Your organization has three departments that should be collaborating. Instead, they're locked in a silent battle—one's built a fortress, another's planning a hostile takeover, and the third is caught in the middle. The manager overseeing this chaos spends all day in meetings and has no map of what's actually happening. Sound familiar? Welcome to what our guest Helge Tennø calls "the Mexican standoff"—and it's precisely why systems thinking is making a comeback.
In this episode, we're joined by Helge Tennø, a designer-turned-strategist who spent seven years inside a global pharmaceutical company watching organizations fragment into competing silos. When he went back to consulting in 2024 and asked companies what they were buying, the answer was clear: "Not that old stuff." After 15 years of design thinking, customer journeys, and personas, organizations are exhausted. They've wrung out the cloth, and there's no water left. But here's the twist—nobody was asking for systems thinking by name. They just needed something that could help cross-functional teams speak the same language.
Here's what we're noticing: Organizations have spent a decade breaking themselves into smaller and smaller pieces, each with their own data, their own language, their own metrics. What was supposed to increase efficiency has created a coordination nightmare. The customer used to be this unifying force at the top of the org chart, but now they've become a divider—every department owns "their" piece of the customer experience and can't talk to anyone else about it. Meanwhile, managers are responsible for orchestrating these warring factions without any map of how things actually connect.
The conversation takes us through some unexpected territory:
Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Cold Open: The Corporate Mexican Standoff
01:21 - Introduction & Welcome
04:48 - What Is Systems Thinking? A Simple Definition
10:17 - Why Good Strategy Requires Good Information
14:04 - Why Now? The Comeback of Systems Thinking
19:44 - The Mexican Standoff: When Departments Go to War
23:44 - AI's Role: 95% of Pilots Fail Without a Map
29:21 - Complex vs. Complicated: The Valid Critique
37:46 - The Agency Problem: Maps Without Power to Act
39:47 - The Generalist's Moment
47:03 - Where to Start: Resources & Next Steps
48:46 - Outro
Links:
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
If you've been on TikTok lately, you've definitely seen La Bubus. Those collectible plushies have replaced Dubai chocolate as the instant cultural reference for micro-trends. But here's the thing—La Bubus, $19 strawberries, $20 smoothies, and $300 Le Creuset pots aren't random phenomena. They're symptoms of something much bigger: what Igor calls the Aspiration Cascade.
Remember when the path was clear? Get the job, buy the house, buy the car, and signal your status through big purchases. But when 50% of Gen Z still depends on their parents for monthly support, and homeownership feels like a fantasy, what happens to our aspirations? They don't disappear—they compress.
In this episode, Igor introduces the Aspiration Cascade Framework—a systematic way to understand how blocked macro-aspirations (houses, cars, extended vacations) cascade down into midi-luxuries (fancy travel, designer subscriptions), then micro-luxuries (Aesop soap, fancy danishes), and finally nano-moments (TikTok scrolling, collectible dopamine hits).
The framework reveals why:
This isn't about judging consumer choices. It's about understanding the systematic forces—economic barriers, attention fragmentation, social sharing imperatives—that reshape how we dream, spend, and signal who we are.
Chapter Markers:
Links:
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
Dancing at dawn isn't rebellion. It's strategy.Igor just wanted his morning coffee. Instead, he walked into a full-blown rave at 10am, complete with turntables and wood dust, desperately clutching his toddler while navigating through impeccably dressed dancers. Welcome to soft clubbing, a trend we first identified in February that has since become delightfully bizarre.What started as quirky morning dance parties has morphed into something far more intriguing: thermal gatherings in saunas, corporate-sponsored run-and-rave combos, and coffee shops transformed into analog listening lounges with walls of vinyl and monster speakers from Singapore to Brussels.Here's what we're noticing: This isn't just about young people partying wrong. It's a masterclass in navigating impossible conditions. When traditional nightlife becomes unaffordable, when every digital interaction demands a decision, when your phone becomes a cognitive burden—you improvise. You dance at dawn because it works better with your work schedule. You steal music and play it on resurrected iPods because it's the only way to escape algorithmic control. You prioritize immediate action over systemic solutions because, quite frankly, there are limited alternatives.What we're discussing in this episode:- Why soft clubbing is simultaneously shallow Instagram content AND genuine community building- The return of music piracy isn't about broken streaming—it's about reclaiming the choice to just hit play- How vinyl walls and turntables have become the new third space aesthetic from Berlin to Singapore- Why oscillating between digital and analog isn't confusion—it's strategyEvery critique of soft clubbing—"it's just rich kids," "it's not real clubbing," "young people these days"—is exactly why it exists. When every move gets dissected, commodified, and scorned within weeks, the only rational response is to keep moving, keep experimenting, and keep refusing to commit to any single identity. As we discover, Gen Z isn't a demographic; it's a strategy.Chapter markers:00:00 - Introduction & Igor's Coffee Shop Rave 01:54 - What Is Soft Clubbing? From February Prediction to Reality 07:50 - The Many Faces: Thermal Gatherings to Corporate Run-and-Raves 09:53 - Why It Exists: Economic Reality and Lost Nightlife 17:31 - The Analog Revival: Vinyl Walls from Singapore to Brussels 26:21 - Music Piracy Returns: iPods and Escaping Algorithms 34:40 - Cognitive Overload and the Choice to Disconnect 37:03 - Gen Z as Survival Strategy, Not Demographic 39:11 - OutroLinks:- Yusuf Ntahilaja's essay "2025: The Year of 'Soft Clubbing'"
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
Remember when your doctor knew best? Now TikTok tells you to eat oats instead of buying Ozempic, your Apple Watch judges your sleep, and everyone's either biohacking their way to immortality or drowning in wellness anxiety. Welcome to the great unbundling of medical authority.
