W. David Marx
@wdavidmarx.bsky.social
Author of Blank Space, Ametora, and Status and Culture. Newsletter at http://culture.ghost.io. Tokyo, Japan.
Reposted by W. David Marx
"There’s a ruthlessness that’s taken hold across all cultural making. Everything turned into a casino, 'traps' galore. Billions as the only goal. Leave “nothing on the table.” Epicurean maximizing. That sort of thing. AI now turning solid ground liquid for the next decade."
craigmod.com/roden/109/
craigmod.com/roden/109/
Blank Spaces, Radicalized Offlineness, Curious Protagonists — Roden newsletter issue 109
David Marx' new book, protesting being online all the time, thinking about good films and books
craigmod.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:58 AM
"There’s a ruthlessness that’s taken hold across all cultural making. Everything turned into a casino, 'traps' galore. Billions as the only goal. Leave “nothing on the table.” Epicurean maximizing. That sort of thing. AI now turning solid ground liquid for the next decade."
craigmod.com/roden/109/
craigmod.com/roden/109/
Reposted by W. David Marx
Restoring cultural invention doesn’t require upending the current industries—it just needs a small vanguard to change its direction, writes W. David Marx:
21st-Century Culture Has Hit a Wall. Here’s How to Break Through.
Even failures and half steps will be more interesting than the boring stuff.
bit.ly
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Restoring cultural invention doesn’t require upending the current industries—it just needs a small vanguard to change its direction, writes W. David Marx:
YCDTOTV is how I know Ottawa exists
I remember seeing You Can't Do That On Television as a kid and I still don't understand how any of that happened
I think if Canada wants to have a strong cultural identity we need to go back to doing what we're best at, making the weirdest fucking TV shows you've ever seen
November 27, 2025 at 5:41 AM
YCDTOTV is how I know Ottawa exists
Good example of, damn, I wish I knew this book existed...
But never too late to catch up, I guess
But never too late to catch up, I guess
Sure why not: my first book, Extending Play, came out almost two years ago and delves into women’s brand partnerships in the contemporary music industries. RIYL Fenty Beauty, Britney’s fragrance collection, and Patti Pies. Makes a great gift!
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
November 27, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Good example of, damn, I wish I knew this book existed...
But never too late to catch up, I guess
But never too late to catch up, I guess
November 26, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by W. David Marx
I actually once went through Harold Bloom's American Literary Canon. 40 authors included. Only 10 could be said to have 'made it' through hard work and hustle. The rest came from wealth or had influential friends.
November 26, 2025 at 12:16 AM
I actually once went through Harold Bloom's American Literary Canon. 40 authors included. Only 10 could be said to have 'made it' through hard work and hustle. The rest came from wealth or had influential friends.
Reposted by W. David Marx
Restoring cultural invention doesn’t require upending the current industries—it just needs a small vanguard to change its direction, writes W. David Marx:
21st-Century Culture Has Hit a Wall. Here’s How to Break Through.
Even failures and half steps will be more interesting than the boring stuff.
bit.ly
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Restoring cultural invention doesn’t require upending the current industries—it just needs a small vanguard to change its direction, writes W. David Marx:
Is the Blossoms Shanghai theme song a Succession soundalike?
November 25, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Is the Blossoms Shanghai theme song a Succession soundalike?
Reposted by W. David Marx
Este é um dos livros que mais esperei no ano. Pirei no anterior do @wdavidmarx.bsky.social , "Status and Culture". Neste, logo nas primeiras páginas, já toca em como a comercialização de tudo, acelerada pelo neoliberalismo, congelou a ideia cultural de vergonha. Se é malfeito mas vende, é sucesso.
Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century (English Edition)
Compre Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century (English Edition) de Marx, W. David na Amazon.com.br. Confira também os eBooks mais vendidos, lançamentos e livros digitais exclusivos.
amzn.to
November 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Este é um dos livros que mais esperei no ano. Pirei no anterior do @wdavidmarx.bsky.social , "Status and Culture". Neste, logo nas primeiras páginas, já toca em como a comercialização de tudo, acelerada pelo neoliberalismo, congelou a ideia cultural de vergonha. Se é malfeito mas vende, é sucesso.
