Millennial: Pretend Adulting, Real Talk

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**Millennial: Pretend Adulting, Real Talk**

Millennial podcast is a weekly roundtable about our Generation Y experience. From news to politics and pop culture, a panel of friends digs in on why these stories matter and how they affect millennials. If you’ve ever wondered how to maneuver student loan debt, voting, relationships, careers, or just life in general, we feel that SO. HARD. And we’re here to share our stories, along with our greatest challenges and wins, along the way. Millennial podcast is about journeying through young adulthood together.

Latest Episodes:

Marine Scientist Mckenzie Margarethe on Deep Sea Exploration, Where Titan Went Wrong, and Orcas Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and REAL ocean talk!
And it's REAL ocean talk because this week we're joined by Mckenzie Margarethe, a marine scientist and naturalist focusing on realistic conservation and ocean education.
We have to spend some time talking about the Titan submersible, where they went wrong, why the internet was so quick to jump to comedic takes, and learn more about Mckenzie's experience watching this story unfold as an expert in her field.
Misinformation and armchair researchers abounded during this crisis, making Mckenzie and others in her field do a big :facepalm:.
The Titan story provides a great reminder of the need for proper deep sea exploration, and considerations for how we protect our oceans along the way.
We have to ask... are the orcas coming to kill us all?
Mckenzie has a few resources she recommends if you want to get involved in the conversation of ocean conservation: check out Pique Action's list of Climate Creators to watch in 2023 and picking a sea creature you're passionate about and educating yourself on it.
Check Mckenzie out on Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter!
Since we're on the topic, let's chat about other types of extreme tourism billionaires like to blow money on, risking their lives in the process: Mt. Everest, The Mariana Trench, going to space, and others. Which of these things would we do if we had the money? (Real talk, we're idiots but we're not THAT stupid.)
Tragedy tourism can have some overlap here as well - what attracts people to tragic, historic sites? What is the difference between a tragic event that evokes solemnity vs comedy?
We've got some recommendations that will hold your attention this week! 'Titanic's Final Mystery' on Paramount+ (Laura), ‘Funny You Should Ask’ by Elissa Sussman (Pam), and Hulu's 'The Bear' (Andrew).

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available on Patreon and for Apple Podcast subscribers:

Y'all know we can't top off the last couple of weeks of submersible coverage without gossiping about some Titanic conspiracy theories.
JP MORGAN SANK THE TITANIC ON PURPOSE IN AN INSURANCE FRAUD SCHEME/TO KILL OPPONENTS OF FORMING THE FEDERAL RESERVE. jk jk.
With its close pop culture connection to Titanic, it was impossible that there wouldn't be conspiracy theories about the doomed submersible. Who thinks these billionaires faked their deaths and are now living the rest of their days on a private island?

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Tax The Rich, Save Their Lives Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and real submersible talk!
We're certainly hoping for good news for the five aboard the Titan submersible, but we can't help but marvel at the hubris and lack of regulations that got us here.
UPDATE: Bud Light is no longer the number 1 selling beer in the US: it has been replaced by Modelo Especial.
Andrew strikes back: after being triggered last week by Laura's character assassination of Corona Light, Andy stands in defense of his beloved pilsner style lager.
Illinois is banning... book bans! They're the first state to do this in response to local and national increases in book banning attempts in the last year.
Can the Biden admin really tout their latest achievement re: Ticketmaster as a crackdown on junk fees? Sure, consumers can expect to start seeing these upfront now, but it doesn't (yet) prevent ticket companies from charging these fees.
Reddit, aka "the front page of the internet" is under fire due to another douchey tech CEO doing douchey tech CEO things.
Reddit announced that they will begin charging developers for API calls to Reddit servers, resulting in a potential yearly cost of $20 million for developers who maintain third party Reddit apps. The rub? These third party apps are widely regarded to be better than Reddit's official one!
To top the drama off, CEO Steve Huffman has been mishandling communications on the subject and threatening Reddit's community of unpaid moderators. In response, thousands of subreddits have gone dark, and many others have begun posting explicit content in protest.
And because life isn't crazy enough, a global cyber attack successfully breached several government agencies and private companies last week, including the US Department of Energy, Shell Oil, and University of Georgia, among others.
While we're on the topic of security, let's talk credit card security! We share our tips and tricks for keeping your credit cards secure, and make some recommendations around our favorite credit cards.
Andrew's a big fan of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card
This week's recommendations are all over the place: Keep an eye on SCOTUS decisions to be released Thursday for potential student loan updates (Laura), NerdWallet (Pam), and 'The Other Two' for the best depictions (and predictions) of Hollywood (Andrew).

