Podcasts about West Village

Adam Bramson and Cam Stafford join the show for today's episode. They talk about discontinued beverages, NYC cabaret licenses, and the People of Righteous Notions.Thanks to Cam for returning to the show and to Adam for joining for the first time. Check out Cam on Episode 277 and make sure to hit the links down below for even more.Adam is on Instagram @adam_bramson. Cam is on Instagram @camstaffordcomedy and hosts the Down Bad Comedy Show, which has shows coming up 11/14, 12/3, and 12/17 in the West Village.As always, find Michael Good on Instagram @michaelgoodcomedy and on Twitter @agoodmichael. Check out the show on YouTube and follow the official Instagram page @morninggoodpodcast.

Mary Liz Curtin is passionate about independent retail. With over 35 years of hands-on experience in the gift, craft, and home industries, her deep understanding of retailers, vendors, and sales representatives gives her a one-of-a-kind perspective. Known for her “Sales and Marketing Therapy,” Mary Liz is an internationally recognized expert who advises manufacturers on marketing, sales, and management issues. A lively and humorous speaker, she captivates audiences at trade shows and conventions with insights on building a brand, running a business, and staying sane in retail. She is also the owner of Leon and Lulu, a 15,000-square-foot destination lifestyle store located just outside Detroit in a vintage roller-skating rink, known for its eclectic installations, a greeting card shop, and a restaurant in a former movie theater.Michael Schultz is the co-owner and creative visionary behind Cursive New York, a brand rooted in cultivating joy. Together with his husband, Douglas Duncan, he operates two West Village stores offering curated gifts, stationery, and home products. After over a decade in Grand Central Terminal and 15 years within ABC Carpet & Home, Michael and Douglas reimagined Cursive's future post-pandemic, reopening with renewed purpose and expanding into home goods.Andrew Gawdun, along with his partner Bryce, runs curious… in Hermosa Beach, California. Andrew's journey began in photography before transitioning into retail when he met Bryce at the store in 2012. Together, they expanded curious… to Kauai, only to face setbacks when a truck crashed into their new location shortly after opening. Undeterred, they rebuilt, adopted their daughter Willow, and navigated the challenges of retail during the pandemic—eventually deciding to focus on their Hermosa Beach store while maintaining a love for Kauai and hopes to return one day. In this episode, these three beloved independent retailers return for a lively, laughter-filled roundtable conversation about the realities of retail today. From navigating tariffs and shipping nightmares to creative merchandising and keeping customers inspired, they offer a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to thrive in an unpredictable industry.We are incredibly grateful for everyone who listens to and shares this podcast! If you've found value in our episodes and want to help us keep creating, we've made it easy through Buy Me a Coffee. Any contributions from $5 up to $200 help cover the real costs of podcasting—editing, hosting fees, and everything else that goes into bringing you quality content. It's a way for you to invest in the conversations and topics that matter to you. Head to buymeacoffee.com/retailwhorb, and as always, thank you for your continued support! What's inside:Tariffs, Shipping and Survival — Hidden costs, customs chaos and how small retailers stay afloat.Holiday Merchandising and Magic — Planning, execution and connecting customers to seasonal stories.Future of Independent Retail — Pricing pressures, vendor struggles and why authenticity still wins in 2025.Mentioned In This Episode:Mary Liz Leonandlulu.comLeon and Lulu on InstagramMichaelCursivenewyork.comCursive New York on InstagramAndrewwww.curiousworkshop.comCurious on InstagramSupport the show

