Season 6 Trailer

Season 6 Trailer

Author: What's Contemporary September 29, 2025 Duration: 0:52
What’s more contemporary than the pursuit of happiness? The restless task of creating it, sustaining it, sharing it. It’s a game not so far from that of the creative class, with its inevitable demand for the next turn, the next gesture, the next affirmation of relevance. Designers, editors, critics, even self-anointed new media mavens know it all too well. Exploring larger cultural truths in their microcosmic forms is a habit we’ve happily returned to this season, and one we look forward to sharing across the months ahead. Because happiness, like relevance, is never fixed. It slips just out of reach the moment it seems secured, requiring constant reexamination and reinvention. The same holds true for the people and industries we cover: what feels urgent today risks redundancy tomorrow. That cycle of fulfillment, exhaustion, and reinvention, is the rhythm of both creativity and life. And in that rhythm lies the story of what it means to be contemporary now. New episodes begin Monday, October 6th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cultural landscape shifts constantly, and What's Contemporary Now? is a guide to its ever-changing terrain. Host Christopher Michael sits down with creators, critics, and innovators who are actively shaping the arts, from visual design and architecture to music and media. These conversations move beyond simple interviews, delving into the underlying philosophies and shared currents that connect seemingly disparate fields. Each episode unpacks a specific idea or movement through the lens of a guest's expertise, offering listeners a deeper understanding of the forces defining our current moment. Produced by Sasha Grinblat, the sound of the podcast is as considered as its content, creating an immersive space for genuine dialogue. You'll hear architects discuss the politics of space, musicians analyze the aesthetics of sound, and writers trace the lineage of new literary forms. It’s for anyone who feels that simply consuming culture isn't enough-who wants to understand the "why" behind the "what." By focusing on these broad, compelling perspectives, the series reveals the common threads woven through contemporary creative life, providing context and clarity in a fragmented world. Tune in to find your own place in the conversation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

What's Contemporary Now?
Podcast Episodes
Jesse Lee on the Future of Curation in a Designed World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:06
The inevitability of change is something we can either fear or embrace with insatiable curiosity, and one of them, of course, yields far better results than the other. Today's guest is a serial entrepreneur and self-desc…
Inside Francesca Burns’ Transformative Journey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:04
We often bring up the idea of humanity on this show, exploring the anthropology of it all with the creative industry as our backdrop. When sitting down to speak with the absolutely lovely Francesca Burns about her journe…
Fleeting Moments, Timeless Truths: A Talk with Daniel Arnold [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:16
Daniel Arnold's work can be seen anywhere one consumes visual content, whether it's on the walls of a gallery, the cover of a magazine, or his own well-engaged Instagram feed. But beyond the humanity captured through his…
Crafting Culture: Raul Lopez on LUAR's Impact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:52
The audacity of achievement is beautifully illustrated in the story of LUAR’s Raul Lopez, whose show has been one of the most anticipated at New York Fashion Week for several seasons and counting. Having discovered the p…
The Line Sheet and Everything Lauren Sherman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:52
While many in the fashion industry were already well-versed in the work of journalist Lauren Sherman, the early days of The Line Sheet sparked rumblings across the dinners and drinks that often define the social musings…
Why W Magazine Matters (Again): A Conversation with Sara Moonves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:23
The Best Performances issue of W Magazine is here, marking the unofficial start of awards season with its iconic event this past weekend. To kick off our own season, we’re sitting down with the woman behind it all: edito…
Season 5 Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:50
As the curtain falls on one year and rises on the next, we find ourselves poised at the edge of a new season—one brimming with conversations that illuminate the creatives shaping, and at times challenging, the culture of…
We Want to Hear From You [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:53
It's that time again where we end the season and take pause to review where we've been, where we are, and of course where it is that we'd like to go with this conversation. As always, we want to hear from you, our listen…