JAY-Z, 4:44 and The Promise of Imagination
JAY-Z has returned after a hiatus of almost 3 years with his new project 4:44. The project (is it fair to call anything an album nowadays?) was released with JAY-Z’s streaming service TIDAL and in partnership with Sprint. No conversation about JAY-Z is ever complete...
Crisis at Uber & the Promise of Stewardship
The past couple of weeks have not been kind to ride sharing company Uber. The news has been dominated with their most recent scandals. First, a scathing blog post by engineer Susan J. Fowler who recounts in detail her year spent at the company. She allows us inside an...
Culture Is The Territory
Alfred Korzybski, was a scholar in the field of general semantics. Although his work is extensive in the field and he is oft quoted I want to draw attention to his thoughts about map and territory. Korzybski says: A map is not the territory it represents, but, if...
Culture Has No Sidelines
Many brands still try to avoid controversy at all costs. PR is still all too often about “damage control”. Brands still fall victim to the idea they can remain “above the fray” and avoid controversy. Making a stand or aligning oneself with the social issues is still...
Issa Rae
Despite the title HBO would hardly seem in need of saving. It is coming off a recent Emmy’s performance where perennial powerhouse Game of Thrones snagged the most awards ever for a series. It is consistently the most highly nominated network and one can argue the...
Why We Get What We Deserve (The Remix)
Almost a year ago, myself and my co-host of 2 Dope Boys & a Podcast, Michael Brooks wrote an article titled “Why We Get What We Deserve”. In it, we derided (among others) Martin Shkreli, infamous former CEO of biotech company Turing Pharmaceuticals. Shkreli...
Chobani, Leadership & The Cultural Future
Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya’s surprise announcement that the 2000 full time employees of Chobani would be receiving a 10% stake in the company has entered the media bloodstream with force. Segments on NBC and other major outlets shined a light on this act of genuine...
Mark Zuckerberg’s Memo Isn’t Leadership
It was recently reported that Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg released a letter dealing with intolerant behavior on behalf of his employees. Apparently, within Facebook HQ has a wall where employees are encouraged to share thoughts, ideas or general musings for...
Creed Vs. The Force Awakens: How Culture Delivers a Knock Out
Oscar nominations were released this morning to the usual fanfare and celebratory proclamations we are accustomed to during Hollywood award season. A sentimental favorite in the Best Supporting category is 80s action star Sylvester Stallone who takes up the mantle as...
The Deep Dive
- Episode 263: The Future That Was w/ Dubra Mitra June 18, 2026Philip welcomes Dubra Mitra, scholar and author of The Future That Was: A History of Third World Feminism Against Authoritarianism. In their conversation they discuss the various global women collectives that organized their writing, publishing and intelligence gathering in the face of post-colonialism and rising authoritarianism and the critical lessons we can draw from their […]
- Episode 262: How Not to Save the World w/ Anthea Lawson June 5, 2026Philip welcomes Anthea Lawson, author How Not to Save the World: Doing Good Without Annoying Everyone. In their conversation they tackle the state of progressive politics and whether it is possible to change someone’s mind across cultural and political beliefs. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty […]
- Episode 261: Ethics and Culture of AI w/ Clara Hawking May 29, 2026Philip welcomes AI expert Clara Hawking to the show. In their conversation, they discuss the current cultural, regulatory and ethical journey of artificial intelligence and what is inevitable and what isn’t. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest share tasty morsels of intellectual goodness and creative musings. Philip’s Drop: […]
- Episode 260: Unvaccinated Under God w/ Kira Ganga Kieffer May 21, 2026Philip welcomes Kira Ganga Kieffer, author of Unvaccinated Under God: Religion and Vacccine Hesitancy in Modern America to the show. In their conversation, they trace the origins of what is popularly known as the “anti-vaxx” movement and how the religious right has influenced its trajectory. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip […]
- Episode 259: Protest History of the United States w/ Gloria Browne-Marshall May 14, 2026Philip welcomes scholar/author and Emmy Awarrd winner Gloria Browne-Marshall to The Deep Dive to discuss her latest book A Protest History of the United States. In their conversation, they trace the social and political structure of the United States through the lens of protest movements. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip […]
- Episode 258: Deficit Thinking & Feminist Economics w/ Emma Holten May 7, 2026Philip welcomes Emma Holten, author of Deficit: How Feminist Economics Can Change the World. In their conversation, they discuss how the “deficit’ frame impacts how the economy thinks about women’s labor and how feminist economics can create lasting changes in the world. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest […]
- Episode 257: Redesigning Thinking & Service Design w/ Clive Grinyer April 29, 2026Philip welcomes Clive Grinyer, author of Redesigning Thinking: How Service Design is Solving Our 21st Century Challenges. In their conversation they reflect on how thinking itself can be framed as a design issue, how we build care into our processes and what constitutes “doing the right thing?” The Drop – The segment of the show […]
- Episode 256: The Great Resistance w/ Carrie Gibson April 22, 2026Philip welcomes Carrie Gibson, author of The Great Resistance: The 400 Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas. In their conversation they trace how the history of resistance has been purposely obscured and how the lessons from those ancestorial responses to slavery and oppression are relevant today. The Drop – The segment of the […]
- Episode 255: The Business of Meaning w/ Peter Spear April 16, 2026Philip welcomes. Peter Spear, host and curator of the newsletter and podcast That Business of Meaning to the show. In their conversation, they discuss all things culture and how the current marketing and media landscape make sense of the world around it. The Drop – The segment of the show where Philip and his guest […]
- Episode 254: Bernie Goetz, Reagan and the Rebirth of White Rage w/ Heather Ann Thompson April 2, 2026Philip welcomes Heather Ann Thompson author of Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, The Bernie Goetz Shootings and the Rebirth of White Rage to the show. In their conversation they discuss how the pivotal Bernie Goetz shooting of four innocent Black teens alongside the conservative austerity and race baiting of the Reagan Presidency set the […]