Axis Conversations

Latest Episodes:

CT: Intuition vs. Anxiety, Gen Z Foragers, and Nimrod Workman Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Gen Z is discovering that intuition is not the same as anxiety, poor dead Nimrod Workman never stood a chance, and the foraging trend is more than just a recession indicator.

Song of the Week: "serena joy"

Click here for the lyrics.

Click here to watch the Conversation Starter episode on analog hobbies amongst teens.

Click here to read the article about Gen Z and foraging from Dazed.

In Other News:

People on TikTok are wondering if their boyfriends can read. A new trend involves women filming their boyfriends as they attempt to say words like "epitome," "fuchsia," or "paradigm" correctly. Pumpkin spice is over. Matcha and chai seem to be outperforming the once-beloved fall beverage. Other novelty flavors like miso-caramel, brown-butter honey and smoked butterscotch are also crowding out the once-beloved PSL, according to The Washington Post. Searches for CD players are up 96% since July, The Guardian reports. Demand for CD recordings of artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande, and Olivia Dean is driving the skyrocketing demand. Professional gamers, also called esports players, are dealing with injuries similar to those of assembly-line workers: hand and wrist pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendonitis. A new term just dropped. A "meat proxy" is someone who shares AI-generated text with somebody without reading it—operating as the go-between for the other person and the AI system, according to Business Insider (paywall).

memes about World War 3.

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The Invitation for Ministry and Discipleship in Youth Sports with Brian Smith + Ed Uszynski Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Today my guests are Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski. They are the authors of a book called Away Game, and they also are a part of Athletes in Action and organization that helps parents and coaches disciple teens through sports.

Click here to get their book!

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Roundtable: Dolly Parton, Meta's Lawsuit Settlement, and Back-to-School Fashion Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Three Big Conversations:

Meta settles lawsuits with an $18 billion pledge to make social media safer - 06:08
what Gen Alpha is wearing for the back-to-school season - 18:30
the legacy of the beloved country music singer Dolly Parton - 29:52

Song of the Week: "Loser" by Tame Impala - 00:46

→ Click here to read the lyrics (language)

→ Click here to see the video (language)

In Other News: - 39:48

Australia's much-touted social media ban for teenagers is falling apart (paywall) as state authorities find it impossible to outsmart the tech prowess of fifteen-year-olds. Naur! China's big box office winner this week was made on a shoestring budget. The plot is a dream about a cow, or a dream of a cow, or perhaps a cow's dream. The movie was praised for its "craftsmanship." According to data from Eventbrite, events advertising shared hobbies (think mahjong or birdwatching) as "meet cutes," or chances to meet potential romantic partners, increased by 117% over the last year. Fanfiction publishing platform Wattpad, a longtime haven for teens experimenting with fanfiction, updated its content guidelines. Some users were convinced (incorrectly) that Wattpad would no longer host sexually explicit content and fled to another platform called AO3. The Olivia Rodrigo-backed Daisy Chain Festival will take place in Irvine, California, this weekend. The music festival is also a charity benefit and will feature an all-female lineup of musicians, including Doechii, Bikini Kill, Mitski, Katseye, and even the OG female-led festival queen, Sarah McLachlan.

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CT: Dolly Parton, Meta's Lawsuit Settlement, and Back-to-School Fashion Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Meta settles lawsuits with an $18 billion pledge to make social media safer, what Gen Alpha is wearing for the back-to-school season, and the legacy of the beloved country music singer Dolly Parton.

Song of the Week: "Loser" by Tame Impala

→ Click here to read the lyrics (language)

→ Click here to see the video (language)

In Other News:

🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect

→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.

→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Katie Kelley on Tech in Schools, Rescuing Critical Thinking, and What Gives Her Hope Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Katie M. Kelley is a writer, teacher, a lifelong learner, and a mother to eight in a beautifully blended family. She has been a longtime member of the Coffee + Crumbs writing team as well as the podcast co-host, and is the author of three books: Gluing the Cracks, The Very Best Baseball Game, and her most recent book, Grace Will Be There.

🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect

→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.

→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Roundtable: That's AI, The End of Oak Street, and Student Literacy Rates Aug 21, 2026

Show notes

Three Big Conversations:

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor debut their new dinosaur movie - 02:32
"that's AI" is the ultimate burn from Gen Alpha - 14:22
how one teacher found a way to get his students reading again. - 29:30

Resource of the Week: Podcast Episode - How to Do What We Do - 00:58

→ Click here to listen to our episode on: Educating Humans in the Age of AI (with Professor Jeffrey Bilbro)

In Other News: - 43:00

This week in AI: In light of concerns about romantic involvement with chatbots, "ChatGPT for Teens" is being marketed as a homework helper that limits "the emotional and intimate exchanges between young people and AI." Robbie Torney from Common Sense Media argues that we should remain cautious until we have actual evidence that these features have been turned off. This week in dopamine: South Korean websites like "Dopamine Shop" and "FoodNeverComes" allow users to "pay" for clothes or food, and still feel like they're getting "retail therapy," without having to spend any money (because the products aren't real). This week in arson: "Prediction market" Polymarket has enabled users to bet on the outcome of wildfires, which historian Jamie Pietruska rightly labels as a "perverse incentive." This week in fabric: The word "polyester" has become a new way for Gen Z to call something out as low-quality or cheap. But you know what's worse than that? Wool and linen, woven together. This week in fabric, again: An article in Teen Vogue suggests that "poetcore" (aka Dark Academia's "cozier, more relaxed cousin") and "vintage 90s mall fashion" will be some of the biggest fashion trends this semester. On a completely unrelated note, here's The Guardian on how social media has "automated individual taste into oblivion."

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→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

CT: That's AI, The End of Oak Street, and Student Literacy Rates Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor debut their new dinosaur movie, "that's AI" is the ultimate burn from Gen Alpha, and how one teacher found a way to get his students reading again.

Resource of the Week: Podcast Episode - How to Do What We Do

→ Click here to listen to our episode on: Educating Humans in the Age of AI (with Professor Jeffrey Bilbro)

In Other News:

🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect

→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.

→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Keeping Up With Culture 101: How to Do What We Do Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

This week, the Axis team pulls back the curtain on how and why we do culture research. That's right, we're sharing all our secrets.

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→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.

→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Roundtable: Hoodies, Back to School, and the "No Influencers" Sign Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Three Big Conversations:

Back to school season is officially upon us - 11:42
Hoodies are the new T-shirt for Gen Z - 23:31
A store in Nantucket's "No Influencers" sign sparks a debate - 35:26

Song of the Week: "oh yeah?" by Steve Lacy (language) - 1:00

→ Click here to read the lyrics

In Other News: - 46:10

Spotify will add an "AI Persona" label on AI artists. In addition to flagging AI-generated content for users, these personas will be excluded from the company's algorithmic recommendations. The summer box office has earned $4 billion for the second time since COVID, thanks to hits like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, and other blockbusters. Olivia Rodrigo played for a crowd of 1,000 in Brooklyn last week. Tickets were purchased at the box office that day for only $25. Compare this to her ticket prices for The Unraveled Tour (up to $1,100). Some grandparents have taken to unknowingly gifting their grandkids AI-generated slop books, to the consternation of many parents. A new rom-com, One Night Only, imagines a world where Congress has outlawed premarital sex. But for one night a year, the ban is lifted. You can read the content warnings here.

🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect

→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.

→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!

→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

CT: Hoodies, Back to School, and the "No Influencers" Sign Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

Hoodies are the new T-shirt for Gen Z, a store in Nantucket's "No Influencers" sign sparks a debate, and back to school season is officially upon us.

Song of the Week: "oh yeah?" by Steve Lacy (language)

→ Click here to read the lyrics

In Other News:

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