Credit: Eugene Kan

Brands, Culture

“Existence dissonance” at Nike

A single topic inspired by “Nike’s End of Men” by Ethan Strauss and Nike’s values (whether internal or what they project to the public), target audience, and marketing strategies.

Music, Sustainability

Climate crisis responsibility and Kanye West’s DONDA

The illusory nature of tech solutions for the climate crisis as well as personal responsibility in the face of it and The artistic merit of the release of Kanye West’s DONDA.

Fashion, Technology

Rational thinking and the tech/fashion relationship

The attraction to and difficulty in thinking rationally and The awkward relationship between tech and fashion.

Creativity, Industry

Impact as the Fuel

Eugene talks about focusing on impact as the driver as means of invigorating the process.

Sports, Technology

Creative writing with language AI and sexism in women’s athletic uniforms

“Ghosts” by Vauhini Vara, a creative writing piece written with the assistance of the language AI GPT-3 and Sexism and double standards in sports as seen in recent discussions around uniform requirements in women’s sports.

Social Media, The Internet

The rise of curators and “genuinfluencers”

The factors that lead to the prominence of curators and curation and The trend, as WGSN calls it, of “genuinfluencers”, who interact with their audiences differently and share content that is a departure from the traditional influencer fare.

Society, Sports

Female athletes choose new sponsors and France launches the Culture Pass

why elite female athletes are turning away from formerly major sponsors in favor of alternative options and The launch of the Culture Pass in France which gives all 18-year-olds €300 to spend on a selection of cultural offerings.

Post-Pandemic, The Internet

Memories of the pandemic and “wang hong” (internet famous)

How our memories of the pandemic will differ and what narrative arcs the stories we tell of our lives usually take and The term “wang hong” (Chinese for internet famous) as written about in Chaoyang Trap.

Brands, Product

177: The MAEKAN Shop launches

In a different format to the usual Making It Up episodes and The process that lead to this point and talk about the products that are available.

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