In this episode, we're joined by Cyril Maury from Stripe Partners, who's spent 15 years studying how people actually behave around health—not what they say they do, but what they really do. Together, we trace a fascinating pendulum swing: from the 20th century's one-size-fits-all pharmaceutical production (where your 60 kg body gets the same ibuprofen dose as someone weighing 150 kg) to today's hyper-personalized health fragmentation.
Here's what we're noticing: We're living through an explosion of diagnostic capabilities—we can measure everything from heart rate variability to glucose spikes—but we're stuck in what Cyril calls the “diagnostic-therapy gap.” Your sleep tracker tells you you're stressed, but it can't change your job. Your CGM shows blood sugar spikes, but it can't make you stop eating that croissant. It's like having a Ferrari dashboard in a bicycle.
The conversation takes us through some unexpected territory:
And yes, we talk about RFK Jr.'s plan to get every American wearing a wearable within four years. Since recording, the picture's gotten even more interesting—his nominee for surgeon general just happens to be the co-founder of Levels, one of America's biggest CGM companies. So we're watching a classic pattern unfold: create the market through policy, then profit from the solution. It's the perfect grift dressed up as public health—mandate the metrics, monetize the anxiety, and call it prevention while you cut actual healthcare coverage.
Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Introduction & Setup
01:57 - Welcome & Guest Introduction
04:40 - The Unbundling of Medical Authority
06:39 - Trust Collapse in Healthcare Institutions
08:58 - From Mass Medicine to DIY Dosing
12:51 - The Pendulum Swings: Mass Production to Personalization
15:21 - Two Tiers of Health Seekers
21:29 - Enablers and Repellers of Change
23:32 - The Diagnostic-Therapy Gap
28:09 - Wearables and Biological Age
32:31 - The Interoception Problem
33:28 - Why Igor Doesn't Track
37:34 - The Wrong Path: AI Prescriptions
41:40 - Designing for Real Life
44:37 - The Evolution of Health Tech
47:57 - RFK Jr.'s Wearables for All Campaign
52:13 - Performance vs. Reality
55:17 - The Underrated Health Intervention
56:42 - Outro
Links:
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
------
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
What connects a sea of white men in bucket hats at Oasis concerts to Sam Altman's relentless narrative-building around AGI? More than you might think.
This month, we're connecting dots between two very different cultural phenomena that both reveal something fascinating about how authenticity gets manufactured—and why that matters for anyone trying to understand how culture actually moves.
The Oasis Effect: When Heritage Brands Create Belonging
Igor dives deep into the cultural archaeology of the Oasis reunion, but this isn't just about nostalgia. We're talking about how a band's deliberate uniform—parkas, trainers, and Stone Island anoraks—became a way to "assert visibility, articulate class identity, and push back against marginalization."
The genius brand activations (Aldi rebranding to "Aldeh" in Manchester and Lidl releasing an anorak with a bottle opener and cooling pocket) weren't just opportunistic marketing. They tapped into something deeper: the hunger for cultural identifiers that create actual belonging, not just identity signaling.
But here's the thing—authenticity requires effort. And in a world where you can get everything without leaving your couch, the act of showing up, physically being there, becomes a form of commitment that creates psychological investment.
The AI Empire: Stories We Tell Ourselves
Johannes breaks down Karen Hao's "Empire of AI," the definitive behind-the-scenes account of OpenAI that Sam Altman didn't want you to read. But beyond the corporate drama, there's a pattern here that connects to everything from effective altruism to the "China threat" narrative.
It's the same playbook: create a story about the future that's so compelling—or terrifying—that it justifies anything you do in the present. Whether it's "we have to get there first" or "we're preventing AI from falling into the wrong hands," these become the fictional expectations that organize entire industries around them.
The problem? As Johannes puts it, "Can you just for once ask, are we the baddies?"
The Connecting Tissue
Here's what these seemingly unrelated phenomena share: they're both about the stories we tell ourselves about authenticity, community, and the future. Oasis created belonging through shared cultural codes that required real effort to participate in. OpenAI creates buy-in through narratives about inevitable futures that suspend disbelief about their business model.