In late September, The Guardian launched its first major U.S. marketing campaign, featuring the tagline “the whole picture.” It's a bold statement of intent from the 204-year-old news organization aimed squarely at American audiences, which highlights The Guardian's brand of free, independent journalism.In this episode of The Big Impression, our hosts catch up with Sara Badler, chief advertising officer in North America for The Guardian U.S., to explore the vision behind the campaign, as well as some early takeaways since launch. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio. Damian Fowler (00:00):I'm Damian Fowler.Ilyse Liffreing (00:01):And I'm Ilyse Liffreing.Damian Fowler (00:02):And welcome to this edition of The Big Impression.Ilyse Liffreing (00:08):Today we're joined by Sara Badler, the chief advertising Officer of The Guardian U.S. She's leading the charge behind the Guardian's first major US brand campaign called The Whole Picture, a bold effort to reintroduce one of the world's most trusted news organizations to American audiences.Damian Fowler (00:29):It's an ambitious moment for The Guardian with plans to expand coverage in New York and DC launch new US podcasts and connect with readers in fresh ways. The campaign is signaling a big step forward for the brand and for quality journalism in the digital age.Ilyse Liffreing (00:44):From that striking yellow billboard in Midtown Manhattan to new approaches in digital marketing and audience engagement, the Guardian is proving that serious journalism can still make a splash and drive real impact.Damian Fowler (00:58):Let's get into it.Sara Badler (01:01):The whole picture is really, it's The Guardian saying, which I think now is more important time than ever, is this idea that we are completely global perspective, we are independent and we have no paywall. Everyone can read us and we are focused and dedicated to journalism. And the whole picture really shows dedicated in every sort of way of telling the facts whether that is culturally, artistically with the World Cup coming upon us. And obviously The Guardian is a massive, one of the biggest soccer ducks in the world, if not the biggest, and really showing up in different ways the whole picture. And so I'm probably talking too much about this, but you see us on the subway, we did a live activation last week in the Meatpacking District and it's just really showing who we are and what we represent.Damian Fowler (01:59):Yeah, it is interesting. It's one of those things like the 1111 thing when you think about it and you notice it. Once I saw the campaign launch, then I saw it on the New York subway and it was everywhere. But I'd read that the editor of the Guardian, Catherine ER had said that this is the perfect time to reintroduce the Guardian to US audiences. And I know it's had great traction in the country for a while. Why is that? Why do you think it is the perfect time, especially in New York and metropolitan cities, why is it the right time?Sara Badler (02:34):I think now more than ever, we really want alternative news sources. And I say that mean the Guardian's been around for 200 years. We are not new by any means, but we are new-ish and more of a teenager here in the US and we have tons of obviously news outlets and a lot of them are owned and operated by billionaires. And there's all different things that are happening to them. There's consolidation, there's putting up more paywalls. And I think now more than ever, having something free and a truly global perspective is unique and something that we have.Ilyse Liffreing (03:11):And the campaign itself has such a striking centerpiece, the creative looking at it, it's bright yellow, there's words that are hidden. I'm curious if you can describe a little bit about that creative choice developed with Lucky Generals and can you walk us through basically the idea behind that concept?Sara Badler (03:32):It was not easy. I would say that it took our marketing and cross organizational functions a long time to come up with this with Lucky Generals to credit to them. They've been amazing and they've worked with us in the UK and now in the US and we also work with PhD as an agency, which also has been amazing. And it just took time of evolving of what our real story is and what we want people to get out of it. And I think the global perspective, free independent journalism that's factual with integrity and talking about culture in these key moments is really what we wanted people to understand. And here,Ilyse Liffreing (04:14):Yeah, looking at the media strategy a little bit, what was the plan for go to market and for reaching those target audiences?Sara Badler (04:24):And I think this is with every marketing campaign. I was actually on talking yesterday on a panel and saying there's no more, my marketing campaign is like a media plan. You've got a podcast, you've got activations, you've got events. So I think one thing to really think about or that we've thought about is how do we consistently beat a drum? And people recognize it throughout, not just one moment, but multiple moments throughout their day, whether it's on the subway through the activation and events. So that's something that we really focused on and I think we're doing that and we're continuing to do that, which I'm very excited about. We've done a few things. We did a fashion collaboration with Lingua Franca with the sweaters that we're really excited in the West Village going there after this and we're having a party tomorrow evening there. And then other things like we are going to be kicking off a residency at the net, which is super exciting with our editors. And so I think keeping the drum beat and showing up at these places is part of what we want to show. We truly are the whole picture.Damian Fowler (05:27):Before we get to the sort of channels you use, I just wanted to ask you about that event planning around media campaigns. Why is that an important part and piece of a marketing strategy these days? The idea of the building community around events?Sara Badler (05:44):Well, I think there's a couple things to that. I think obviously we're still coming out of COVID in the sense that people want to go out, people want events. I also think the cultural moments are just so important and especially for brands like ourselves who, for example, the soccer World Cup coming, which is every four years. This is a huge moment for us. And so I think planning around that and the sense of community I think is important in everything we do. Even here at Advertising Week, there's a sense of community. We live and breathe kind of the same sort of things in day in and day out. Exactly. So I feel like that's kind of something that we're trying to build and I think that if you feel a part of it, it's just so much stronger.Ilyse Liffreing (06:32):Speaking of the World Cup, can you say anything more about your plans there?Sara Badler (06:37):Yes. I mean, as I mentioned, we're one of the largest global soccer desks. We have a football weekly podcast that has been in the UK forever. I actually went to their event a few weeks ago in London and it was truly, when you talk about those cultural moments, it was one of those things that I've kind of heard about it. My husband's British and a huge football fan and listens to the podcast, but I never really understood the true fans was the strike on the tubes were happening of course while I was there. Just lucky, always, always. And then of course it's pouring down rain on and off when you think it's going to be beautiful and there's still fans from all over the world coming and it's not just for one team, it's for every team and for every. And so it's just like that is kind of the cultural moment. And so seeing that we're going to be launching that here in North America, which is super exciting.Damian Fowler (07:35):It's interesting. In the UK there's a very distinct sense of who reads the Guardian. I'm a guardian reader, I admit. And actually it was a Guardian contributor as well for a few years. But in the US do you have a strong sense of the Guardian readership? Is that galvanizing? Is that kind of coming together?Sara Badler (07:54):Yeah, I mean I think to your point of what was your media plan, and I am sure we had a podcast on with Vox that we did there and I think that we're still trying to figure it out, I would say because we don't have a paywall. We really think, and I truly do believe that everyone can be as a guardian audience at one point. We do tend to have different skews of older people that have identified in the past with The Guardian, things like that. But we're also starting to create, I think a buzz in younger generations and being out here and being on the subways and having these activations and the World Cup and other things happening. We're launching other podcasts and newsletters and things like that. We're really starting to grow audience across the board.Ilyse Liffreing (08:45):Are there any other channels that you're experimenting with?Sara Badler (08:49):Everything? We are launching video, podcast newsletters. I'm just thinking events like I mentioned the NED residency, which will kick off October 14th I want to say. So we're kind of trying to do everything. I think that's another thing as we evolve as publishers is that's just something that's kind of happening and we're really excited to be doing it.Damian Fowler (09:15):And I guess maybe touching on the programmatic strategy on the side of things, how has that grown as it were since you've taken this role?Sara Badler (09:27):Definitely. I am sure it was in the press. We were in the press with the trade desk as we launched the trade desk, which was kind of ironic obviously because I think we were, when I was at DOD Dash Meredith, we were the first publisher there and then coming to the Guardian able just do it again, but is we have really looked at our programmatic strategy and we actually kind of reorganized. And so the global programmatic strategy is actually coming out of the us which is very unique for The Guardian, which obviously everything is headquarters in the uk. And I think it really actually ties to our brand campaign of the whole picture and this global perspective is that we're really becoming one global unit. And I don't think it was like that before. I think it's been siphoned in different ways and I think now this is kind of the time. And so tying that back to the programmatic strategy is we're doing that as well. So we have one global programmatic team and strategy that we're super excited about and very good talent and we're just really excited to lean in as much as we can.Ilyse Liffreing (10:33):Okay, cool. So I know the campaign is so newSara Badler (10:36):Still,Ilyse Liffreing (10:36):But what kind of reaction have you seen so far?Sara Badler (10:40):It's really been positive. Not that I was expecting any negative, but it's just been a lot more vibrant than I even thought it would be to your point, like the neon yellow and just seeing the signs and on the subway and just constantly seeing them. We also had billboards in different places and even the meat packing district, the activation we did there, which thank God it didn't rain, but you could take off different of the wording and we had different social media people that were activating on it. It was just cool to see. And it's also cool to see the street traffic that it gets. Also, one other funny thing is we did not funny, but we did the Lingua Franco, we did the storefronts with the Guardian gear in it. And I took my daughters last week and I was so excited and one of the sweaters was sold out and the salesperson was like, I was like, who was it? I was naming colleagues. I was like, was it Jane? Was it? And they're like, no, someone came in and bought it. And I was like, yes. So I think those are the kinds of things also that have just made it really fun.Damian Fowler (11:50):From your perspective as a marketing chief, are there sort of KPIs that matter most for a campaign like this? Obviously sales brand lift, engagement, how do you look at it? And I know again, to Eli's point, it's kind of early days to say for this specific campaign, but in general, what are the KPIs that you kind of track on your dashboard?Sara Badler (12:14):We were just talking about this, we were like, how do you quantify? And obviously my background and life of programmatic, I'm like, give me some data.(12:25):And I think that it's hard for us. It's hard for us to say exactly what it looks like because I would say when you quantify it from how many RFPs are we getting or is our revenue growing or how we're seeing that, but it's really actually now having meetings with proactive ideas of things that we offer that we couldn't offer before. So I think tracking our global footprint and working with clients in a way that's way more collaborative rather than, oh, you're getting this RFP and it's like a circle of something that you're checking a box, giving it to us. You saw this, I think from a consumer perspective, just having presence in all of these places and we know we're growing our audiences and we can see that. We do look at the data and research all the time on this, and actually every Thursday we're figuring out what happened this week that shows that we're still progressing. And I think the other thing that we have to remember about marketing that's been different is it can't just be a one and done thing. You have to talk about this, it launched last week, now it's ad week. What are we doing? What are we doing next week? And then what are we doing in seven weeks that's going to keep this going.Ilyse Liffreing (13:40):On that note, how are you tying your normal content strategy to marketing strategy?Sara Badler (13:47):Is there a tie in? We collaborate all the time on things. I mean, even with the sweater collaboration, we have our voices and our editors wearing these sweaters and they truly are the voices. I'm just in the background trying to make sure brands are aware and audiences grow from it, but they're the voices of The Guardian and they are, I mean, they lead with integrity and independence and we have to look at that. So that's also very important and why it's so exciting for us.Damian Fowler (14:22):Now, I know the Guardian has a unique kind of monetization, it has a trust, but I wondered if you could sort of break down a little bit the Guardian stands, the GUARDIANIST stands. That's a complicated thing to say on monetization between the subscription and the ad supported and everything in between. Do you think about that and how do you approach thatSara Badler (14:45):Every day?(14:47):I think about it every day. It is, it's very unique. I would say we are so lucky to be owned by the Scott Trust because we look at things and we do things like this to the whole picture that are very thought out, methodical, programmatic, they make sense. We're able to do that because owned by a trust. So we're able to say, we don't need to do or worry about something that's happening in Q2. We can think about what's happening in the World Cup or the next one and what that looks like. So that's the trust and that's what we're very lucky to have from what you touched on with reader revenue is our readers really invest in us. And that's kind of something that we can say and we can say that to clients, we can say that to marketers, consumers, everyone. We can really genuinely say people are investing in us because they want to read us, they want us to do well, and that's how we need to put our story out there. And that's how I think we overlap from an advertising and our reader revenue perspective is ultimately we're just trying to grow these audiences and for people to hear our stories.Damian Fowler (15:53):There's something nice about that, asking readers to contribute what they want. That model works to build loyalty. ISara Badler (16:01):Expect completely. And that's something that I think it takes time. And that's why I'm saying I don't know our conversions for yesterday, but I do know that we are building somewhere that's exciting.Ilyse Liffreing (16:15):So you've had senior roles at Hearst, the New York Times and Doc Dash. What would you say are the biggest challenges even legacy publishers face when it comes to capturing readers today? Still?Sara Badler (16:29):I mean, we face all the challenges, soIlyse Liffreing (16:31):Many challenges.Sara Badler (16:32):And I feel like I would say it's pretty consistent to your point of being at a lot of publishers that have been around for a long time and huge brands. And I think some of the things that, the struggle is obviously one, there's a lot, there's so much media to consume. It's like how do you make yourself unique and different? And in that way it's also, there's been a lot of different acquisitions and things that have happened, so it's kind of like how do you make people aware of who your true brand is and where it sits. I think those are, it also is the challenge of the times, meaning the actual time of happening where when I was at Daash and we were living through COVID was a very different time than what we're doing now. I would not suggest live events at that point, but then here we are and this is what we're doing. I would say at the New York Times, it was a place, it was right when elections were happening when I was there as well. And so I think it just, it's really, everyone's got their challenges, but everyone also has placed to their strengths and I think that's really important for publishing.Ilyse Liffreing (17:46):Yeah. Are there any innovations, maybe particularly in digital advertising that you see as giving you optimism for even funding quality journalism in the future?Sara Badler (17:59):I mean, this campaign has given me a lot of optimism. The whole picture has been amazing to see and also because I think it makes so much sense, which is really nice. I think that we also live, I live in a world where everything's just completely over complicated and just what it means is independent, factual and free. That's really, it just makes sense. And I think things like that show optimism in what's going on.Damian Fowler (18:29):Yeah, we talked there on innovation, which means we have to ask you a little bit about ai and that has been framed in some ways as a threat, but also an ally. Where do you stand on that?Sara Badler (18:44):I think we're in the middle, and that's probably the most boring answer ever. But it's good, it's fine. I mean, we are actively using it and try and figure out how and where it fits in different places, but it does not change how we report and our journalism.Ilyse Liffreing (19:08):Good to hear, good to hear. Now some quickfire questions for you. Let's do it. What do you think is one thing the ad market desperately needs but doesn'tSara Badler (19:19):Have? Oh my God, we have so much of everything. The ad market desperately needs maybe some better organization of what our products are and the different types would be somethingIlyse Liffreing (19:36):Or streamlined,Sara Badler (19:37):A different streamlined approach would be somethingDamian Fowler (19:42):Less fragmentation perhaps. I dunno. Yeah, I dunno. I put words in your mouth.Sara Badler (19:47):I think one thing that publishers need is really to work better together to figure out what the future holds for them.Damian Fowler (19:57):And you may have answered this already in the podcast, but a publisher you secretly admire for how they're playing the game.Sara Badler (20:04):I mean, I think the New York Times has been brilliant in just how they've worked through a lot of different acquisitions they've made and things like that has been great to see. But I think all publishers have done a really great, the best that it's been a tough market and I think that even from a programmatic perspective and everything, we are just trying to do our best to get through it and also understand kind of what the world will look like quarter to quarter, which is very different. And it's not those days where you could be, I remember in past lives you'd be like year over year last year at this time and you're like, well, last year at this time was such a different,Damian Fowler (20:47):Such point youSara Badler (20:48):Can't even compare anymore. I know. Yeah. So it's like, well last year this happened. And so I think that it's a tough thing for publishers to do.Ilyse Liffreing (20:59):What would you say is the boldest marketing risk you've ever taken?Sara Badler (21:06):That's a great question. I would say just because, just to go back to also the whole picture, I think this whole thing we've done also the collaboration with Lingua franca and the sweaters, we didn't know how people would react or the world would react or if they would react, but I think that because it's something you're just putting out there, we've never done anything in the fashion world at all. And I think that was kind of something that probably not the most scary but the most scary to me this week of doing that. I was like, I don't know if this is going to work. And we don't know how people react. And you want only positive things to come out, especially after you're doing such a big collaboration.Ilyse Liffreing (21:53):Nice marketing every week is different, isn't it? Yeah. Just depends on the day. Yeah. IDamian Fowler (21:58):Guess here's the last question. If you could steal one idea from another industry and bring it into publishing, what would that be?Sara Badler (22:07):Sorry,Damian Fowler (22:08):These are hard questions.Sara Badler (22:09):No idea. Well, it's funny, I was thinking, I was like fashion week, we just talked about fashion, but now we're in advertising week. So they've definitely done that. I would say, I dunno, I guess we don't have a Super Bowl or anything like that. That would be good. I think we've got enough stuff really. We should stop. Yeah, we should. I'm thinking there's South by there's can we do so many things? And I think that's one thing from my perspective that again, with the whole picture that we're really trying to do is show up in the right way where it matters. And if you try to be everywhere or nowhere, and I think that's really important for us to think about. And so trying to do something that you haven't done yet, you should definitely do, but it should feel natural.Ilyse Liffreing (22:55):Sara, we're recording an advertising week and I'm curious if you have a major takeaway that you could share with us.Sara Badler (23:03):Okay, so I mentioned day two, we're on day two and I think it does feel bigger than it's ever been or busier for sure. And it feels like there's so many things going on. The other thing though is I think because there are so many of these things that it also feels like in this world right now, we're doing a lot of in-house things, if that makes sense. We have tons of our team in town this week. I know that when I talk to clients or agencies, they're doing a lot of internal stuff. So it feels like that's a big something that's changed a little bit.Ilyse Liffreing (23:40):I would say there's definitely a lot more people I think this week then than I remember in years past at least.Sara Badler (23:46):But even every time I talk to someone, they're like, well, we have a lot of internal stuff going on. And I think that there's a lot going on. So I think that that's also something that is happening that maybe didn't happen as often.Damian Fowler (24:05):And that's it for this edition of The Big Impression.Ilyse Liffreing (24:07):This show is produced by Molten Hart. Our theme is by Love and caliber, and our associate producer is Sydney Cairns.Damian Fowler (24:14):And remember,Sara Badler (24:15):We have tons of, obviously news outlets and a lot of them are owned and operated by billionaires, and there's all different things that are happening to them. There's consolidation, there's putting up more paywalls. And I think now more than ever, having something free and a truly global perspective is unique and something that we have.Damian Fowler (24:37):I'm DamianSara Badler (24:37):And I'm Ilyse, and we'll see you next time. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Now that Wendy and Eddie Osefo have been exposed as scammers, it is time to deep dive just why so many Real Housewives commit crimes and turn to a life of criminal activity.  New facts emerge which show The Osefos carelessness, arrogance and so much more in this master heist which one could not make up if they tried. RHOP has resumed filming and down in the West Village, NYC, Mr. Andy Cohen is smiling ear to ear. Julia Lemigova's last ditch effort to save her RHOM job seems to have worked, Adriana accepts her MPV status and RHOM prepares to begin filming its new season any day now. Audiences are engaged. aged and outraged but one thing is certain, Real Housewives is not slowing down any time soon! @dnealz @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS & AD FREE EPISODES Available at - www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope  BROUGHT TO YOU BY: THEREALREAL - therealreal.com/velvetrope (Get $25 Off At the Best Place To Shop Authenticated Luxury Bags, Clothing, Watches & more) RO - ro.co/velvet (For Prescription Compounded GLP-1s and Your Free Insurance Check) RELIEFBAND - reliefband.com (Use Code VELVET For 20% Off Plus Free Shipping on the Original Anti-Nausea Wristband) INDEED - indeed.com/velvet (Seventy Five Dollar $75 Sponsored Job Credit To Get Your Jobs More Visibility) JUANES  - (Check Out Juanes' New Song “Cuando Estamos Tu y Yo”) PROGRESSIVE - www.progressive.com (Visit Progressive.com To See If You Could Save On Car Insurance) ADVERTISING INQUIRIES - Please contact David@advertising-execs.com MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump says the Gateway program's Hudson River train tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York is "terminated." Meanwhile, the fate of the West Village's beloved Tony Dapolito recreation center rests in the hands of the city's next mayor. And finally, how can mayoral front runner Zohran Mamdani earn the NYPD's trust?

