Episodes

Zendaya's press tour for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is generating more coverage than either studio's marketing budget combined. Christopher Nolan crossed $650M without a traditional campaign, the IMAX CEO is sitting on the biggest missed opportunity in entertainment, and Marvel Doomsday is locked into a same-day release against Dune 3, which is a position nobody should want to be in. This week Sonia Baschez is joined by Christina Garnett for her seventh appearance on the show. T...

Sonia sits down with Brianna Miller, to break down Jennifer Lawrence saying she hates doing press, Christopher Nolan's take on Gen Z rejecting AI slop, Apple quietly dominating the Emmy nominations, and why Netflix, Paramount, and Sony are all trying to buy Letterboxd. The big thesis: authenticity isn't optional anymore, and the brands that engineer trust without manufacturing it are winning the cultural moment. Jennifer Lawrence told Viola Davis on Variety's Actors on Actors that her biggest hi...

Sonia sits down with Jess Zafarris, author, etymologist, TikTok creator, and editor at large at Ragan and PR Daily, to break down Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding brand activation, FIFA's controversial red card reversal for the US Men's National Team, and TikTok's new AI generated mini drama feature. The big thesis: speed isn't enough anymore, and brands that chase every cultural moment without discernment end up looking desperate instead of relevant. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got ma...

Sonia sits down with Lia Napolitano, founder of Our Mutual Friend and former Apple and Oculus designer, to break down Meta's Kylie Jenner glasses partnership, Google DeepMind's $75 million investment in A24, Universal's decision to exclude influencers from The Odyssey screenings, and why a $25,000 golf cart designed by former Apple and Audi designers is selling out. The big thesis: partnerships reveal who you serve and what you're willing to sacrifice to get there. Meta ended their Ray-Ban part...

Sonia sits down with Ashwin Balakrishnan to break down Obama's presidential library speech, Mayor Mamdani's Knicks championship address, Norway's Viking World Cup campaign, and why Shrek 5's trailer is getting destroyed online. The big thesis: joy-based solidarity is undersupplied in political and brand content right now, and the brands that engineer hope without manufacturing it are winning the monoculture moment. Obama said America's story isn't frozen in the past, and Mamdani used the Knicks...

Sonia Baschez sits down with Jay Kapoor, General Partner at VSC Ventures and host of the Climb podcast, to break down three viral pop culture moments from sports and marketing, and what they tell us about sincerity, brand strategy, and the shifting power dynamic between athletes and the companies that sponsor them. A German soccer fan named Freddy drove from Atlanta through Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, posted everything he saw on X, and went from zero follower...

Sonia sits down with Dino Delic, head of data driven communications research lab at Meltwater, to break down Christopher Nolan's Odyssey IMAX strategy, World Cup brand activations, and Ronnie Cheng's viral Harvard commencement speech telling graduates to destroy AI. The big thesis: scarcity is a strategy, and the brands that engineer demand without oversaturating win the monoculture moment. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey isn't just the most anticipated film of the summer. It's running one of th...

Sonia sits down with Visa Veerasamy, writer, marketing consultant, and author of Friendly Ambitious Nerd, to break down Steven Spielberg's first podcast appearance, how YouTubers are skipping film school and breaking box office records, and why Ferrari's electric car launch flopped. The big thesis: own your audience before you ask for permission, and platforms are selecting for people who can speak well at length. Steven Spielberg went on his first podcast ever at 78 years old. He joined Bill Si...

Sonia sits down with Brianne Kimmel, founder of Worklife Ventures and GTM Advisor at ElevenLabs, to break down how AI is reshaping content creation, what Barnes & Noble's stance on AI books means for publishers, and why horror films are the new path to Hollywood stardom. The big thesis: here’s what Silicon Valley and Hollywood can learn from each other and how creatives can flourish in both industries. Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said they're willing to have AI books on shelves if publishers ...

Sonia sits down with Robin Simon Wood, SVP of Production at New Motion, to break down how Hollywood women are talking about AI, why CMO fatigue is real, and Spencer Pratt's clipping campaign for LA mayor. The big thesis: if you're going to take a stance, figure out what you're actually trying to say, and stick to your guns. Demi Moore spoke at Cannes and said AI is inevitable, so we should work with it instead of fighting it. Reese Witherspoon posted an Instagram video about making smoothies and...

Sonia sits down with Hiten Shah, founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Nira, to break down how companies are using AI as cover for layoffs, how Netflix reversed its brand promise without blowing up, and why Cannes Lions just created an AI craft category. The big thesis: AI is here to stay, but companies need to stop using it as an excuse and start being honest about what's actually working. Coinbase laid off 14% of its workforce citing AI making employees more efficient. Brian Armstrong tweeted...

Sonia sits down with Moshe Isaacian, a freelance brand marketing strategist who's worked with Lego, Snapchat, Nike, Toyota, and Epic Games, to break down how companies are talking to their customers in 2025. The big thesis: authenticity wins when CEOs show up like humans, not corporate mouthpieces, and the brands that engineer emotional ecosystems walk a fine line between loyalty and exploitation. Sam Altman has a new Twitter persona. After the Super Bowl ad disaster and the Anthropic roast, Ope...