One creates genuine connection through heritage and effort. The other fosters dependency by promoting performative futures and prioritizing convenience. Both work—but they work very differently.
Chapter Marks:
00:00 - Introduction & July Monthly Review Setup
01:30 - The Oasis Phenomenon: Bucket Hats and Cultural Identity
07:28 - Fashion as Cultural Signifier
12:25 - Merchandise Culture & Belonging
23:06 - Empire of AI: Sam Altman's Story Machine
29:08 - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
35:17 - Cultural Impact vs. Critical Analysis
38:40 - Closing & Recommendations
Links mentioned:
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
Let's say someone asks you to suggest five global markets for a product launch. You enter it into ChatGPT, receive a response within seconds, and present it during the meeting. Six months later, when it's either a massive success or spectacular failure, someone asks, “Why did we choose these markets?” And you realize... you have no idea.
This is what our guest John Willshire calls “cognitive debt”—the cost of forgoing thinking to get answers quickly, creating a debt of understanding that, like technical debt in software, is meant to be repaid but often isn't.
John Willshire runs Smithery, a strategic design practice in the UK, and has been thinking critically about AI since 2017. In this conversation, we explore his framework for understanding how we accumulate cognitive debt, why organizations are mandating its creation at scale, and what happens when we lose the connections between our questions and our answers.
We delve into the distinctions between AI as a narrow, specific tool and the "world-eating data generalists" marketed as universal solutions. We examine why sycophantic chat interfaces make us trust statistical relationships we can't verify, especially in areas where we're weakest. And we consider what it means for agency and understanding when our thinking processes become increasingly opaque to ourselves.
This isn't just about AI; it's about the risk of prioritizing answers over understanding and its effect on human capacity.
Key Topics:
Chapters:
00:01 - Introduction & Welcome John Willshire
03:34 - What is Cognitive Debt? The Core Concept
09:50 - AI Types & Why Text Generation is Different
16:58 - AI Sycophancy: When Systems Lie to Please
24:19 - Why Organizations are Mandating Cognitive Debt
34:15 - Cultural Imagination vs. Technological Reality
40:30 - Dependency & Agency: The Real Cost
45:01 - Designing Better AI: The Path Forward
Links:
When 14-year-olds design autonomous hearses, barber shops launch radio stations, and Formula 1 calls its drivers "the cast," you're witnessing the emergence of new cultural gathering points in a fragmented world.
In this June monthly review, we explore three seemingly unrelated phenomena that reveal the same underlying pattern: the post-pandemic hunger for synchronized cultural experiences is creating new forms of community in unexpected places. From a science camp in Karlsruhe to laundromats in Hong Kong to Netflix's Drive to Survive, we're seeing the emergence of what we call "new campfires"—shared cultural experiences that replace the old mass media model.
The episode begins with Johannes reflecting on four days facilitating a futures camp with Generation Alpha (13-15 year olds) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Far from the stereotypes about teenage attention spans, these digital natives revealed sophisticated thinking about sustainability, seamless integration of AI into their creative process, and remarkable innovation when given permission to think big. The standout project? Two girls who reimagined autonomous vehicles as customizable hearses, complete with assistant robots and personalized final journeys.
Igor introduces the concept of "cultural acupuncture"—small interventions that reconnect us to social patterns we didn't realize we'd lost. Through the lens of "The Revenge of the Radio Station," he explores how barbershops, laundromats, and hotels worldwide are launching micro-radio stations that create synchronized cultural experiences and function as "social objects" with shared focus, conversation catalysts, and temporal dimensions that bind communities together.
The conversation concludes with an analysis of F1's transformation from sport to content empire. Liberty Media's strategy of treating Formula 1 as "not a sport but a content producer" (with drivers as "the cast") demonstrates how behind-the-scenes storytelling can revitalize entire industries. Netflix's Drive to Survive has generated $290 million for the platform and fundamentally changed how fans engage with racing—they're more interested in what drivers eat for breakfast than braking stability.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Generation Alpha Experience
02:46 - Science Camp: Futures Thinking with 13-15 Year Olds
16:50 - The Revenge of the Radio Station & Cultural Acupuncture
30:00 - F1's Content Transformation: "Not a Sport but a Content Producer"
44:08 - New Campfires: The Thread That Connects Everything
Links:
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
The book that taught us “cool hunting” could be a career—and why that still matters in 2025
In this special episode of Follow the Rabbit, we sit down together in the same room (a rare occurrence!) to discuss the book that fundamentally shaped our approach to cultural research: William Gibson's Pattern Recognition. Published in 2003, this post-9/11 novel introduced us to the concept of professional trend-spotting through the character of Cayce Pollard, a “cool hunter” who gets paid to sense what's emerging before it hits the mainstream.
