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[SIC] 386: Disappears Flawlessly
Vol. 8, No. 26.
[SIC] Weekly is a digest of developments in trends, tech, media, marketing, fashion, food, places and events, compiled for information obsessives and published free on Wednesday.
New original art and animation each issue is made by Gordon Hull. Special thanks this week for ideas: James Friedman, Anjali Ramachandran, Stella Belt, Piers Fawkes, Randy Slavin, Iolanda Carvalho, and Celeste Blewitt . Comments, questions and contributions are invited from everyone.
This digest was sent free on 2/25/26 to 8277 subscribers. Original source is cited. Corollary sources are listed at the end of each digest.
I’m Ben Dietz, advisor-for-hire to brands, publishers and agencies, interviewer, moderator and occasionally event/exhibition producer. Give a shout: @dietznutz on socials.
[SIC] is made possible by its paid subscribers, who also get 20 “[SIC] Day” links on Mo/Tu/Th/Fr, and the weekly [SIC] Sundays mini-digest of 30 freeform links.
Many recipients expense their subscriptions as research in marketing, advertising, entertainment + tech. You can too.[SIC] prospers when you share it, so please do.
Hi all,
Late send this week, so there’s a lotta links this week. Thanks for your patience. One of the things I’ve been occupied with is a Brand Repositioning project for a big fashion company, and given the overwhelming response to my last poll, maybe some of you are up for taking this survey, too? As a favor to me?
It’s longer than the last one, full disclosure. But I’d be grateful, nonetheless.
HIP REPLACEMENT EP.46: Matt Feniger
The UTA trend researcher joins us to chat creators as late night hosts, extreme weather, young people seeking safety, and brands becoming “thought leaders.”
“Everything is dystopian,” Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick assured [us]. “It is. It is!”
The articles in question were the viral “AI is going to end everything” [Matt Shumer's "Something Big Is Happening"] and the idea of the “post-Shumer consumer” that Ed Cotton raised, that people are going to make decisions that lead with safety first. It’s true — and Matt had proof of this, given his work with the UCLA Center for Scholars & Storytellers.
Disclosure: my wife works for UTA, a fact which had no bearing on Matt’s appearance.
Here’s the Spotify link, too. Have a listen:
Speaking of Mr. Cotton (friend and [SIC] Talks alum such that he is), he invited me to talk about Breakfast Club at his day-long ‘camp’ for Strategists next week alongside Beth Bentley, Zoe Scaman, and a ton of others. Given that the tickets were limited, I thought it’d be fun to do a happy hour at Air afterwards, which everyone’s invited to, (up to capacity). Complimentary refreshments, so RSVP here please. Hope to see you.
A few more shouts out before the links:
[SIC] Talks alum Edmond Lau asks: China is trending. Understanding it isn’t. Do Wasians hold the key?, contending Western enthusiasm for Chinese culture is real. So is its shallowness. The Wasian diaspora may be the only bridge between the two / Jing Daily
Another (forgive me) powerful combination, from Stella Belt at Pioneer Works’s excellent magazine Broadcast: “We’re running a bundle with The Believer through February”. Fully endorsed.
Last one, from Randy Slavin: “Ben! Check out my latest fever dream” [The Teaser for FORCE MAJEURE - A ROGAN ODYSSEY]. Twisted, but very of the moment. Rogan, Bigfoot, Elon, gene-editing, Seedance, the whole magilla. Stick around for the director’s statement afterwards.
