What Works

"It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism," say Frederic Jameson and Slavoj Žižek.Capitalist liberal democracy is construed as the "end of history"—the culmination of millennia of civilizational progress, the inevitable outcome of a long march toward justice and freedom. But is it? And if it's not the best system for our economic and political needs, what is the alternative?It's almost impossible to imagine. But, despite what Margaret Thatcher said, there is an alternative—many, in fact. We just haven't dreamed them up yet.This is the argument of Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism, a great little book that wrestles with big questions and ends on a surprisingly hopeful note. In this episode, I'll share some reflections on our identities as consumers and the nature of capitalist realism. Then, you'll hear the latest episode of the Books Applied Podcast with Iggy Perillo. Iggy and I discussed the book for her podcast and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you, too!Footnotes:Iggy Perillo and WSL LeadershipBooks Applied PodcastCapitalist Realism by Mark Fisher"Media Frames UPS Strike as Harming You, the Consumer and Protagonist of Reality" by Adam Johnson in The ColumnAs always, you can find my opening essay, plus a condensed transcript of my conversation with Iggy, at whatworks.fyiLove What Works? You can support my research and writing by becoming a premium subscriber on Substack for just $7/month. Thanks in advance! ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to the 5th edition of This is Not Advice, a non-advice column for premium subscribers of What Works. If you’re already a premium subscriber, thank you! If you’re not, I still think you’re great—and you can read a solid chunk of this column for free. Or, subscribe to get access to full-length columns and podcast episodes.Or, read this excerpt here.Next week, I’m teaching a workshop on how to pitch yourself to appear on podcasts for YellowHouse.Media. I’ll show you how to find shows to pitch, how to think like a producer, and how to prepare for your interview. Click here to learn more & register. ★ Support this podcast ★

"Failure" got a glow-up sometime in the last 20 years. Instead of something to be feared, gurus tell us to embrace failure. That failure is a waypoint on the path to success. But this shift in our relationship with failure has only further inscribed the winner-loser binary that causes so much of our anxiety about the future.What if "failure" wasn't part of the "success" formula? What if we looked beyond conventional notions of failure and success to question whether those ideas even matter at all? Whether they serve us at all?Today on the podcast, Kate Tyson (Strathmann) is queering failure. She's questioning what it means to build a business or a project without the normative notions of success and failure. And how calling those norms into question allows us to imagine new and different ways to do business—or any kind of venture."Queer Failure" is an excerpt from [Im]Possible Business by Kate Tyson.Footnotes:[Im]Possible Business by Kate TysonFollow Kate's writing on SubstackThe Queer Art of Failure by Jack HalberstamFox Market and Bar in Montpelier, Vermont"Don't Bail Out the Restaurant Industry" by Tunde WeySaidiya HartmanÉtaín UnderthingsRunway's Entrepreneur Universal Basic Income programWanderwell Bookkeeping and Consulting"Queer Theory" by Nancy Harding in Key Concepts in Critical Management Studies ★ Support this podcast ★

Buckle up—today's episode was inspired by something that got me really worked up this week: "I think home-baking is one of the stupidest things anyone can engage in," says Rick Easton of Jersey City's Bread and Salt. This episode is about shoulds and supposed-tos, baking at home, and the ways we devalue certain kinds of labor. Whether or not home-baking is your thing, you'll recognize the way value is narrowly defined by culture and, I think, gain new language for the worthiness of work that doesn't fit the capitalist mode.Footnotes:"Leave the Baking to the Professionals" by Hannah Goldfield, New YorkerBread, and How to Eat It by Rick Easton and Melissa McCart"On Bread" via From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy"What could 'food is political' mean?" via From the Desk of Alicia KennedyKing Arthur Baking: Old-Fashioned Oatmeal LoafBreadhead by Greg WadeHistory of Low-Carb Diets on Wikipedia"I love bread!" Weight Watchers commercial"Home Cooking can be a Feminist Act" by Nigella Lawson"Men More Likely Than Women to be Seen as Brilliant" via NYU"When Male Chefs Fear the Specter of 'Women's Work'" by Meghan McCarron, Eater"The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" by Audre Lorde, YouTube"The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" by Audre Lorde, Sister OutsiderEssay versions of every episode of What Works are published at whatworks.fyi — subscribe FREE to have them delivered straight to you. Or become a paid subscriber for just $7 per month and get access to bonus content, discounts on workshops, and more! Go to whatworks.fyi to learn more. ★ Support this podcast ★

