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[SIC] 389: Emotional Software
Vol. 8, No. 29. [SIC] Talks w/ Ronen Givony of "Us V. Them", HIP REPLACEMENT with Justin Rocha of Creative Night, pods on pods and all the liiiiinks.
[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 Wednesdays. Read like an outline for a sense of the week’s gestalt. Nobody clicks every link, except me.
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.
New original art and animation each issue is made by Gordon Hull. Special thanks this week for ideas: Zaira Stefani Vallejo, Ronen Givony, Piers Fawkes, Iolanda Carvalho, and Celeste Blewitt . Comments, questions and contributions are invited from everyone.
This digest was sent free on 3/18/26 to 8372 subscribers. Original source is cited. Corollary sources are listed at the end of each digest.
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[SIC] Talks #188: Ronen Givony
“I guess I don’t spend that much time worrying about, like, is this thing going away? Because I think there’s always going to be cool, intellectually curious, ambitious young people doing something.”
Ronen’s words and my favorite sentiment from our hourlong chat and one that pervades Ronen’s new book “Us V. Them: The Age of Indie Music and a Decade in New York (2004-2014)” - a history of the bands, venues, personalities and macro forces that shaped culture in my homebase of Brooklyn and around the world. Tons of familiar, famous and forgotten names, framed around the archetypes of the scene and the moment in time. Ronen helpfully sent a playlist to read along to; music from the book.
Aside from the book we touched at the end on this Playboy 20 Questions interview with Ronen’s occasional collaborator: Paul Thomas Anderson Always Knew He’d Be a Winner, with the then-27-year-old director, in honor of his Best Picture win.
Listen in and go get the book. Also check Ronens here: Us v. Them by Ronen Givony.
Apropos of [SIC] Talkers, some alums in action this week (so go check out their episodes if you missed them).
Jon Wexler sat with the All the Smoke podcast and discussed his time working with Ye to building Yeezy.
Thought Enthusiast has got Julia Harrison, Writer at AD and Founder of Saloon, On Failing a lot publicly, The Bush Era Redux, and the pros and cons of fabulous friends.
Kareem Rahma’s advice? Do not launch a new short-form unscripted vertical video show, per his Another New Thing. Kareem dropped into Ronen’s chat today, to give you a sense.
And next Monday, it’s StratMonday with Piers Fawkes in which he’ll talk “WTF is a Knowledge Graph and Why It Matters to You”
And, tho she is not an alum per se, my OG Heidi Hartwig of the mighty Friends From New York launched a pod of her own with Roxy 🐰 Summers as first guest. Check it here via IG.
HIP REPLACEMENT EP.49: Justin Rocha
Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick chat with the Justin Rocha the LA-based Creative Night events manager about Buzzfeed’s impact [and demise], why burgers are going to have a cross-generational moment [in spite of Beyond dropping the “meat”,] and if the Oscar’s actually connected with Gen Z. [Umm, no. But also yes?!]. Listen up: YT above and Spotify here.
Last thing(s) before the links:
For my overseas folks: the excellent food mag SLOP Issue 10 Is Here and on March 26 they’re having a party in London if you’re there. RSVP via this link.
Alternately if you’re in Berlin, for (excellent art mag) Spike’s 18th artist talk, Demna collaaborator Niklas Bildstein Zaar will talk sub, the transdisciplinary architecture office he co-founded in 2017. It’s on the 25th at Soho House. RSVP HERE.
