Making It Up – Details, episodes & analysis

In episode 208, Charis and Eugene discuss the case of an NYU professor's contract termination after the school received a number of student complaints. They talk about teaching methodologies and some of the ways schools are lacking.

At N.Y.U., Students Were Failing Organic Chemistry. Who Was to Blame? by Stephanie Saul

Tweet by Jesse Stommel

Tweet by Emily Nussbaum

In episode 207, Eugene highlights the significant role of urban planning in  setting the “energy” of a city. One short question to get at the heart of this: How is usage mixed in a city?

Tweet by @culturaltutor

#191: Ascension by Drew Austin

Eugene and Charis discuss Buy Nothing groups/movement and what a change in platform means for their participants. They also talk about Kevin LaBuz’s article “Grandma’s Pierogis” about how corporate culture is created and knowledge passed on.

00:04:47 Buy nothing

00:20:49 Pierogis

#107 - Grandma’s Pierogies from Below the Line by Kevin LaBuz

Buy Nothing exploded on Facebook — now it wants a platform of its own by Mia Sato

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Eugene and Charis talk about musical anhedonia, the condition where people feel no pleasure in music, and whether that has implications on the world of audio. They also discuss the anatomy of a TikTok hit and what kind of music goes viral on that platform.

00:00:55 Musical anhedonia

00:27:34 TikTok hits

00:41:19 Banter

https://reallifemag.com/vox-populi/

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-anatomy-of-a-tiktok-hit/

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Charis and Eugene talk about Disney+ and Apple TV+, two new streaming services, launching with series that cost an unprecedented amount of money per episode to make. They also discuss tokenism: what it is, how to deal with it, and whether there are silver linings to it.

00:01:16 Streaming services

00:16:42 Tokenism

00:37:16 Banter

https://qz.com/1735700/apple-and-disney-are-creating-an-explosion-of-tv-series-budgets/

https://qz.com/844918/with-the-crown-the-grand-tour-and-westworld-tv-shows-have-become-insanely-expensive/

https://www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/46571/1/how-to-deal-with-tokenism-as-an-artist-according-to-the-white-pube

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Eugene and Charis discuss why new technology is difficult to convince people to adopt. They also talk about the habits of the ultra wealthy as well as a new study that shows a key factor in becoming very rich is luck.

00:01:20 Ultra wealthy

00:27:22 New tech

00:44:45 Banter

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610395/if-youre-so-smart-why-arent-you-rich-turns-out-its-just-chance/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/style/rich-people-things.html

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/tech/

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/10/17/18647521/capitalism-age-of-addiction-phone-david-courtwright

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Charis and Eugene talk about TikTok hiring a law firm to advise them on their content moderation policies due to increasing scrutiny of the app. They also discuss Adobe being required to block Venezuelan users from their products due to the latest sanctions on the country.

00:01:24 TikTok

00:19:32 Adobe

00:31:54 Banter

https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/15/tiktok-taps-corporate-law-firm-kl-gates-to-advise-on-its-u-s-content-moderation-policies/

https://stratechery.com/2019/the-china-cultural-clash/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evjmqj/venezuela-will-be-cut-off-from-adobe-products-because-of-trump-sanctions

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Eugene and Charis discuss Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy and the evolving role of shopping malls. They also talk about the monetization of esports apparel and the possibilities for brands within the gaming industry.

00:01:22 Forever 21

00:20:12 Esports apparel

00:40:15 Banter

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/29/business/forever-21-bankruptcy.html

https://hypebeast.com/2019/9/esports-apparel-fashion-adidas-ninja-nike

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Charis and Eugene talk about the 2019 MacArthur Grant winners and how money supports innovative work. They also discuss Greta Thunberg, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault’s comments about her, and the relationship between luxury and climate crisis activists.

00:01:11 The MacArthur Grant

00:21:48 Luxury and climate crisis

00:41:21 Banter

Links

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-luxury-environment/luxury-leader-lvmh-in-green-mode-laments-thunbergs-pessimism-idUSKBN1WA2AY

https://www.businessinsider.com/macarthur-fellowship-genius-grant-winners-2019-9

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Eugene and Charis talk about whether good grammar matters, especially when it comes to material written by southeast Asian influencers. They also discuss YouTube’s announcement regarding overhauling its verification program and then the quick walk-back of that announcement.

00:02:42 Influencer grammar

00:21:57 YouTube verification

00:43:15 Banter

Links

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/style/influencer-grammar-watchdog-accounts-southeast-asia.html

https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/19/youtube-overhauls-its-problematic-verification-program/

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