Culture Study Podcast

If you don't make your living creating content online, you probably think of yourself as the furthest thing from an influencer — a designation that has developed the same slightly dirty connotation as being a celebrity, especially a celebrity like Paris Hilton, back in the 1990s. But influencers have cultivated and refined a mode of existing online that has filtered down into the way so many of us navigate online spaces: in the way you craft your profile on LinkedIn, in your font choice for a pic of your houseplant on IG, in the TikTok your coworker cajoles you into making on a slow day at work. The subtle way that influencer vernacular has entered our lives.....that's INFLUENCER CREEP.
Sophie Bishop coined the term to talk about the ways that influencer behaviors (specifically: self-branding, performance of authenticity, constant optimization) were codifying and re-setting online norms, and joins me to answer all your typically excellent (and complicated) questions about the performance of self and work online.
AND GREAT NEWS: WE HAVE VERY GOOD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS NOW! They come out within 24 hours of the pod, so you just have to be a little patient and then come back and click here. We pay an actual human for help with these, so thank you for either being a paid subscriber or listening to the ads that make this model possible!
If you're a paid subscriber and haven't yet set up your subscriber RSS feed in your podcast player, here's the EXTREMELY easy how-to .
And if you're having any other issues with your Patreon subscription — please get in touch! Email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail OR submit a request to Patreon Support. Thank you for making the switch with us — the podcast in particular is much more at home here!
Thanks to the sponsors of today's episode!
Get 40% OFF select Lola Blankets products by going to LolaBlankets.com and using code CULTURE at checkout

Go to shopremi.com/CULTURE and use code CULTURE  at checkout for 50% off

Save 20% off Honeylove at honeylove.com/CULTURE

If you’re in the market for a beautiful new sofa, dining table, or bed, head over to Article.com

Show Notes:
Find out more about Dr. Sophie Bishop's work here

Buy Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity, and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture here

Just another example of a weird workplace tok where everyone's awkward

The Atlantic piece about getting bullied for adopting dogs online

Sophie references Brooke Erin Duffy's work on authenticity

Sophie references Jodie Dean's work on communicative capitalism

In case you don't know who Bama Morgan is (and here's her TikTok)

Silly Pink Shoes on Instagram!

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
New trends you've noticed in the world of MOMFLUENCERS

For our next Culture Of Place: Puerto Rico!

How to process all the STUFF accumulated from relatives (we have a really helpful organizer with a bunch of mental health training for this one!)

The State of The CHAIN RESTAURANT — and chain restaurant supply chain!!! (I'm so excited for this one)

What would LIFE AFTER CARS look like?? (With the hosts of the War on Cars pod!)

Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment

As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) here
For this week’s discussion: What sort of influencer creep have you noticed in your feeds... or in your own behavior?

"Family-friendly society" sounds SO BORING but listen: it's what we all want. It's what singles and elders want, it's what parents and partnered people without kids want, it's what KIDS WANT. A society that takes all of us — and our needs and capacities — seriously?? That considers all of us, in whatever scenario we find ourselves, AS A FAMILY? When we announced that we were doing this episode, we got a ton of questions asking us to also consider people who weren't parents in their 30s and 40s, and yes, of course, team, I would never approach this topic without thinking expansively about it — as in, expansively enough to include me, and our beloved co-producer Melody, and all of our various family configurations.
I would only do an episode with expansive questions like yours with someone (with tremendously policy experience) who understands "family-friendly" expansively. So listen in as Elliot Haspel and I imagine a better (and possible!) family-friendly world.
AND GREAT NEWS: WE HAVE VERY GOOD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS NOW! They come out within 24 hours of the pod, so you just have to be a little patient and then come back and click here. We pay an actual human for help with these, so thank you for either being a paid subscriber or listening to the ads that make this model possible!
If you're a paid subscriber and haven't yet set up your subscriber RSS feed in your podcast player, here's the EXTREMELY easy how-to .
And if you're having any other issues with your Patreon subscription — please get in touch! Email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail OR submit a request to Patreon Support. Thank you for making the switch with us — the podcast in particular is much more at home here!
Thanks to the Sponsors of Today's Episode!
Get 15% off your first order of high-quality, refillable cleaning products at Blueland.com/CULTURE

Wake up with clearer skin, smoother hair, and cooler sleep. Use code CULTUREPOD for an extra 30% off at blissy.com/CULTUREPOD

Cozy up with your pup this season! Go to ollie.com/culture and use code CULTURE to get 60% off your first box!

Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to:  https://www.wildalaskan.com/CULTURE

Show Notes:
Find out more about Elliot's work here — and buy Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All here

Subscribe to Elliot's truly excellent newsletter, The Family Frontier, here

A pretty fantastic write-up of the 1971 Comprehensive Childhood Development Act (and its failure) by the Institute for Research on Poverty

More on "the curb-cut effect"

Elliot cites a now famous maxim from the former mayor of Bogotá mayor, Enrique Peñalosa: "children are a kind of indicator species, if we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for everyone.”

"70% of children under the age of 6 have all available parents in the workforce"

Elliot cites Elissa Strauss's book When You Care — here's my interview with her

Only 13.9% of US workers were part-time in December 2024 — compare to the EU numbers here!!!

Chamber of Mothers!

The AMAZING coconut-miso-ginger curry I mention in the Wild Alaskan ad!

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
New trends you've noticed in the world of MOMFLUENCERS

How we think about the morality of money and taxes — who should pay taxes, who shouldn't, who "deserves" money, who doesn't, how we came to decide that religious organizations shouldn't pay taxes (and how that belief is changing), SO MUCH

How to process all the STUFF accumulated from relatives (we have a really helpful organizer with a bunch of mental health training for this one!)

The State of The CHAIN RESTAURANT — and chain restaurant supply chain!!! (I'm so excited for this one)

Wedding culture (especially the more, uh, cult-like or obligatory components)

What would LIFE AFTER CARS look like?? (With the hosts of the War on Cars pod!)

For our next Culture Of Place: Puerto Rico!

Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment

As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) here
For this week’s discussion: What did this conversation make you want the MOST? What feels like it could be possible in our lifetimes, and what still feels intractable?

This episode is the result of years of listener requests: how did dating get SO bad, and how can we possibly make it better? Melody and I have been out of the dating game for a hot minute, but we knew that the combination of your excellent questions + an excellent co-host [Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox's Explain It All who is, importantly, currently dating] + sociological discussion of how dating has historically functioned (and why it no longer functions that way) could lead us to something that manages to be at once cathartic and hopeful (and educational for anyone who hasn't tried to date in the last decade).
We answer your questions on "informational intimacy," how long is too long to chat (before setting an actual date), optimization culture, and whether or not it's weird for someone to run your Hinge account (I LOVE THIS QUESTION).....plus bonus content on how to actually meet people off the apps. You don't have to be dating to love this episode, but if you are — let's go after it in the comments.
AND GREAT NEWS: WE HAVE VERY GOOD EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS NOW! They come out within 24 hours of the pod, so you just have to be a little patient and then come back and click here. We pay an actual human for help with these, so thank you for either being a paid subscriber or listening to the ads that make this model possible!
If you're a paid subscriber and haven't yet set up your subscriber RSS feed in your podcast player, here's the EXTREMELY easy how-to .
And if you're having any other issues with your Patreon subscription — please get in touch! Email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail OR submit a request to Patreon Support. Thank you for making the switch with us — the podcast in particular is much more at home here!
Thanks to the Sponsors of Today's Episode!
Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/CULTURE to find and instantly book a doctor you love today

If you're in the market for a new sofa, dining table, bed, or filing cabinet, peruse the beautiful and long-lasting offerings at Article.com

Get 15% off your first order of Pre-Alcohol at zbiotics.com/CULTURESTUDY using code CULTURESTUDY at checkout

Get 50% off your purchase of a new night guard at shopremi.com/CULTURE, using code CULTURE

Show Notes:
Follow Jonquilyn on Instagram here

You can find all episodes of Explain It To Me here

Listen to Jonquilyn's episode of Explain It To Me on Cuffing Season

Melody found this super-interesting article: Men Are Just As Picky As Women About Who They’d Date—If They’re the Ones Being Pursued

Jonquilyn mentions the Netflix show THE LATER DATERS

I mention my interview with sociologist Corinne Low re: figuring out what you actually want in terms of a future life (before finding a partner)

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
New trends you've noticed in the world of MOMFLUENCERS

How we think about the morality of money and taxes — who should pay taxes, who shouldn't, who "deserves" money, who doesn't, how we came to decide that religious organizations shouldn't pay taxes (and how that belief is changing), SO MUCH

How to process all the STUFF accumulated from relatives (we have a really helpful organizer with a bunch of mental health training for this one!)

The State of The CHAIN RESTAURANT — and chain restaurant supply chain!!! (I'm so excited for this one)

Wedding culture!!