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available on Patreon and Apple Podcasts:

There's nothing more cringe than a workplace icebreaker, and we're inspired to discuss them and childhood cringe by this tweet.
We each bring a never before shared childhood cringe story - some of these revelations are SHOCKING!
We each bring our own ice breaker question to the table, and pose them to each other. The answers we give are... enlightening.

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Authors Versus Reviewers, Monitoring Local Air Quality, Netflix Gains Members After Crackdown Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

As we record on arraignment eve, the crew brings some news for your consideration from the last week. Don't miss our Breaking News coverage of the indictment being unsealed -- activate a free Patreon trial today!
Did Sarah Stusek bring a GoodReads review bombing and lost publishing deal on herself after she called a reviewer a bitch?
Does current social media culture putting reviews front and center for creators inspire this kind of bad behavior?
Tbh, we don't think a 4 star rating is something to lose your shit over.
The eastern US received a lesson in how to live with wildfire smoke blanketing the region, and Californians gave a collective side-eye.
It's a whole new world for Laura, who'd never had to contend with toxic wildfire smoke.
Pam and Andrew give their tips for monitoring the AQI (air quality index) and taking safety precautions.
Epic fail y'all: Netflix is reporting record signups in the wake of its crackdown on password sharing, meaning many of us didn't cancel our subscriptions.
The data they're reporting on is questionable though... watch this space.
This week's recommendations will make you feel smarter: 'Happy-Go-Lucky' by David Sedaris (Laura), 'Burn It Down' by Maureen Ryan (Pam), and 'Jury Duty' on Amazon Prime / Freevee (Andrew).

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available on Patreon and Apple Podcasts:

It's another MuggleSuck - this time, Andrew reflects on an interaction with appreciation, but Pam and Laura are still giving bombastic side-eye.
Laura brings an example of promises made, promised back pedaled.
And a listener from the early days accuses one of us of taking a bong rip on air. We launch a formal indictment and investigation to identify the perpetrator.

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Happy Pride?, Preparing For Student Loan Repayments, Gratuitous Scenes in TV Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and real talk!
The GOP was of course messy while we were off air, and unlike Marie Condo, we do not love mess.
Happy(?) Pride. On top of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping the nation, brands are really fucking up just in time for pride month.
Tbh, Bud Light deserves their current sales losses on the basis of their beer sucking ass, but they've managed to piss off a large cross-section of the country with their reaction to backlash over their ad featuring a trans woman.
Are people actually outraged by things like this, or are they looking for new ways to be relevant? Asking for Kid Rock's music career.
Target is also fucking up - out of concern for their employees, they've pulled and diminished elements of their Pride displays in stores. Never thought we'd see the day where Bud Light and Target were in the dog house for caving to queerphobia, but here we are!
RIP disposable income: as part of debt ceiling negotiations, federal student loan repayments will officially be restarting this fall.
We poll the #Millennial Facebook group to see how listeners are feeling about resuming student loan payments and hear what others are doing to prepare.
Everyone agrees: interest is the real killer here. If interest were taken out of the equation, we'd all have a much easier time repaying our principal balances.
Critics and audiences seem to be split over HBO's newest buzz series, 'The Idol.'
At what point does violence and nudity become gratuitous and unwatchable for us? Is there ever a place for it?
Movie ratings are a joke, and the MPAA's ratings system is not applied consistently.
This week, we're recommending 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' (Laura), 'Variety Actors on Actors: Katherine Heigl, Ellen Pompeo (Pam), and Spindrift Spiked (Andrew).

And in this week's installment of After Dark:

Family vloggers - are they going too far?
Nikki Phillippi and her husband canceled plans to adopt from Thailand after learning they would be legally barred from showing or talking about their child for one year.
Is there a lesson to be learned from the early 2000's slew of family reality TV shows? Children who grew up in these situations are now speaking out and alleging emotional, financial, and sometimes physical abuse.

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Posing "The 36 Questions That Lead To Love" To One Another May 31, 2023

Show notes

We're off this week, but we're sharing a preview of what's available on our Patreon! In this recent installment of After Dark, we pop bottles (or boxes) of wine and review "The 36 Questions That Lead To Love" and pose our favorites to one another. Will we fall further in love with one another, or will we realize this has all been one big mistake? Listen to find out!