Our conversation reveals how Gibson's vision of pattern recognition as cultural work became our north star long before we knew how to monetize it. From Cayce's sensitivity to cultural signals to her ethical dilemmas about "exploiting cool," the book provided both aspiration and instruction for navigating the ambiguous territory between discovery and commercialization.
Key themes explored:
We explain why Pattern Recognition feels more relevant in 2025 than it did five years ago, as people seek authentic connections and alternatives to algorithm-driven culture. We also share how the book's central premise—“it's about pattern recognition”—became the tagline for our first website and remains the clearest definition of our work today.
Whether you're interested in cultural research, the evolution of digital communities, or simply want to understand the philosophical foundation behind Follow the Rabbit, this episode offers insight into the mindset and methodology that drive meaningful cultural observation.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction: A Special In-Person Episode
01:04 - Discovering Pattern Recognition & William Gibson
04:12 - Cayce Pollard: The Original Cool Hunter
05:52 - “Wait, this is a job?” – Career Inspiration
07:09 - The Aspirational Goal: Just Say Yes or No
08:14 - The Plot: Internet Forums & Viral Footage
10:53 - Post-National Lifestyle & Working Between the Cracks
11:38 - “How Do You Explain to Your Parents What You Do?”
12:02 - The Ethics of Cool: Why Big End Is the Villain
15:40 - Gibson's Instinct for Zeitgeist & Cultural Sensitivity
18:26 - Why 2025 Feels Perfect for Rereading
21:08 - Closing Thoughts & Future Book Discussions
Links:
If you enjoyed this format and would like us to discuss other formative books, let us know. Sometimes the most important insights come from understanding the sources that shaped how we see the world.
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, Igor and Johannes welcome Mike Evans, a strategist who spent years at Red Bull Music figuring out which artists the brand should work with and how to stay connected to culture while scaling globally. Now he consults brands trying to navigate that same challenge—and he's been watching one particular phenomenon closely.
We're talking about On running shoes, the Swiss brand that somehow managed to go from zero to genuinely threatening Nike's cultural dominance by doing something radical: actually focusing on the fundamentals. The result is a fantastic product, smart distribution, and an authentic connection to their core community. It sounds simple, but as Mike reveals, it's incredibly difficult to execute—especially when you start growing and the pressure mounts to optimize everything through data rather than intuition.
What We Explore
We explore how some challenger brands are achieving success by reverting to the fundamentals instead of reinventing the playbook. Through the lens of On's rise, we examine
We dive into the cycles that seem to govern brand culture—from bundling to unbundling, from product-first to marketing-first and back again. Through examples ranging from Nike's cultural positioning to UVU's brand-first approach, we explore what happens when your 64-year-old mom starts wearing the same shoes as the coolest kids at your local run club.
The Bigger Picture
This conversation reveals something important about our current cultural moment. As Igor notes, we're witnessing the death of monoculture and the rise of what he calls “permanent niche as mainstream.” The brands winning today aren't trying to be everything to everyone—they're becoming everything to someone, then letting that authentic investment ripple outward.
Mike's perspective from Red Bull Music provides a fascinating case study. He describes how the brand's credibility came from genuinely investing in underground culture through initiatives like the Red Bull Music Academy—investments that didn't always make sense on spreadsheets but created the cultural foundation that made everything else possible. It serves as a reminder that in our data-driven world, we cannot measure some of the most important brand assets.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & The Gibson Quote
03:16 - Meet Mike Evans: From Red Bull to Brand Strategy
05:17 - The On Phenomenon: Product-First Success
11:31 - Brand Agnosticism and Technical Pursuits
14:47 - The Story Lives in the Product
19:21 - Cultural Flattening and Authentic Connections
25:38 - Collaborations That Calibrate
28:58 - Scaling Cultural Relevance: The Core Audience Question
34:07 - Community-First vs. Brand-First Approaches
36:24 - Cycles of Culture: From Products to Marketing and Back
40:28 - Practical Advice: Data, Community, and Authentic Investment
47:20 - Closing Thoughts
Links:
---------------
You can also watch this episode on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
The sale of a hand sanitizer company for $880 million, despite only capturing 5% of the market, exemplifies how modern challengers achieve success by redefining the rules instead of adhering to them.
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, we're joined by Jan Thede, Senior Director of Strategy at Berlin-based design agency A Color Bright, to explore their newly released challenger brand framework. Moving beyond the tired question of how to compete with market leaders, Jan reveals how successful challengers don't just fight for position—they redefine what the fight is about.
Through A Color Bright's work with brands from cycling to running to fragrances, Jan has identified a pattern: challenger brands succeed by being unique, relevant, and true. But the breakthrough insight comes from their compass framework, which maps four distinct approaches challengers use to stand out in crowded markets.
The conversation weaves through fascinating case studies that reveal these strategies in action:
But the real revelation comes through what Jan calls “the tote bag test”—a simple way to identify whether a brand has become an identity marker. Would you pay money for a logo tote bag from this brand? The question cuts through marketing speak to reveal which companies have transcended mere products to become part of how people express who they are.