Ok now the links,
Ben
[SIC] 386: Disappears Flawlessly
The Current Moment
The Meme From 2016 That Explains 2026. The more turbulent the times, the more tempting it is to [gesture around at everything] / The Atlantic
To that end: Hollywood Prayed For Times Like This. On BAFTAs, accessibility, social contracts, pivots and pattens / Culturework
Also explains a lot: Some are more equal than others. MAGA’s Animal Nationalism / The Atlantic
Correlated, from James: “this is an interesting read:” Childs Play. Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking / Harpers
Apropos of new generations: South Korea baby bump grows. Fertility rate and total births rise for second year but experts say demographic outlook remains gloomy / FT
Less gloomy: While the West is panicking about AI, South Korea feels good vibes. Just 16% of Koreans are more concerned than excited, compared to 50% in the US / Semafor
Hence: The ‘botlash’ movement is gaining momentum. Protesting and unsubscribing are being promoted as forms of modern-day strikes / FT
But?! AI Will Never Be Conscious. In his new book, A World Appears, Michael Pollan argues that artificial intelligence can do many things—it just can’t be a person./ Wired
Futile, then?! I Went on a Dinner Date With an AI Chatbot. Playboy has been killing it on Substack lately. / Playboy
Logically then: Playgirl is looking for writers / IG
There’s a transition here somewhere: The orality theory of everything / Derek Thompson
On the topic: the difference between “lowkenuinely” and “lowkirkenuinely.” / Tiktok
Also very online: Clavicular, the Radical Submissive. In 2026, hypermasculinity has one master: the algorithm / Playboy
Related: What is bonesmashing? Inside the extreme looksmaxxer technique / GQ
Corollary: BONFIRE OF THE INANITIES: enshallowfication. If depth is the new hotness, we’ll have to fight for it / Pattern Recognition
Let’s not forget then: Young Men Aren’t the Only Ones Struggling. In a number of ways, young women are actually doing worse than men/ The Atlantic
Not unrelated: David Sedaris on being young and broke in New York / The New Yorker
More nostalgia?! The rise of smartphones, social-media-curated moments, and big-budget spectacles has diminished what electronic music was once truly about: dancing / Bloomberg
In contrast: Inside Emily Dawn Long’s Sweaty, Dance-y, Private NYFW Bash / GQ
Apropos of Emily’s impulse: The dining room may be the biggest antidote to algorithm. Hospitality’s logic in an enshittified world. / The Sociology of Business
Also enshittified: The 9,000-pound monster I don’t want to give back: I thought: other than hotels that use SUVs like the Escalade IQL to ferry guests around, what kind of monster chooses a car like this? / TechCrunch
Futures (And Pasts):
The Future of Retail is Found in the Supply Chain / Future Commerce
And even JJJJound seems to agree / IG
Did People Actually Love the Dot-Com Boom? AI doom discourse heats up / TBPN
The Age of the Corporate Fortune Teller / Future Commerce
A great interactive list showcasing all the amazing inventions born at Bell Labs — AT&T’s research arm / NYT
The Forgotten World of the American Stag Film / Selectism
On that note: a collection of cassette tapes people have found, with the audio uploaded to soundcloud / Intertape
Launches
The Satellite Detection Edition. Key Quote: “the people who see it first won’t just be generals... they’ll be anyone with the right subscription” / WITI
The Tampa Bay Times starts a monthly “book club” for news stories to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at the reporting process and decision-making that shape the published article / Nieman Lab
From Piers: i sense these different universes of interest/disinterest in electric cars [Lamborghini Lanzador DEAD as buyers have ZERO interest in an electric Lamborghini] / Cars UK
Not dead: Bluetooth-powered landline phones, Physical Phones /Physical Phones
Platforms
How social media stopped being social / The Drum
Related to that: YouTube has unprecedented “pester power” — kids pressuring their parents to buy them products they see in videos and related ads / Tubefilter
Also pestering: Amazon takes the No. 1 spot on the Fortune 500, ending Walmart’s 13-year run / Fortune
Artistics & Stylistics
A better-for-you alt to “HAPPY” décor / FOR-SCALE
Not ‘happy’: Venice exhibition of US artist Hernan Bas will tackle issue of mass tourism / The Art Newspaper
Blankmag Books: NYC’s Countercultural Archive / Hypebeast
Also countercultural?! My Internet: Chrissy Correa. The Transtrender writer says the ‘Heated Rivalry’ standom is a mass psychosis event.
