Day One FM

Dan Frommer is the founder of The New Consumer: a publication which draws upon his expertise as a business and tech journalist to examine how and why people spend their time and money. He joins us to talk through some of the takeaways from his recent 2025 Mid-Year Report. We cover Gen Z’s uneasiness on AI, why people would rather meet their favorite podcaster in the wild than an A-list movie star, and “the humanization of pets” (do you cook for your dog or cat?), as well as how he brings rigor and depth to the crowded, noisy field of consumer insights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trey kicks things off with a quick (hopefully final) recap of the Coldplay “Jumbotron Incident” and a momentary return of monoculture. You can’t just cheat in today’s surveillance culture, sorry. Then, Clara shifts gears to talk about the new “gentle-jacked” Superman, and how the film’s refreshingly earnest plotline highlights a much-needed cultural shift away from irony-pilled junk. Finally, Eli rounds things out with a watch out around all of this talk of “community marketing.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachel Janfaza is a writer, political analyst, and founder of The Up and Up: the authoritative newsletter tracking the cultural and political forces influencing Gen Z. We discuss how Covid split Gen Z in two, why MAGA appeals to young women, wedge issues, voting against your interests, whether or not young voters who shifted right in 2024 are up for grabs, purpose-driven branding, and a wishful plea for the return of civil discourse.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss snack jail (aka CVS’s shopping-proof shelves) and Crumbl’s Moonbeam Ice Cream Cookie, inspired by the Benson Boone song “Mystical, Magical.” Plus, the Cannes Lions have been marred in controversy over the past few weeks, following several exposés around wonky data and AI-filled case study videos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zito Madu is an author, sports journalist, and cultural critic. We talk about why there are empty seats at the Club World Cup, why sports betting is here to stay, losing a multi-million dollar contract on a three figure parlay, how pay-to-play sports eliminates a diversity of playing styles, why we need to bring more whimsy back to sports marketing, and the joy of seeing waterfalls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re talking about how Blank Street Coffee built a $500 million dollar empire, “Lower East Side Dimes Boy” matcha personas, fellas…, the founder of an Erewhon-adjacent grocery store in Tribeca is letting his “fans” stock the shelves, and betting markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are letting you bet on the end of the world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a very hot day four, Matt Klein joins us to talk about the work exhibit in the Palais basement (where ad-hoc insights and very creative data points abound), what’s missing from conversation about the creator economy, and giving up personal data for a piece of fruit.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Semafor Media Editor, Max Tani, joins us for day three. We talk about sunburns, the evolving media presence at Cannes, pre-fab buildings, YouTube eating TikTok’s lunch, Chat J'ai Pété, Substack’s will-they-won’t-they dance with advertisers, the changing tide in the culture wars, and where to get the best Thai food in Cannes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day two of Cannes Lions kicks off with former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, advocating a Dolly Parton approach to brand purpose followed by a refreshing marketing talk break from James Blake. In other news, will.i.am says we’re not prepared to be good hosts to aliens, Paris Hilton’s husband talks about AI and VC (two things you really don’t hear about enough), and our AG1 partnership continues to deepen (jk).  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clara and Eli are on the ground reporting from day one of the Cannes Lions. Highlights include: Willa Bennett’s plans for rebooting Cosmopolitan’s IP, Apple’s VP of Marketing saying “human creativity” over 18 times in 20 minutes, a potential new sponsor, Chinese soft power, being in the Nashville of France, and our ideas for a Bravo buildout on the Croisette. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.