On The Air

Culture Crush founder Debra Scherer and photojournalist Sofie Vasquez in the studio with New York City beauty retail impresario Ricky Kenig discussing the cultural landscape of downtown NYC in the '80's and the curiosity that guided him throughout his inventive career.

We're back in the Culture Crush studio after a long hiatus with photographer Sofie Vasquez. Talking about new projects and Sofie's work overall with subcultures and the characters she documents for us in our latest beauty zine—exploring the indie wrestling scene, Mexican superstar Cassandro, breaking kayfabe, Lin Manuel Miranda, Cameron Crowe, and her dream of photographing the cast of Cats.

Steven Mark Klein is kind of hard to describe. You might call him a conceptual artist, some say he’s more of a cultural critic. For the the last several years, SMK has been practicing the art of remaining invisible. Taking cues from 1960’s conceptual artist Seth Siegelaub, he uses these techniques to examine how large societal structures control people’s lives.

Phil and Rhonda Vigeant have been at the heart of the Super 8 film community for over 45 years. They’re at the forefront of analog film and camera technology and are the go-to experts for heavy hitters in the film industry as well as mentors to the amateurs. Culture Crush Founder Debra Scherer sat down with Phil and Rhonda at their Hollywood headquarters to discuss all things film and the enduring legacy of the Super 8 format.

This week in the studio we got a visit from the formidable Stella Kramer. We ran into Stella when she was guest speaking to a class at the Parsons School of Design and we knew we'd have to get her to come in for a chat. Before she was a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo journalist, Stella was a staple of the Seattle punk scene. She created the now almost mythological 'zine, Stela Zine. In the late 1970’s, Stelazine put Seattle’s low-key, blossoming punk music world on display for fellow punks and...

Award winning journalist, author, and brand consultant Constance White joined us in the Culture Crush Studio to discuss her new book How to Slay: Inspiration From the Queens and Kings of Black Style. A lavishly illustrated overview of 20century African-American style, How to Slay served as the jumping off point for a deep conversation between Constance, Debra, and Brandon on the effect that African-American style has had on culture. From cultural appropriation and Dapper Dan to Black...

As New York Fashion Week began, publicist, author, and CEO of People’s Revolution, Kelly Cutrone joined Debra in the Culture Crush studio to discuss all things fashion and culture. Their conversation begins with Debra telling the origin story of The Culture Crush, and the role that her experiences at Italian Vogue played in its development. Then they discuss their history in the fashion industry and how the landscape has changed over the past few decades. Finally, Kelly explains her views on...

A quick stop down in Jacksonville Florida to talk southern street photography with Malcolm Jackson, while he was preparing to work on a project for the tenth issue of the Culture Crush print edition. We discussed the peculiar cultural history and the beauty of documenting life in the largest city in the United States.

On this episode of The Culture Crush podcast, we sat down with comedian and actor Judah Friedlander (30 Rock, Wet Hot American Summer) to discuss his new stand-up Netflix special America is the Greatest Country in the United States. Judah explains how he developed this special’s topic, his theory of political comedy, and his evolution as a comic. We also discuss a host of other topics including the 2016 election, freedom of speech, the co-opting of political causes by brands and...

As The Culture Crush evolves so does the podcast. On this episode, we are excited to have our new regular co-host Brandon Sutton, who brings his unique voice over from his own podcast, The Discourse. Join us as we connect the cultural dots and discuss society at large through the voices of artists and thinkers moving through this new world.

As the influence of the aesthetics of ‘90’s Paris seems to grow and grow, it’s interesting to get a feel for some of the pieces of the puzzle that made up that particular ecosystem. Then, stylists, photographers, creative directors, press agents and designers were working in a freer, closed world, interacting with each other and allowing for chance work and experimentation that is now difficult to imagine. But photographer Matthias Vriens-McGrath remembers it well. He discusses the creative...

When Brian Shevlin, founder of Con Artist Collective invited the Culture Crush to discuss the art scene in New York versus Los Angeles at their space on Ludlow street, we all decided it would be a great opportunity to record the conversation as a podcast for the first time in front of a live audience. We brought along contributor Andre Wagner to talk about his experiences as a photographer in New York City, and the unique way he works with the Culture Crush. It was an incredibly inspiring ,...

We have spent this past year asking questions like, “What ever happened to the counterculture?” and fighting against sameness, and forming the belief system of the Culture Crush. In light of recent events it seems like our fight is coming to the forefront because not only are certain values under attack, culture itself feels like it’s under attack. With this in mind, our founder Debra Scherer sat down with Donna d’Cruz, founder of Rasa Living, who began her career in the world of music,...

The Culture Crush is out in Hollywood with Bryan Rabin, who, along with DJ Adam12, is the mastermind behind Giorgio's, a special nightclub space, named for legendary producer Giorgio Moroder, which is devoted to the idea of the discotheque and the values of pre bottle service club culture, where connections are made and tribes are formed. We worked with Bryan on issue 7 and were just setting up for the launch party when we sat down (on the floor) to discuss the important role nightlife plays...

On this month’s episode we sat down with Michael Faso out in Los Angeles just as he was about to go and shoot his first Culture Crush feature story. Michael, a.k.a. @deconstrct grew up in the valley around ‘zines and early visual internet culture. We discuss his evolving interests in photography, graphics and media, the making of his own 'zine, and the way he and his friends respond to these industries from their unique point of view.

Britta Phillips is a vocalist, songwriter, and actress, best known for her role as the singing voice of Jem, the title character of the ‘80’s animated TV series Jem and the Holograms. She also starred in the girl band movie Satisfaction alongside Julia Roberts and Justine Bateman and is the bass player in ‘90’s indie pop band Luna. In 2007, she married Luna and Galaxie 500 frontman Dean Wareham. They have performed together as the duo Dean & Britta since 2003, and have jointly composed film...

Robin Lewis is the co-author of The New Rules of Retail and editor-in-chief of The Robin Report. He stops by our Flatiron studio in New York City to talk about everything that's wrong with the direction of the very complicated and broken system that serves as the middle man between the fashion industry and the consumer. With his 40 plus years on the business side of fashion, unique insight and scathing humor, we discuss much more than just how the industry has evolved, but more importantly,...

While working on the Creative Class issue of The Culture Crush magazine, we sit down with artists How and Nosm out at their Long Island City studio to talk about their careers. From their beginnings as graffiti artists in Europe, to their arrival in New York City, and eventual breakout into the world of fine art, their work touches so many communities. Listen in as we talk about our work in progress documenting different aspects of their world, as well as some of their upcoming projects and...

On this week's episode, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips invite Debra to their Hollywood bungalow just as they are getting ready to kick off a special, limited engagement Luna reunion tour. Debra has worked with Dean and Britta many times, documenting their rehearsals and live performances over the past couple of years, and the videos are fun sort of patchworks that capture the vibe in that Culture Crush way. It's been ten years since the members of Luna parted ways, and a good twenty years...

This week, Debra heads out to visit musician and composer Dan Tepfer, one of her most frequent collaborators on The Little Squares short film work. Some of the most beautiful scores are original improvisations Dan has recorded in his studio, on the road and even at The Little Squares studio where, course, there is a piano. They discuss the changing music industry, the relationship between music and comedic improv and Dan even plays a few tunes of his own. Just off touring with Jazz legend...