
About this episode
Andrew McLuhan—author, speaker, and steward of The McLuhan Institute—shares rich, mind-bending perspectives on the current state of culture, media, connection, and commerce. Drawing from a generations-deep intellectual legacy forged by media theorist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Andrew explores what it means to live in a world electrified by complete digital immersion.
A New Medium Is A New Culture
Key takeaways:
- “I quickly discovered that it’s easy to overwhelm people with too much information. It’s almost the worst thing you can do, because you lose them, and it can be hard to get them back.” – Andrew McLuhan
- “It’s much easier to teach people one thing at a time than it is to teach them ten things at once.” – Andrew McLuhan
- “‘A poem can’t mean something that it doesn’t mean to you.’ Which is kind of deep, but it’s not the cop out that you think it is.” – Andrew McLuhan, quoting T.S. Eliot
- “Marshall McLuhan saw that through human history we’ve been influenced and steered by the structure and nature of our innovations more than by what we’ve done with them. A new medium is a new culture.” – Andrew McLuhan
- “We don’t like finding out how we’re being used.” – Andrew McLuhan
- “Commerce is a form of media. It is manipulating people in some way and people are being shaped by it.” – Phillip
In-Show Mentions:
- How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025 – Harvard Business Review
- Other Harvard Business Review pieces:
- Eric McLuhan’s Taking Up McLuhan’s Cause – re-released
- The McLuhan Institute
Associated Links:
- Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
- Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and to save on merch and print
- Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
- Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce
Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!
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