Is Culture Stuck? (From Decoder Ring)

Today we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Decoder Ring, a podcast that explores cultural mysteries.

In this episode, host Willa Paskin digs into one of Sam’s biggest critiques about culture right now. There is more of it than ever before, it’s more accessible than ever, but so little of it feels original. New movies are based on old stories, new songs are recycling old hooks, and fashion trends are cycling so fast that everything’s in. Has our culture grown stagnant? 

Author and culture critic W. David Marx thinks so. His book, Blank Space, argues that there is a “blank space” in the 21st century where cultural innovation should be. David explains to Willa how culture change worked in the 20th century, what changed after the turn of the millennium, and what we might do about it.

Listen to Decoder Ring on your favorite podcast app! 

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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.