Culture & Code
Episodes
Can America Continue Its Bull Run?
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore one of the most consequential questions facing the tech industry: whether America can mainta...
The Battle for Your Browser
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the resurgence of the browser wars as AI companies race to control the interface between use...
The Matcha Craze: How It Started
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the unexpected global rise of matcha through the lens of Cuzen Matcha, a San Francisco-based...
The Sora Experiment: Low & High Bars for Creativity
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Episode SummaryIn this episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan dissect OpenAI's controversial launch of Sora, the AI video generat...
Agentic Commerce and the Future of Shopping
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the seismic shift happening in online commerce through OpenAI's latest announcements. They d...
Why Tech Brands Need Personality Again
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Episode SummaryIn this episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan dissect the recent advertising campaigns from AI giants OpenAI and ...
Love and Attachment in the Time of AI
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Episode SummaryIn this thought-provoking episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan explore the rapidly expanding world of AI compani...
Elevators, AI, and the Fear of Change
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Automatic elevators were invented in the 1890s. But it took almost 50 years before people would ride them without an operator. Rei and Tara dive into ...
Interface vs. Mind
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rei and Tara explore how digital interfaces are fundamentally rewiring our brains, from teenagers who can't organize files to MIT research showing AI'...
Intelligence As The Next OS
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this thought-provoking episode, Rei and Tara explore how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the operating system landscape. Sparked...
What We Can Learn about Relatability from Kpop Demon Hunters and Labubu
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara discuss the recent popularity of fictional characters like K-Pop Demon Hunters and Labubu and what w...
Why Quality Might Win Over Hype in Tech
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the inaugural episode of Culture & Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan dive deep into a fascinating contrast in the tech world: the billion-do...
It's a wrap!
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the final episode of Season 1 of Hitmakers, Rei and Ana look back at the core themes that their discussions revolved around: how great products bui...
The State Of Play
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Demi Moore has a house for her doll collection. David Beckham relaxes by assembling Lego kits. Board games are the preferred Saturday night pastime. S...
How to Brand Technology
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the biggest global brands are tech companies (Apple, Google, Samsung, Nvidia), and in this episode, Rei and Ana explore the branding strategy ...
The Society of Spectacle
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The culture of hype (streetwear, cronuts, Gone Girl, Hamilton...) got replaced by the society of spectacle (fashion shows, Olympics, SuperBowl, Barbie...
Post Meh-ification
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When algorithm flattens cultural markets, how to create against this backdrop? When everything is “meh,” winners are the surprising, the unexpecte...
Why Brands Need Creative Strategy
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Creativity is not just an ideas game. More than anything, it’s a matter of process, organization, and the problem-solving abilities of the “backen...
Who and What Influences Culture?
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is culture? Culture can mean a lot of different things, and in this episode we zero in on our working definitions, along with the brands, consume...
Happy New Year
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In their last episode of 2024, Ana and Rei talk about predictions. Rather than predicting the future, companies should set themselves out for the futu...
The Curious Case of Jaguar
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why some rebrands succeed and why some fail? Why do we usually dislike new logos and then slowly get used to them? What are the best and worst rebrand...
Product identity and functionality: friends or foes?
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are luxury goods good for? How about a pair of socks or sneakers? In this episode, Rei and Ana talk about apparel’s two opposing forces - produ...
How to build a product universe: Utility Driven Brands
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What do Banana Republic and Google have in common? By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by ...
How to build a product universe: tactics of product-led branding
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What do Banana Republic, McDonald’s, and a 1,800-year-old Japanese shrine have in common? By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these...
Five Elements of Product-Led Branding
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this inaugural episode, Ana and Rei introduce the idea of product-led branding: what happens when a product is so good that it spins a brand out of...