Connecting Through Authenticity

In another live edition of the ReD podcast, we are joined by Taylor Price, a leading Gen Z financial expert with over a million followers on TikTok, and Matt Klein, a writer, cultural theorist and head of foresight at Reddit, to discuss what spaces or figures people are turning to as trust in traditional sources of authority is in decline. In the conversation, we get into the "who" – has relatability become the new stand-in for expertise? – the "where" – what are some of the tradeoffs to finding expertise in smaller, community-based online spaces? – and the "how" – what can traditional institutions learn from these spaces about meaningfully connecting with consumers? We also covered the growing homogenisation of culture, the ability for AI to both disrupt and affirm existing models of authority and when brands should, and shouldn't, hand over power to their consumers. The panel was hosted by ReD's editorial director Matthew Janney, as part of our wider exploration on where authority comes from today.