For our next Culture Of Place: Puerto Rico!

Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment

As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) here
For this week’s discussion: Tell us your dating frustrations! What's changed, what annoys you, what strategies have worked?

Is there something in your life that you do — with some sort of regularity, and without direct compensation — that you find tremendously satisfying? Something you do just because you like it? CONGRATS, YOU HAVE A HOBBY. And here at Culture Study, we love to talk about hobbies — how to find them, how to keep them, and how to deal with the seemingly ceaseless push to monetize them. Listeners have been asking for a hobby episode for years, so for the New Year, we asked two great hobbyists — Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu, of the beloved podcast Forever35 — to come on and answer all your hobby questions, including: How do I find time to hobby when I'm a parent? How do I figure out my hobbies now that I finally have time to myself? How do I keep myself from BUYING ALL THE STUFF every time I find a new hobby? How do I keep a hobby from becoming a chore? We can't wait to hear your own thoughts on these questions in the comments.
ALSO GUESS WHAT, WE HAVE VERY GOOD EPISODES TRANSCRIPTS NOW! They come out within 24 hours of the pod, so you just have to be a little patient and then come back and click here. We pay an actual human for help with these, so thank you for either being a paid subscriber or listening to the ads that make this model possible!
If you're a paid subscriber and haven't yet set up your subscriber RSS feed in your podcast player, here's the EXTREMELY easy how-to.
And if you're having any other issues with your Patreon subscription — please get in touch! Email me at annehelenpetersen @ gmail OR submit a request to Patreon Support. Thank you for making the switch with us — the podcast in particular is much more at home here!
Thanks to the Sponsors of Today's Episode!
If you’re in the market for a beautiful new sofa, dining table or bed, head over to Article.com and explore the options

Go to wildalaskan.com/CULTURE for $35 off your first box of premium, wild-caught seafood

Save 20% on comfortable, supportive undergarments at honeylove.com/CULTURE

Give the gift of softness this holiday season with Lola Blankets. For a limited time, our listeners are getting a huge 40% OFF their entire order at LolaBlankets.com by using code CULTURE at checkout

Show Notes:
Go listen to Forever35!! And follow Doree on Instagram and Elise on Instagram

Read Doree's tennis newsletter, Courtdate

I love Doree's celebration post from nationals:

Listen to Elise's previous appearance on the podcast talking all about "Sephora Teens"

Read my post about The Unexpected Benefits of Starting a Small-Scale Dahlia Farm with Your Friends

Doree's IVF podcast

We're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
'90s Movie Soundtracks

How incel culture and slang pops up in the mainstream

How we think about the morality of money and taxes — who should pay taxes, who shouldn't, who "deserves" money, who doesn't, how we came to decide that religious organizations shouldn't pay taxes (and how that belief is changing), SO MUCH

How to process all the STUFF accumulated from relatives (we have a really helpful organizer with a bunch of mental health training for this one!)

The State of The CHAIN RESTAURANT — and chain restaurant supply chain!!! (I'm so excited for this one)

Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment

As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) here
For this week’s discussion: TELL US ABOUT YOUR HOBBY! Or tell us how you've made your hobby a joyful part of your life.

It's BONUS EPISODE TIME! While everyone else is listing their favorite movies and albums and television shows in their end-of-year wrap-ups, Melody and I opted to make up random (but wonderful) categories and force the other person to come up answers. Favorite Internet Dog! TikTok that made you cry! Best Practical Thing You Bought Yourself + Best Extravagant Thing! There's a lot more but I won't spoil them for you other than to say if you need a little very low stakes delight in your life right now, this episode is for you.
And free subscribers — I realize sending this to you is a total tease, but maybe also incentive to become a paid subscriber and join in the deeper levels of weirdness. You get ad-free episodes, the bonus advice-time segment every week, and these bonus episodes, which come out every 2-3 months. Just click here to become a paid subscriber.
And a reminder, we're currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:
'90s Movie Soundtracks

How we think about the morality of money and taxes — who should pay taxes, who shouldn't, who "deserves" money, who doesn't, how we came to decide that religious organizations shouldn't pay taxes (and how that belief is changing), SO MUCH

How to process all the STUFF accumulated from relatives (we have a really helpful organizer with a bunch of mental health training for this one!)

The State of The CHAIN RESTAURANT — and chain restaurant supply chain!!! (I'm so excited for this one)

Anything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment

As always, you can submit your questions (and ideas for future eps) here