Culturally Determined

Aryeh Cohen-Wade

4.3 (69)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED BIMONTHLY

Aryeh Cohen-Wade speaks with a variety of guests about culture, politics, and American society in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1D AGO

"New Skin," a Novel, with Sarah Wang

Sarah Wang discusses her debut novel, "New Skin," a dark comedy about a young woman whose mother is addicted to plastic surgery. After a bad nose job ruins the mother's face, she becomes a contestant on a reality show where people with botched plastic surgery compete to win reconstructive surgery. The novel explores class, immigrant lives, the labor of marginalized women, Los Angeles — and is also very funny. Recorded May 8, 2026 LINKS Sarah's new book, "New Skin" https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sarah-wang/new-skin/9780316594523/ Sarah's Instagram account, @daikonoclast https://www.instagram.com/daikonoclast/ Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

44 min
MAR 30

Creating a Voluntary State Guard, with Adrian Bonenberger

Adrian Bonenberger, a writer and Army veteran, is running for governor of Connecticut on a platform of establishing a voluntary state guard. He explains how a state guard would decentralize power to the local level, and how his experience training military volunteers during the Ukraine War informed his view on threats to America and possibilities for a different kind of civic engagement. Recorded March 24, 2026 LINKS Adrian's campaign site https://www.bonenbergerforgovernor.com/ Adrian's 2023 piece on "Civil War" https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4374348-a-second-american-civil-war-wouldnt-look-like-a-movie/ Follow Adrian on Twitter: https://x.com/AdrianBonenber1 Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 4m
MAR 10

Epstein and the Jews, with David Klion

On an episode that surely will not make anyone mad, Dave discusses his recent essay on how Jeffrey Epstein used his Jewishness to further his crimes. Aryeh and Dave then debate the merits of staying on Musk's Twitter/X vs. fleeing to cringey Bluesky. Recorded March 6, 2026 LINKS Dave's piece, "The Line Between Affinity and Conspiracy" https://jewishcurrents.org/the-line-between-affinity-and-conspiracy NYT: "Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/magazine/jeffrey-epstein-money-scams-investigation.html Times of Israel on antisemitic heckler in California https://www.timesofisrael.com/san-francisco-mayor-daniel-lurie-denounces-tax-the-jews-chant-heard-during-protest/ Dave's 2108 piece on Woody Allen https://jewishcurrents.org/unlearning-woody-allen Aryeh and Dave's 2018 conversation about the NYT https://bloggingheads.tv/videos/51348 Follow Dave on Twitter: https://x.com/DavidKlion Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 35m
JAN 23

Sex in 2026, with Magdalene J. Taylor

Magdalene Taylor, a senior editor at Playboy Magazine who writes about sexuality and culture, talks about whether we are finally sick of dating apps, whether AI will change social interactions, the forces encouraging men and women to hate each other, the decline of the manosphere, and Trump's strange performance of masculinity. Recorded January 20, 2026 LINKS Magdalene's newsletter, "Many Such Cases" https://www.sexual-culture.com/ Aryeh and Magdalene's 2021 conversation https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/juggalos-simps-and-cat-guys-with-magdalene-taylor/id981282353?i=1000517814150 NYT on a woman who fell in love with a chatbot https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/technology/ai-boyfriend-chatgpt.html Magdalene's piece, "Do Men Even Like Women Anymore?" https://www.sexual-culture.com/p/do-men-even-like-women-anymore Magdalene's piece, "Do Women Even Like Men Anymore?" https://www.sexual-culture.com/p/do-women-even-like-men-anymore Puck on young men and Trump https://puck.news/why-young-men-are-souring-on-trump/ Follow @magdajtaylor Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

46 min
JAN 9

We Are Going to Win, with Adam Gurri

Adam Gurri, editor-in-chief and cofounder of the website Liberal Currents, discusses his recent piece about the fight against Trump titled "We Are Going to Win." Recorded January 6, 2025 LINKS Liberal Currents https://www.liberalcurrents.com/ Adam's piece, "We Are Going to Win" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/we-are-going-to-win/ Adam's piece, "Impeach and Remove the Bastards" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/impeach-and-remove-the-bastards/ Reporting on Stephen Miller ordering more ICE arrests https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3425297/stephen-miller-eviscerated-ice-officials-deportation-numbers/ Adam on "The Reconstruction Papers" https://www.liberalcurrents.com/a-preview-of-a-project-well-pursue-if-fully-funded/ Follow Adam on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

43 min
11/07/2025

20 Years Ago, Bloggingheads Was a Trailblazer, with Robert Wright

Bob Wright reflects on the legacy of the Bloggingheads.tv, the pioneering website he co-founded in 2005. Aryeh and Bob discuss how the site and the technology that powered it anticipated modern trends in online media. They also consider whether Twitter still has any use for journalists, the pros and cons of Substack, and whether Culturally Determined should pivot back to video. Recorded October 28, 2025 LINKS Robert Wright's Nonzero podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/robert-wrights-nonzero/id505824847 The Nonzero Newsletter https://www.nonzero.org/ Max Read on his Substack stats https://maxread.substack.com/p/four-years-of-read-max-on-substack Andrew Thompson on the economics of Substack and money vs. attention https://components.news/the-desire-distribution/ MeaningOfLife.tv https://meaningoflife.tv/ Follow Bob on Twitter: https://x.com/robertwrighter Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1h 6m
09/17/2025

"If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You," a Novel, with Leigh Stein

Leigh talks about her new novel, a modern gothic with a satirical edge about an unemployed Millennial journalist who becomes the manager of a hype house for Gen Z content creators — one of whom goes missing. Aryeh and Leigh also discuss whether the internet is bad now. Recorded September 3, 2025 LINKS Leigh's new novel, "If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You" https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Seeing-This-Its-Meant/dp/0593983645 Profile of TikTok star William White https://www.inverse.com/input/culture/will-white-tiktok-fandom-gen-x-middle-age-women-drama/amp Jia Tolentino's review of Elizabeth Gilbert's new book https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/01/all-the-way-to-the-river-love-loss-and-liberation-elizabeth-gilbert-book-review Leigh's Substack, "Attention Economy" https://leighstein.substack.com/ Follow Leigh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighstein/ Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

56 min
07/30/2025

The '90s, Bullying, and a Prank Gone Wrong, with Gina Tron

Gina Tron discusses "Suspect," her recent memoir about her childhood growing up as an outsider in a small Vermont town and the bad teenage joke that led everyone to think she was planning to be a school shooter. Recorded Feb 20, 2025 Follow Culturally Determined (still) on Twitter @CulturallyDet LINKS Gina's book,"Suspect" https://www.ginatron.net/suspect/ Gina's website https://www.ginatron.net Follow Gina on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ginatron.bsky.social Follow Aryeh on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aryehcw.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 min

See All (180)

4.3

out of 5

69 Ratings

Wonderful Topics & Thoughtful Interviewer

09/11/2022

Gazlo Kreg

Aryeh has a real keen eye for finding great pieces that explore culturally relevant topics. One of my favorite podcasts.
Why

05/17/2024

jenzahara

Good content but too much nervous laughter at things that aren't funny, or worse, are serious. Quite distracting.
Good conversations

08/12/2022

Ben Kuebrich

Your twitter one start review call to action worked. Just fyi
Thoughtful commentary

07/22/2022

NJbookwoman

I always learn something new (and often unexpected) from listening to Aryeh’s podcast. And there’s always a few laughs!

Aryeh Cohen-Wade speaks with a variety of guests about culture, politics, and American society in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.