"Outsiders" shoulder a disproportionate burden when it comes to fitting in. Can we demand more from the "insiders?"This is a preview of the 4th installment of This is Not Advice, a not-advice column for paid subscribers of What Works. If you’re not a paid, enjoy the first half of this essay (audio or written) or upgrade your subscription to access the whole thing. For just $7 per month, you get access to bonus content and help me make this show!For a written version of this episode, go to: www.whatworks.fyi ★ Support this podcast ★

What gets labeled as "authentic" is often quite predictable. It's a market-compatible expression of what was once something unique or personal. Authenticity is a vibe—and a valuable one at that."Predictably unique" is how David A. Banks defines authenticity in his book, The City Authentic. Authenticity, or what's "predictably unique," describes how culture, place, and style are packaged to become recognizable—and, therefore, consumable—to a general audience.And while Banks's interest is in the politics of urban planning, his analysis spoke to a question I've pondered for almost as long as I've been a Very Online Person: Why does authenticity often feel so fake?How can a form of expression feel legitimately authentic one day and discernibly contrived or derivative the next? Is it the expression or my perception of it that changes? Why does "authentic" become an aesthetic, a legible set of features that denotes the "real?" And why does formulaic authenticity convey such social capital (or at least promise to)?I tackle these questions and more in this episode!Footnotes:The City Authentic by David A. Banks"'She Looks Like an Instagram:' How Empowerment Became a Brand" by Tara McMullin"The Strange Logic of Value in the Attention Economy" by Tara McMullinThe Jargon of Authenticity by Theodor Adorno"Personal Branding and the Crafting of Self" by Tara McMullinThe Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media by Emily HundHow to be Authentic by Skye ClearyEvery episode of What Works is also published as an essay. Go to read.explorewhatworks.com or subscribe to get them automatically delivered to you! You can also chip in $7 per month to support my work and to get access to bonus content. ★ Support this podcast ★

On June 8, Skye Pillsbury opened the latest edition of her newsletter, The Squeeze, with the header RIP Gimlet. She continued:I’m heartbroken over the news that Spotify has laid off another 200 podcast employees, though I’m not shocked.— Skye Pillsbury, The SqueezeI devoured Alex Blumberg's Startup when it first came out, which was about a year before I started podcasting. Then, I inhaled Reply All when it launched, and despite its later troubles, was genuinely moved by its final episode. I lapped up Blumberg's earnest interviews with entrepreneurs on Without Fail. I even had the privilege of interviewing Blumberg during a course I taught at CreativeLive.I followed Gimlet's acquisition by Spotify with interest (and a healthy dose of skepticism). The bumpy ride that they've had since then was utterly predictable. Though, like Pillsbury, I find the news that Gimlet is no more—at least in any recognizable sense—quite upsetting.This short dispatch is about podcasting and the podcast industry—but really, it's about why we shouldn't judge success—or run companies—using the logic of Wall Street.Footnotes:"RIP Gimlet" in The Squeeze by Skye Pillsbury"Spotify to Layoff 200 Employees in Podcast Strategy Shift" by Amanda Holpuch, New York TimesStartup by Alex Blumberg & Gimlet Media (Excerpts from Season 1, Episodes 1, 2, and 4)Reply All by Alex Goldman, Emmanuel Dsotzi, PJ Vogt, and Gimlet Media Without Fail by Alex Blumberg & Gimlet Media"Podcast Companies, Once Walking on Air, Feel the Strain of Gravity" by Reggie Ugwu, New York Times"A U.F.O. Podcast Zooms Past the Competition" by Reggie Ugwu, New York Times"Crooked Media Hires Vice’s Lucinda Treat as First CEO, Gets Funding From George Soros’ Investment Firm" by Todd Spangler, Variety"'You Paid WHAT?!' Or, How Echo Chambers Distort Prices and the Way We Think" by Tara McMullinLove What Works?Become a paid subscriber and get twice-monthly bonus episodes, the chance to write in with questions, and more for just $7/month. Upgrade your subscription at: taramcmullin.substack.com/subscribeOr, share the show with a friend! You'll help out What Works and start a great conversation!Every episode is also published in essay form at: taramcmullin.substack.com ★ Support this podcast ★

