Mixed Media Minds

About Mixed Media Minds

At Mixed Media Minds, we take deep dives into work, power, and the disruptions shaping our future.

Publisher

Sitara Nath and Cristina Şomcutean

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

15 Jun 2025

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

54 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Who Decides What Counts as Work? Unpaid Work, Gender, and Institutional Marginalization

   The question of what counts as work has never been neutral and unpaid care work sits at the center of that question in ways that have tremendously shaped economic measurement and gender inequality. In today’s episode, Cristina walks through the concept of unpaid care work: its definition, its gendered distribution, and the institutional history of national accounting that has rendered it systematically invisible despite economists knowing for decades that its exclusion distorts our understanding of economic activity. The discussion traces a various cycles between recognition and erasure, from early feminist movements demanding wages for housework to Iceland’s 1975 women’s strike and from Simon Kuznets’ foundational but flawed national accounting framework to Marilyn Waring’s landmark critique. Our episode arrives at a conclusion that is foundational for future of work discourses: defining work is inherently a subjective judgment of what we decide to make valuable and visible. Sources: Agarwal, Bina. “‘“Bargaining”’ and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household.” 1997. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457097338799 (https://doi.org/10.1080/135457097338799). Avaro, Maylis, und Johanna Gautier-Morin. 2026. „Uncovering the Hidden Value of Unpaid Work: A Global History of Marginalized Metrics“. Journal of Economic Methodology, Januar 13, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2025.2599111 (https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2025.2599111). Eurostat Statistics Explained. o. J. „How do women and men use their time - statistics“. Zugegriffen 16. Februar 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=How_do_women_and_men_use_their_time_-_statistics (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=How_do_women_and_men_use_their_time_-_statistics). Folbre, Nancy. 1995. „‚Holding hands at midnight‘: The paradox of caring labor“. Feminist Economics 1 (1): 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/714042215 (https://doi.org/10.1080/714042215). Hogan, Pamela, Reg. 2025. The Day Iceland Stood Still. With Guðrún Erlendsdóttir, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, und Ágústa Þorkelsdottir. Alternate Image Productions, Krumma Films. 1h10m. Humphries, Jane. 2024. „Careworn: The Economic History of Caring Labor“. The Journal of Economic History 84 (2): 319–51. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050724000147 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050724000147). Martínez Echagüe, Inés. 2025. „Equality takes work: a process to understand why women still do most of the household labor“. Social Forces, Juni 16, soaf068. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaf068 (https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaf068). Nelson, Julie A. 1999. „Of Markets And Martyrs: Is It OK To Pay Well For Care?“ Feminist Economics 5 (3): 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/135457099337806 (https://doi.org/10.1080/135457099337806). Screen Bites. 2025. I Want You to WANT to do the Dishes | The Break-Up (2006) | Screen Bites. 04:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO4v6fpnjAA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO4v6fpnjAA). UN Women. 2025. „FAQs: What is unpaid care work and how does it power the economy?“ Oktober 23. https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/faqs-what-is-unpaid-care-work-and-how-does-it-power-the-economy (https://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/faqs-what-is-unpaid-care-work-and-how-does-it-power-the-economy). Veit, Timo. “Zwischen Care Und Karriere: Soziodemografische Geschlechterungleichheiten in Unbezahlter Arbeit in Den USA Und Das Ökonomische Potenzial Ihrer Monetarisierung.” Universität Bayreuth, 2025. Yoder, Rachel. 2023. Nightbitch.

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Who Gets to Work From Anywhere? The Promise and Politics of Digital Nomadism

   The digital nomadic lifestyle has often been sold as the ultimate expression of freedom: freedom from the office, the nine-to-five, the fixed address, and increasingly, the nation-state itself. In today's episode, Sitara analyses the realities of that promise across three dimensions: freedom, precarity, and inequality, drawing on firsthand accounts from nomads, sociological research, and thought leadership from within the movement itself to build a picture that is more layered than either the lifestyle blogs or the critiques tend to suggest. The discussion covers how gig economy dynamics get repackaged as liberation for freelance nomads, what geoarbitration actually costs the local communities that become nomad hotspots, and how passport privilege undermines the movement's central claim that borders are simply a structure you can opt out of at will. The episode closes by reflecting on what digital nomadism, at its core, reveals about the future of work for everyone (nomad or not) and who will really be bearing the brunt of the costs as flexible, technology-enabled, location-independent work becomes an increasingly dominant model. Sources Check out referenced sources in this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vwkzsluCPVfP-vS0A5ZzNEM8p8ayAa_RWmYu4647b-o/edit?usp=sharing)!

