

Michael Grynbaum, "Empire of the Elite"
Aug 24, 2025
Ashley Parker, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Michael Grynbaum, a New York Times correspondent, to explore the opulent world of the Condé Nast publishing empire. They dissect its role in defining America's cultural elite, especially through key figures like Anna Wintour and Tina Brown. The conversation is laced with humorous anecdotes from the chaotic magazine world and the complexities of media gatekeeping. They also discuss the evolving power dynamics and its lasting impact on fashion and lifestyle journalism.
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Condé Nast As Cultural Architect
- Condé Nast built an aspirational cultural empire that defined luxury, taste, and who mattered in America.
- Its magazines acted as centralized curators that shaped consumer habits, celebrity, and elite social norms.
A Scoop Sparked The Book
- Michael Grynbaum started the book after a 2017 scoop about Graydon Carter and realized no recent independent history of Condé Nast existed.
- The story felt like an elegy for the era of celebrity editors and glossy-magazine cultural power.
Sourcing From The Old Guard
- Older Condé Nast alumni were unusually willing to talk because many felt the company's power had diminished.
- Grynbaum used an age-descending sourcing strategy to capture vivid first-person memories from elder editors.