Waxing Cynical

In these Time Capsule editions, we make our predictions about the year ahead and seal the conversation away. The episode is time-stamped, archived, and only released the following year. When it drops, we revisit the thinking: what we got right, what we got wrong, and what changed along the way.Think of it as our punk response to the endless churn of industry hot takes. Instead of rushing to feed the algorithm, we slow things down and put real skin in the game.No edits. No hindsight. Just the thinking as it was at the time.Because strategy shouldn’t just react to the moment, it should be willing to stand behind a point of view.Wellness, Power & the Body: Who Gets to Be Well?Wellness culture has become increasingly political. In this conversation, recorded in early 2025 and released in 2026, we map a cultural moment that has since become our lived reality: GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are democratizing skinniness, long the most covetable beauty standard for women, and yet the playing field is not leveling. The standards are simply shifting, and the inequalities are deepening.We unpack how wellness culture is colliding with anti-institutional movements, post-COVID distrust, and a widening gap in who actually has access to health and beauty. What does it mean to "be well" and "beautiful" in a moment defined by contradiction: authenticity on one hand, extreme body transformation on the other?A prescient conversation for anyone paying attention to where culture, commerce, and the body meet.

In this third episode, we dive deep into the "flop era" of luxury brands – how once-iconic names seem to be losing the plot. We break down why the allure of luxury is fading: declining quality, a loss of unique brand identity, obsession with trends, and a creativity crisis that’s left many brands looking more the same than ever.In a world where the cost of living is skyrocketing and luxury is mass-produced, consumers are falling out of love. Is this the end of true luxury, or can brands find their way back? Tap the link in bio to listen now!

In our second episode, we're taking a cynical look at the trend forecasting industry in 2024. Spoiler: it's not pretty. We dive into why everyone seems to be recycling the same tired insights, with little depth or staying power.From relentless trend cycles to "culture-vulture" brands and the flood of vapid research, we're asking: has trend forecasting lost its edge? Tune in as we unpack what went wrong and if the industry can rediscover its relevance.

Thrilled to announce our new podcast, Waxing Cynical – where Jamila Ali and I, two unapologetic outsiders, get real about the culture brands push and the realities they ignore.In our first episode, we tackle Jamila's hot take: “Short-form is dead.” As TikTok’s future in the U.S. hangs in the balance and brands race to keep up, we ask the hard question: Is the obsession with short-form content killing true audience connection? We dig into why brands relying on snackable content might be missing the mark and explore whether long-form, real storytelling is the way to make a lasting impact.Join us as we break down the hype, call out the trends, and reimagine a digital world where substance matters