“Elsbeth” star Carrie Preston joins the show. Over a swordfish melt, Carrie reflects on building a career defined by versatility — from her Emmy-winning turn as Elsbeth Tascioni in “The Good Wife" and “The Good Fight” to her starring role in the hit CBS spinoff “Elsbeth.” She gives me the backstory of Elsbeth's iconic display of handbags, and discuss working with Julia Roberts – twice. Plus, we get into her marriage to fellow actor Michael Emerson (Ben in “Lost”), and what Alan Ball told her “True Blood” is actually about. This episode was recorded at San Sabino in the West Village. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jess is joined by comedian & Drag Race winner BOB THE DRAG QUEEN!  Topics — RuPaul discovering Bob at The Monster in the West Village (via Kathy Najimy), a weekend with Whoopi Goldberg, getting lost in Brooklyn & Long Island, ruling Barracuda after Candis Cayne & Peppermint, his first drag name, “Kitten with a Whip,” and his love for To Wong Foo. Plus — the story behind his awkward Watch What Happens Live appearance. ⭐ IG: @jessxnyc  ⭐ Jess' docu-series on the rise & fall of SoulCycle — Cult of Body & Soul ⭐ Jess' docu-series on the history, mystique & lore of Fire Island — Finding Fire Island

Kayla Douglas is the New York City-based writer behind The Sunday Series, professional romanticizer of the little things, and founder of the West Village Book Club. She's an avid traveler - an industry she works in full time - and she's also a multi-time marathoner! In the episode, Kayla and Haven chat all things NYC and travel, and Kayla pulls back the curtain on founding the West Village Book Club and how the women in the club have changed her life. She gives great advice on finding community in a new city, as well as an inspiring recap of her NYC Marathon and Paris Marathon experiences.This episode is perfect for anyone wanting the inside scoop on New York City, the best travel destination recs, and the nudge to find a life-changing community.Let's Connect!Support the show: pledge less than the cost of a cup of coffee each month! Follow Health by Haven on Instagram: @healthbyhaven HxH CoachingSubscribe to the HxH SubstackHxH Recipes, Articles & More: healthbyhaven.com Connect with KaylaFollow Kayla on Instagram: @curatedbykaylaFollow the West Village Book Club on Instagram: @westvillagebookclub Subscribe to The Sunday Series Thank you to our sponsor, A Ranger Paints! Shop stunning paintings on Etsy: A Ranger Paints. Podcast listeners can get 10% off their purchase using code "HXH10"! Follow on Instagram: @arangerpaints Support the show

Actor, comedian, and jazz singer Lea DeLaria joins the show. Over enchiladas and rosé, Lea reflects on a life of firsts — from becoming the first openly gay comic on American television with her legendary “Arsenio Hall Show” set, to stealing scenes as Big Boo on Netflix's “Orange Is the New Black.” We revisit our nearly 30-year friendship, beginning with playing lovers in Shakespeare in the Park's “On the Town,” and share behind-the-scenes stories from our time in the theater world together. Lea opens up about the pride and pressure of visibility in the '90s, why OITNB resonated so deeply with butch women who finally saw themselves represented on screen, and how a joke she improvised one night on stage became the now-iconic “U-Haul lesbian” punchline. This episode was recorded at Little Owl in the West Village — also known to TV fans as the building from “Friends." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Rendering Unconscious – the Gradiva award-winning podcast about psychoanalysis & culture, with me, Dr Vanessa Sinclair. https://renderingunconscious.substack.com RU362: MIKITA BROTTMAN & MELISSA DAUM ON A PSYCHOANALYTIC EXPLORATION OF NAMES https://renderingunconscious.substack.com/p/ru362-mikita-brottman-and-melissa Rendering Unconscious episode 362. Rendering Unconscious welcomes Mikita Brottman and Melissa Daum to the podcast! They're here to talk about their forthcoming paper “Nomen Est Omen: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Names”. On this episode, Melissa and Mikita discuss their psychoanalytic exploration of names, focusing on the depth and significance behind seemingly casual names. They share personal anecdotes, such as the story behind Mikita's unique name and Melissa's naming her son Isaac. They delve into the cultural and psychological aspects of naming, including the impact of inherited names, the ritual of naming, and the symbolic weight of names. They also touch on the challenges of changing names, the significance of names in different cultures, and evolving naming practices. Their conversation highlights the rich psychoanalytic potential in considering names. Mikita Brottman is an author, literature professor and psychoanalyst. Her most recent books are: An Unexplained Death (Henry Holt, 2018), Couple Found Slain (Henry Holt, 2021) and Guilty Creatures (One Signal/Simon & Schuster, 2024). Be sure to also check out The Great Grisby (Harper Perennial, 2021). Offering psychodynamic therapy in the heart of New York City's West Village, Melissa Daum provides support for individuals grappling with anxiety, depression, creative blocks, relationship conflicts, and existential concerns. Visit Atrium Psychotherapy in the West Village, NYC. News and updates: Next event Saturday, October 4th! The Queerness of Psychoanalysis: Philosopher Simone Atenea Medina Polo presents "Tiresias as Patron Saint of Psychoanalysis" https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/p/huge-thanks-to-everyone-who-attended REGISTER HERE: https://wise.com/pay/r/t6ZRZPyG8KgFt34 All paid subscribers to RU Center for Psychoanalysis will automatically receive the ZOOM LINK and recording of the event, as well as the PDF of Simone's chapter from The Queerness of Psychoanalysis: From Freud and Lacan to Laplanche and Beyond (Routledge, 2025). Previous events are archived HERE. https://rucenterforpsychoanalysis.substack.com/t/classes See you there!