From Angela Merkel spotted wearing On shoes to the cultural phenomenon of the “MUBI person,” the episode explores how challenger brands navigate the tension between niche authenticity and mainstream appeal. The discussion reveals why being everything to someone beats being something to everyone—and how the most successful challengers create new categories rather than just competing in existing ones.
Whether you're building a brand, making strategic decisions, or simply curious about how outsiders reshape markets, this conversation offers practical frameworks for understanding how challengers turn disadvantages into advantages.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction: Niches Becoming Mainstream
01:48 - Welcome Jan Thede: A Color Bright's Challenger Brand Work
03:14 - What Makes a Challenger Brand?
05:36 - The Framework: Unique, Relevant, and True
08:11 - The Compass: Four Directions for Standing Out
13:49 - On Running: Innovation vs. Market Disruption
15:54 - The Angela Merkel Moment: When Challengers Go Mainstream
20:28 - TouchLand: $880M Exit from 5% Market Share
27:41 - The Tote Bag Test: Measuring Identity Markers
31:30 - Print Publications and Physical Brand Artifacts
34:08 - From Tech Companies to Tesla: The Evolution of Merch
37:22 - Mubi vs. Netflix: Different Games, Different Categories
44:39 - Sustainability vs. Differentiation: The Trade-offs
47:27 - Closing Thoughts: Understanding Your Own Brand Choices
48:13 - Outro
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
When a billion-dollar bet on arthouse cinema meets teenagers selling newspapers in the Hamptons, it reveals how radical proximity to your audience might be the only strategy left that works.
In this monthly review, Igor and Johannes uncover a pattern hiding in plain sight: while mainstream culture flattens into algorithmic predictability, billion-dollar businesses are being built by doing the exact opposite. From Mubi's quiet 18-year journey to unicorn status to fashion designers abandoning boardrooms for London's car boot sales to Gen Z rediscovering the radical act of local journalism—each story reveals the same truth: being everything to someone beats being something to everyone.
The conversation weaves through venture capital's surprising bet on arthouse cinema, the data goldmine of watching customers touch fabric, and why teenagers who need their parents to drive them to interviews might understand community better than any algorithm. Johannes connects it all to the post-pandemic realization of what we've been missing, while Igor warns about the pressure that comes with billion-dollar valuations.
From the Spotify Paradox (how did that artist get 500 million plays without you knowing?) to why KFC tested 400 marketing claims and still got it wrong, this episode dissects what happens when you choose authentic connection over optimized reach. Whether you're building a business, creating content, or just trying to understand why everything feels so disconnected, this conversation offers both diagnosis and cure.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction: Niches Becoming Mainstream02:14 - Monthly Review Format & Welcome02:40 - MUBI: The Billion-Dollar Art House Success11:45 - Cultural Flattening and the Marvel Effect16:00 - Fashion Designers Hit the Markets26:01 - Teenagers Create Hamptons Newspaper33:09 - The Decline of Copywriting Quality39:56 - Getting Close to Your Audience41:15 - Closing & Call to Action
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
When a pandemic book report becomes a four-year creative practice, it reveals how making something "pointless" by hand might be the most radical act of resistance in our optimized world.
Christie George never meant to become an artist. But when she started scribbling quotes from Jenny Odell's "How to Do Nothing" during lockdown, something unexpected happened: a simple reading practice transformed into 200 handmade pages, an exhibition, and a movement helping others memorialize their pandemic experiences.
In this conversation, Christie reveals why she ships her books one by one to people she knows, refuses to optimize for scale, and receives weekly Google Docs from strangers sharing their own creative journeys. Igor and Johannes explore how her deliberately inefficient approach challenges everything we think we know about creativity, success, and authentic connection in the digital age.
From the politics of pandemic memory to why "practice" deserves to lose its pretentious air quotes, this episode unpacks how individual acts of creative resistance can model new ways of being human. Christie's comparison of her art practice to a golf hobby brilliantly reframes what it means to spend time on something with "no point"—and why that might be exactly the point.
Whether you're seeking permission to start your own creative practice, wondering how to maintain authenticity in an algorithmic world, or simply curious about alternative models for sharing work, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical insights. Sometimes the most powerful response to a world demanding optimization is to handwrite 500 addresses.
Chapters:
00:01 - Introduction & The Power of Long Emails
02:19 - Who Is Christie George?
03:28 - From Quotes to 200 Pages: The Illustrated Book Report
08:56 - Reclaiming “Practice” Without Pretension
11:04 - What Does the Practice Actually Look Like?