Elsewhere: Sid Mashburn: “Preppy hippie from Mississippi.” / Robb Report
Birkenstock made a skate shoe for hiking / Highsnobiety
Hiking corollary: A Geoff McFetridge interview on Instagram / IG
Iron-on patches are hot on Long Island / Gothamist
And Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s Wardrobe Essentials Are up For Auction / Town & Country
Corollary: How Lucila Safdie Became the Go-To Brand for Internet It-Girls / Vogue Business
Looking Back on Charli xcx’s Long-Standing Collaboration with Director Aidan Zamiri / LBB
Logomania Didn’t Die — It Evolved. Shoppers still love logos — but many are trading big brands’ monograms for niche merch / Vogue Business
Related: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon Brought Helvetica to America /Artnet
While A Shaker Revival Points to Something Deeper Than a Trad Obsession / Bloomberg
From Celeste: “A magical description of a tumultuous time in history, King Henry and Catherine of Aragon, and the Tudor heart the British Museum fought to save” [Decoding The Symbolism Of The Tudor Heart] / Tatler
Related somehow: The King Made A Surprise Appearance At Tolu Coker’s London Fashion Week Show / Vogue Business
Entertainments
How A View, From A Bridge subverts the street interview genre with humanity / It’s Nice That
From Celeste: The Great Ticket Crisis: How Attending Live Events Became A Luxury Sport / GQ
The Soundtrack of the Doomscroll Generation? It’s Phonk / NYT
Hence? Bob Lefsetz made a Phonk playlist / Spotify
More playlist: Liquid Death and Spotify announced the Eternal Playlist Urn, to be the Soundtrack to Your Afterlife / ADWEEK
Redolent of The Last Playlist show on NTS - here’s my edition, from 2021 / NTS Radio
And my Funeral Playlist, as discussed with Luis in the show / Spotify
Also not dead: Alexander Wang bought a Beaux Arts bank in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood and is opening a cultural center there/ Curbed
Gina Gershon’s Guide To Kissing Around The World / Dream Baby
Media & Marketing
From Anjali: “We launched a new editorial platform called Futures in Draft yesterday, a space for stories that aim to inspire the people and movements who are building transformative futures.” / Futures in Draft
Related: The Post-Scale Media Model Is Taking Shape in Gaming Journalism / A Media Operator
Hence: The Economist, famously faceless, braces for change and the era of personalization / Semafor
And ergo: The menswear gospel according to Lawrence Schlossman / Sprezza
Related: the gospel according to Hamish McKenzie of Substack. How to Save the Media “A new book about putting people above platforms,” per his lede/ Substack
The Substack x Polymarket gamble / Embedded
Why are brands no longer afraid of producing AI slop? The shame is wearing off using AI in advertising / Creative Bloq
Elsewhere in brand extension: A24 To Launch a Summer Camp: What if the studio that’s defining the moment built a world you could live in? / DotDotDot
From Iolanda: Is the old TV formula back? --- “Dubbed “Garage Labs,” the effort will air a new spot every Friday for six weeks” ;) [Garage Beer Launches Weekly Content Series] Jason Kelce is a scientist now / MusebyClios
Dumpling bags, crying horses, neo-Chinese streetwear and a Harry Potter villain — What went viral this Chinese New Year / Jing Daily
Not viral no more: Teens Have Doused Themselves in Axe Body Spray for Decades. Even Axe Is Over It. / WSJ
More teens, from Iolanda: Make believe worlds, the case of Roblox [Roblox, the world’s most engaged social platform your media plan may be missing] / WARC
Foods and Drinks
This archival book celebrates the bygone eras of the humble crisp packet / It’s Nice That
Every Day, the Chocolate We Eat Gets Worse. Some of It Is No Longer “Chocolate.” Even as cocoa prices fall, companies are learning a scary lesson: Americans don’t notice when you give them fake chocolate / Jezebel
The Hunt for Dark Breakfast / Ryan Moulton
BodyArmor is replacing Powerade on the sidelines of March Madness as Coca-Cola reshuffles its sports-drink strategy /
The Protein-Bar Delusion. Americans are eating candy in disguise / The Atlantic
From Celeste: Do Energy Drinks Offer Benefits Beyond Caffeine?‘ / NYT
Cause, like, Kim Kardashian is a Paraxanthine Princess / Snaxshot
From Celeste: How An Australian Farmer Is Planning To Get US Consumers Hooked On Camel Milk / The Guardian
The Natural World
From Piers: don’t die $1 Million To Become “Immortal”. Bryan Johnson has launched the Immortals program for $1 million per person and 1,500 people have already applied within 30 hours of launch /Linkedin
I mean… They Clone Polo Ponies, Don’t They? / FT
Related, from Stella: Baby-Making on Mars“ (confronting the question of reproduction in our new era of space exploration) / Broadcast
More exploration: Were There Psychoactive Plants in the Bible? The Holy text is ripe with botanical medicines, ceremonial incense, and purifying extracts / Doubleblind
Apropos: Hunting for the World’s Most Mythical Cannabis: Big Sur Holy Weed / SFGate
A Tour Inside the NY Botanical Garden’s Trippy Orchid Show / Hyperallergic
Finally from Piers: “on work choices” [It’s more exciting than Tesco’: can traditional fishing lure Cornwall’s young people] / The Guardian
[SIC] 386: Disappears Flawlessly
Corollary sources this week: Blazer / Elevator / The Future Party / Public Announcement / Champion Weekly / Ritzholtz / Strat Scraps / Today in Tabs / The Publish Press / After School / The Future Party / Boardroom / Cosmos / The Material Review / Daily Valet / The Future Party / Feed Me / Aontas Intelligence