Fletcher Sharpe is in and we're sharing Detorit memories and sports stories Your Show Set List: 01:05 - Metropolitan is moving out and needs to find a new spot... we both talk about our personal connections to that space in West Village as Fletcher's uncle ran a spot there.. and get into recent quality places that have had to pause operations and how to fix that in one of Detroit's up and coming neighborhoods 09:42 - Can the Detroit Tigers stop the free-fall? We sure hope so. 15:03 - Lions roar into Baltimore and get an unexpected win. What did they do right? What's next? Fletcher Sharpe has you covered. Feedback as always - dailydetroit -at- gmail -dot- com or leave a voicemail 313-789-3211. Follow Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-detroit/id1220563942  Or sign up for our newsletter: https://www.dailydetroit.com/newsletter/  

This week, Paul and Mesh recap New York Fashion Week which sets the trends for fashion in 2026. Next, they look forward to some of their most anticipated movies for the end of 2025. Finally, they discuss A24's reopening of the Cherry Lane Theatre in Manhattan's West Village where the hitmaker can fine tune its growth into live events and foster direct interaction among creators and fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Martha heads to a leafy corner of New York City’s West Village for cappuccino and conversation with acclaimed chef-restaurateurs Jody Williams and Rita Sodi. Together, they reflect on their devotion to the handmade, the heirloom, and the hyper-local in their celebrated restaurants, bars, and shops. Their empire shows how craftsmanship, curiosity and “10,000 daily details” can transform a street into a community. Listen in to hear the secrets behind their success. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Put on your dinner jacket, hop in your Cadillac and join us for a Big Night. Joined by Founder and CEO of Big Night (the store) in NYC, we unpack this cinematic classic. From the timpano to the risotto to the surprise sucking pig, we get into the details and have a laugh doing it. Katherine Lewin is the founder of Big Night, a one‑stop shop for dinner‑party and hosting essentials in Greenpoint and the West Village. She is also the author of Big Night: Dinner, Parties & Dinner Parties.Instagram @kklewinBig Night Website: https://bignightbk.com/

GRAY AREA PRODUCTIONS present Libromendel During an unspecified “government transition” in the near future, the young scholar Alejandra Cortez (no relation to AOC) returns home from Rhinebeck on an extremely rainy night and stumbles into a West Village café where she was once a regular during the Second Trump Administration.  But aside from the rowdy RPG players, what happened to all the colorful eccentrics?  Why does nobody remember the history of Café Gluck aside from an overworked barista named Sporschill?  Who is the strange new owner claiming to be a “crypto king”?  And why doesn't anybody remember the charming and eccentric old bookseller Jaime Abrego Mendel who set up shop in the adjacent card room every day?  This full-cast 332 track standalone epic examines the true human cost of removing vital figures from American life. (Running time: 54 minutes) Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion Adapted from the short story “Buchmendel” by Stefan Zweig Original music soundtrack by Edward Champion CAST: Alejandra:  Belgys Felix Mendel: Wolf Reigns Florian: Zack Glassman Standhartner: Sally Maitland Sporschill:  Julie Chapin Ramirez:  Melissa Medina Dirks: Luvelle Pierre Tallis: Jack Ward Becky: Emily Carding ICE Officer: Will Billingsley ICE Officer #2:  Frank Romeo Felicia/The Radio: Samantha Jo Clueless Customer: Glenn Kenny The New Yorkers: Heath Martin and Pauly Sinatra Boris: Pete Lutz DM:  Dr. Implausible The Staffers: Ella Gans and Jay Silver Victim:  Zoraya Christian Exuberant Customer: Lokia Rockwell Café Patron: Laura Spear and Edward Champion as The Assassin. This is a co-production of The Sonic Society and The Gray Area.

From her home studio in the West Village in Manhattan, New York-born American-Danish theater and voice actress VANESSA JOHANSSON reflects on growing up American with a Danish architect-father from Copenhagen. Vanessa talks about her work with the Scandinavian American Theater Company, with its mission to bring cutting edge work by contemporary Scandinavian playwrights to American audiences. And she talks about the creative and academic sides to voice acting and abstract painting.Vanessa selects a work by Richard Mortensen from the SMK collection.https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS6467(Photographer: Jeff Mosier)----------We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:website: https://danishoriginals.com/email: info@danishoriginals.com----------And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

This is the All Local afternoon update for Saturday, August 9th, 2025.

What does it take to turn a passion into a business? Te Company founder Elena Liao talks about how she took a passing interest in tea into a thriving tea boutique serving up teas and pastries, located in Manhattan's West Village. Hosted by ICRT's Hope Ngo. Learn more about Te Company here. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.nymphetalumni.comThis week on Nymphet Alumni, Biz interviews New York newsletter phenom and Feed Me founder Emily Sundberg. They discuss the West Village-ification of America, the curious case of Hamptons face and what's aspirational to young people in New York in 2025. Plus, Emily shares her advice on how to find your voice and how to protect your digital soul.

Annie Shi is the co-owner and beverage director of the West Village's French-Italian restaurant King and its uptown Rockefeller Center sibling Jupiter. Now she's opened a spot of her very own: Lei, a Chinese wine bar on the historic Doyers Street in the heart of Manhattan's Chinatown. Lei is such a special and singular spot, and it's great having Annie in the studio to talk about growing up in New York, pairing wine with Chinese food, and the evolution of Manhattan's Chinatown.Also on the show Matt has an amazing conversion with Austin Hennelly. He's the bar director at the Taiwanese restaurant Kato in Los Angeles. Kato is one of the most well-reviewed and respected restaurants in America, and the bar program shines with innovation and style. We talk about how Austin thinks deeply about NA beverage service before we hear about this wild professional career. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeff Klein started his hospitality career in 1993 as a bellman at The Franklin Hotel, where he learned the ropes of running a hotel in various operational roles. His first hotel project was the successful repositioning of a midtown office building into The City Club hotel. After The City Club, Jeff raised capital to acquire the dilapidated Argyle Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, and repositioned it to The Sunset Tower Hotel, an iconic LA destination.  The Tower Bar at that hotel was his first restaurant, and remains an elegant destination for celebrities, Hollywood elite, and cultural tastemakers. In 2013, Jeff acquired the San Vicente Inn, which was a run-down seedy motel in the heart of West Hollywood, and transformed it into the San Vicente Bungalows, an exclusive private members club known for attracting high profile industry executives. Most recently, due to the demand for the privacy and discretion that the club distinctly offers, Jeff has expanded San Vicente Bungalows to Santa Monica on Ocean Boulevard and at the Jane Hotel in New York's West Village. Jeff is one of the rare hospitality entrepreneurs that has an intuitive understanding of how to buy good real estate and how to curate a timeless experience that fosters longevity and loyalty. In this interview, Jeff shares the stories behind the deals that made his career, and the valuable lessons learned along the way. Thank you Peoplevine for making this podcast possible. Peoplevine is trusted by the best brands in the members club business. Book a free demo to see why at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠peoplevine.com.⁠ ⁠Interview Highlights:How Jeff got his start in hospitalityCreating the Sunset Tower HotelJeff's various investors in Sunset TowerWhat makes a great capital partner?Opening the Monkey Bar with Graydon CarterThe subconscious elements have big impactThe acquisition story behind San Vicente BungalowsFundraising challenges with SVBBuilding properties loved by HollywoodHospitality is the business of emotionsLessons about human nature Advice for emerging hoteliersLearn more about JK Hotel Group here.Follow The Stanza on InstagramSubscribe to The Stanza on Substack

Cornelia Street est une des rues les plus courtes et les plus charmantes de Manhattan. Située dans le West Village, elle ne fait qu'un pâté de maisons, mais elle concentre un charme fou.On y trouve des pavés anciens, des bâtiments en briques, des escaliers de secours fleuris… et ce silence rare à New York. Cette rue a vu passer artistes, écrivains, musiciens, et reste aujourd'hui un refuge urbain pour flâner sans but.Elle est devenue célèbre récemment grâce à une chanson de Taylor Swift, mais pour les New-Yorkais amoureux du calme et du papier, elle évoque surtout la librairie Three Lives & Company, à quelques pas.Retrouvez tous les liens des réseaux sociaux et des plateformes du podcast ici : https://linktr.ee/racontemoinewyorkHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

[REBROADCAST from July 2, 2024] Bobby Finger, author and co-host of the Who? Weekly podcast discusses his second novel, Four Squares. which is now out in paperback. The story is set in the West Village of the 1990s, where Artie, a gay man working a tedious advertising job meets the love of his life, Abraham. The story interweaves through several stages of Art's life, including as an elderly man seeking belonging and connection in New York City.

