Publishing is full of rankings, from power lists to best-dressed lists to under-40 lists. The CULT100 is different. There is just one criterion for inclusion—but it’s a high bar.
To qualify, a candidate must be actively shaping and changing our culture in real time. The people on this list represent five generations and hail from the worlds of food, publishing, art, fashion, activism, and entertainment. To put this group together, CULTURED‘s editors leveraged the full strength of our network, tapping artists, writers, and cultural leaders to tell us who they look to when they want to feel challenged, hopeful, and inspired.
Some members of the CULT100 are household names; others have been working behind the scenes to make possible the cultural encounters that stop us in our tracks. In a time of binary thinking, the creators featured in this year’s list are embracing contradiction, bouncing willfully between disciplines, and refusing to take no for an answer. They have guts, vision, and a potent cocktail of realism and optimism. None of them is shying away from the anxiety of our moment. Instead, they are thinking big, sharing generously, and embodying courage. The good news is, their work makes us all a little bit braver, too.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
I naturally smell really good. Kind of sweet, even. Of course I can smell bad, but it’s rare. Sorry to brag.
WHAT’S ONE BOOK THAT GOT YOU THROUGH AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
During the pandemic I picked up 10% Happier [by Dan Harris]. Had to read it 10 times.
WHO DO YOU CALL THE MOST?
My wife because she’s always losing her phone.
“I naturally smell really good. Kind of sweet, even. Of course I can smell bad, but it’s rare. Sorry to brag.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO CULTURE?
In college I studied abroad in Florence. I almost never saw iced coffee, but often asked for a glass of ice for my espresso. When I visited recently, I saw it everywhere. I’m pretty sure I brought iced coffee to Italy.
WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT WERE YOU KNOWN FOR?
I went to public school in a really rural area until seventh grade when I transferred to a school with a dress code: tie, jacket, dress shoes. I used to wear colorful blazers, “zany” ties, and patent leather wingtips. I guess I was kind of the young Paula Poundstone of my time. My second year they updated the dress code to specify navy blazers and brown or black shoes.