And if like me you’re still in NYC: here’s Your Go-To Guide to NYC’s Spring Art Fairs via Hyperallergic
[SIC] 389: Emotional Software
The Current Moment
The Many-Worlds Edition. On Google’s Willow, quantum chips, and a new proof / Why Is This Interesting
Back in ‘our’ world: How “Monitoring the Situation” Became Reality TV for Men / Inside Hook
One situation after another. The [‘monitoring the situation’] meme speaks to …a culture that has developed an insatiable need for instant information on all things at all times / The Atlantic
Hence: Everyone is cold-calling the president / Semafor
Related?! How ‘America First’ Became ‘America Alone’. The dangerous fantasy of total independence / The Atlantic
Nothing great is created alone: A DFOS leaks out / Metalabel
On that note: Q1 Just Rewired Culture around Live Experience, Intelligent Machines and Brands as Entertainment companies / Beats & Bytes
Ergo, from Iolanda: ‘Let me entertain you... ;)’ [From advertising to world building: The best brands think like entertainment studios] / Shots
Cue: The 12 New Steps of Booze Branding. Gen Z, wellness and cannabis are forcing alcohol to reinvent itself / Ben Schott
More ‘reinvention’:Costco is launching a new program that aims to make IVF treatment more affordable for couples hoping to start a family / X
Because?! Everyone Is a Biohacker Now. Welcome to the golden age of gray-market drugs / The Atlantic
Related, from Piers: Duskmaxxing [ Dusking: The Dutch twilight ritual helping people slow down] / BBC
Not slowing down: Kalshi announces its $1B perfect March Madness bracket challenge / X
But Who profits from prediction markets? Being right and making money aren’t the same thing / Marginal Revolution
I’m guessing not The College-Educated Working Class / The Atlantic
To that end, from Celeste: Betting In America- The Costs Become Clear / FT
Hence: Why you should work much harder RIGHT NOW / Marginal Revolution
But… Should you date someone with the same taste in architecture? / FT
‘Architecture’ corollary: The federal government is trying to clear a regulatory path for new types of vehicles that drive themselves and don’t have a steering wheel or pedals / Axios
Hence: Driverless Big Rigs Are Coming to American Highways, and Soon / NYT
Ummm.. My Tesla Was Driving Itself Perfectly—Until It Crashed / The Atlantic
Also crashing out: The investors who bought TikTok from Bytedance in a forced sale will pay around $10bn as a commission to the US government / WSJ
Meanwhile, Inside Hezbollah Territory: Roca’s Max Frost travels inside Hezbollah territory to understand the war in Iran / Roca News
Did not have on my Bingo Card: Iran War Leaves Helium Supply Chains Up in the Air. 30% of the world’s helium supply depends on the Strait of Hormuz / Reason
Related: Sri Lankans Declare Wednesdays Off Work As Asian Countries Conserve Fuel / BBC
Less surprising: The Women Leaving the New Right Defectors say the movement has dropped the pretense of protecting women and is now openly “cruel and fickle.” / NYMag
Don’t tell The white South Africans remaking the American South / The New Yorker
Futures
From Piers: China Alarmed by Spread of OpenClaw Agents. The country is being gripped by OpenClaw “mania.” / Futurism
Because? China’s OpenClaw Boom Is a Gold Rush for AI Companies / Wired
In fact it’s a regular Lobster Boil / On my Om
Who Gets To Define Creativity in the Age of AI? / LBB
Like for instance: Should You Be Able to Have Sex With ChatGPT? It’s a question Sam Altman is apparently thinking about — hard / NYMag
Meantime, Anthropic is hiring a weapons expert to stop “misuse” of its AI / BBC
AI world models need to understand cause and effect. They should be able to map how reality works, not just how it looks / FT
Related: The World According to Umbra. On the California Coast, Umbra is building orbital radars to see the Earth more clearly than ever / Arena Magazine
Launches
MACK Cinema Club is a screening series in London showcasing film and moving image work made or curated by MACK artists /Mack
Doodles, an entertainment franchise that has evolved from NFTs to a larger storytelling platform, is launching Doodles AI — a system trained entirely on its proprietary artwork / Deadline
Because?! Crypto’s True Believers Demand to Be Taken Seriously / Vanity Fair
And, actually? Understanding Nifty Gateway’s demise is paramount for NFTs’ fans and critics alike / The Art Newspaper
Elsewhere, Marina Abramović Is the Unlikely Star of the New Balloon Museum / Artnet
Related, from Celeste: How Australia Fell In Love With The Skywhales. Sculptor Patricia Piccinini’s hot air balloons have divided opinion / The Guardian
Platforms
Vurt, a new short-form vertical video streamer, is open for creators to submit their projects directly / TechCrunch
While Travis Kalanick is rolling out a self-driving car company… with funding from Uber / The Information
To that end: The Return of Travis Kalanick: Fact & Fluff! / On My Om
All facts?! Nvidia posted CEO Jensen Huang’s annual GTC keynote address / YT
Artistics & Stylistics
A short guide to email opening lines. “I hope you are well” and other classics / The Economist
