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Tasteland

Creative takes on media, marketing and technology from Daisy Alioto and Francis Zierer.

Daisy is the CEO of Dirt Media, a next-generation entertainment brand using emerging technology to tell the coolest stories about culture and collecting.

Francis is the editor of Creator Spotlight, a weekly newsletter about creators across the world of newsletters.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Episodes

Ep. 87: The Great Slowdown

No guest this week. Daisy and Francis discuss the concept of 'The Great Slowdown' as a response to media overload and the desire for deeper engagement with content, the idea of 'vibes gambling' in media, and Dirt's recent contest for essays on health a...

Apr 1, 2026

Ep. 86: #GuyHobbies ft. Raihan Anwar

Raihan Anwar is a marketing leader for web3 products and communities at scale. He was a co-founder of FWB and also has his own fragrance business in addition to being a coffee connoisseur – all things we love talking about on this pod. Twitter Desire Paths - 00:00 Navigating Travel Chaos 02:25 Enter Raihan: The Intersection of Culture and Business 06:01 Exploring Fragrance and Identity 08:53 The Art of Taste and Experience 12:11 Podcasting Landscape and Market Dynamics 15:34 The New Media Landscape 17:16 Web 0.5 and Early Internet Ventures 19:22 Coining Terms and Cultural Commentary 25:37 The State of Web3 and Cryptocurrency 30:03 Guy Hobbies and Their Cultural Significance 31:45 Stripe Press and Innovative Publishing _ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by

Mar 25, 2026

Ep. 85: Artifacts of scenes ft. Elliot Aronow

Elliot Aronow is the host/producer of minor genius, a culture imprint that publishes zines, hosts parties, and occasionally produces very handsome neckties. Inside that there's also a very discreet private studio where he works as an editor/co-conspirator with visible weirdos to ship finished artifacts. __ Elliot Aronow Instagram LinkedIn minor genius __ Timestamps 00:00 A year as a degenerate gambler 04:00 What is minor genius? 08:25 The tension between punk and preppy 18:46 Reading in public 22:25 Scene vs audience 24:49 Jiu jitsu midlife journey 27:25 A scene memoir 33:08 Never going to be a Beastie Boy 37:42 Artifacts of the 2020s 41:18 What sucks about menswear? __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Mar 18, 2026

Ep. 84: Stomp clap hay ft. Jesse Hirsch of Offrange

Jesse Hirsch is editor of Offrange. He has spent years working as a journalist focused on food and agriculture, most recently as managing editor at The Counter. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appétit, Eater, and other outlets. Offrange is a digital publication covering American agriculture, food production, and natural resources. We publish three original stories each week, a monthly podcast, and a weekly newsletter. __ Jesse Hirsch Offrange Twitter/X Instagram LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Laptop at the cinema 04:15 Sod and cranberry bog 07:15 Offrange and its mission 15:35 Knowing when to rebrand 19:57 The best meal of 2026 21:45 Covering agriculture vs food 27:27 The farming and agriculture audience 33:40 Diversification of writers and contributors 35:45 The evolution of agricultural journalism __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Mar 11, 2026

Ep. 83: Bread and circus and Punch

No guest this week on Tasteland, so Daisy and Francis discuss books they haven't read, iPods, a sad monkey, and the state of modern media startups. __ Daisy Francis __ Timestamps 00:00 Monitoring the situation 02:35 The barbell of modern media 09:11 The 4 revenue streams of a media startup 13:33 Sober in New Orleans 18:26 Health is wealth 24:45 A bit vague 26:59 Texting less, going out more 28:54 25 years of iPod brain 32:46 Punch, the monkey 38:25 Stolen taste __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Mar 4, 2026

Ep. 82: 21st century science fiction ft. Pri Desai

This week we're joined by Pritanka Desai, the COO at Tribute Labs & Partner at ADIN. __ Priyanka Desai LinkedIn Twitter/X The Physical Renaissance: AI Makes You Look Up __ Timestamps 00:00 Hammy Mad Men 04:38 Doomslop moving markets 12:06 The world's transition period in now 17:00 Information overload affecting perception of reality 23:24 Prediction market's role in society 30:27 True crime and information gaps 38:30 AI powered venture capital 45:05 The physical renaissance __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Feb 25, 2026

Ep. 81: Bookseller as human algorithm ft. James Webster

Today on Tasteland we're speaking to James Webster, the co-owner of Recluse Books, an indie bookstore in Dallas-Fort Worth. __ Recluse Books Website Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00 Doing Italian things 03:53 Recluse best sellers 07:28 Logistics of picking and stocking 6,000 books 11:40 Bookstore culture of Fort Worth 15:05 Receiving feedback on book recommendations 17:11 Current reads 24:15 Running bookstore events 29:47 Bookstore location and community impact 36:04 Making books approachable 41:57 Reading hard books because they're hard __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Feb 18, 2026

Ep. 80: 36 unrecognizable hours ft. Charly Wilder

Charly Wilder is writer, award-winning journalist and executive editor at Roads & Kingdoms. __ Charly Wilder Instagram Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Respect the Quad God 05:45 Maintaining a unique travel journalism perspective 10:51 Looking at the world through many lenses 17:10 The deepest culinary tours on Earth 23:50 The Roads and Kingdoms audience 28:57 Curating contributors 34:16 Joining the Roads and Kingdoms team 37:36 Maintaining and updating city guides 45:03 Thinking about food as a storyteller 48:14 The qualities of a great travel and food writer __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Feb 11, 2026

Ep. 79: Not his first Rodeo ft. Sam Levy

Sam Levy is the former COO of Hinge and co-founder of Rodeo, a new app designed to wrangle the details of your social life and keep you organized. __ Sam Levy LinkedIn Instagram TikTok Rodeo Website App Store TikTok Instagram __ References Patient Capital Will Eat the World __ Timestamps 00:00 Somebody that I used to know 03:35 Patient capital will eat the world 09:27 Infrastructure for your social life 14:15 Managing the user experience 19:44 The expectation of apps as a memory layer 23:56 Types of Rodeo users 27:47 Using TikTok as a research group 35:32 Choosing the name Rodeo 37:13 The evolution of the idea 42:14 A business plan that maintains integrity 48:06 Get offline __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Feb 4, 2026

Ep. 78: Panic! On the tech right ft. Julia Black

Julia Black is a tech and business correspondent at Vanity Fair and freelance writer whose work has also been published in the New York Times, MIT Technology Review, WIRED, The Verge, and others. __ Julia Black Website Twitter/X LinkedIn __ Timestamps 00:00 Resy anxiety 07:35 The reality of modern genetic testing 12:38 Substack on TV 17:50 Evolving opinions and journalistic integrity 23:48 TikTok takeover conspiracies 28:32 The shifting politics of big tech 39:00 Symbolism in politics and ideology 47:44 Holding on to what's meaningful __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers

Jan 28, 2026

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