This is the afternoon All Local update.

Subscribe to Throwing Fits on Substack. Bon voyage! This week, Jimmy and Larry are getting in one last sweltering pod in NYC before jetting off to Paris Fashion Week on test-driving jawnz before giving up precious real estate to them on vacation, going sockless, how many sunglasses is too many sunglasses to travel with, we'll be getting in on the packing discourse a lot this week, what we're going to be up to in Paris and everything we're looking forward to in terms of riding, hitting, smoking, eating, drinking and shopping, how to stay healthy during Fashion Week, Our Legacy has a new long sleeve tee featuring a bunch of hate comments from the TF subreddit as part of their new “B-sides” S/S 26 collection, we were the oldest and most collared guys at ThriftCon NYC but still came away with a bunch of glass half full takes, are manpris really on the horizon, AND1 Mixtape style basketball shorts, Lawrence revisits some bullying trauma from his youth which he rightfully deserves because he went last minute shopping in Soho on a Friday for some inexplicable reason, James got his Make-A-Wish granted thanks to Ralph Lauren and actually tried out to be a U.S. Open ball boy, two great new restaurants reviewed in the West Village and Bed-Stuy, we're finally ready to talk about Love Island aka the best show on television and more.

On today's show, we're chatting with Julia O'Mara, the co-founder of Pickle, the peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace. Pickle's goal is making it easier and more affordable to rent high-quality clothing within communities – on today's episode, Julia will tell you about how she was working in business and product engineering when she had this idea: a gap in the fashion market. And it led her to build Pickle, a first-of-its kind platform, which – in less than a year – has boomed onto the scene, recirculating 100,000 items, top lenders paying their NYC rent with their Pickle earnings! – and the company raising over 12 million in Series A funding. In Manhattan alone, 1 in 4 females aged 18-35 have used Pickle. But Pickle had scrappy beginnings, Julia literally ran around NYC doing photoshoots with micro-influencers to get the first closets uploaded. And, in this episode, you'll hear about the entrepreneurial hustle of this fashion tech founder to watch, and the cultural impact Pickle is having on how young women think about clothing consumption. I think you're gonna love it, so – let's dive right in! DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE: [3:24] The idea for Pickle started out as a completely different app – a social polling app. [10:39] When Julia knew it was the right time for her career to go the entrepreneurial route. [12:47] The insight that led to Pickle's biggest pivot, in spring 2022. [14:42] Pickle's big differentiator is that it's a peer-to-peer rental marketplace, similar to Uber and AirBnb within the sharing economy. [17:44] When you're building this kind of marketplace, you have to figure out how to attract both lenders and renters.  [25:24] How Pickle works as a side hustle for your closet. [35:11] Insights from Pickle's Series A fundraising round, where they raised $12 million and were called the AirBnb of fashion. [41:11] Opening a brick-and-mortar store for closet rental in NYC. [47:33] Future innovations in the circular fashion space, and what's next for Pickle. EPISODE MENTIONS:  Pickle @shoponpickle Pickle's 3-Year Anniversary Fashion Show Jade Beguelin (4am skin) talking about Pickle Pickle's storefront: 21 8th Ave, West Village, NYC Beni Beni on ‘Breaking Our Add-to-Cart Mentality' Funny Pretty Nice Natalia's closet on Pickle LET'S CONNECT: 

The two first met on a brand trip in the Hamptons—yes, Kit did a full tutorial on how to properly dress a $100 lobster salad—and now they're reconnecting to talk about everything from growing up in the West Village to finding her creative spark in the kitchen. Kit opens up about her early days on social media, dating in NYC, and how she finally met her (very cute, very British) long-distance boyfriend.