15:08 - The Politics of Pandemic Memory
18:22 - Book Reports as Cultural Exchange
21:34 - Everyone's Experience Deserves Memorialization
25:02 - Beyond Reviewing: The Rashomon Effect
29:13 - Curating Your Own Taste vs. The Anointed Books
30:50 - The Great Unlearning Project
34:59 - Why It's Not Just a Hobby (Or Why That's OK)
39:36 - Suspended Disbelief and Continual Wondering
41:07 - Circumstances, Privilege, and Pandemic Timing
42:42 - How to Love Something New
45:34 - Authenticity in the Age of Performance
49:29 - Resisting the Fetishization of Scale
51:22 - The Art of Resistance to Commercialization
54:33 - The T-Shirt Question and Staying True
56:32 - Closing Thoughts & Future Conversations
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
In a world of polarized perspectives, the path forward isn't choosing one truth but developing empathy for contradictory realities that exist simultaneously.
Igor and Johannes explore how we navigate a world where multiple versions of reality exist at once. Through the lens of Igor's recent trip to the United States, they unpack how media narratives, firsthand experiences, and personal encounters can tell completely different—yet equally valid—stories about the same place.
Using Akira Kurosawa's film "Rashomon" as a framework, they reveal why empathy—not just data or information—is crucial for bridging divides. Whether you're a strategist trying to understand customers, a citizen making sense of political divides, or simply someone navigating our increasingly complex world, this episode offers insights on seeing beyond single perspectives.
Johannes introduces the concept of the “comfort class”—privileged individuals whose disconnection from everyday struggles helps explain everything from political polarization to failed corporate strategies. The episode concludes with a look at how the Global South views technology and AI with optimism, challenging dominant Western narratives.
If you've ever wondered why people seem to be living in completely different realities, this episode offers a practical approach to making sense of it all.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Episode Overview
01:41 - Welcome Back & Travel Context
02:09 - Igor's US Travel Experience & Preparations
09:49 - The Rashomon Framework: Multiple Truths Existing Simultaneously
14:03 - Three Witnesses: Media, Geographic & Integrated Perspectives
18:18 - Research, Facts & Multiple Realities
20:22 - Designing for Empathy: Gen Z Research Example
24:38 - The Comfort Class Article & Status Anxiety
28:34 - Political Implications: Disconnection from Everyday Struggles
31:02 - Navigating Multiple Realities in Strategy Work
34:04 - Global South Perspectives on Technology & AI
37:09 - Concluding Thoughts: There Is No Big Picture
39:49 - Outro & Thanks
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
Why a leading brand chooses to tell its story through limited-circulation magazines in the digital age
In this follow-up to our indie magazine exploration, we welcome Guillaume "Gee" Schmidt, co-founder of Patta, to discuss how print magazines function within contemporary brand ecosystems. What began as a sneaker boutique in Amsterdam has evolved into a multifaceted cultural force spanning clothing, music, sports, and social initiatives, with their biannual print magazine serving as a connective tissue between these elements.
The conversation explores how magazines shaped Guillaume's worldview from an early age, from The Source to Fantastic Man, before examining why Patta launched their own publication during the pandemic. “Magazines slow down time,” Guillaume explains, contrasting the deliberate experience of page-turning with the rapid pace of digital scrolling. This deceleration creates space for deeper storytelling and unexpected cultural connections that reflect Patta's philosophy of operating between established categories.
Most revealing is Guillaume's articulation of the magazine's purpose: not as a revenue generator, but as a cultural artifact that embodies Patta's ethos of “out of love and necessity rather than profit and novelty.” Through editorial choices that deliberately juxtapose diverse influences—from grime artists to political philosophers—the magazine materializes Patta's commitment to representing Blackness while refusing to be pigeonholed. The conversation highlights how physical media creates different relationships with audiences than digital content, revealing the continued relevance of tactile experiences in building authentic community connections.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Patta's Evolution
03:42 - Patta's Origin Story
08:32 - Magazines as Cultural Touchpoints
12:05 - Why Create a Print Magazine Today
17:03 - Beyond Monetization: Magazines as Brand Expression
24:46 - Content and Cultural Connections
30:33 - Blackness as Starting Point
35:01 - Magazine Distribution and Community Building
39:14 - Digital vs. Physical Media Ecosystem
42:35 - Future Directions for Patta and Print
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
In a world obsessed with digital content, why are luxury print magazines not just surviving but thriving?
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, we explore the persistent appeal of print magazines in our hyper-digital world. Sparked by a New York Times article about “the revenge of the niche fashion magazine,” we examine how these physical artifacts create communities, serve as premium spaces for advertisers, and offer respite from algorithm-driven experiences.
Drawing from Johannes' long-standing connection to Monocle magazine and broader industry observations, we look at how print publications are finding new relevance not despite our digital immersion but because of it. The discussion moves beyond nostalgia to explore how tactile media creates deeper engagement, how luxury brands seek “safe spaces” away from controversial online environments, and why younger demographics increasingly turn to print as an alternative to screen-based content.
