Culture & Code is an exploration of where technology meets culture, and how they shape our future.
Every week, Tara Tan, general partner of Strange Ventures, and Rei Inamoto, a creative entrepreneur and founding partner of I&CO, decode the patterns in tech, business, and culture—before they go mainstream.
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In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore one of the most consequential questions facing the tech industry: whether America can maintain its technological dominance in an era of geopol...
The Battle for Your Browser (00:25:18)
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 users and the digital world. From OpenAI's Atlas to P...
The Matcha Craze: How It Started (00:25:51)
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 company bringing ceremonial Japanese tea to the m...
The Sora Experiment: Low & High Bars for Creativity (00:27:05)
Episode SummaryIn this episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan dissect OpenAI's controversial launch of Sora, the AI video generation platform that became a viral sensation and a c...
Agentic Commerce and the Future of Shopping (00:28:16)
In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the seismic shift happening in online commerce through OpenAI's latest announcements. They dissect how ChatGPT is evolving into an operating s...
Why Tech Brands Need Personality Again (00:22:35)
Episode SummaryIn this episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan dissect the recent advertising campaigns from AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic, exploring what these vastly different a...
Love and Attachment in the Time of AI (00:27:23)
Episode SummaryIn this thought-provoking episode of Culture and Code, hosts Rei Inamoto and Tara Tan explore the rapidly expanding world of AI companionship—from adorable robotic creatures to virtual ...
Elevators, AI, and the Fear of Change (00:30:11)
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 why humans resist new tech, why AI adoption is bre...
Interface vs. Mind (00:26:22)
Rei and Tara explore how digital interfaces are fundamentally rewiring our brains, from teenagers who can't organize files to MIT research showing AI's impact on cognitive activity. Through parenting ...
Intelligence As The Next OS (00:35:06)
In this thought-provoking episode, Rei and Tara explore how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the operating system landscape. Sparked by Google's recent Pixel updates featuring Magic ...
What We Can Learn about Relatability from Kpop Demon Hunters and Labubu (00:25:34)
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 we can learn about relatability and escapism.They e...
Why Quality Might Win Over Hype in Tech (00:29:58)
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-dollar data labeling company you've never heard of versu...
It's a wrap! (00:37:46)
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 build great brands, why creativity is a mindset not a...
The State Of Play (00:45:05)
Demi Moore has a house for her doll collection. David Beckham relaxes by assembling Lego kits. Board games are the preferred Saturday night pastime. Selling toys to adults is a big business, and in th...
How to Brand Technology (00:42:42)
Some of the biggest global brands are tech companies (Apple, Google, Samsung, Nvidia), and in this episode, Rei and Ana explore the branding strategy behind technology. From myth-making to a seamless ...
The Society of Spectacle (00:33:10)
The culture of hype (streetwear, cronuts, Gone Girl, Hamilton...) got replaced by the society of spectacle (fashion shows, Olympics, SuperBowl, Barbieheimer). Everything is a spectacle if you lead wit...
Post Meh-ification (00:46:16)
When algorithm flattens cultural markets, how to create against this backdrop? When everything is “meh,” winners are the surprising, the unexpected, and the different. The problem is, these things suc...
Why Brands Need Creative Strategy (00:40:16)
Creativity is not just an ideas game. More than anything, it’s a matter of process, organization, and the problem-solving abilities of the “backend” office. McKinsey study found that companies that pr...
Who and What Influences Culture? (00:44:13)
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, consumer behaviors, and trends that we can expect to see ...
Happy New Year (00:48:31)
In their last episode of 2024, Ana and Rei talk about predictions. Rather than predicting the future, companies should set themselves out for the future's inherent unpredictability. In this context, w...
The Curious Case of Jaguar (00:54:22)
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 rebrands, and how to tell the difference? We are joined b...
Product identity and functionality: friends or foes? (00:43:25)
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 - product identity and functionality - is deeply embedded i...
How to build a product universe: Utility Driven Brands (00:14:27)
What do Banana Republic and Google have in common? By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by building a product universe.In this excerpt from episod...
How to build a product universe: tactics of product-led branding (00:32:49)
What do Banana Republic, McDonald’s, and a 1,800-year-old Japanese shrine have in common? By combining brand strategy with merchandising, these brands influenced culture. They grew by building a produ...
Five Elements of Product-Led Branding (00:45:26)
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 it?They discuss how products themselves—like Nike...