Poignant, Hilarious, and Beautifully HumanStep into the glow of lavender twilight with Alfred P. Doblin's unforgettable collection, Tales of the Lavender Twilight. In this debut, Doblin opens doors to the rich, poignant, and often hilarious lives of late-middle-aged gay men—and one very sophisticated Cocker Spaniel—as they seek love, redefine family, and gracefully navigate the complexities of life's next chapters.From a bittersweet gathering in a West Village gay dive bar to the quirks of a Catskill town brimming with out-of-work actors, Doblin's eleven tales journey coast-to-coast, capturing moments of humor, heartbreak, and unexpected resilience. Follow a hopeful dog in search of a new home, a sharp-tongued theater critic who stirs up old wounds, LGBTQ youths rediscovering a legacy, and an unforgettable Thanksgiving celebration where gratitude and community collide.With warmth, wit, and compassion, Tales of the Lavender Twilight celebrates lives lived boldly, refusing to be defined by a world too focused on youth. These stories are a vibrant tribute to the endurance of spirit, love, and identity.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/houseofmysteryradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, with the help of one of the hunnies favorite guests and Everything But The Dress Co-Founder, Caroline Crawford Patterson and Jenna Bycoff get in to the nasty of the world of Everything But The Dress. What started as a concept for a bridal pop up representing designers and business owners for brides to shop everything but the dress in real life, came to fruition 3 years later with the first week long pop up in the West Village. From the day the idea was born, to the moment a dentist reception desk was almost the bar - it's the entire BTS of how this thing was born and executed, and all of the lessons learned along the way including what we learned and what we see in the future! Enjoy Hunnies! EBTD: www.instagram.com/shopeverythingbutthedress BRIDEMERCH: www.instagram.com/bridemerch Honey We're Home: www.instagram.com/honeywerehomepod Host: www.instagram.com/carolinecrawfordpatterson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, with the help of one of the hunnies favorite guests and Everything But The Dress Co-Founder, Caroline Crawford Patterson and Jenna Bycoff get in to the nasty of the world of Everything But The Dress. What started as a concept for a bridal pop up representing designers and business owners for brides to shop everything but the dress in real life, came to fruition 3 years later with the first week long pop up in the West Village. From the day the idea was born, to the moment a dentist reception desk was almost the bar - it's the entire BTS of how this thing was born and executed, and all of the lessons learned along the way including what we learned and what we see in the future! Enjoy Hunnies! EBTD: www.instagram.com/shopeverythingbutthedress BRIDEMERCH: www.instagram.com/bridemerch Honey We're Home: www.instagram.com/honeywerehomepod Host: www.instagram.com/carolinecrawfordpatterson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Rabbi Noa Sattath, the head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. For Pride Month, we discuss the history of the openly gay community in Israel and the connection between the LGBTQ+ struggle for equal rights and the broader struggle for democracy in Israel. Sattath, an ordained Reform rabbi who until recently served as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), was also previously the Executive Director of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance. We hear Sattath's thoughts on the intersectionalism expressed by many members of the global gay community in their support for Hamas and condemnation of Israel during the war. For Sattath, the current visibility of the LGBTQ+ community once seemed like a farfetched dream. In seeing what has been accomplished in a relatively short time, she is inspired in her work at ACRI, including the struggle to maintain human rights for Palestinians detained on and after the murderous Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023. And so this week, we ask Rabbi Noa Sattath, what matters now. What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch. IMAGE: NYC Pride float calling for a 'Free Palestine' rides through the annual Pride March into the West Village on June 30, 2024, in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images/AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello Interactors,My daughter in Manhattan's East Village sent me an article about the curated lives of the “West Village girls.” A few days later, I came across a provocative student op-ed from the University of Washington: "Why the hell do we still go to Starbucks?" The parallels stood out.In Manhattan's West Village, a spring weekend unfolds with young women jogging past a pastry shop in matching leggings, iced matcha lattes in hand. Some film it just long enough for TikTok. Across the country, students cycle through Starbucks in Seattle's U-District like clockwork. The drinks are overpriced and underwhelming, but that's not the point. It's familiar. It's part of a habitual loop.Different cities, similar rhythms. One loop is visual, the other habitual. But both show how space and emotion sync. Like an ambient synth track, they layer, drift, and return. If you live in or near a city, you exist in your own looping layers of emotional geography.FLASH FEEDSMy daughter has been deep into modular synthesis lately — both making and listening. It's not just the music that intrigues her, but the way it builds: loops that don't simply repeat, but evolve, bend, and respond. She'll spend hours patching sounds together, adjusting timing and tone until something new emerges. She likens it to painting with sound. Watching her work, it struck me how much her synth music mirrors city life — not in harmony, but in layers. She's helped me hear urban rhythms differently.Like a pop synth hook, the Flash loop is built for attention. It's bright, polished, and impossible to ignore. Synth pop thrives on these quick pulses — hooks that grab you within seconds, loops that deliver dopamine with precision. Urban spaces under this loop do the same. They set a beat others fall in line with, often flattening nuance in exchange for momentum.This isn't just about moving to a beat. It's about becoming part of the beat. When these fast loops dominate, people start adapting to the spaces that reflect them. And those spaces, in turn, evolve based on those very behaviors. It's a feedback loop: movement shaping meaning, and meaning shaping movement. The people become both the input and the output.In this context, the West Village girl isn't just a person — she's a spatial feedback loop. A mashup of Carrie Bradshaw nostalgia, Instagram polish, and soft-lit storefronts optimized for selfies. But she didn't arrive from nowhere. She emerged through a kind of spatial modeling: small choices, like where to brunch, where to pose, where to post are repeated so often they remade a neighborhood.Social psychologist Erving Goffman, writing in the 1950s, called this kind of self-presentation "impression management." He argued that much of everyday life is performance. Not in the theatrical sense, but in how we act in response to what we expect others see. Urban spaces, especially commercial ones, are often the stage. But today, that performance isn't just for others in the room. It's for followers, algorithms, and endless feeds. The “audience” is ambient, but its expectations are precise.As places like the West Village get filtered through lifestyle accounts and recommendation algorithms, their role changes. They no longer just host people, but mirror back a version of identity their occupants expect to see. Sidewalks become catwalks. Coffee shops become backdrops. Apartment windows become curated messes of string lights and tasteful clutter. And increasingly, the distinction between what's lived and what's posted collapses.This fast loop — what we might call spatial virality — doesn't just show us how to act in a place. It scripts the place itself. Stores open where the foot traffic is photogenic. Benches are placed for backdrops, not rest. Even the offerings shift: Aperol spritzes, charm bars, negroni specials sold not for taste but for tagability.These are the high-tempo loops. They grab attention and crowd the mix. But every modular synth set, like a painting, needs contrast.So some people opt out, or imagine doing so. Not necessarily with loud protest, but quiet rejection. They look for something slower. Something that isn't already trending...unless the trend of routine sucks you in.PULSING PATTERNSIf Flash is the pop hook, Pulse is the counter-melody. It could be a bassline or harmony that brings emotional weight and keeps things grounded. In music, you may not always notice it, but you'd miss it if it were gone. In cities, this loop shows up in slow friendships, mutual aid, and cafés that begin to feel like second homes. These are places where regulars greet one another by name. Where where hours melt through conversations. It satisfies a need to be seen, but without needing to perform. It's what holds meaning when spectacle fades.If the fast loop turns space into spectacle, the counter loop tries to slow it down. It lures the space to feel lived in, not just liked. It's not always radical. Sometimes it's just choosing a different coffee shop.Back in Seattle's University District, students do have options. Bulldog News. Café Allegro. George Coffee. These places don't serve drinks meant to be posted. They serve drinks meant to be tasted. They're not aesthetic first. They're relational. These are small gestures that build culture.Social psychologists Susan Andersen and Serena Chen describe this through what they call relational self theory. We don't become ourselves in isolation. We become ourselves with and through others — especially those we repeatedly encounter. Think about the difference between ordering coffee from a stranger versus someone who knows you like sparkling water with your Cortado. It's a different kind of transaction. It eases things. It reinforces your own loop.So why do people routinely return to Starbucks? It isn't just about caffeine addiction. It's about being part of a socially reinforced rhythm — anchored in convenience, recognition, and the illusion of choice.Stores like Starbucks are often strategically located for maximum accessibility and convenience. They're nestled near transit hubs, along commuter corridors, or within high-traffic pedestrian zones. These placements aren't arbitrary. They're optimized to integrate into daily routines. It's less like a countermelody and more like a harmonic parallel melody. As a result, practical considerations like proximity, availability, and reliability often override ideological concerns.People return not because the product is exceptional, but because the store is exactly where and when they need it. The Starbucks habit isn't only about routine, but rhythmic predictability that appears personal. In this sense, it functions as a highly accessible pulse: a loop that's easy to join and hard to break. It's made of proximity, subtle trust, and convenience, but is dressed as choice.My daughter's chosen counter loop lives in the East Village — not far, geographically, from the Instagram inspired brunch queues of Bleecker Street. Her loops are different. She carries conversations across record stores, basement venues, bookstores with hand-scrawled signs, and a few stubborn restaurants.These are Places where the playlists aren't streaming through Spotify. Her city isn't organized around visibility. It's organized around presence. Around being seen to be honored and remembered. Like the bookstore dude who knows the lore on everyone, or the cashier who waves her through without paying, or her Brooklyn bandmate friends who fold her in like family.Sure, this scene intersects with the popular loops — modular synths are having a moment — but it sidesteps the sameness. It stays unpredictable, grounded in curiosity and care rather than clicks. The gear is still patched by hand. The performances are messy and often temporary. And yet, the loops — literal and figurative — keep returning. Not because they're engineered for attention, but because they allow people to build something slowly...together...from the inside. Especially when done in partnership with another synthesist.You might see this in your own city. The quiet transformation of spaces: a café hosting a poetry night; a yoga studio turned warming shelter during the storm; a laundromat that leaves a stack of free books near the dryers. These are not accidents. They are interventions. Sometimes small, sometimes subtle...but always deliberate.They stand in contrast to the churn of the viral. They also offer an alternative to despair. Because the counter loop isn't just critique. It's care enacted. And care takes time.Still, even pulsing care needs structure. It needs floor drains, power outlets, and open hours. It needs a stable substructure.UNDERCURRENT UNDERTONESUndertone is the foundational structure on which other elements are built. It's the core of modular synth music. This isn't just rhythm. It's the subtle, slow, and reactive scaffolding. These core loops evolve and shift setting the timing and emotional tonality for everything else.They don't dominate, but they shape the flow. They respond to what surrounds them to ground the composition. Cities, too, have these base layers. Often imperceptible, they are visceral, ambient, and persistent. They come into focus with the smell of rain on warm pavement. The clink of a key in a front door. These are not songs you hum, they're the ones your heart and lungs make.Long before the influencer run clubs, celebrity shoe stores, and curated stoops, there was the mundane sidewalk. Not the kind tagged on a friend's story or filtered through the latest app. Just concrete. Scuffed by strollers, scooter wheels, boots, and time. The sidewalk doesn't follow trends, but it does remember them.Cities are built on these undertones: habitual routes, early deliveries, overheard exchanges, open signs flipped at the same hour each morning. They aren't glamorous. They don't go viral. But they are what hold everything together.Urban scholar Ash Amin calls this the “infrastructure of belonging.” In his work on ordinary urban life, he writes that much of what connects us isn't spectacular. It's what happens when people brush past one another without ceremony: the steady hum of life happening without the need for headlines. Cities function not just because of design, but because of everyday cooperation — shared rhythms, implicit trust, systems that keep working because people show up.It can seem mundane: a delivery driver making the same drop, a retiree watering the sidewalk garden they planted without permission, the clatter of trash bins returning to their spots. These moments don't make the city famous, but they do make it work.Even the flashiest loops rely on them. The West Village girl's curated brunch only happens because someone sliced lemons before sunrise and wiped the table clean before she sat down. The Starbucks habit loop in the U-District clicks into place because the supply truck showed up at 5 a.m. and the barista clocked in on time. They're the dominant undertone of cities: loops so steady we stop noticing them...until they stop. Like during the pandemic.A synthesist might point to an LFO: Low Frequency Oscillator. These make slow drones that hum under a syncopated rhythm; a pulsing sub-bass holding space while textures come and go. The mundane in a city does the same: it holds the mix together. Without it, the composition falls apart.If you've ever heard a modular synth set, you know it doesn't move like pop music. The loops aren't clean. They evolve, layer, drift in and out of sync. They build tension, release it, then find a new rhythm. Cities work the same way.Their beauty isn't always in sync — it's in polyrhythm. Like when two synth voices loop at slightly different speeds: a saw wave pinging every three beats, a filtered drone stretching over seven. They collide, resolve, then drift again. Like when a car blinker syncs to the beat of a song and then falls out again. In modular music, this dissonance isn't a flaw. It creates a sonic texture.City rhythms don't always align either. A delivery truck pulls up as a barista closes shop; protest chants counter a stump speech; showtimes shift with transit delays. These clashes don't cancel each other out — they deepen the city's texture, giving it groove.Sociologists Scannell and Gifford call this place attachment: the slow accrual of meaning in a space through repetition, emotional memory, and lived interaction. It's not always nostalgic. Sometimes it's forward-looking. The act of building the kind of city you want to live in, one relationship at a time.And beneath all of this, the city continues its own loop: subways running through worn tunnels, trash collected on quiet mornings, someone sweeping a shop floor before the door opens.Both protest and performance rely on this scaffold. The Starbucks picket line doesn't just appear. It's supported by planning, scheduling, and shared labor. The music scene doesn't just materialize. It's shaped by decades of flyers, friendships, and repeat customers.The viral and the intentional both need the mundane.Cities, when they work, are made of all three: the flash of now, the pulse of choice, and the undertone of the necessary. Like springtime flowers, the city creates blooms that emerge at the surface. They draw attention, cameras, and admiration. These blossoms don't just attract the eye, they draw in pollinators who carry influence and energy far beyond the original scene. But none of this happens without the rest of the plant. It's the leaves that capture sunlight day after day, the roots that pulse the unseen through tunnels, the microbes that toil in the grime and dirt to nourish those all around them. Urban life mirrors this looping ecology. Moments that flash brightly, pulses that quietly sustain, and undertones that hold it all together. The bloom is what gets noticed, but it's the layered and syncopated life below — repeating, decomposing, reemerging — that make the next blossom possible. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

Two cash-strapped actors think they've scored the ultimate West Village jackpot: a one-bedroom crammed with free 18th-century furniture. But the heirloom “perks” come with spectral fine print. Each night, a watery woman's face surfaces in the blanket chest, a desperate man in billowed sleeves crawls from the antique dresser, and a ghostly cloud glides across the mirror above the Hollywood bed. Was the apartment's lot once George Washington's wartime HQ—or is the curse sewn into the very wood hauled from an ancestor's ship?  If you have a real ghost story or supernatural event to report, please write into our show at http://www.realghoststoriesonline.com/ or call 1-855-853-4802! Want AD-FREE & ADVANCE RELEASE EPISODES? Become a Premium Subscriber Through Apple Podcasts now!!! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/real-ghost-stories-online/id880791662?mt=2&uo=4&ls=1 Or Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/realghoststories Or Our Website: http://www.ghostpodcast.com/?page_id=118 

