The [Tuesday] Media Diet with Anna Schneider-Mayerson
On When Women Ran Fifth Avenue, Matthew Desmond, and Atoms
Back after our summer break. Happy to have friend of WITI, Anna, with us this week. She’s a very sharp strategist and builder with some great reads. Welcome back. -Colin (CJN)
Tell us about yourself.
I’m a native New Yorker, LA transplant, dope friend, spiritual seeker and cultural omnivore. I’m also an independent brand and innovation consultant—and optimist about the role brands can play in changing culture and behavior. My professional focus these days is on designing humane, delightful digital and physical experiences that help us stick to goals, make progressively-minded changes, build connections within ourselves, create community, bolster our identities, and connect to culture.
Describe your media diet.
Can’t wait, have to read from bed content: Since going independent in 2017, I’ve had more time for self-development, which I take pretty seriously. Ask Polly by Heather Havrilesky is a great counterpoint, she’s rigorous at reminding me not to sand the edges off my bad brave self. I immediately click on anything Priya Parker writes about designing gatherings because she (like me!) connects the details to intentions in everything gathering and gathering-adjacent. Some newsletters stoke my feelings of urgency (especially when they arrive way early on PST time), not so with Hurry Slowly, Jocelyn Glei’s soft, spiritual approach to productivity, focus and creativity. On social media, my favorite follow is Adrienne Maree Brown for blending witchy humor and global solidarity.
When I fire up the desktop, I tap into trends, new brands and internet culture through the two Emilys (Sundberg for combining an arch eye with an appreciation of the fun that businesses can bring and Singer, who surfaces nichey brands, which I love because they often seem more focused on genuine human problems). Casey Lewis and Rachel Karten catch social content currents and strategies. From there it’s a hard pivot to American Inequality, which takes on highly specific slices of wellbeing data (oral health, sleep, etc) to catalog how thoroughgoing our culture’s commitment is to leaving everyone but the able-bodied, white, hetero 1% behind—a reality check for someone who innovates in wellbeing spaces.
Podcasts for while I walk my dog and cook. You could probably guess I’d be into Ezra Klein to contextualize technology, politics and current events, and On Being for a spiritual aperture, but sometimes it’s just too much work to play against type. I love seeing how distinct intellectual paradigms relate to each other, and Dharma Punx, which brilliantly draws throughlines between Buddhism, contemporary psychology and recovery has been a great comfort to me over the years.
Throughout the day, I save long-form pieces from The Atlantic, NYTMag, Fast Company, and NYMag on Pocket and LinkedIn. I wish I remembered to revisit…I often succumb to a basic NYT scroll before bed.
What’s the last great book you read?
Poverty, by America by sociologist Matthew Desmond. I can’t unsee the relationship between subsidies for wealthy homebuyers and the decline in support for affordable housing and basic social and public services. For me it’s especially pointed in LA, where the privatization of everything is exquisitely realized. You rarely even see a public mailbox or trash can (Los Angeles, hook us up with some receptacles!). Also, I picked up Stolen Focus by journalist Johan Harari for practical help in staying on task, and awoke radicalized to the long overdue attention rebellion. Late stage capitalism awakening era, I guess.
What are you reading now?
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by my dear friend Julie Satow, it’s a juicily reported account of the rise of the retail industry in the 20th century through the lens of three female trailblazers. It touches a lot on her subjects’ ambivalence of being women at the forefront of the retail industry, at a moment when lots of us are opening up about the toll of today’s culture of overwork (and also, ps, what it’s like to do all this work without the privileges of a life partner, financial safety net, etc). Quarterlifers, which I picked up to give psycho-developmental context to reflections I’ve been exploring about my late teens and 20s. And on long drives, ‘ear reading’ bell hooks’ All about love. Her wisdom is hard won…I guess it always is, right?
What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?
I try to be strategic by locating what I have started online and want to finish up in print. But that’s basically impossible (really wish the magazines made this easier). Then I give up, dive into the New York magazine food and culture sections (and add to cart/Google maps). Then basically spin the roulette on my pile of New Yorkers, don’t complete the issue and put it back on the pile. Help!
Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?
That’s a trap—who’s defining that norm?? I am delighted by Roxane Gay’s unbothered tone in the places I encounter her (NYT, Goodreads reviews, etc) and also how open she’s been about the evolution of her views. I should read more of her essays.
What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone?
I’m enjoying Atoms, a habit tracking venture by Atomic Habits writer James Clear. A small detail, but requiring me to connect my daily physical therapy goal to my desire to ‘become a person who takes care of her body and is physically active’ kinda works and the haptic reinforcement hiiits.
Plane or train?
From an experience design perspective I’m curious about long flights, as there’s always opportunities for positive brand behaviors and short-sighted money grabs. But I also think about the systemic solutions that would have us all making flying a less frequent part of our lives. Such as Spain eliminating short-haul flights where trains are possible, Copenhagen rewarding green tourism with free museum entries or even the social shaming movement that emerged in Sweden pre-pandemic.
What is one place everyone should visit?
The woods! I’ve spent such nourishing times in forests, from El Bolson in Argentina to Berkeley’s redwoods, and most recently in Sequoia National Park.
Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.
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Thanks for reading,
Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Anna (ASM)
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Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) with editing help from Louis Cheslaw about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing.
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