This week Malena and Mike are joined by Dr Carolina Are, LSE Fellow, digital criminologist, and Sexual Freedom Awards winning Activist of the Year, and pole dancing academic, to talk about her latest paper: The Shadowban Cycle: an autoethnography of pole dancing, nudity and censorship on Instagram.

Preston from The Ordinary Boys joins us to run through what's in his algorithm and how AI has impacted the music industry and broader creative industries, from signwriting through to streaming and live music.

What does it mean to be interesting in a world where everyone has access to the same information?

In this episode, Michael Baggs and Malena Roche are joined by strategist Eugene Healy to unpack the rise of the performative male and the idea of knowledge as capital, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu and modern cultural dynamics.

We explore why, as traditional wealth becomes harder to attain, the middle class is turning to intellectual identity, niche expertise, and cultural fluency as new forms of status, especially in dating and social markets.

From Iran to horoscopes, from spirituality’s rebrand among intellectuals to the pressure to be distinctive on demand, this conversation digs into what it means to build a self that stands out in an algorithmic world.

But there’s a clear tension, how do you cultivate depth without becoming a curated, performative version of yourself? How do you ensure there's not a thousand other reflections of yourself everywhere from Bushwick to Hackney, Collingwood to Nørrebro?

A sharp, wide ranging discussion on culture, status, masculinity, and meaning in 2026.

2026 has started with questions about social media and digital burn out, which has escalated quickly into people returning to CDs, home brewed VHS video releases of new films, magazines and sending letters to one another.

Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel joins Malena and Mike for this episode to discuss the return of analog, online communities and where brands can show up and make third spaces better.

2026 is coming in hot, with plenty going on in the world of culture, from Pantone picking almond mom white through to fire sale Burberry, things feel off-script. And of course, AI and Grok specifically, couldn't give us a week before opening a fresh can of worms.

Mike and Malena are back to discuss what's in their feeds this month, if Substack is the new home for organic content online, and Oobah Butler's remarkable new documentary How I Made a Million in 90 Days.

Things aren't great right now, but is social media really dying? Does it matter if it is?

Is launching Christmas ranges in September a great plan?

How about Black Friday sales in October?

And how can luxury brands built on legacy and authenticity adapt and survive in a world where dupe culture and handmade content are now the preferred form of expression for buyers?