In healthcare, some of the most meaningful innovations happen when the right people are brought together in the right place. True progress depends on systems and infrastructure designed to connect ideas, people, and expertise across sectors. Citylabs 4.0, now open in the heart of Manchester's Knowledge Quarter on the Oxford Road Corridor, was built with exactly that goal in mind. Bringing the NHS, academia, and life sciences organisations into close, purposeful proximity, providing a structural foundation for collaboration at scale. In this special live recording of the pharmaphorum podcast, developed in association with Bruntwood SciTech, Bruntwood SciTech's CSO Dr Kath Mackay, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust T's Dr Katherine Boylan, and Dr Gillian Dalgliesh from QIAGEN join Deep Dive editor Eloise McLennan onstage at the opening of Citylabs 4.0 to discuss innovation in life sciences and the role of Greater Manchester in accelerating research, industry collaboration, and real-world evidence generation. Join us as we examine how this deliberate integration of healthcare stakeholders in Manchester is establishing new standards for collaboration and advancing patient outcomes through structured knowledge exchange. About the interviewees Dr Kath Mackay Kath Mackay is Chief Scientific Officer of Bruntwood SciTech - a JV between leading property developer Bruntwood, Legal & General, and Greater Manchester Pension Fund - the UK's leading creator and developer of innovation districts driving growth of the UK science and technology sector.  She has a keen interest in growing businesses and infrastructure within the sector, ensuring the UK is the best place to establish and scale a science and tech organisation.   Dr Mackay joined Bruntwood SciTech from the executive board of Innovate UK where she led the team responsible for growing businesses working in the biomedical, health, agriculture, and food sectors, creating and delivering a £800m portfolio of infrastructure, Catapults, grant and loan investments. She is also non-executive director of the Northern Health Science Alliance, the North of England's health partnership, and an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Dr Katherine Boylan Katherine is Director of Innovation at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), a position she has held since April 2020. This role involves overseeing innovation activities within MFT, as part of the wider Research and Innovation function. Innovation at MFT supports the whole pipeline from ideation, through to evidence generation, and ultimate implementation. She has been a member of the NICE Medical Technologies Advisory Committee since September 2020. Prior to this position, Dr Boylan worked in the University of Manchester for a number of years, most recently as Operations Director for the MRC funded Molecular Pathology Node, and the Trust-funded Diagnostics and Technology Accelerator. Dr Gillian L Dalgliesh, PhD Global Technical lead, Precision Diagnostics Gillian Dalgliesh has worked for QIAGEN for nine years and is based at their Manchester site, which is the global centre of excellence for molecular diagnostic development. QIAGEN partner with many drug companies to develop companion diagnostic (CDx) tests that enable clinical trials and subsequently launches of novel precision medicines. In recent years they have seen a real move beyond oncology into other disease areas such as immune, neurological and metabolic disorders. Dr Dalgliesh's role as global technical lead allows her to leverage her oncology precision medicine experience across the portfolio to bring precision diagnostic products to more patients. She has built her experience in precision medicine/oncology through not only her QIAGEN role but also through seven years working in precision medicine in AstraZeneca and prior to that working as part of the cancer genome project at the Sanger institute. Dr Dalgliesh is also an honorary senior lecturer at University of Manchester where she coordinates and delivers lectures for a QIAGEN sponsored BSc final year elective module ‘The Role of Diagnostics in Medicine'. This is part of a wider outreach role with the University and our NHS hospital. Through these roles she is keen to impact the local UK science community. About Bruntwood SciTech Bruntwood SciTech is the UK's largest dedicated property platform serving the growth of the nation's knowledge economy to become a global science and technology superpower. It is also the leading developer of city-wide innovation ecosystems and specialist environments, helping companies - particularly those in the science and technology sectors - to form, scale and grow A joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), Bruntwood SciTech provides high quality office and laboratory space and tailored business support, offering unrivalled access to finance, talent and markets, an extensive clinical, academic and public partner network and a sector-specialist community of more than 1100 companies. Bruntwood SciTech is experienced in creating and developing strategic partnerships with UK regional cities, universities and NHS Trusts to drive economic growth. Its unique structure and funding vehicle more easily deploys long-term patient capital in innovation infrastructure, ensuring local economic benefit and growth. Valued at £1.5bn, Bruntwood SciTech has a portfolio of 5.2m sq ft across 11 campus locations and 31 city centre innovation hubs in Manchester, Cheshire, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Cambridge and London. It has plans to create a £5bn portfolio by 2033 and has a 2.3m sq ft secured development pipeline. Its campus locations include Alderley Park in Cheshire; West Village in Leeds; Innovation Birmingham; Birmingham Health Innovation Campus in partnership with the University of Birmingham; Melbourn Science Park in Cambridgeshire; Liverpool Science Park as a shareholder in Sciontec Liverpool; White City Deep Tech Campus in partnership with Imperial College London; and a cluster in the heart of Manchester's Oxford Road Corridor knowledge quarter - Manchester Science Park, Citylabs in partnership with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Circle Square - a joint venture with Vita Group; and the £1.7bn JV partnership with The University of Manchester - Sister, formerly known as IDManchester. Its city centre innovation hubs include Bloc, Bond, 111 Piccadilly, Pall Mall and Manchester One in Manchester; Platform in Leeds; Cornerblock and Centre City in Birmingham; and The Plaza in Liverpool. Website / Twitter / LinkedIn / Instagram

Chris Hughes and JoJo Siwa's *very* hard launch and rumours of multiple joint TV projects has got us wondering: is this a rare example of a PR relationship? We dive in! Plus, an explainer of TikTok's Odd Muse drama: can founders get called out without it being bullying? Also, a little look at Kris Jenner's face lift and how one surgeon seems to be becoming the most popular man in Hollywood. And of course we had to debrief on the Netflix show starring Julianne Moore and Meghann Fahy that everyone is talking about: Sirens. Why are we so obsessed with eat the rich satire and gorgeous cult leaders? Please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or a rating on Spotify – it really does help keep us going xWe love hearing from you, DM us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, email at ⁠⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and follow us on TikTok @straightuupod too!Huge thanks to our sponsor⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Yonder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the incredible lifestyle rewards credit card packed with rewards you'll actually *want* to use. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠yonder.com/straightup⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Borrow responsibly. £15 a month. 18+ and UK only. Rep 66.0% APR var. T&Cs apply.Get 20% off the adaptogenic coffee that changed our lives, London Nootropics, using our code straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠Try BookBeat for free for 60 days (w 40 hrs of listening) and stream millions of audio using our code straightup at bookbeat.comRecs/ reviews Pure flourish sleep tapeMy brain finally broke, New YorkerHow to fix your focus and stop procrastinating, Johann Hari Aimee Smale on Working Hard, Hardy Working podcast Nine Perfect Strangers, Prime Video Sirens, Netflix Maid, NetflixNetflix's Sirens will leave you with questions, Hollywood Reporter ‘Sirens' Creator on the Power of Lilly Pulitzer, Michaela's Bird Obsession and Turning Greek Myth Into New England Nightmare, VarietyIt must be nice to be a West Village girl, The Cut . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's Friday Feels episode of the U Up? Podcast, Jared and Jordana take on the viral article that has everyone side-eyeing the West Village. From party buses to the “clean girl” aesthetic, they hilariously dissect the Gen Z lifestyle dominating Manhattan, complete with identical Adidas Sambas and curated matcha runs. The conversation sparks a nostalgic look at their own NYC moves and how zip codes became status symbols. Then, it's time for two jaw-dropping listener emails: one from a woman who accidentally told her ex's mom about his drug use, and another from a newly engaged listener questioning a shady congratulatory message from her fiancé's ex. Tune in for real talk and funny, sharp takes! Watch full ep here

Best known for the "It" film franchise and the satirical superhero series "Gen V," Nicholas Hamilton is also a musician and viral mixologist with a large TikTok following, for whom he crafts cocktails and reviews ready-made drinks. He talks about his new cocktail book, Sipsy-Doozy: 100+ Respectfully Crafted Cocktails for the Home Bartender. On Tuesday, June 3, he will appear at The Up & Up in the West Village for a signing and tasting.

