What's Contemporary Now?

Designed for curious minds, "What's Contemporary Now?" engages various thought leaders across cultural industries taking in their broad, compelling perspectives and unveiling their common threads. Hosted by Christopher Michael Produced by Sasha Grinblat

What's Contemporary Now? is a arts podcast hosted by What's Contemporary, with 104 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

What's Contemporary hosts What's Contemporary Now?, a arts show with 104 episodes published.

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  What's Contemporary Now?

  The Fifth Fashion Week, How Copenhagen Rewrote the Rules

  Feb 3, 202640 minS0

  <p>Copenhagen Fashion Week marks its 20th anniversary at a moment when the fashion system is being asked to account for itself. In conversation with CEO Cecilie Thorsmark and COO Isabella Rose Davey, this episode examines how a regional fashion week evolved into a platform with global influence, and what that evolution reveals about the future of the industry.</p> <p>“Fashion weeks were falling out of sync with the world around us. They were celebrating fashion in a bubble, while everything else was changing.”</p> <p>CEO Cecilie Thorsmark </p> <p>“What feels contemporary now to me is generosity.”</p> <p>COO...

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  What's Contemporary Now?

  On the Road in Copenhagen

  Jan 26, 20261 minS0

  <p>With a quick trip to Copenhagen for the city's 20th anniversary fashion week, we will be attending the shows, interviewing the organizers, and participating on a panel with Vogue business to explore the idea of what a magazine is today. Their impressive programming, in addition to the designers, includes an impressive array of subject matter that warrants a timely exploration and we'll be back on Monday with a full episode sharing all of the juicy details.</p><p> </p><p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices</p>

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  Episode #14

  Yoon Ahn on AMBUSH, Subculture, and One Foot In, One Foot Out

  Jan 19, 202650 minS6

  <p>The episode follows AMBUSH’s evolution from jewelry made for friends to a brand that Yoon describes as a platform, shaped by experimentation rather than a rigid business plan. She speaks candidly about learning in real time, being paid to learn, and why every job and skill eventually becomes useful. From research as a daily practice to AI as a tool that can accelerate creative work without replacing it, Yoon makes a case for staying open, resisting the urge to live in boxes, and trading horizontal expansion for deeper, more human storytelling. Her definition of what feels contemporary now is...

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  Episode #13

  Asad Syrkett on Interiors, Identity, and the Human Touch

  Jan 12, 202648 minS6

  <p>Asad Syrkett joins What’s Contemporary Now? for a wide-ranging conversation about design as a cultural language and the quiet ways environments shape identity, memory, and access. From a childhood spent moving through New York City’s homes, department stores, and streets, to a new chapter living and working in Milan, he reflects on how early encounters with the built world formed a lifelong curiosity long before he had the vocabulary of architecture or interiors.</p> <p>Grounded in his background in architectural history and editorial leadership, Asad speaks to why design is never neutral, how interiors hold narrative and...

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  Episode #12

  Kyle Hagler and Emil Wilbekin on Native Son, Visibility, and the Business of Culture

  Jan 5, 202659 minS6

  <p>For our first episode of 2026, we sit down with Kyle Hagler and Emil Wilbekin for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation at the intersection of Native Son, culture, and media. We begin with formative histories shaped by strong women, faith, and instinct, before tracing how both have navigated long careers defined by pivots, visibility, and cultural responsibility. From Emil’s journey through magazine leadership to founding Native Son, to Kyle’s perspective on power, representation, and stewardship within fashion, the conversation explores what it means to build influence without losing yourself. Together, they reflect on community beyond branding, legacy with...

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