Tasteland
Creative takes on media, marketing and technology from Daisy Alioto and Francis Zierer. Daisy is the CEO of Dirt Media, a next-generation entertainment brand using emerging technology to tell the coolest stories about culture and collecting. Francis is the editor of Creator Spotlight, a weekly newsletter about creators across the world of newsletters.New episodes every Wednesday.
10
Ep. 76: Dry phone January ft. Natasha Hoskins
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by the GM and co-founder of Boys Club, Natasha Hoskins.</p><p>__</p><p>Boys Club</p><p>Website</p><p>Podcast</p><p>Instagram</p><p>Twitter/X</p><p></p><p>Natasha Hoksins</p><p>LinkedIn</p><p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 The asperges defense</p><p>05:38 Into the archives</p><p>07:55 Boys Club extended universe</p><p>12:23 Golden Globes Polymarket collab</p><p>17:15 The Boys Club network</p><p>20:27 Twitter muted words reveal</p><p>29:17 Trump to Tom Brady chlamydia domino effect</p><p>35:50 Traitors in the Industry</p><...
Ep. 75: The Cosmos Girl ft. Dena Yago
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by Dena Yago, an artist, writer, and founding member of the trend forecasting group K-HOLE. Dena is currently working at Cosmos, a visual discovery and inspiration platform for creatives.</p><p>__</p><p>Dena Yago</p><p>Website</p><p>Instagram</p><p>LinkedIn</p><p>Twitter/X</p><p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Smoking Christmas gift</p><p>4:44 No smoke without fire</p><p>10:00 GQ editor-in-chief predictions</p><p>12:40 Name that trend</p><p>16:26 Parallel thinking and Darwinism</p><p>19:45 The Cosmos secret sauce</p><p>25:25 Why books still matter in...
Ep. 74: One year after another
<p>Daisy and Francis bring 2025 to a close by looking back on their defining media of the year and looking ahead to the world of tech and media in 2026.</p><p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 A New England Christmas</p><p>04:09 Invisible labor of the holiday season</p><p>08:15 Dirt Books</p><p>14:13 Songs and albums 2025</p><p>18:23 Is 2026 the year of the techlash</p><p>22:37 The creator economy in 2026</p><p>29:32 Dirt reader's top books of 2025</p><p>31:44 Daisy's viral tweet of 2024-2025</p><p>__</p><p>Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and...
Ep. 73: It goes down in the Google Doc ft. Daniel Spielberger
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by writer and editor, Daniel Spielberger. Daniel is also the executive editor of Study Hall and the host of the Study Hall Podcast. Read the Farmer's Almanac article we discuss here.</p><p>__</p><p>Daniel Spielberger</p>Study Hall PodcastDaniel DocsLinkedInTwitterInstagram<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 $45 well spent, $5 poorly spent</p><p>07:36 Surprise proposal and tweets going viral</p><p>11:09 Influencer culture in media</p><p>17:50 We need storytellers</p><p>24:39 Daniel Docs</p><p>28:09 Study Hall</p><p>33:08 Too much media about media</p><p>44:32 Olivia Nuzzi did it all...
Ep. 72: Minimum viable meme ft. Jamie Wilkinson
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by Jamie Wilkinson, co-founder of Know Your Meme, VHX, and most recently, Glif.</p><p>__</p><p>Jamie Wilkinson</p>GlifWebsiteGitHubTwitter/X<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Coke and Wall St</p><p>03:26 Memes are a business of their own</p><p>11:30 The evolution of memes</p><p>17:03 Relationships with social media by generation</p><p>26:45 Software sub-cultures of consuming and creating</p><p>34:37 The intention of creation</p><p>38:45 Creating for yourself</p><p>45:02 The state of vibecoding</p><p>50:40 The art and value of software creation</p><p>__</p><p>...
Ep. 71: Business with boundaries ft. Ochuko Akpovbovbo
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by Ochuko Akpovbovbo, creator and writer of the culture and marketing newsletter as seen on.</p><p>__</p><p>Ochuko Akpovbovbo</p>as seen onLinkedIn<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Naturist, not nudist</p><p>05:38 Resident of nowhere</p><p>10:07 Books of 2025</p><p>14:20 Nuremberg is boring</p><p>17:00 Writer vs. Substacker</p><p>27:22 An aversion to defining</p><p>34:30 Avoiding the parasocial</p><p>42:21 For business reasons, I need to be perceived</p><p>52:32 Influencers shaping brand narratives</p><p>__</p><p>Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso...
Ep. 70: Meet the Silkers ft. Zane Kind
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by technologist and artist, Zane Kind. Zane is the co-founder and CEO of Silk, a blogging platform for creative research,moodboarding, and subculture.</p><p>__</p><p>Zane Kind</p>SilkTwitter/XLinkedInWebsiteZane's FWB Fest talk<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Notebook vandalism and clone hype</p><p>08:57 Building the zoomer Facebook</p><p>17:06 The slow scale business model</p><p>19:28 Defining taste</p><p>23:38 Scaling without killing subculture</p><p>30:07 Where are the Silkers?</p><p>36:51 Celebrity is changing</p><p>47:09 Creation starts with consumption</p><p>49:02 Rapid-fire hot-potatoes</p><p>__</p><...
Ep. 69: Canadian Canto ft. Ethan Sawyer
<p>This week on Tasteland we're joined by Ethan Sawyer, a field producer at CBC and curator of the newsletter Human Pursuits, a newsletter for navigating modern existence with help from need-to-know names in media and culture.</p><p>__</p><p>Ethan Sawyer</p>Human PursuitsTwitter/XLinkedIn<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 beats to write/edit to</p><p>04:08 Writer's block is not real</p><p>07:57 Nights in the Gardens of Brooklyn</p><p>11:46 An analysis of social climbers</p><p>18:40 Olivia Nuzzi did it all for love</p><p>24:23 The art of guest selection</p><p>32:15 Francis tells...
Ep. 68: Pope Pluribus Polycene
<p>No guest this week on Tasteland so Daisy and Francis discuss whether Frankenstein should've shown hog, the introduction to the polycene and quote tweeting the Pope.</p><p>__</p><p>Daisy</p>DirtTwitter/XLinkedIn<p></p><p>Francis</p>Creator SpotlightTwitter/XLinkedIn<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 The hog of Frankenstein</p><p>09:55 It was all yellow</p><p>16:29 Welcome to the polycene</p><p>27:15 Gambler's wives</p><p>30:24 Don't die, take mushrooms</p><p>34:00 Marc Andreessen vs. the Pope</p><p>39:29 Vibe shifts are vibe shifts</p><p>44:00 Affordability vs abundance in politics</p><p>46:50 But I'm...
Ep. 67: Don't forget the reader ft. Adam Voith
<p>This week on Tasteland we’re joined by novelist Adam Voith. Adam is the editor and publisher of Little Engines magazine.</p><p>__</p><p>Adam Voith</p>SubstackInstagramLittle Engines<p>__</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00 Did Zohran win?</p><p>03:14 Dirt’s new podcasts</p><p>08:01 Relationship between art and commerce</p><p>13:29 Submission culture in publishing</p><p>20:29 Conservatism in publishing</p><p>26:35 Culture reflected in literature</p><p>33:32 Monetizing early support in creative industries</p><p>43:29 The rise of freelancing and founding</p><p>48:00 Writers are small business owners</p><p>__</p><p>Our intro song, Nigh...
