Podcast Summary: Critics at Large | The New Yorker

Episode: Our Fads, Ourselves

Release Date: September 4, 2025
Hosts: Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, Alexandra Schwartz

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Critics at Large team—Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz—delve into the cultural meaning of fads, both past and present. Using the current craze for Labubu collectible dolls as a jumping off point, they explore how obsessions take hold, what they reveal about society, and how our relationship to trends has evolved in an era dominated by TikTok, commerce, nostalgia, and algorithm-driven desire. The trio connects dots from Beanie Babies to Dutch tulips to NFTs, unpacking the allure, absurdity, and anxiety that fads stoke in individuals and the culture at large.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Unboxing and Anatomy of the Labubu Craze

• Labubu Introduction (01:05–03:00):
  The hosts begin by literally unboxing a Labubu doll, exemplifying the current online 'unboxing' phenomenon. The toy, originating from Ka Sing Leung’s children’s book The Monsters and turned collectible by Chinese company Popmart, has become a viral object of desire through celebrity endorsements (notably, Lisa from BLACKPINK).
  • Alex Schwartz: "These little Labubus, you can't find them just anywhere. These are scarce." (01:31)
  • Description: The toy is described as "cute, demonic, toothy...like a wild thing from 'Where the Wild Things Are'," suggesting its appeal lies partly in its unsettling character (07:36–08:08).

2. Fads Through Time: Nostalgia and Repetition

• Childhood Fads (03:32–04:56):
  The conversation turns toward childhood obsessions—Tamagotchis, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures, etc.—highlighting the universality of longing for the object of the moment.

  • Alex Schwartz: "In every photo, my Tamagotchi is hanging from a large chain around my neck because I truly thought I would be tending to it until I, not it, died..." (04:33)

• Fads Mechanism (06:38–07:30):
  Vincent Cunningham details how Labubu leveraged manufactured scarcity and celebrity to stoke demand, comparing to earlier crazes.

3. The Virality and Mechanics of Modern Fads

• TikTok and Online Shopping (12:19–16:16):
  The hosts discuss TikTok's crucial role in catapulting the Labubu craze via viral unboxing videos. The act of unboxing is framed as a performative, communal ritual feeding group desire and surprise.

  • Vincent Cunningham: "You experience vicariously the pleasure of opening a gift." (16:09)

• Polarizing Appeal (13:53–14:08):
  The doll's popularity is divisive—some find it horrifying, others are obsessed. At a school in Stockholm, Labubus are banned due to distraction (14:08).

4. Historical Echoes: Beanie Babies, Tulips, Cabbage Patch Kids, and NFTs

• Beanie Babies and Commerce (21:45–25:38):
  Alexandra draws parallels between Labubu and the '90s Beanie Baby boom. Both rely on scarcity, speculation, and, in Labubu’s case, the new direct-to-consumer commerce facilitated by TikTok.

  • "Labubus, when you get down to it, are something to be bought and sold..." (22:18)

• Fashion and Irony (25:50–30:48):
  Adults today can display Labubus as ironic or authentic accessories—unlike the earlier view of adults into Beanie Babies as either hoarders or profiteers.

• Tulip Mania Comparison (26:24–28:10):
  The Dutch tulip craze of the 17th century is invoked to highlight how trends often blend statements of identity, status, and pure speculative mania.

  • "The Labubu is about...conspicuous consumption, status, individuation...but it also has irony..." (28:10)

• Earnestness Amid Irony (28:58–30:30):
  Naomi and Alex reflect on the genuine, sometimes desperate desire to secure trendy objects, with or without irony.

5. The Role of Objects and Anticipation

• The Allure of Anticipation (35:27–35:57):
  The anticipation and chase are often central to the pleasure of fads—the "gotta catch 'em all" impulse as much as the object itself.
  • “So much of the pleasure of these things is the anticipation…you eat the chocolate and it’s…okay.” (35:27–35:49, after unboxing Dubai chocolate)

6. What’s New (and Not) About Modern Fads

• Acceleration and Algorithms (38:54–39:35):
  Social media accelerates and algorithmically targets fads—unlike the slow, uncertain churn of trends in earlier eras.

  • “They had like a lady’s guidebook, but it was like 2 years old. And I was thinking about that in comparison to the insane acceleration, the hyper immediacy of this moment.” (38:02–38:54)

• Collecting Junk, Environmental Anxiety, and Nihilism (39:35–41:45):
  Today’s fads are tinged with anxiety about environmental waste and a sense of indulgent, sometimes nihilistic rebellion against eco-driven guilt.

