02.1LIVE
THE PROGRAM
Fifteen years of American cable news, searchable by word.
theprogram.news
34.05° N · 118.24° WCurrent · Head of Growth, Watt
01 — About
Twenty years between media and technology.
I lead growth at Watt, where I run brand, marketing, and go-to-market. Watt builds signal infrastructure for AI agents. On nights and weekends I build THE PROGRAM, an index of what American cable news talks about.
Before Watt I ran growth at CoinTracker. Before that I was at Meta, first as a programs lead on media products (Music, Stories, Live, Premium Video, Creator Tools, Rights Manager, and Cloud Gaming), then in corporate development on AR/VR and AI. I've led and mentored teams of up to about 30.
The decade before Meta was media, split between New York and Los Angeles: CBS, a stint at CAA, and a digital agency I ran in New York.
I advise a little, write small checks, and mentor through First Round's Fast Track.
Logged at
02 — Projects
2 afloat
02.2SIDE
Twin Kind
A transcendental music journey.
twnknd.com03 — Media
Essays · podcast
- LOG 26.09.15Sep 15, 2026How to scale founder-led growthFuture of Marketing. A conversation from Watt.
- LOG 24.08.13Aug 13, 2024Circular logic, exponential progressOn the Hermeneutic Circle, an old idea for working through complex problems.
- LOG 24.08.08Aug 8, 2024“Be Real” is the new “Don’t Be Boring”Why authenticity beats gimmicks when attention is short and AI makes everything look polished.
04 — Reading
Updated Oct 2026
On the nightstand.
- NOWNet Worth by Quentin Casey
- NOWThe Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Gut Feelings by Gerd Gigerenzer
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
- Troubled by Rob Henderson
- The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley
- Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth
- How Music Works by David Byrne
TAP A SPINE TO OPEN IT ON GOODREADS
- Reading now
- Net Worth · Quentin Casey
- Also reading
- The Brothers Karamazov · Fyodor Dostoevsky
05 — Workbench
Favorites, 2026
What's open on my desk most days.
Build
- 05.1CursorWhere the building happens.
- 05.2ClaudeWriting, critique, longer passes.
- 05.3GrokResearch and peak-label hunting.
- 05.4Next.jsApp Router for theprogram.news.
- 05.5ReactThe foundation underneath.
- 05.6VercelShip and preview.
- 05.7Tailwind + shadcnUI system.
- 05.8RechartsThe airtime charts.
- 05.9GitHubSource and PRs.
06 — Beliefs
Notes I keep
- 06.1
I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.
Joseph Campbell
- 06.2
Action leads to insight more often than insight leads to action.
Richard Pascale
- 06.3
My best years are past, but I wouldn’t want them back, not with all the fire that’s in me now.
Samuel Beckett
- 06.4
He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.
Jean-Luc Godard
- 06.5
Yesterday’s gone on down the river and you can’t get it back.
Gus, Lonesome Dove
- 06.6
Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not your jacket.
Gino Bartali
07 — Contact
Replies within a few days
Send a signal.
Building something, hiring for growth, or want to compare notes on a book? Email is best.
hi@thomasdamien.com