From indie magazine shops in Berlin to brand-created publications like Patta's community-focused magazine, the episode offers insight into how print media is evolving from a mere information vehicle to a cultural touchpoint that brings people together in physical spaces.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Context
02:35 - The "Print is Back" Cycle
04:10 - Johannes' Personal Connection to Print Magazines
05:07 - How Magazines Survived the iPad Era
07:15 - Niche Markets and the Myth of "Winner Takes All"
10:13 - The Cultural Influence of Indie Magazines
13:02 - Community Building Through Physical Media
18:45 - The Role of Collectibility and Advertising
21:37 - The Siemens Example: Digital Products in Print
25:29 - Nostalgia as Alternative History
28:52 - Digital Fatigue and Young Readers' Preferences
35:40 - Bringing People Together: The Monocle Patron Circle
39:17 - Print as a Counterpoint to AI-Generated Content
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
How the former Davos communications chief navigates the tension between algorithmic demands and journalistic integrity in his quest to make sense of a world that resists coherence
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, we explore the changing landscape of cultural impact with Adrian Monck, whose newsletter "Seven Things" has become an intriguing case study in post-institutional thought leadership. After working in television journalism, academia, and finally as the World Economic Forum's communications architect for 13 years, Monck now creates a weekly geopolitical digest that reaches over 160,000 readers—all while earning "nothing" and negotiating holidays with himself.
Our discussion delves into the tensions that define today's media ecosystem: the algorithmic punishment for including links (which doubled Monck's engagement when removed), the paradoxical freedom of writing without institutional constraints, and the challenge of maintaining critical perspective in a world that resists coherent narratives. As Monck puts it with remarkable candor, the underlying message of his 40 years in journalism is "incoherence"—the world simply does not make sense in the tidy ways we often assume.
What emerges is a sophisticated investigation into how media consumption and creation are fundamentally altering. We are watching the alteration of authority and trust, similar to how we have seen the emergence of third places and the re-contextualization of health as a luxury in earlier seasons. Monck is a unique hybrid: someone whose insider knowledge lends credibility, but whose independence allows for refreshing candor about anything from tech millionaires' "craven" emails to the shifting economics of written media (which he claims is "going the way of poetry").
Monck's experience demonstrates how we are all negotiating the tension between algorithmic pressures and human judgment. His weekly newsletter, which is a deliberate blend of geopolitics, economics, technology, and cultural observations, symbolizes a type of resistance to attention fragmentation by providing seven carefully picked insights rather than an unending scroll.
Chapters:
00:01 - Introduction to Adrian Monck and his background
03:10 - Starting a "publishing empire" with Seven Things newsletter
05:52 - Adrian's writing process and weekly discipline
07:35 - Finding unique angles that big media organizations miss
11:15 - The unpredictability of audience engagement
12:43 - Platform challenges and LinkedIn's algorithm
14:22 - Experimenting with different platforms (Substack, Threads, Bluesky)
17:26 - The shift toward video content and its dangers
20:17 - Maintaining editorial restraint in the attention economy
24:56 - Approaching criticism with nuance and experience
27:49 - The incoherence of the world from 40 years in journalism
30:50 - Media framing and selective focus in conflict reporting
34:13 - The future of newsletters as "modern poetry"
38:04 - How Adrian decides what to read and curates information
41:43 - Three newsletters Adrian recommends
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
In this monthly recap episode, Igor and Johannes reflect on cultural phenomena that caught their attention during March 2025, exploring luxury consumption, wellness trends, and the evolving nature of media consumption.
From the luxury supermarket Erewhon and its influence on brand perception to the complex social implications of GLP-1 drugs and the fascinating personalization of sound through the Endel app. The hosts conclude with insights on how long-form conversations are reshaping our relationship with media consumption and knowledge formation.
Key themes:
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Monthly Format02:55 - Erewhon: The Business of Aspirational Groceries12:25 - Status Signaling & The Loneliness Connection17:45 - GLP-1 on Campus: Elle's New Column on Student Usage24:52 - Andal: Personalized Soundscapes for ADHD Focus35:24 - Conversations as Culture: The New Unit of Knowledge Formation41:05 - Video vs. Audio: Different Ways to Experience Dialogue47:51 - Long-form Conversations & Human Connection52:27 - Closing Thoughts
Suggested Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
What happens when 90% of our cultural insights come from just 10 cities?
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, Igor and Johannes welcome cultural strategist Amy Daroukakis, who shares her provocative thesis that 90% of trend reports come from just 10 cities in the world—creating a homogenized view of culture that fails to capture global diversity. With 20 years of experience working across 60+ countries, Amy offers insight into how this narrow lens affects everything from business decisions to physical spaces.
The conversation explores how true curiosity has become the essential skill in an age of AI and algorithm-driven content. Through stories spanning Korean kimchi robots to secret trend rooms for major retailers, they unpack how human storytelling and cultural context provide what AI cannot: meaningful connections between seemingly disparate elements.