  • “Many, many more Labubus are going into a landfill...there is a maybe nihilistic...pleasure in that.” (39:35–41:05)

• Childhood, Escape, and Play-acting (41:45–44:07):
  Collecting serves as a form of childlike escape and, paradoxically, a way to simulate adult economic behavior.

  • “To be a child is to be left alone in a lot of ways...the desire to just suck your thumb and hold in your other hand like a little furry monster and shut out the world is very much connected.” (41:45–43:02)
  • Vincent: “There was a kid...to enter this room you have to pay me...$1,000 million dollars. He has already heard of capital and scarcity and commerce. And he’s playing with the concept.” (43:02–44:07)

7. Fads, Speculation, and NFTs

• NFTs Parallel (44:07–44:57):
  The NFT boom is linked as another speculative fad—driven by artificial scarcity and internet hype, but lacking the tactile, emotional component of physical collectibles.

• Self-Infantilization and the Digital Divide (44:57–46:56):
  Adult participation in fads is doubled-edged, allowing for comforting nostalgia but also a retreat from reality and current events—especially when platforms showing Labubu unboxings also serve global news and, starkly, images of suffering.

8. Final Reflections: How to Live With Fads

• Labubu Condition as Human Condition (47:34–49:56):
  The hosts ultimately oscillate between wry detachment and vulnerable fondness for the objects of the moment.
  • Alex: “Enjoy ‘em. Don’t go crazy…it’s not the end of culture. It is culture.” (48:45–48:48)
  • Nomi: “There is a difference between holding a friend in your hand and speculating on many friends online.” (49:23)
  • Alex: “So I think what you’re saying, Nomi, is that the Labubu condition is the human condition.” (49:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the weird evil/cuteness of Labubu:
  Alex Schwartz (08:08): "The salient characteristic is it has a touch of evil. The Labubu would not be as popular as it was in this day and age, without a little touch of evil."

• On the universal allure of anticipation:
  Alex Schwartz (16:09): "You experience vicariously the pleasure of opening a gift...children love to rip open wrapping paper. And so do many adults."

• On the uniqueness and sameness of fads:
  Alex Schwartz (22:18): "Labubus, when you get down to it, are something to be bought and sold. That's what they are."

• On fashion, irony, and genuine desire:
  Vincent Cunningham (28:10): "The Labubu is about...conspicuous consumption, status, individuation...but it also has irony."

• On the deep desire beneath the trend:
  Alex Schwartz (31:27): "Every craze like this comes from some deep desire that, at the base level, is the same desire. Look at the cabbage patch craze. Look at the cabbage patch riot of 1983."

• On the difference between past and present fads:
  Naomi Frye (38:54): "They had like a lady’s guidebook, but it was like 2 years old...in comparison to the insane acceleration, the hyper immediacy of this moment."

• Closing summation:
  Alex Schwartz (49:50): “So I think what you're saying, Nomi, is that the Labubu condition is the human condition.”
  Nomi Frye (49:56): “That is what I'm saying, Alex.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Labubu Unboxing & Description: 01:05–03:00
• Childhood Fads & Psychological Echoes: 03:32–04:56
• Genesis & Global Spread of Labubu: 06:38–08:44
• Labubu’s Cultural/Evil Edge & Diaspora Analysis: 08:44–09:33
• First Encounters & Online Spread: 10:02–12:36
• Unboxing as TikTok Ritual & Polarizing Online Responses: 13:53–16:16
• Beanie Babies Comparison: 21:45–25:38
• Adult Irony and Fashion Comparison: 25:50–30:48
• Dutch Tulip Mania Parallel: 26:24–28:10
• Dubai Chocolate Unboxing: 34:10–35:27
• Acceleration of Trends and Algorithmic Desire: 38:54–41:45
• Fads and Infantilization: 41:45–44:07
• NFTs and the Speculation Paradox: 44:07–44:57
• Fads, Reality, and the Digital Divide: 44:57–46:56
• Conclusions & The Fad as Human Condition: 47:34–49:56

Tone and Style

• The conversation is energetic, alternating between playful banter, self-aware irony, nostalgia, and cultural critique.
• The hosts invite listeners into their own ambiguities and affections, refusing easy dismissal or unnuanced celebration of fads.

Summary Takeaways

Fads like Labubu may seem trivial, but they open up questions about commerce, identity, nostalgia, irony, environmental anxiety, and the ways digital culture shapes our most basic desires. Ultimately, our obsessions reflect our moment—speeding forward, algorithm-driven, and globally interconnected, yet always rooted in an enduring need for meaning, comfort, and belonging.