<div> <p>On this week’s episode, I’m pleased to be joined by W. David Marx, author of the new book <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/blank-space-a-cultural-history-of-the-twenty-first-century-w-david-marx/a9d1f5616a7275b1?ean=9780593833995&amp;next=t"><em>Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century</em>.</a> Alongside Marx’s <em>Status and Culture</em>, this book is one of the key texts to understanding how and why the culture has shifted so radically so quickly: the combination of “poptimism” (we discuss what, precisely, this is early on) and cultural omnivorism (the merging of all genres and all forms into a sort of equally viable mass entertainment) and the internet’s flattening of culture have led to a stagnant culture and a revanchist counter-counterculture eager to exact revenge and facing no real opposition in that effort. </p><p>If you enjoyed our conversation, or simply want to understand how we wound up in the world we wake up to every morning, I strongly recommend picking up Marx’s book. And if anything was unclear from our chat, drop me a line in the comments and hopefully I can help clear things up!</p></div>