Anti-anti-poptimists rushing to Google to locate random negative reviews of a book they haven't read to feel better after hate-reading a mildly-positive review of the book they haven't read
November 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Anti-anti-poptimists rushing to Google to locate random negative reviews of a book they haven't read to feel better after hate-reading a mildly-positive review of the book they haven't read
Reposted by W. David Marx
Read @jenszalai.bsky.social quote @wdavidmarx.bsky.social “This long-term project to rebrand conservatism as cool and transgressive succeeded precisely because we removed cultural invention as a potential countervailing force.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
Pop Culture Got Stale. Counterculture Went Right-Wing.
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Read @jenszalai.bsky.social quote @wdavidmarx.bsky.social “This long-term project to rebrand conservatism as cool and transgressive succeeded precisely because we removed cultural invention as a potential countervailing force.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
This was highly anticipated.
The part that drives me crazy about Gladwell and Harari is their total dedication to never correcting errors nor ever acknowledging that counter arguments could possibly exist.
The part that drives me crazy about Gladwell and Harari is their total dedication to never correcting errors nor ever acknowledging that counter arguments could possibly exist.
Episode 46: Sapiens
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
It's an ambitious goal to write the entire history of humanity in just 400 pages. It's even more ambitious to do it without reading any research.
Sapiens
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 11/20/2025 · 1h 38m
podcasts.apple.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:44 PM
This was highly anticipated.
The part that drives me crazy about Gladwell and Harari is their total dedication to never correcting errors nor ever acknowledging that counter arguments could possibly exist.
The part that drives me crazy about Gladwell and Harari is their total dedication to never correcting errors nor ever acknowledging that counter arguments could possibly exist.
BLANK SPACE: A Cultural History of the 21st Century
OUT TODAY 11/18/25
culture.ghost.io/my-new-book-...
OUT TODAY 11/18/25
culture.ghost.io/my-new-book-...
My New Book, Blank Space, is Out Today
I wrote — perhaps “inadvisably” — a cultural history of the first 24.5 years of the 21st century
My third book, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the 21st Century, is out today from Viking Books. (I...
culture.ghost.io
November 18, 2025 at 12:39 PM
BLANK SPACE: A Cultural History of the 21st Century
OUT TODAY 11/18/25
culture.ghost.io/my-new-book-...
OUT TODAY 11/18/25
culture.ghost.io/my-new-book-...
Reposted by W. David Marx
chicago pope been reading up
November 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
chicago pope been reading up
Reposted by W. David Marx
I really enjoyed BLANK SPACE by W. David Marx, a look at how barren and repetitive culture has been in the first quarter of this century. My column is in Sunday's print @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. Please subscribe! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/13/a...
Why is 21st century culture so bland and stale? And why does it matter? - The Boston Globe
The top two pop artists in 2006 — Beyonce and Taylor Swift — were still the two top pop artists in 2024. That's a problem, Marx says.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I really enjoyed BLANK SPACE by W. David Marx, a look at how barren and repetitive culture has been in the first quarter of this century. My column is in Sunday's print @bostonglobe.com but you can read it here now. Please subscribe! www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/13/a...
Reposted by W. David Marx
Our brains are, in Zoomer parlance, cooked. In his new book, W. David Marx takes a sip of the braising liquid: an unctuous stew of poptimist pap and reactionary bile. Mina Tavakoli reviews his tasting notes.
Blank Generation | Mina Tavakoli
David Marx’s “Blank Space” takes a splash-zone seat to a theater of hypermodern twenty-first century mayhem.
thebaffler.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Our brains are, in Zoomer parlance, cooked. In his new book, W. David Marx takes a sip of the braising liquid: an unctuous stew of poptimist pap and reactionary bile. Mina Tavakoli reviews his tasting notes.
Reposted by W. David Marx
A punchy new book by W. David Marx, explains why 21st century culture feels samey and dull. Mr Marx makes a trenchant case, but he—and maybe you—are too gloomy
Has culture in the 21st century become samey and dull?
