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media snacks
A HAND PICKED SELECTION OF STORIES, DOCUMENTARIES AND PODCASTS FOR MEDIA SNACKING
01.
Centuries before audio deepfakes and text-to-speech software, inventors in the 18th century constructed androids with flexible lips, and moving tongues to simulate human speech.
Jessica Riskin explores the history of such talking heads, from their origins in musical automata to inventors’ quixotic attempts to make machines pronounce words, converse, and declare their love.
02.
Ever wondered what David Bowie liked to eat for dinner, or how the members of Queen wrote and rehearsed their famous “Galileos”? Tiffany Murray’s new memoir invites us into the lives of 1970s rock nobility. Set at two recording studios, including the legendary Rockfield Studios where she was raised, her mother Joan was a chef for the likes of Black Sabbath and Motörhead. Georgina Godwin speaks to the author about Freddie Mercury’s love for the family’s great dane, her first encounter with drugs and vengeful neighbouring farmers in this enchanting account of the rural recording studio.
03.
From Fukui to Buenos Aires, discover the epic journey of a 200-year-old traditional Japanese house.
04.
How an Erewhon celebrity smoothie is born (and who makes millions off it).
The celebrity-branded smoothies at Erewhon — a chain of ultra-upscale, wellness-driven supermarkets in Los Angeles — are as ubiquitous on TikTok as the secrets driving their success are closely guarded.
PAUL SCHRODT on High Snobiety
05.
"Being an early adapter of trends is almost the social currency in itself. The knowledge that surrounds the product and being able to flex their ‘ in-the-know-ness’, is what makes it aspirational."
07.
Steven Brill, the cofounder of NewsGuard, discusses how social media giants like Facebook and X have aided and abetted in the death of truth, and provides a legislative road map for holding them accountable.Fresh on the heels of his new book, The Death of Truth, Brill joins host Brian Stelter to discuss Big Tech’s catastrophic moderation failures, how “pink slime” sites have infiltrated the news deserts, and why regaining public trust in the “referees” of real information is paramount for the 2024 election.
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08.
Everyone’s always going on about the sound of the leaves rustling in the trees, but if you want your mind blown by plant sounds, check out rhubarb growing in the dark.We have the tape!
A history of the culinary selfie.
09.
Through our choice of food, we are creating our own public identity, indicating our own values to others.
Instagram photos of food signal what sort of person we think we are: my buttered anchovies that I am cultured and appreciate the cuisine and delicacies of other peoples (and implicitly reject the expat tendency to crave the comforts of home); my shot of a gold-leaf encrusted tomahawk steak at Nusr-Et that the hustle and grind has paid off and I have made it; my polystyrene box on a countertop at Morley’s that I am still unchanged from my roots, and what have you.
Soon You Will Die: A History of the Culinary Selfie, by Huw Lemmey on Vittles