Why Things Become Popular, with Chuck Klosterman

Nonfiction book sales have roughly halved in five years as podcasts consume rather than promote books, while algorithms increasingly obscure how hits and rankings are actually determined.

• The alternative history: Klosterman's book 'Rock' imagines the Velvet Underground & Nico eclipsing the Beatles, exploring why hits happen through invented but plausible history.
• Three theories of popularity: Klosterman proposes hits result from (1) structural craft/formula, (2) an ineffable 'magic' quality, or (3) pure arbitrary chance — usually all three operate at once.

Themes, sentiment and reasons are AI-written paraphrases, checked so they never quote an episode. They may contain errors. Not investment advice. Episodes remain the property of their creators.