It's Been a Minute The hard work of having "good taste"
Mar 27, 2026
Kate Wagner, architecture critic at The Nation, and Kyle Chayka, New Yorker writer on tech and culture, discuss taste as learned practice, how communities and media shape it, and whether AI can truly replicate lived aesthetic judgment. They debate tech’s role in distributing culture, AI’s impact on creative labor, and the value of amateur making and shared practice.
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Taste Is Identity Not Just Market Value
- Kyle Chayka defines taste as what we find beautiful, what moves us, and what becomes part of our identity.
- He contrasts this deeper concept with Silicon Valley's instrumental idea of taste tied to what makes money or marketable design.
Taste Develops Through Collective Practice
- Kate Wagner says taste is a practiced, collective skill built from shared cultural exposure and conversations.
- She credits friends, blogs, and communities for expanding her graphic design taste despite it not being her primary field.
How A Husband's Recommendation Deepened Taste
- Brittany Luse recounts her husband recommending the film Pina and how shared viewing felt like a trip through another person's mind.
- That recommendation tied to her dance classes and memories made the experience uniquely human and meaningful.