Culture is what's trending in everyone's mind at the same time. The song everyone has on repeat, the movie of the summer, the show at every dinner table, what kids are wearing to school, where everyone suddenly wants to travel. None of it is written down anywhere official. It spreads on its own, and for a season it's the water we all swim in.
Check it once in a while. It tells you the era and what's trending in society. Here's my read of the current one, in order of importance. Score yourself as you go: could you have named it before reading?
01
The charts. The top songRight now it's Anyma's "I know I should sleep, but the voices in my head go." The song of the moment is the fastest read on the mood of the moment.
02
The movie of the summerThis summer it was Spider-Man. One movie per summer gets the whole culture's attention.
03
What kids are wearingOversized silhouettes, workwear, one-of-one thrift finds. The school hallway is two years ahead of the mall.
04
Where people are travellingMiami is the hotspot right now. The city every feed is suddenly posting from; airports are a trend report you can walk through.
05
The new coworkerEveryone works next to an AI now. How people talk about it — helper, threat, punchline — is culture too.
06
The wordsMaxxing. Everything is maxxing. The slang that lands in every caption and every meeting; vocabulary is the trend that spreads with zero marketing.
07
Who everyone's talking aboutKanye is back with a vengeance, and so is Drake. The person of the moment is hero one week, villain the next. The name changes; the seat stays.
08
The flexNo phone and run clubs. The quietest phone in the room is the new status symbol.
Thinking in Public
