New York, NY, April 28, 2026—This spring, as The Slowdown marks its seventh anniversary and the 150th episode of its award-winning Time Sensitive podcast, it’s proving more than ever the resiliency and strength of a media operation shaped not by speed or volume, but by editorial cultivation: highly curated content; a “who, not how many” audience model; a “fewer, better” approach to partnerships, with clients situated squarely in culture, craft, travel, hospitality, and luxury; and a commitment to creating the optimum conditions for meaningful storytelling. In 2025, The Slowdown reached a global audience of nearly three million people across its platforms, and to date, Time Sensitive has surpassed 2.35 million downloads, with The Slowdown newsletter growing to more than 15,000 subscribers.

Guided from the start by the belief that the greatest luxury is time, The Slowdown has established a distinct place within a media landscape that all too often prioritizes speed and scale. The company continues to demonstrate how a deliberately selective model—fewer offerings made with greater care, for a specific audience—can command attention, build loyalty, and generate lasting value and relevance. Producing aesthetic-minded work across audio and video, print media, an email newsletter, and live events and in-person experiences, The Slowdown has built a platform grounded in rigorous standards and a white-glove approach to storytelling, becoming what founder Spencer Bailey likes to refer to as “a garden on the internet.”

“We’re not just building another media company,” says Bailey, a writer, editor, and journalist who launched The Slowdown in 2019. “We’re creating an editorial space that shapes stories with meaning and feeling, always with a long view. Made for creative leaders and culture-oriented brands looking to connect the dots and think big picture, we go beyond the surface in all that we do, with the aim of slowing people down, encouraging greater reflection and awareness, and fostering community.”

This seven-year milestone comes amidst the 13th season of Time Sensitive, which for five years and eight seasons running has been presented exclusively in partnership with the Maison Van Cleef & Arpels and its L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, and has become known for its loyal following. The show’s cultural impact is evident in its Season 13 line-up. Anchored by a 150th episode with artist Alma Allen ahead of his widely talked-about U.S. Pavilion presentation at the Venice Biennale, Season 13 also includes fashion designer Dries Van Noten, textile artist Sheila Hicks, novelist and writer George Saunders, dancer and choreographer Lucinda Childs, and artist and audiophile Devon Turnbull.

Through its editorial studio, the company is concurrently developing multiple high-touch publishing projects, most notably a multivolume series with The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). Published by the Phaidon imprint Monacelli and designed by Michael Bierut—and featuring more than 100 contributors to date—the LHW series showcases The Slowdown’s ability to shape ambitious editorial projects. With placement in more than 100 retail stores worldwide and all 425-plus LHW properties, the series continues to be a massive success. The third edition, Explore, will come out in June, with the fourth and fifth volumes planned for release in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

The Slowdown is also overseeing the editorial direction of two more books set for release this year, also in collaboration with Monacelli: Post Company: Character Studies (Monacelli, Sept. 30, 2026), about the New York– and Wyoming-based design firm renowned for its hospitality projects including Raf’s, Café Zaffri, and Inness, and a to-be-announced volume celebrating a lifestyle and hospitality brand. Together, these books emphasize The Slowdown’s growing role as an editorial partner to companies and institutions seeking thoughtfulness, clarity, and cultural credibility.

The Slowdown has also become known for creating high-level events. Over the past few years, the company has hosted and partnered on more than 20 events around the world, from New York to London and Miami to Milan, collectively attended by more than a thousand people. These have included intimate dinners co-hosted with Performa’s RoseLee Goldberg at Manuela and poet Reginald Dwayne Betts at the members’ club Moss, both in 2025, and with chef Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park in 2024; live conversations with the likes of editor and craftsperson Deborah Needleman, architects Billie Tsien and Annabelle Selldorf, and chef Massimo Bottura; and a widely celebrated exhibition co-organized with architect and designer Paola Navone during Milan Design Week in 2023.

ABOUT THE SLOWDOWN

Founded in 2019, The Slowdown is a culture-forward media company built on the belief that the greatest luxury is time. A collective of editors, writers, photographers, filmmakers, producers, creative directors, and strategists, The Slowdown crafts stories with simplicity, clarity, and beauty. The company produces the long-form interview podcast Time Sensitive and publishes a newsletter that reaches 15,000+ subscribers. The Slowdown also hosts intimate talks and events, and collaborates with select mission-aligned companies to provide editorial direction, curation, and production across media—from books and publications to film and audio.

ABOUT SPENCER BAILEY

Spencer Bailey is founder and editor-in-chief of The Slowdown and host of the Time Sensitive podcast. He is also editor-at-large of the book publisher Phaidon. A writer, editor, and journalist, he has written about architecture, art, culture, and design for publications including Town & Country, The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fortune. From 2013 to 2018, Bailey was editor-in-chief of Surface. He is the author of several books, including In Memory Of: Designing Contemporary Memorials (2020), and serves on the board of trustees ofthe Noguchi Museumin Long Island City, New York. In 2023 and 2024, he was named to the Wallpaper USA 300 and USA 400 lists as a curator “preserving and promoting creative culture.”

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