3. 

   16 Sept 2026

   The Record Contract: How Labels Shape Musicians’ Careers

   Getting signed to a record label has often historically been portrayed as the gateway to a serious music career. In reality, the contract behind that dream is comprised of terms and conditions that can constrain an artist's creative freedom, control their output, and claim more than a significant share of what they earn. In today's episode, Cristina walks us through what it actually means to be a recording musician signed to a label, tracing the common terms of the traditional record contract, the shift toward 360 deals as CD sales collapsed, and how streaming has since reshaped both the structure of contracts and the broader strategies of major labels. The discussion draws on case studies from bands like Evanescence, Within Temptation, and Tool to illustrate how contractual terms play out in practice, leaving us with a tension that runs through the entire episode: commercial music is fundamentally situated between art and business. Our conversation sits with the tension, tracing how it plays out between creative vision and commercial viability, as well as between artistic freedom and contractual obligation. Sources: “Contracts & Agreements With Record Labels | Musicians’ Union.” Accessed July 16, 2026. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/working-as-a-recording-artist/record-label-contracts-agreements (https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/working-as-a-recording-artist/record-label-contracts-agreements). “EVANESCENCE’s AMY LEE On ‘Bring Me To Life’: ‘My Biggest Fear Was That We Were Gonna Be A One-Hit Wonder’ - BLABBERMOUTH.NET.” Accessed July 16, 2026. https://blabbermouth.net/news/evanescences-amy-lee-on-bring-me-to-life-my-biggest-fear-was-that-we-were-gonna-be-a-one-hit-wonder (https://blabbermouth.net/news/evanescences-amy-lee-on-bring-me-to-life-my-biggest-fear-was-that-we-were-gonna-be-a-one-hit-wonder). Ip-Financing. “New WIPO Reports Put Music Royalty Investment and IP Finance in Focus.” Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.wipo.int/en/web/ip-financing/w/news/2026/new-wipo-reports-put-music-royalty-investment-and-ip-finance-in-focus (https://www.wipo.int/en/web/ip-financing/w/news/2026/new-wipo-reports-put-music-royalty-investment-and-ip-finance-in-focus). Jesea Lee. Jeris Johnson: Your Dad Probably Hates Him, TikTok Rise, Record Label Disaster, Grammys, Bad Omens. 2023. 01:08:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HACSL0Alw0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HACSL0Alw0). Kjus, Yngvar. “Twists and Turns in the 360 Deal: Spinning the Risks and Rewards of Artist–Label Relations in the Streaming Era.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 25, no. 2 (2022): 463–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494211044731 (https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494211044731). Maplethorpe, Dale. “Within Temptation Discuss 21st Century Protest Music.” November 7, 2024. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/within-temptation-discuss-21st-century-protest-music/ (https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/within-temptation-discuss-21st-century-protest-music/). Marshall, L. K. R. “The 360 Deal and the ‘New’ Music Industry.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 16, no. 1 (2013): 77–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549412457478 (https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549412457478). Michaels, Sean. “Tool Blame Court Battle with Insurance Company for Delaying Fifth Album.” Music. The Guardian, July 16, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/16/tool-blame-court-battle-insurance-company-delaying-fifth-album (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/16/tool-blame-court-battle-insurance-company-delaying-fifth-album). “Recording Contracts Explained.” Accessed July 16, 2026. https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/recording-contracts-explained (https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/recording-contracts-explained). Smith, Dylan. “Tool Is Officially Out of Their Record Deal — ‘We’re Free Agents.’” Digital Music News, August 12, 2020. https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/08/12/tool-enters-free-agency/ (https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/08/12/tool-enters-free-agency/). Stahl, Matt. Unfree Masters: Popular Music and the Politics of Work. Duke University Press, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395775 (https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822395775). Wikipedia. “Tool (band).” July 20, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tool_(band)&oldid=1365111309 (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tool_(band)&oldid=1365111309).

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Spotify

4.9 / 5

10 ratings

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