Sonia sits down with Christina Garnett, author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships and fractional Chief Community Officer, to break down Xbox's fan-first rebrand, Nike's marathon messaging disaster, Netflix's TikTok play, and Tim Cook's exit from Apple. The big thesis: nostalgia wins when it's authentic, and the most human brand wins. Xbox is doing what almost no brand has the guts to do: going backward on purpose. Asha Sharma lowered Game Pass prices (unheard of), ditched the Microsoft...

Sonia sits down with Christina Garnett, author of Transforming Customer Brand Relationships and fractional Chief Community Officer, to break down Xbox's fan-first rebrand, Nike's marathon messaging disaster, Netflix's TikTok play, and Tim Cook's exit from Apple. The big thesis: nostalgia wins when it's authentic, and the most human brand wins. Xbox is doing what almost no brand has the guts to do: going backward on purpose. Asha Sharma lowered Game Pass prices (unheard of), ditched the Microsoft...

Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to ...

Sonia sits down with Jason Levin, founder of Memelord Technologies, to talk about: organic marketing isn't dead, it just got industrialized. And if the audience loves the music, does it matter how they found it? We're talking about: Geese psyop: Wired exposing Chaotic Good Projects running narrative campaigns for the band, TikTok backlash calling them an industry plant, and whether engineered ecosystems count as organic discovery Chaotic Good's playbook: Building networks of TikTok accounts to ...

Sonia sits down with Sophie Vershbow, a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Esquire (and who spent six years doing social media for Random House), to break down how politicians are running creator playbooks and winning, OpenAI's podcast acquisition, and why competency porn is the new political content strategy. The big thesis: video is non-negotiable, and showing your work builds trust faster than promises. Zohran Mamdani is fixing potholes...

Sonia sits down with Sophie Vershbow, a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Esquire (and who spent six years doing social media for Random House), to break down how politicians are running creator playbooks and winning, OpenAI's podcast acquisition, and why competency porn is the new political content strategy. The big thesis: video is non-negotiable, and showing your work builds trust faster than promises. Zohran Mamdani is fixing potholes...

This week Sonia Baschez and guest Yury Molodtsov discuss Project Hail Mary, which crossed $300M globally in its second weekend — only a 32% drop from opening, which almost never happens. Sonia and Yury get into why space-as-adventure is having a cultural moment, what IMAX has quietly done to become one of the most powerful co-brands in film, and why optimism is a content strategy, not just a tone. Then: Delve. The YC-backed compliance startup sold SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications to hundre...

This week Sonia Baschez and guest Yury Molodtsov discuss Project Hail Mary, which crossed $300M globally in its second weekend — only a 32% drop from opening, which almost never happens. Sonia and Yury get into why space-as-adventure is having a cultural moment, what IMAX has quietly done to become one of the most powerful co-brands in film, and why optimism is a content strategy, not just a tone. Then: Delve. The YC-backed compliance startup sold SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications to hundre...

AI is getting bad PR, and audiences are fighting back. 78% of Gen Z can now identify AI-generated images and will scroll past them, causing CTR to drop 40%. Hatchet Book Group pulled Shy Girl after weeks of speculation that sections were AI-generated, and readers went back to edit their positive reviews to call out the AI use. Meanwhile, Yahoo is having a moment on social—partnering with Cardi B to launch their new planner feature with a campaign called "FOMZ" (Fear of Missing Out on Something I...

AI is getting bad PR, and audiences are fighting back. 78% of Gen Z can now identify AI-generated images and will scroll past them, causing CTR to drop 40%. Hatchet Book Group pulled Shy Girl after weeks of speculation that sections were AI-generated, and readers went back to edit their positive reviews to call out the AI use. Meanwhile, Yahoo is having a moment on social—partnering with Cardi B to launch their new planner feature with a campaign called "FOMZ" (Fear of Missing Out on Something I...

Timothy Chalamet won zero Oscars this week. Sinners won four. Michael B. Jordan's humble acceptance speech reminded us what we're actually rooting for—humility, craft, and people who remember where they came from. Meanwhile, Chalamet's campaign flew too close to the sun, turning from "movie star we love" to "guy who thinks he's in the Venn diagram of cultural influencers." We break down what went wrong, why Disney's "Midnight Magic" cruise ad made us cry, and how Staples turned a 22-year-old pri...

ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295% after the Department of Defense deal, the Pope told priests to stop using AI for sermons, and Netflix just opened its ad inventory to Amazon audiences. We break down all of it. Disney/Hulu's marketing mess, Claude's new community ambassadors program, Timothée Chalamet's hot take on ballet and opera becoming irrelevant, and Twitter's new exclusive threads feature. Plus filmmaker Nina Lee (@NinaSerafina) joins to go deep on the Sinners marketing campaign, from Ryan ...