THE MEANING OF LIGHT and LAMP. 100 Aphorisms about décor and self, radicalism, totality, Verner P., color, light, et cetera / FOR-SCALE
Aphoristically apropos: “it’s almost tempting to call Prada a petrochemical firm masquerading as a fashion company” Miuccia Prada is worth $4.8B / Blackbird Spyplane
Since we’re talking tres commas: Is most art now just too expensive for most people? / The Art Newspaper
The rise and fall of ‘buy-one, give-one’ art sales / The Art Newspaper
Advice for Practicing Photographers / Magnum
Hashem Shakeri’s Portrait of a Climate Hotspot in Iran In the drylands of Balochistan, a photographer chronicles the art of everyday survival / Aperture
“A thoughtful reflection on the ethics of polyamory.” about Emotional pressure, uneven desire, and Lindy West / Critical Intimacies
About which Katherine Dee replies The Problem Isn’t Polyamory. It’s Lindy West / Default Friend
The Story Behind Check the Tag, Fashion’s Favorite Instagram Account / Vanity Fair
Entertainments
Looney Tunes Is For The Children / The Melt
What Was Afro-Asian Hip Hop? Throughout the 2010s, Black and Asian rappers frequently traded symbols and sounds. The movement recalled a longer, shared Afro-Asian history in disco, martial arts, and political activism / The Chow
The City Where Coetzee Is God. Gary Shteyngart searching for the Nobel laureate in Cape Town, the city he left behind / The Atlantic
Corollary: Martha Stewart Wants the Kids to Read “One Hundred Years of Solitude” / NYMag
Read this: Jonathan Richman! 4 Faxed and Handwritten Answers to 13 Questions from the Bard and Poet Laureate of Massachusetts / Apology
Media & Marketing
From Iolanda: “New article by Faris Yakob” : [Media: Modality, Momentum & Moments] KEY QUOTE:
“Media categories are collapsing, but cognitive environments are not. Watching YouTube on a laptop at work carries different attentional norms, expectations and advertising tolerance than watching the same content on a television in the evening. Context of consumption shapes perception of messaging.”
Byline asked AI what to write and the answers were kind of weird / Byline
The New York Times is thriving. But its former public editor has a worry / American Crisis
Axios lays off 11 newsroom staffers as it pivots to “subject matter experts” / The Wrap
Related: Inside The New York Times’ 2026 blueprint for media survival / The Drum
CNN’s missed opportunity / CJR
Doesn’t miss: Katie Drummond’s Wired / NYT
Does miss: Why PetSmart’s Viral Moment Backfired — and What It Reveals About Brand Social Strategy / AdAge
What brands forgot at Expo West. if the content only makes sense to people who were in the room, it probably shouldn’t be in the feed / Silence Brand!
The Internet Codes: Streaming & Clipping. A guide to the fringe internet for marketers, brand owners and creatives / Oren John
Case in point?! The Mysterious Redditor Who’s Changing the Way We Do Laundry / Vox
From Iolanda: Some of the brands on one of the last Oscars traditional TV broadcast (in 2029 they’re going Youtube...) / LBB
Why luxury’s best people are leaving — and what the industry stands to lose / Jing Daily
Y-3 and F1 Awaken the Wolf. Y-3 x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS merch / Hidden Research
Britpop to Breaking Bad: This book proves just how culturally iconic the Clarks brand is / It’s Nice That
Related: The Enduring Legacy Of The Burberry Trench / Town & Country
Stone Island retraces its roots in Naples with ‘A Sorpress’ / The Drum
Foods and Drinks
Kraft Heinz announced PowerMac, a version of its iconic mac and cheese with more than double its original protein / All Recipes
Also dropping: The people behind the late ice cream empire Ample Hills are opening a new “chicken burger” restaurant / Grub Street
Because? Per Piers: The traditional restaurant is losing margin. The formats winning are the ones where eating and shopping are mixed together / PSFK
Ergo? The rise of the creative studio restaurant. Your fave restaurant is coming to Netflix / The Sociology of Business
Eddie Huang brings his first downtown restaurant back to life and The New Baohaus Is Kind of a Blast: tick around long enough, and what’s old is new again / Grub Street
Cocktails, Always, Again a dizzying spin through the new incarnations of classic Paris Hotel bars / Gourmet
“East Village Cookbook,” the crowd-sourced recipe collection created to raise money for a local soup kitchen, is a certified hit / GrubStreet
Because? From Zaira: [San Francisco Killed New York Food Delivery] / I Love The Upper West Side
The Natural World
The dog du jour aka the doodle craze / The New Yorker
The Last Great Weed Smuggler / Rolling Stone
This Cancer Researcher Home-Brewed a Beer That Works as a Vaccine. And he’s publishing the process so you can do it too / Reason
The Right to Housing Is an Architectural Issue, Too / Untapped
[SIC] 389: Emotional Software
Corollary Sources this week: The Social Juice / Champion Weekly / Nieman Lab / TBPN / Gothamist / Feed Me / Dinner Party / The Future Party / Politico Future Daily / Ben-Evans / Kottke / Daily Valet / Snobette News / Elevator