Deep Read with Phoebe Lovatt

My guest today is Clemence Poles, a creative director, photographer, curator, and the founder of Passerby – an online magazine and community that celebrates the women who pass us by. Passerby features the cool creative women in New York, LA, and London, yes – but it also platforms the scientists, archivists, nurses and lawyers whose stories are rarely shared, much less celebrated. Clemence and I talked about our changing notions of success, the current saturation of curation culture, and the return of gatekeeping, among many other topics. I hope you enjoy the conversation. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @clemencepoles passerbymagazine.com

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - Today’s Deep Read is a conversation with Leigh Patterson, editorial director and founder of the Moon Lists. Among many other things, Leigh and I spoke about why, in our attention economy, creating a ritual around the details of our daily existence is so valuable: if we are incapable of choosing where our focus lies, who will ultimately decide for us? - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @themoonlists    

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is Lucy Jones, author of the massively successful  Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood. In this very vulnerable episode, we discuss hypnobirthing, maternal mental health, and the neoliberal optimisation of motherhood (plus so much more). - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @lucyfjones  

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is Mindy Seu: designer, professor, researcher, and editor of 'Cyberfeminism Index' in which “hackers, scholars, artists, and activists of all regions, races and sexual orientations consider how humans might reconstruct themselves by way of technology.” Featuring more than 700 short entries of multimedia activism, the Index is A rich resource for anyone interested in technology, feminism, and the intersection between the two. After her book was recommended by the New York publicist Gia Kuan on a previous episode of this very podcast, I knew I wanted to speak more with Mindy about her broad range of interests and ideas. In this epsiode we cover everything from publishing as an art practice, to TikTok restocking videos, to the etymology of the word ‘ergonomic’. I hope you enjoy it! - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @mindyseu    

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is Recho Omondi, host of The Cutting Room Floor. You might have been following Recho’s podcast since its inception in 2018. Or you may have heard of Recho just recently, after a clip from her January 2024 interview with Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def went very, very viral. Either way, Recho is a thinker and interviewer to have on your radar. I hope you enjoy the conversation - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @omndi

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - Today’s episode of Deep Read is a conversation with Anna Z Gray, writer and founder of Club Vintage, the self-described “department store of vintage sellers”.  I met Anna several years ago when we were both living in New York City and Anna was writing ‘Things I Would Buy If I Didn’t Have to Pay Rent’ - a very funny shopping newsletter filled with beautiful pieces you  won’t find on an IG influencer’s Amazon storefront. These days, Anna still writes the newsletter and has also parlayed her distinctive taste into Club Vintage, which offers a platform for vintage sellers to sell their wares from stylish brick-and-mortar locations in New York and LA.  Having long appreciated Anna’s idiosyncratic writing voice and curious approach to life, I was glad to have the opportunity to speak with her about consumerism, curation, cults, and much more. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @annazgray / @clubvintageorg  

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is the journalist and editor, Olivia Singer. Since getting her start in fashion features at Another Magazine, Olivia has risen the ranks of British style media, later going on to work as fashion news director at British Vogue before assuming her current title as Global Editorial Director of i-D Magazine. In an extremely noisy media landscape, Olivia possesses a clear, unique voice that manages to rise above the din and has a distinct monochromatic uniform to match. I like Olivia because she takes her job seriously but not herself, and she has intelligent opinions on everything from feminism to fashion resale sites as you’ll hear in the conversation. I hope you enjoy it. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @oliviajsinger  

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is the photographer Shaniqwa Jarvis (aka @sheekswinsalways - her long-standing Instagram handle that has an unexpected backstory, as we discussed during the podcast!) Shaniqwa is one of those friends I’ve known for so long that I can’t quite remember when we met. Suffice to say it was a while back. Over the years, it’s been a pleasure to watch Shaniqwa gain recognition as a prolific and highly-regarded image-maker, who subjects include Cardi B, David Byrne, Erykah Badu, and former President Barack Obama in the last few years alone. Even though we’ve known each other for so long, this conversation was the first time I’ve had the chance to properly ask Shaniqwa about her upbringing as a native New Yorker, her experiences navigating the white male-dominated photography industry as a Black woman, and her philosophy on building a creative career that goes the distance. We also talk at length about her photographic inspirations, her artistic philosophy and, of course, the books that have shaped her. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary

Deep Reading Lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is the publicist and creative consultant, Gia Kuan. Raised between Taipei, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, and Australia, Gia is now based in New York City, where she runs the go-to PR firm for the city’s coolest and most cutting-edge fashion brands. On a muggy New York day in October, we sat down to discuss her nomadic childhood, her early days in (and later, running!) the club, and her thoughts on PR in an era of ubiquitous personal branding, among many other things. I hope you enjoy the conversation.  @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @giakuan

Deep Reading Lists for each episode are available at phoebe.substack.com - This episode is a conversation with Missy Flynn, co-owner and founder of beloved London restaurant, Rita’s. I’ve been eating at Rita’s since it was a pop-up in a rowdy Dalston nightclub and have dined all its iterations since – mostly recently, at its current home on Soho’s charming Lexington Street. As fellow born-and-raised Londoners, the conversation between Missy and I inevitably turned to the city - our thoughts on its past and present, and our hopes for its future. We also spoke about what social media is doing to dining and food culture, the joys of eating out in New York, and the books Missy turns to when she’s craving food for thought, excuse the pun. I hope you enjoy the conversation. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @missyyflynn