Writer Nathalie Olah on 'Bad Taste', Consumerism as Identity, Seeking Beauty in an Ugly World

Deep Reading lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - Nathalie Olah is a writer, cultural critic, and the author of 'Bad Taste: Or the Politics of Ugliness'. We discussed how complex hierarchies of taste shape our visually saturated era, the commercialisation of the professional class, and the search for beauty in a spiritually ugly world (plus much more). - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @nathalieolah

My guest today is the LA-based health coach Daphne Javitch, founder of the platform Doing Well. We talked about her definition of optimum health (and the people she thinks embody it), why wellness is essentially a time management issue, and how we can think about wellbeing communally as well as personally. Plus: simple tips for feeling better in 2025. Please note that this conversation was recorded before the LA wildfires broke out.  - Deep Reading lists for every episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @doingwell

Deep Reading lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - Deep Read #30 is a conversation with Céline Semaan, a Lebanese-Canadian artist, designer, writer, and the founder of Slow Factor, the environmental and social justice non-profit. Céline recently published her first book, A Woman is A School. Part memoir, part cultural anthropology, A Woman Is a School tells Céline’s story as a war survivor and child refugee, and creates an archive for the powerful Indigenous knowledge and wisdom of the Global South. - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @theslowfactory @celinecelines

Deep Reading Lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - Today's guest is renowned brand expert Ana Andjelic, author of the forthcoming book 'Hitmakers: How Brands Influence Culture'. Ana and I talked about personal branding, marketing in visual culture, and what she considers the biggest brand hits and misses of 2024. - @andjelicaaa @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary  

Deep Reading Lists for each episode can be found at phoebe.substack.com - My guest today is Marcelo Gutierrez, a world-renowned make-up artist and author of the recently published book, 'Nothing Precious'. We spoke about how he learned to see the world through artists' eyes, his creative community in NYC, and his favourite make-up look of all time (among many other things). - @marcelogutierrez @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary         

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