10/23/2006 11:55:00 AM 
The interviews weren't the surprise, it was the fact they took place over a 24 hour period.
Interviews were even scheduled for 2am; a rave for intellectuals.
It looks like these two have been at it again with another series in London on October 13-14th. This time the event was around the subject of art and coincided with the Frieze Art Fair.
Unlike July, this event only last 6 hours and included the likes of Thomas Demand, Dan Graham, Sarah Morris and Miuccia Prada. They will be discussing and debating the serious issues of corporate involvement in the arts and the changing role of culture in the global economy.
Could the marathon interview series become a new cultural form? At a time when attention is at a premium, it seems unlikely for all but the hardiest souls. However, there's a counter-argument that suggests an intense session that takes you through an immersive experience could be more valuable than the alternatives of having to read several books.
It will be interesting to see if anyone grasps the idea on this side of the Atlantic. Our sister site, EMERGE has already written about the recent edition of the long-running New Yorker Festival. It comes close in its intellectual barrage and discourse; perhaps they will be the first ones to experiment.
Influx also wonders if clients might try their hand at this. Finding themselves frustrated with the lack of time for big picture discussions, one option could be to create a marathon event, where hand picked experts are interviewed by moderators. Here they would have the chance to interact first hand with experts who know about the future.
You could get Yankelovich, Trendwatching, Iconoculture, PSFK, Influx and all your other relevant hand picked category experts into one room, for one day and get them to debate each other.
It might be possible to do all your long range planning and thinking on one day or at least form a nice foundation to build from.
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