The thesis
We live inside an economy that most people haven't named yet. Every brand that commands loyalty, every leader who moves a room, every product that feels inevitable rather than interchangeable — behind each one is a story, working harder than any algorithm or balance sheet.
The Story Economy is the idea that narrative has become the primary source of value in the modern world. Not metaphorically. Literally. The companies that understand this — that treat story as infrastructure, not decoration — are the ones shaping culture, markets, and what people believe is possible.
StoryCo exists to map this economy. Each episode is a conversation with someone who builds, shapes, or studies narrative at the highest level: showrunners and AI researchers, journalists and record-label founders, platform executives and the creators who turned curiosity into a global audience. Together, they're making the case that story isn't a soft skill. It's the hardest skill there is — and the most valuable.
Your host
James Kirkham has spent two decades at the intersection of culture, brand, and narrative. As Chief Business Officer of Defected Records, he helped turn an independent house music label into one of the most recognised cultural brands in the world. Before that, he built a career as one of the UK's most respected brand strategists — advising global businesses on how to find, sharpen, and deploy the stories that make them matter.
He is the founder of Telltale Industries, the production company behind StoryCo, and an advisor to brands and media companies navigating the shift from attention economics to narrative economics. James doesn't just talk about the Story Economy — he's spent his career proving it works.
Production
StoryCo is a Telltale Industries production.