Follow the Rabbit

By: Igor Schwarzmann Johannes Kleske
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  • Summary

  • Welcome to Follow the Rabbit where we pull back the curtain on our cultural research process. We're Igor and Johannes, two endlessly curious minds who've built our careers on exploring the ever-shifting landscape of culture. Join us as we work with the garage door up, sharing not just our findings, but our entire journey of discovery. Whether you're a curious mind, a fellow researcher, or a potential client, Follow the Rabbit offers a unique glimpse into how we map, frame, and engage with culture. Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns production
    Igor Schwarzmann, Johannes Kleske
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Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Out of Love and Necessity: How Patta Uses Print to Create Cultural Depth

    Out of Love and Necessity: How Patta Uses Print to Create Cultural Depth
    Apr 23 2025

    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:

    • Patta: https://www.patta.nl/
    • Patta Magazine (available only in Patta stores)
    • Follow the Rabbit s04e11 - Indie Magazines: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/follow-the-rabbit/episodes/From-Davos-to-your-Inbox-Narratives--Newsletters--and-Nuances-with-Adrian-Monck-e31ad2o


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    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
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Indie Magazines: From productive nostalgia to cultural anchors

    Indie Magazines: From productive nostalgia to cultural anchors
    Apr 16 2025

    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:

    • NY Times – ‘The Revenge of the Niche Fashion Magazine’: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/style/fashion-magazines.html
    • do you read me?! Shop: https://doyoureadme.de/en
    • Monocle: https://monocle.com
    • Patta (Shop & Magazine): https://www.patta.nl/
    • Digital Dualism as critizised by Nathan Jurgenson: https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/02/24/digital-dualism-versus-augmented-reality/
    • Sources for the statistics:
      • 2021 MPA Factbook: https://www.newsmediaalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2021-MPA-Factbook_REVISED-NOV-2021.pdf
      • Bold Entity: https://boldentity.com/print-marketing-a-millennials-perspective/
      • Electro IQ: https://electroiq.com/stats/print-marketing-statistics/


    ---------------

    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
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • From Davos to your Inbox: Narratives, Newsletters, and Nuances with Adrian Monck

    From Davos to your Inbox: Narratives, Newsletters, and Nuances with Adrian Monck
    Apr 9 2025
    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 coherenceIn 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 recommendsLinks:Seven Things Newsletter by Adrian MonckOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7-things-6598191513426030592/On Substack: https://7thin.gs/Adrian Monck’s RecommendationsSinica by Kaiser Y Kuo: https://www.sinicapodcast.com/Pekingnology by Zichen Wang: https://www.pekingnology.com/Chartbook by Adam Tooze: https://adamtooze.substack.com/---------------Follow the Rabbit on ⁠Spotify⁠Follow the Rabbit on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠Follow the Rabbit on ⁠Youtube⁠Follow the Rabbit is a Known Unknowns productionKnown Unknowns on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Known Unknowns on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes KleskeFind out more about ⁠⁠Igor Schwarzmann⁠⁠ Find out moire about ⁠⁠Johannes Kleske⁠⁠
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    43 mins

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