Ep. 100: Gothic w/ Dr. Valerie Steele

In this week's episode, we take a deep dive into Grisch, the fascinating niche style gaining traction among Sweden's affluent youth. Drawing on our listeners' firsthand accounts and a century of Scand...

26 Mar 20251h 18min

In this episode, journalistic superstar Ezra Marcus joins us to chronicle his journey from the ashes of millennial digital media to the frontlines of today's most exciting investigative reporting. We ...

19 Mar 20251h 18min

In this edition of Study Break, we discuss the Hollyweirdness of the Oscars (notably that James Bond humiliation ritual), Pretty Little Thing's rebrand from Love Island resortwear to halal clean girl ...

11 Mar 202510min

In this week's episode, we discuss the legacy of Losercore, an aesthetic of the late 90s and early 2000s that celebrated the awkwardness of young adulthood and the sartorial idiosyncrasies of social o...

26 Feb 20251h 32min

This week, we are joined by special guest Evan Collins — architect, design archivist, and cofounder of Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute — for a conversation about the Institute's pioneering work...

20 Feb 20251h 25min

Full episode available on Patreon <3In this edition of Study Break, we discuss the TikTok ban fakeout, Andrea Dworkin's Right-Wing Women, the inauguration party coverage heard around the world, the co...

12 Feb 202513min

Full episode available on Patreon <3In this week's episode, we investigate the rise of what we're calling Geometrica, the edgy, STEM-influenced design trend that ruled the 2000s and 2010s. We talk abo...

31 Jan 202521min

Recorded in the twilight days of the Biden administration, we gathered round to discuss a dizzying variety of cultural phenomena in this edition of Study Break, including the Freakmas double feature o...

22 Jan 20251h 23min