Why do mechanical watches seem so calming and down to earth? Why does the Apple Watch seem so intrusive? In this episode, we travel in time to consider old and new technologies up against each other, and how a mechanical watch once felt oppressive, and how the Apple Watch may one day seem disconnected and… Read more »
A colleague once told Allen that women’s watches don’t get as much coverage because, “Women’s watches suck.” Let’s complicate the topic of gendered watches, and let’s get past some of our ingrained attitudes about what makes a watch right for a man or a woman. Also, the birthday watch gets a break-thru! Latest Podcasts
When watches are truly designed as tools and do their job without kowtowing to fashion trends, our aesthetically fussy attitudes can give way to a far more grounded affection for the designs. Many watches, old and new, are considered from this functional perspective. Latest Podcasts
Allen goes after the notion of “microbrands” and calls for a change of thinking around the role of independent watch brands of all sizes. He discusses independent record labels as an analogous notion, gets into the importance of regionalism and diversity, talks us through a number of examples of regionally-oriented indie watch brands, and reviews… Read more »
Allen is visited by a fox while recording his account of a one-watch experiment. Unexpected results include feeling great about the one watch even though his time in it was hellish, and realizing that his personal collecting habits need to follow a wholly different set of concerns than those that govern writing professionally about watches…. Read more »
Allen ponders how watch diameter and wrist circumference became the main measurements of watches when, in fact, those two dimensions hardly matter when it comes to how a watch works on your wrist. He recommends a few different strategies for estimating how a watch will fit. This episode’s listener essay inspires a contemplation of journalistic… Read more »
This introductory episode is a discussion about the various conceptual frameworks that we can use when thinking, writing, and talking about watches. These include mechanical, cultural, social, historical, design, phenomenological perspectives. This overview provides a set of possible frameworks that the ensuing episodes will use interchangeably. Think of this as a Metasode. Latest Podcasts