I’m about to write the most journalistic thing I’ve ever written: I received a tip.I wish I could say it was an “anonymous tip” because that sounds even more journalistic. But it wasn’t anonymous, though I won’t say who it was. Anyhow, my source told me about a small business owner—someone who sells online courses and does quite well—paying an outrageous sum for a fairly standard service.This, of course, was not an isolated incident. I didn't really need a tip. I know all about this kind of thing. Wildly inflated prices grace all manner of products and services within the creator economy, coaching industry, and "online business" space in general.‘What’s going on?’ my source wanted to know. ‘How do people get caught paying so far above market rate? And why do people charge prices so out of whack with the market?’ I totally paraphrased all that. Here's what my source really asked about: "the gaslighting inflationary online pricing bubble."In this episode, I endeavor to get to the bottom of the Gaslighting Inflationary Pricing Bubble Online—GIPBO. I discover that it's not so much an economic problem (although that's part of the story). It's an epistemological one.Footnotes:"Hostile Epistemology" by C. Thi Nguyen"Neoclassical Economics" on Investopedia"The Epistemic Seduction of Markets" by Lisa Herzog in The Raven"Escape the Echo Chamber" by C. Thi Nguyen"The Art of Rent" by David HarveyLove What Works? Share the show or newsletter with a friend who would appreciate a critical look at work, business, and leadership in the 21st century. And please consider supporting the work I do by becoming a paid subscriber. This episode alone took over 30 hours to research, write, edit, and produce. You can contribute (and get access to some sweet bonuses!) for just $7/month. Click here to contribute! ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to the 3rd edition of This is Not Advice, my advice column that’s not an advice column for paid subscribers of What Works. This week, I am tackling a question that came up during last week’s workshop on media ecosystems (link to replay below!) and that my husband Sean asked me just this morning. It also came up a number of times during a workshop on audio essays that I taught earlier this year.So I’m going to assume this is something that a lot of folks struggle with—myself included on a regular basis.Here’s the gist:I’ve accumulated lots of thoughts that I want to turn into a cohesive project—maybe a book, a podcast series, an online course, even a single essay. How do I even begin working on something like that?This episode is an excerpt from my full column! To upgrade your subscription and read or listen to the full episode, click here! ★ Support this podcast ★

Today's episode is all about trust and responsibility—and how those qualities impact the cost of doing business and the work that's required for any company to be successful. And specifically, it's about something I'm calling the Trust-Profit Paradox. Simply put, you can't build trust and optimize for profit at the same time. After losing my ish listening to The Verge's Nilay Patel stump Airbnb's Brian Chesky with a question about AI-generated images on the Decoder podcast, I started to think about the responsibility that companies like Airbnb have (or, rather, avoid). From there, my research took me to some truly unexpected places—like into mainstream management theory. Footnotes:"The Pope Francis Puffer Photo Was Real In Our Hearts" by Eileen Cartter on GQ"'I can't make products just for 41-year-old tech founders': Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking it back to basics" on Decoder with Nilay Patel (audio & transcript available)"The Delusion of Profit" by Peter Drucker in Wall Street Journal"Cost of Capital" on the Harvard Business School blog"If you're getting ripped off, it's not surprising" featuring Niko Matouschek at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern"The Age of Customer Capitalism" by Roger Martin in Harvard Business Review"'Is Substack Notes a Twitter clone?': We asked CEO Chris Best" on Decoder with Nilay PatelJoin me for a workshop called "Tending Your Media Ecosystem" on Wednesday, May 31st at 1:30pm ET/10:30am PT—exclusively for paid subscribers to What Works. Get started for just $7/month! ★ Support this podcast ★