West Village Girls have taken over New York City, our favorites (and misses) from Monday's Met Gala, wearing your soccer boots to the group dinner, breaking down The Ringer's Millennial Canon Bracket, Aime Leon Dore's $12,000 espresso machine, Umbro Drill Top Summer, and more.Subscribe to the newsletter: retailpod.substack.com willdefries.substack.com Shop the Sunday Scaries Scented Candles: www.vellabox.com/sundayscariesWatch all Retail Therapy episodes on YouTube: www.youtube.com/sundayscariespodcastSupport This Week's SponsorsShopify: www.shopify.com/scaries ($1/month trial!)Aura Frames: www.auraframes.com (RETAILPOD for $35 off plus free shipping)Follow AlongRetail Therapy on Instagram: www.instagram.com/retail.podWill deFries on Twitter: www.twitter.com/willdefriesWill deFries on Instagram: www.instagram.com/willdefries Barrett Dudley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/barrettdudleyBarrett Dudley on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barrettdudleySunday Scaries on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sundayscariesSunday Scaries on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunday.scaries

This week, Aleen and Jordana talk about making the Ad Week Creative 100 and how Gen Z has claimed the West Village for themselves. Then, they unpack the speculation surrounding Justin and Hailey Bieber's marriage. And finally, they go through the best and worst looks of the Met Gala. PS: We have a vermin update!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director, screenwriter, and HLG fan favorite Eugene Kotlyarenko returns to chat about the female manosphere, West Village people, new Pope, podcast award at The Golden Globes, Trader Joe's tote bags, his Mugler collection, two-factor authentication, chef-coded fashion, Guy Ritchie's Aladdin, how he creates long-form content for ADD audiences, cancellation kink, Airbnb hidden cams, ideal ways to die, Kobe Bryant, canned oxygen, planet medicine and wellness retreats, and his thoughts on numerology. Eugene's new film, The Code, starring Dasha Nekrasova and Peter Vack, is screening now. instagram.com/madabouteug twitter.com/donetodeath twitter.com/themjeans howlonggone.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to Throwing Fits on Substack. Basic with an A. This week, Jimmy and Larry are prepping for fashion' biggest night aka the first Monday in May by speculating on everything we think is going to go down at this year's Met Gala, how white celebs should approach the black dandyism theme, an egregious week of tokenism, turns out Riccardo Tisci has that dog in him, Lawrence saw Charli XCX go off in concert but nobody saw him, our J.Crew video paid for itself, Throwing Fits x Umbro is dropping this Friday and that's word to Liam Gallgher, the cig glazing is crazy so James gets a rant off, are you prepared to have a West Village girlie summer and how the neighborhood has changed over the years, our alternate timeline suburban dad bros and much more.

Today we're talking about friend supply versus “friend demand,” AI designed specifically for cheating on your Costco job interview, naming a sandwich after a disease epidemic (bad idea), thirst trap strategies, and how the West Village is now filled with identikit personalities wearing scrunch bum leggings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former New York Congressmember George Santos will be spending at least seven years in federal prison. Plus, comptroller candidate, Justin Brannan, has a plan to re-invest a $500 million piece of the city's multibillion-dollar pension funds and use it to pay for universal child care. Also, a report on the future of containerizing New York City's garbage. And finally, a food critic shares a few good eats in the West Village neighborhood.

Last year I came across an article in the Gothamist titled, A Taiwanese food crawl in the East Village with NYC writer Cathy Erway. I have of course heard of Cathy Erway and her cookbook and thought to myself, Why haven't I had her on Talking Taiwan as a guest yet? For those of you who aren't familiar with Cathy's work, she is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and author based in New York City. Her cookbooks include The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island and Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook.   Her cookbook, The Food of Taiwan which was published in 2015 is the first cookbook from a major U.S. publisher to explore the food culture of Taiwan from home-style dishes to authentic street food. We talked about how publishers rejected the cookbook at first and how it eventually got published.   She also has a Facebook page called The Food of Taiwan, and if you're a Taiwanese food lover, I highly recommend liking and following it. On the page, Cathy shares news about Taiwanese food like where to get the best Taiwanese food in and out of Taiwan, and new Taiwanese restaurant openings.   Cathy Erway's journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Eater, Grub Street, T: The New York Times Style Magazine and more. She is a columnist at TASTE, and received the James Beard Award for Home Cooking journalism in 2019. In 2021, she received the IACP Culinary Award for her column.    This episode is part of the trailblazing Taiwanese women's series sponsored by NATWA the North America Taiwanese Women's Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website, www.natwa.com.     Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode: How Cathy started off writing a blog called Not Eating Out in New York, which led to her first book, The Art of Eating In Cathy's cookbook The Food of Taiwan The article in the Gothamist about Taiwanese restaurants in the East Village Cathy's Facebook page The Food of Taiwan How Cathy has had a Google alert set on the term Taiwanese food for 20 years How things have changed in the 10 years since The Food of Taiwan was published How the owners of Taiwanese restaurants in New York City (Win Son, 886, and Ho Foods) are all friends How Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry has contributed to the interest in Taiwanese cuisine How Cathy learned to cook and her parents' cooking styles How Cathy's family is foodies Cathy's connection to Taiwan What went into creating The Food of Taiwan How the photography of The Food of Taiwan was an important part of the cookbook How The Food of Taiwan got rejected by several publishers How The Food of Taiwan is a snapshot of all the foods in Taiwan including home-style foods and street food, up to 2015, the year it was published How The Food of Taiwan includes foods that are unique to Taiwan How the recipes in The Food of Taiwan suggests substitutions for certain ingredients that might be hard to find How Cathy met Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son How Cathy collaborated with Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son on Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook How hard it was to convince the editor to publish The Food of Taiwan Other Taiwanese cookbooks that have been written by  Clarissa Wei, Frankie Gaw, Tiffy Chen, and George Lee How Cathy is working on an article about the frozen dumpling business for Taste Topics that Cathy writes about like how tamari is a different product in Japan vs. the U.S. Té Company tea house in the West Village, Yumpling restaurant in Long Island City, Ho Food restaurant in the East Village Cathy's favorite Taiwanese dish is sān bēi jī (three cup chicken) How Taiwanese breakfast foods are now available at Win Son Bakery and Ho Foods   Related Links:    

In the early 80s, New York City's Gansevoort Meatpacking District, a small irregular patch of the West Village, was a wild confluence of meat market workers, gay men hitting The Mineshaft or The Anvil, transgendered prostitutes, homeless huddled around burn barrels, New Jersey mafiosos, veterans of three wars, heroes of the French Resistance, and Holocaust survivors. I was newly arrived to New York City when I began working at Adolf Kusy Meats in 1982, a young man barely out of college who had never imagined himself in any city, much less New York. I had decided I was going to be a fiction writer and while ignorant of what that might entail, I understood writers lived in New York. From the start, Kusy's seemed the perfect place for a budding writer looking for life experience, a singular, endlessly entertaining circus. When I interviewed Red, my old boss at Kusy's in October of 2013, the first thing he said was, “I wish now I had a tape recorder and had just recorded every day down there. Just the fucking stories alone, the shit people came up with every day, the insanity of that place.”​ It's also the story of a young couple fresh from the Midwest making a life together. We were college sweethearts, seduced by the glamour and excitement of the East Village, its fashion model roommates, conceptual art openings, and junkies lined up outside bombed out buildings. We tried to live with an intensity that could only lead us to ruin. The Heart is Meat (Oil on Water Press, 2025) is a re-creation of a mythic time and place in New York City that can never exist again, an evocation of a vanished attitude, a pre-networked American Romanticism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

With his amazing new book The Twilight of Bohemia: Westbeth and the Last Artists in New York (Black Sparrow Press), Peter Trachtenberg explores the 50+ years of history for Westbeth Artists Housing in the far West Village, the role of the arts in New York City, and the ways we build & sustain community. We get into his long-term history with Westbeth, how this book's was born from an essay about the suicide of his friend and Westbeth resident Gay Milius, how Westbeth managed to survive a series of financial crises over the decades before finding a sustainable model, and how architect Richard Meier repurposed the Bell Labs complex into affordable artists' housing in the 1960s. We talk about Westbeth's requirement that residents be professional artists and what that came to mean over the years (esp. when some residents' productivity diminished), what it's like to raise families in Westbeth, and how the community handled generational change. We also discuss how Westbeth reflects New York back on itself, how Vin Diesel's vandalism as a kid growing up in Westbeth led to his acting career, how the Village's Halloween parade originated there, how I stumbled across Westbeth in 2017 during — what else? — a podcast, how we build artistic communities when we don't have geographic proximity, whether there's a secret radioactive room left over from the Bell Labs years (!), and more. Follow Peter on Instagram, and subscribe to his newsletter • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe, Patreon, or Paypal, and subscribe to our e-newsletter

Jared is back from Australia and jet lagged!

Has America ceased to be the land of opportunity? Many people here take it for granted that good neighborhoods—with good schools and good housing—are only accessible to the wealthy. But in America, this wasn't always the case. Though for most of world history, your prospects were tied to where you were born, Americans came up with a revolutionary idea: If you didn't like your lot in life, you could find a better location and reinvent yourself there. Americans moved to new places with unprecedented frequency, and, for 200 years, that remarkable mobility was the linchpin of American economic and social opportunity. Join us as Yoni Appelbaum, historian and journalist for The Atlantic, argues that this idea has been under attack since reformers first developed zoning laws to ghettoize Chinese Americans in 19th-century Modesto, California. The century of legal segregation that ensued—from the zoning laws enacted to force Jewish workers back into New York's Lower East Side to the private-sector discrimination and racist public policy that trapped Black families in Flint, Michigan, to Jane Jacobs' efforts to protect her vision of the West Village—has raised housing prices, deepened political divides, emboldened bigots, and trapped generations of people in poverty. Appelbaum says these problems have a common explanation: people can't move as readily as they used to. They are, in a word, stuck. Applebaum will cut through more than a century of mythmaking, sharing the surprising story of the people and ideas that caused our economic and social sclerosis and laying out commonsense ways to get Americans moving again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Ticked Off Tuesday

It's Pop Culture Thursday! from the West Village, Manhattan! Jared dives into the latest in celebrity news, quirky events, and a wild mix of pop culture headlines. Jared starts off the pod with an upcoming trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for five comedy shows and a guest spot on the I've Had It podcast with Jennifer Welch and Pumps. Jared shares his thoughts on personal style (inside pants vs. outside pants, anyone?) and dishes out plenty of sharp, self-aware humor. A deep dive into the hilarity of lookalike contests, including Chicago's Jeremy Allen White lookalike competition, complete with blue aprons and cigarettes. Jared suggests Blake Lively's PR team might want to take notes from Timothy Chalamet's surprise appearance at his own lookalike event!