Back Row with Amy Odell

What does extreme wealth actually do to a person? Their psychology, their relationships, their behavior?

New York Magazine features writer Lane Brown set out to answer that question by interviewing a dozen ultra-high net worth individuals, people worth $30 million or more. (Read his full story here.) Almost no one wanted to talk. The ones who did had never spoken about this before.

Lane and Amy discuss what he found: why sudden wealth immediately isolates you, how self-made billionaires think versus inheritors, why the goalpost never stops moving no matter how much you have, and the eight-step psychological descent — mapped out by a therapist who treats the ultra-wealthy — that can turn an ordinary rich person into someone completely detached from reality.

Part 2 is available to Back Row premium subscribers at backrow.net/subscribe, which includes full newsletter access. You can also subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction

01:19 — Meet Lane Brown

02:12 — What Extreme Wealth Does to a Person

03:21 — The First Thing Money Does: Isolation

06:36 — Who Counts as Ultra-Wealthy?

07:28 — How Lane Got Mark Cuban to Talk

09:31 — Why the Rich Refused to Participate

11:22 — Self-Made vs. Inherited Wealth

13:18 — Is It All Just Luck?

14:16 — The Goalpost That Never Stops Moving

17:41 — The 8-Step Descent Into Corruption

20:23 — Do Billionaires Know People Hate Them?

23:24 — When Luxury Purchases Lose Their Thrill

27:03 — Are Billionaires Actually Cheap?

29:02 — The Tax Strategy Behind the Spending

This episode was produced by Amy Odell and edited by Joyce Ciesil and Jonathan Voytko.
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This is the audio version of the Back Row newsletter published April 7, 2022.

What on earth is Anna Wintour doing on the cover of Vogue?! A theory as to why she's leaning so hard into The Devil Wears Prada 2 promo — and what it all says about her legacy.
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How much was Vogue really like The Devil Wears Prada? Amy Odell sits down with former Vanity Fair critic and the author of the Premiere Party newsletter, Richard Lawson, to rewatch The Devil Wears Prada before the sequel drops.

Amy interviewed more than 250 people to write Anna: The Biography, including Anna Wintour's closest friends and collaborators. Richard worked at Condé Nast for a dozen years — and has stories. They review the movie's origin story, break down each scene, and talk about what was totally real and what was totally made up.

In Part 2 for Premium subscribers, the discuss how the movie impacted Anna Wintour's public image and how she really felt about all of it. Part 2 is available to Premium subscribers. Sign up at Back Row for full newsletter access or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

CHAPTERS:

01:30 — The Devil Wears Prada Origin Story

05:50 — How the Film Elevates the Book

09:10 — Richard’s Real-life Andy Sachs Experience

17:00 — The Movie’s Opening Montage

20:10 — Miranda’s Arrival: “A Million Girls Would Kill For This Job”

24:50 — Andy’s Boring Boyfriend

31:00 — What was it Really Like for Assistants in the Aughts?

34:20 — Would Andy Have Succeeded Without Miranda?

36:50 — The Story Behind the Cerulean Monologue

42:30 — The Harry Potter Book: Did Miranda Want Andy to Fail?

45:30 — The Met Gala Scene

53:50 — Why the Costumes Worked

Links & Resources:

Back Row newsletter:
Premiere Party newsletter

Get Anna: The Biography
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Will Kris Jenner's birthday party be immortalized on an HBO show in a hundred years?

Maybe.

The Gilded Age was America’s first era of extreme wealth, inequality, and loud luxury, spanning 1870 to 1900. On this episode of the Back Row podcast, which explains how fashion and culture really work, Amy talks to Gilded Age historian and author Elizabeth Block about how shockingly closely society and fashion today mirror the wealthy and luxury industries during that time period.

Elizabeth is the author of the upcoming book Gilded Age Fashion: More Than 50 Iconic Looks and the Stories Behind Them.

Their conversation breaks down how Kris Jenner's birthday feels straight out of the late 1880s; how sky-high luxury fashion prices are basically the same as they were back then; the most extreme luxuries of the past and present; and Vogue's Gilded Age origins.

Listen to Part 2 for Elizabeth’s take on what life was like for the have-nots during the period — and why she sees parallels between Taylor Swift’s wedding and the Gilded Age.

Part 2 is available to Back Row Premium subscribers. Sign up at BackRow.net (which includes full newsletter access) or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 — Introducing Dr. Elizabeth Block

01:20 — Are We Living in a New Gilded Age?

03:20 — The Gilded Age Weddings

07:40 — Kris Jenner’s Birthday Party: Gilded Age-Coded?

11:00 — How Much Did Socialites Spend on Dresses? Then vs. Now

16:30 — Gossip Columns: What Were the Faux Pas?

20:30 — Etiquette Books and the Rules of Modesty

26:20 — Vogue’s Gilded Age Origins

Links & Resources:

Back Row Newsletter

Amy Odell — Instagram

Elizabeth Block — Instagram

Newsletter: Gilded Age Fashion

Books:

Gilded Age Fashion: More Than 50 Iconic Looks and the Stories Behind Them

Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing

This episode was produced by Amy Odell and edited by Joyce Ciesil and Jonathan Voytko.

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Are tech billionaires the next Kardashians?

From Mark Zuckerberg sitting front row at Prada to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Met Gala sponsorship, tech billionaires are increasingly present in the fashion world in 2026. Why is this happening?

Amy invites tech journalist Taylor Lorenz back on the pod to discuss this controversial relationship between fashion and big tech. They dive into Bezos funding the Met Gala (4:30), why going to fashion shows could be a byproduct of tech backlash (07:00); Mark Zuckerberg at Prada (13:30), the future of space tourism (19:00); and whether smartglasses are fashion or surveillance (24:20). 

Listen to Part 2 to hear their takes on Bryan Johnson’s ‘Don’t Die’ movement and Clavicular’s Looksmaxxing on the runway — and what these male beauty and wellness trends mean for the future of fashion.

Part 2 is available to paid subscribers at backrow.net (which includes full newsletter access) or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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