Podcasts – The New Modern

Baltimore must embrace The Wire – All the Pieces Matter – Episode Zero

In this “Episode Zero” of our new online show, Andrew Hazlett (@andrewhazlett) and Sharon Paley (@sharon_paley) discuss recent news and talk with Baltimore’s own “evil genius for good” Hasdai Westbrook (@HasdaiWestbrook).

We discuss Hasdai’s work in the social enterprise sector, and we look closely at his argument that Baltimore should not try to flee from David Simon’s heartbreaking portrayal of the city in “The Wire.” Our vision for “All the Pieces Matter” is indebted to Hasdai’s writing on this theme at the ChangingMedia blog (“To #SaveBmore, Embrace The Wire”.) We’re very happy he could join us to help prime the conversational pump as we begin this new series.

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Ted Gioia on the Birth and Death of the Cool

Has coolness runs its course? Are we living in a post-“cool” culture?

Musician and writer Ted Gioia talks about his new book, The Birth and Death of the Cool in episode 102 of The New Modern podcast. You can listen using the embedded player above or via iTunes. Please consider leaving a review and subscribing (for free) to future New Modern podcasts in the iTunes store.

Renowned for his important books about music, especially his History of Jazz, Ted Gioia is a prolific culture writer and literary critic.

Scott Timberg, the Los Angeles writer (and a pretty cool guy), recently posted a Q&A with Gioia on his new book. Though many will find much to disagree with in Gioia’s arguments, there’s a unquestionably a new fashion for authenticity and sincerity.

Whether that spirit marks the death of “cool” in the sense that Ted Gioia means it, remains to be seen. Listen to our interview, read the book, and decide for yourself.

[Watch this space for additional links and a full transcript.]

Tyler Cowen: Information Revolution, Autism, Digital Fragmentation, and the New Cultural Order

[powerpress]

Huffduff it [huh?]

Episode 101 of The New Modern podcast is an interview with Tyler Cowen about his fascinating new book Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World.

In addition to his renown as a professor of economics at George Mason University, Tyler Cowen is familiar to many habitual web surfers through his always absorbing blog Marginal Revolution.

A behavioral economist, Tyler is also deeply interested in culture, technology, and the arts. His latest book combines all these subjects in one absorbing read.

Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World is loaded with provocative ideas and surprising claims. I still haven’t wrapped my mind around a number of Cowen’s big ideas and insights, but (like it or not) I think he has identified some profound truths about our increasingly fragmented culture. Continue reading Tyler Cowen: Information Revolution, Autism, Digital Fragmentation, and the New Cultural Order