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On Margins

On Margins

Written by: Craig Mod
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About this listen

On Margins is a podcast about making books and "book shaped" things. Hosted by Craig Mod.Craig Mod Art
Episodes
  • W. David Marx — Blank Space: A Cultural History of the 21st Century
    Nov 27 2025

    Guest & Book

    • W. David Marx — Website | Newsletter: Culture: An Owner's Manual | Twitter/X
    • Blank Space: A Cultural History of the 21st Century — Penguin Random House | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
    • Status and Culture (David's previous book) — Hachette Book Group

    People & Cultural Figures

    • Jordan Peterson — Wikipedia
    • Boots Riley — Director of Sorry to Bother You, member of The Coup
    • David Solomon (DJ D-Sol) — CEO of Goldman Sachs and EDM DJ
      • NME: Goldman Sachs CEO to DJ at Lollapalooza
      • Fox Business: Solomon Gives Up DJ Gigs
    • Joseph Kony / Kony 2012 — Wikipedia | Invisible Children Official Page | Slate: What We Learned from Kony 2012 | PBS NewsHour Analysis | Ethan Zuckerman: Unpacking Kony 2012

    Cultural References

    • The Coup - Party Music album cover controversy — Wikipedia: Party Music | Snopes Fact Check | CNN Coverage (2001)
    • 9/11 and cultural shifts — Discussion throughout the transcript about post-9/11 cultural changes
    • K-pop and Korean Wave (Hallyu) — Discussion in transcript about Korean cultural strategy
    • White Lotus Season 3 — HBO series (benzodiazepines reference)

    Concepts & Frameworks

    • "The Long Twentieth Century" — Giovanni Arrighi's book on historical periodization
    • Post-practice culture — The 21st century ideology that practice/expertise is unnecessary (central theme of Blank Space)
    • The Perpetual Present — The sense that nothing begins or ends in digital culture
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    1 hr and 52 mins
  • W. David Marx — The Culture of Fashion in Japan
    Sep 3 2021

    W. David Marx and I talk about his book Ametora, Japanese culture, and books in translation.

    Full transcript is available online:

    https://craigmod.com/onmargins/s02e03/

    Noted:

    • Ametora: How Japan Saved American Fashion
    • AMETORA(アメトラ) 日本がアメリカンスタイルを救った物語
    • Néojaponisme
    • @wdavidmarx on Twitter
    • A Bathing Ape Takes a Final Bath
    • Brift H shoe shine master
    • David's recent writing about obscurity in the Internet Age
    • Scarcity Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - early nytimes piece on BAPE, David quoted
    • American Truck Simulator

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    1 hr and 54 mins
  • Sam Anderson (Part 2)
    Feb 9 2021

    Sam Anderson is back, 10 months later, discussing his 2020 pandemic writing life. We cover his Weird Al essay, his NBA bubble excursion, how closely observing something makes for a wonderful writing exercise, and! we reveal our extremely obvious One Wild Trick to getting everything done in life.

    Show notes:

    • Sam Anderson on Twitter
    • Boom Town, Sam Anderson
    • Descript, visual podcast editing
    • "The Weirdly Enduring Appeal of Weird Al Yankovic", Sam Anderson
    • "What I Learned Inside the N.B.A. Bubble", Sam Anderson
    • The Last Two Northern White Rhinos On Earth, Sam Anderson
    • "Watch This Snowball Fight From 1897 for a Jolt of Pure Joy", Sam Anderson
    • "I Recommend Eating Chips", Sam Anderson
    • Ursula K. Le Guin (Author)
    • A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
    • Ursula K. Le Guin illustrated by t-shirt
    • Audrey Lorde, "Anger is loaded with information and energy."

    As always, a full transcript is available at: https://craigmod.com/onmargins/s02e02/

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    1 hr and 26 mins
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