab, and Minecraft builds a theme park. After a decade of outsourcing, vertical integration wins again. The Pattern, 22 Mar 2026.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 21, 2026 No. 20: Tech companies are buying physical robotics to own the last mile
Culture Pulse: 78
Amazon bought stair-climbing robots. Galliano joined Zara for 2 years. Hacks announced its ending. The pattern: specificity and limits now signal strength, not weakness.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min
March 20, 2026 No. 19: Fast fashion discovered luxury directors cost less than celebrity collaborations
Culture Pulse: 68
Fast fashion hired creative directors for sustained credibility instead of celebrity capsules. Amazon bought the robots it already funded. Vertical integration became cheaper than partnerships.
Read the full edition
Read the transcript
...more
5min

FAQs about The Pattern:

How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 33 episodes available.