Why Do People Go To Nightclubs? | Ashley Mears | Modern Wisdom Podcast 212

Ashley Mears is a writer, sociologist and former fashion model. What happens if a sociologist decides to do immersive ethnographic research and become a party girl for 6 months, following some of the biggest promoters around New York & Miami and assessing what's going on? Why do men spend £1000's on bottles of champagne in VIP clubs? Why is the music so loud? Why is there a very specific type of girl on these tables? What are the anthropological underpinnings of nightclubs? Sponsor: Sign up to FitBook at https://fitbook.co.uk/join-fitbook/ (enter code MODERNWISDOM for 50% off your membership) Extra Stuff: Buy Very Important People - https://amzn.to/3gO6azy Get my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #nightlife #vip #sociology - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

Ashley MearsguestChris Williamsonhost

Aug 20, 202056mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 20, 2020
Duration: 56m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Ashley Mears is a writer, sociologist and former fashion model. What happens if a sociologist decides to do immersive ethnographic research and become a party girl for 6 months, following some of the biggest promoters around New York & Miami and assessing what's going on? Why do men spend £1000's on bottles of champagne in VIP clubs? Why is the music so loud? Why is there a very specific type of girl on these tables? What are the anthropological underpinnings of nightclubs? Sponsor: Sign up to FitBook at https://fitbook.co.uk/join-fitbook/ (enter code MODERNWISDOM for 50% off your membership) Extra Stuff: Buy Very Important People - https://amzn.to/3gO6azy Get my free Ultimate Life Hacks List to 10x your daily productivity → https://chriswillx.com/lifehacks/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #nightlife #vip #sociology - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: iTunes: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: modernwisdompodcast@gmail.com

SPEAKERS

Ashley Mears
guest
Chris Williamson
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Ashley Mears and Chris Williamson, Why Do People Go To Nightclubs? | Ashley Mears | Modern Wisdom Podcast 212 explores nightclubs, Status, and Champagne: Inside the Economics of Nightlife Sociologist Ashley Mears explains the social and economic logic behind high‑end nightclubs, especially bottle service venues where men spend huge sums on champagne and tables to display wealth and status. She frames nightlife through concepts like conspicuous consumption, collective effervescence, and the gift economy, showing how promoters, models, and wealthy clients mutually construct value. Mears details how female beauty operates as "bodily capital" while men primarily leverage financial capital, creating gendered asymmetries in access, power, and long‑term relationship prospects. The conversation also touches on COVID-era nightlife disruptions, the experience economy, and broader questions about inequality, dating markets, and shifting norms around status and attraction.

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