Key themes include:
This thoughtful discussion reveals how to move beyond "trends for trends' sake" toward deeper cultural understanding—and why your ability to get lost in rabbit holes might be your most valuable asset in the coming era.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Amy's Background
05:17 - The Problem with Global Trend Reports
08:53 - Building the Trend Folder & Democratizing Information
12:00 - Curiosity vs Professional Interest in Trends
14:34 - The Challenge of Being Curious in Organizations
16:16 - Human Storytelling vs AI in Cultural Insights
21:44 - The Disconnect Between Research and Application
23:23 - Target's Secret Trend Rooms: A Personal Story
25:32 - From Ta-Da Presentations to Co-Curiosity Building
28:00 - AI Tools and the Value of Human Curiosity
30:12 - From Technology Trends to Cultural Phenomena
31:52 - What Trend Reports Reveal About Companies
35:56 - Kimchi Robots: Connecting Culture and Innovation
39:46 - Multiple Truths: Everything Everywhere All at Once
43:21 - Honest Conversations About Organizational Speed
46:18 - Curiosity as the Key Skill in the Age of AI
49:26 - Finding Connections in Chaos
54:30 - Sensory Approaches to Cultural Understanding
56:35 - Closing Thoughts: Trends as Manifestations of Curiosity
Follow Amy on LinkedIn
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
The $19 strawberry isn't ridiculous—it's the perfect artifact for decoding our conflicted relationship with luxury, authenticity, and outrage culture.
In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, Igor and Johannes examine the viral phenomenon of the $19 strawberry sold at Erewhon, the luxury LA supermarket previously featured in their Season 3 discussions. What begins as apparent late-stage capitalism absurdity reveals itself as a complex intersection of Japanese craftsmanship, global logistics, social media dynamics, and changing luxury consumption patterns.
The conversation traces how these rare Tochigi Prefecture strawberries—requiring seven years of cross-breeding and extreme cultivation care—transform from agricultural achievement to viral content. Through examining both the supply side (Japanese dedication to craft perfection, complex air shipping logistics) and the demand side (performative consumption, health signaling), the hosts reveal how this seemingly ridiculous luxury item perfectly encapsulates numerous cultural currents.
Key themes include:
The episode offers a thoughtful exploration of how a simple strawberry becomes a mirror reflecting our complicated relationship with luxury, craft, consumption, and digital performance.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Strawberry Season
01:57 - The $19 Strawberry Phenomenon
05:01 - Japanese Luxury Fruit Traditions
11:00 - Craft, Logistics, and True Costs
17:25 - Digital Culture and Performative Consumption
23:43 - Sustainability Tensions and Status Signaling
27:29 - Irrationality, Art, and Exclusivity
29:58 - Closing Thoughts
Links:
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske
From cynicism to curiosity: How personal taste becomes the ultimate skill in an AI-powered world
The topic of AI often appears deceptively binary: those who believe it will transform everything versus those who refuse to acknowledge its real-world benefits despite the hype. In this episode of Follow the Rabbit, Igor and Johannes are joined by Sari Azout, founder of Sublime, a digital curation tool, who published an essay on exactly this nuanced middle ground that caught our attention. The conversation explores how AI is transforming curation from a leisurely hobby into a crucial skill for creativity and knowledge work.
Moving beyond the binary narratives of AI as either dystopian threat or techno-utopian savior, the discussion reveals how personal taste, judgment, and refined attention become increasingly valuable in a world where AI can generate abundant content but struggles with discernment. Drawing from her experience building Sublime and her essay that caught Igor and Johannes' attention, Sari offers practical insights into how she collaborates with AI as a creative partner rather than a replacement.
The conversation weaves together several key themes:
Through specific examples and practical applications, the episode offers a nuanced view of how curation — the skill of collecting, connecting, and refining ideas — becomes the foundation for meaningful AI collaboration. It suggests that while technical skills may be automated, the ability to make aesthetic and conceptual judgments becomes increasingly valuable.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Binary AI Narratives
07:15 - Beyond Automation: AI as Creative Partner
11:13 - The Increasing Value of Taste and Curation
14:39 - Practical Examples of Claude Collaboration
20:13 - Attention and Focus in Digital Environments
29:23 - The Missing Storytelling from AI Leaders
34:05 - Developing Taste in an Algorithmic World
39:56 - Accessibility and Diverse Thinking Styles
43:13 - Breaking Free of Algorithmic Programming
Links:
This episode offers a refreshing perspective that moves beyond both techno-optimism and techno-pessimism, suggesting instead that the most valuable human contribution in the AI era might be our unique ability to curate, judge, and refine — skills that require us to resist algorithmic programming and cultivate our own distinct taste.
---------------
Follow the Rabbit on Spotify
Follow the Rabbit on Apple Podcasts
Follow the Rabbit on Youtube
Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
Known Unknowns on YouTube
Known Unknowns on Instagram
Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske
Find out more about Igor Schwarzmann
Find out moire about Johannes Kleske