Yes, argues a provocative new book. It is half right
econ.st
November 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
A punchy new book by W. David Marx, explains why 21st century culture feels samey and dull. Mr Marx makes a trenchant case, but he—and maybe you—are too gloomy
"As one Reddit commenter wrote, 'Country music is perfect for AI. Every song sounds the same.'"
AI may be more attractive to provincial audiences who demand their culture to be conventional, because AI is fundamentally a mechanism for regurgitating conventions.
www.garbageday.email/p/the-un-pop...
AI may be more attractive to provincial audiences who demand their culture to be conventional, because AI is fundamentally a mechanism for regurgitating conventions.
www.garbageday.email/p/the-un-pop...
The un-Pop-Crave-able pop star
Read to the end for some beautiful famous last words
www.garbageday.email
November 12, 2025 at 9:47 PM
"As one Reddit commenter wrote, 'Country music is perfect for AI. Every song sounds the same.'"
AI may be more attractive to provincial audiences who demand their culture to be conventional, because AI is fundamentally a mechanism for regurgitating conventions.
www.garbageday.email/p/the-un-pop...
AI may be more attractive to provincial audiences who demand their culture to be conventional, because AI is fundamentally a mechanism for regurgitating conventions.
www.garbageday.email/p/the-un-pop...
Bostonians/Cantabrigians: I'm at Harvard Book Store on Wednesday November 19 with author/professor Josh Lambert to talk about my new book BLANK SPACE
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
November 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Bostonians/Cantabrigians: I'm at Harvard Book Store on Wednesday November 19 with author/professor Josh Lambert to talk about my new book BLANK SPACE
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
"The large numbers don’t quite mean what they used to as signals of relevance or clout, as social media has become more aged, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence."
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
my new @newyorker.com column on the allure of low follower counts and niche influencers on social media, in a time of AI and bot traffic www.newyorker.com/culture/infi...
It’s Cool to Have No Followers Now
As social media has become older, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence, flouting online popularity has gained a new cachet.
www.newyorker.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:02 PM
"The large numbers don’t quite mean what they used to as signals of relevance or clout, as social media has become more aged, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence."
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
Whom we designate as a "genius" in 2025 reveals a lot about shifts in the collective cultural values
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
Our Geniuses Define Our Times
The superlative adulation for Taylor Swift as an artistic and business genius suggests a shift in the fundamental expectations for cultural excellence in the 21st century
📣My new book Blank Space: A ...
culture.ghost.io
October 29, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Whom we designate as a "genius" in 2025 reveals a lot about shifts in the collective cultural values
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
NEW YORK BOOK LAUNCH for BLANK SPACE: Greenlight Books in Brooklyn is hosting me and special guest Emily Sundberg at SJNY because we had too many already registered for the in-store event. Grab tickets while you can!
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
Book Event: W. David Marx with Emily Sundberg at SJNY
W. David Marx, longtime culture writer, launches a revealing exploration of a quarter century of cultural stagnation.
www.eventbrite.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:48 AM
NEW YORK BOOK LAUNCH for BLANK SPACE: Greenlight Books in Brooklyn is hosting me and special guest Emily Sundberg at SJNY because we had too many already registered for the in-store event. Grab tickets while you can!
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
All of this is true, but I increasingly think the ease of non-creatives being able to flood the internet with media will lead to a massive devaluation of *all* media. (And then that likely leads to a revaluation of real life experiences.)
Hi. I wrote an essay about AI slop: How it feels like an invasive species for the internet. How its boosters describe building a future that’s devoid of craft. How frictionlessness can be nihilistic & how this stuff seems to leach part of our shared humanity out of the world. I hope you'll read it.
AI’s Invasive Species
The slop is winning.
www.theatlantic.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM
All of this is true, but I increasingly think the ease of non-creatives being able to flood the internet with media will lead to a massive devaluation of *all* media. (And then that likely leads to a revaluation of real life experiences.)