Can we kick off with a little introduction?

Of course. My name is Fernando Augusto Pacheco. I am originally from São Paulo, in Brazil, but I moved to London 16 years ago to study journalism. And you know, I fell in love with the city, and then I started a job at Monocle back in 2011, so I've been here for quite a few years. It was 2011 when they launched Monocle Radio—I started working in radio and I love it. I'm a senior correspondent for Monocle Radio, and I contribute to the magazine as well. I do everything from selecting the playlists to writing pieces and talking about Brazilian and Latin American politics and cinema. I have a lot of freedom, which I love.

And you host The Stack radio show for Monocle too, right?

Yes, I host The Stack which goes live every Saturday at 10am London time, but of course you can listen as a podcast which the majority of our listeners do. It's very meta, the industry. Every week I talk to different editors and graphic designers, and I like to keep it very international. So for example there's a lot of new magazines coming out of France—France is a big market for us. And of course we have this amazing, extensive list of correspondents who share anything from a zine in Slovakia, to a new title in Japan. It's very exciting because there are so many stories in the world of print. 

I love that. Can you tell me a bit about your journey to working at Monocle? You said you studied journalism in London. What did you do after that?

Well, it’s funny because when people ask me for career tips, or ask me what they should do, I always tell them to follow their passions. I know it might sound simplistic, but I remember in 2007, when Monocle launched, I discovered the magazine. I think my first Monocle was something like Issue 5, when they also had the first Quality of Life Survey. When I read that, I fell in love with the magazine. You know what I did? I sent an email to Tyler Brûlé, our founder, and said: “listen, are there any internships available? I don’t have much experience, but I love the magazine, and I’d love to intern.” He replied to me, and I did a three-month internship. It was still my first year of university, so it wasn’t really the time to do internships, but we managed, and I kept in touch through the years and came back in 2011.  

That’s such a great story, and really illustrates everything we’re trying to do and promote through Social Capital. You don’t necessarily have to have a network, you can literally shoot your shot. I think sometimes people don’t realise that the most amazing opportunities are quite easy to get, because all you need to do is send an email. 

I like what you said, shoot your shot, because you know, you might be lucky. I think that's the cool thing about Monocle, because when you look at our staff, many people in senior positions started as interns as well. It’s really nice that it's a company that allows space for growth. And I think that's super important as well as following your passions. I love how international they are, because we are here in London, and I’m Brazilian, and I host the shows and have an accent and everything, but it’s not a problem. 

And did you go straight into Monocle, or did you work at other places before too?

I spent a while in Amsterdam, working for the men’s publication Fantastic Man for about six months. It was such a lovely experience. I lived a 10 minute walk from the office, and was working for [Fantastic Man’s founders] Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom. They’re amazing and I love the work they do. It was another magazine I liked, and actually emailed them saying I’d love to work for them. They said “sorry Fernando, we’d love to have you over, but you’d need to move to Amsterdam.” And so I did! I also spent some time at The Financial Times, on the Life & Arts section and the FT Weekend. 

Let’s talk about living a good life. What does that mean to you? What are the things that make up a really good week, month or year?

I like to follow my heart. Maybe that's my Brazilian side, but I think joy and excitement are so important to me. You know, having a job that I feel happy in is so, so important. But at the same time, one of my big worries about living abroad is that my whole family lives in Brazil. They’re a big part of my life, so that's been a challenge. As I’m growing older, I am trying to go to Brazil more often, they come and visit me, and we talk all the time. A good life is about balance, about feeling excitement about things. I still feel excited about my work. I feel excited about my two countries, Brazil and the UK.  

As someone who works in radio, what’s your take on radio versus podcasting?

There’s space for both live radio and podcasts. While we create podcasts, we are also live on radio if you go to monocle.com. When Monocle Radio launched, Tyler was often asked why we didn't just do podcasts instead. He wanted to offer something different for our international listeners. Whether you’re in Japan or anywhere else in the world, you can tune in and have something to listen to at all times. When I’m travelling for work or while on holiday, I love sitting in the back of the cab and listening to the music the driver is playing. I often find myself using Shazam and discovering new music. That’s one of my favourite things, because I select our playlist. So I still think radio has a healthy future.

What are some of your favorite artists or tracks right now?

I host a show, called The Global Countdown, where I select the top five songs in a different country across the world each week. I enjoy the international focus, because it keeps me discovering and sharing new music all the time. For example, Kazakhstan was recently up and they have a great music scene. When I selected music for the playlist, it was a combination of electro pop, jazz, and bossa nova. I also recently discovered this great Egyptian artist, called TUL8TE, who makes really cool music and wears a mask. More generally, I love electro music like Madonna and the Pet Shop Boys. And Brazilian music for sure! 

And finally, what are some of your favourite films and why?

I'm very open-minded when it comes to film and I'm not someone who just sees arthouse movies or blockbusters. I felt there was a time recently where only superhero movies, films like Harry Potter, and other boring remakes were coming out. There weren’t even any good love stories. There are many adults who don’t want to watch Netflix and actually want to go to the cinema and see something entertaining. It doesn't need to be a three-hour Iranian documentary. That’s why I’m happy that this seems to be changing again, possibly due to people growing tired of superhero movies and it being reflected in box office results. I actually wrote a piece about the return of romanticism recently and how movies like Babygirl, Queer, and Challengers made 2024 quite a sexy year for cinema. When it comes to my favourite films there are so many to choose from. Central Station from Brazil is a film that makes me cry all the time. Basic Instinct is amazing – I can watch it over and over – and I have a Japanese poster of the film at home as well. I’m quite eclectic cinema-wise.