New installments of After Dark are released weekly! And we're excited to share that our Patreon now offers FREE TRIALS! Visit Patreon.com/millennial to grab a free, 7-day trial and see everything we have to offer. We can't do this show without the support of listeners like you. Thank you!

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Making IRL Friends Through Apps, Millennial's Travel Advisories, Instagram Preps Twitter Rip Off May 24, 2023

Show notes

BREAKING NEWS: Andrew joins Bumble BFF! How is matching with new friends online similar to dating?
Is it worse to be ghosted by a potential date or friend?
As summer approaches, we look at other countries' travel advisories for visiting the United States. Unsurprisingly, they warn of increased risks of gun violence and terrorism. While staying safe is most important during your travels to the US, we have some general tips for visiting that will make your trip easier.
We recommend avoiding Florida (she can't sit with us), remembering to tip, watching out for our massive portion sizes, and paying attention to parking signage to avoid tickets!
Pam provides our latest social media update: we begin with Montana, which has just signed a new bill that would ban TikTok in the state beginning in 2024. How would this be accomplished? Montana's political leaders clearly don't understand the internets.
Instagram's Twitter alternative could be up and running as soon as the end of June! You heard it here first folks - Andrew proposes it be dubbed "Textagram."
Speaking of the birthday boy, Andrew is one of the lucky(?) few to have received an invite to join Blue Sky. Does this scratch the Twitter itch?
This week's recommendations are a grab bag: Bumble BFF (Andrew), 'Prehistoric Planet' on Apple TV+, and Vinyl record sleeves (Pam).

And in this week's installment of After Dark:

ABC recently announced its "strike proof" fall TV lineup in light of the ongoing WGA strike. That is to say, we hope everyone is buckling up for a lot more unscripted television.
On that note, we spend today's After Dark talking reality TV horror stories: often, contestants come out after the fact speaking to unhealthy living conditions, emotional abuse, and other unsavory elements.
Pam and Laura are big 'Love is Blind' watchers, and cover a recent expose where former cast members speak to living in squalled conditions and being forced to work 20 hour days to the brink of exhaustion.

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Orange Julius' Town Hall, Cell Phone Bans At Concerts, Therapy Speak Seeps Online May 17, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and real talk!
Clusterfuck 2023 rages on with CNN platforming Orange Julius, Florida being a total Florida man, and George Santos living up to his "who the fuck is this guy?" reputation.
Was there a public benefit to CNN's Trump Town Hall, or was it a complete ratings whore move?
Shortly after the town hall, Trump posted this deep fake of CNN's Anderson Cooper, harkening back to our warnings a few weeks ago about the part AI will play in future election seasons.
On the topic of AI, Chat GPT delivered an original Disney tune about Mickey's impending destruction of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
We all agree overuse of cell phones at concerts is annoying - but how far are we willing to go to curb this annoying habit among concert goers?
Bono and Garth Brooks are using Yondr cases, to create phone-free environments during their respective Broadway and Las Vegas residency shows. Guests will need to place their phone in a Yondr case, and can only unlock it upon exiting the venue.
Not only do we see major health and safety risks to using something like this, it also takes away from the experience of concert-goers who want to share their own experiences at shows.
From "I can't even" to "I don't have the emotional capacity for this right now": how the internet has developed its own take on therapy speech, and why it's annoying AF.
Just like online discourse, we're all susceptible to adopting certain ways of speaking based on the environments we spend the most time in. Being influenced by celebrities, or even our professional lives can do this!
This week's recommendations have no throughline: Pestie (Andrew), dog toys for mental enrichment (Laura), Chappell Roan (Pam).

And in this week's installment of After Dark:

Why do millennials and younger care much less about passing down family heirlooms than prior generations? JK, we know why: we can't afford houses big enough to take all your shit grandpa.
Are there any items we have been offered, or know we will be in the future? Do we want them, and should we feel guilty if we don't?
The family drama really kicks up when someone kicks the bucket - why are we fighting about who gets what things? We're all gonna die anyway.
Andrew's last beer with his grandma.

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Tantalizing High-Yield Savings Accounts, and More Money Talk May 10, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and real money talk!
This week's episode is all about money, honey!
With continued concerns about inflation and the potential of a looming national default, what should American workers have in mind?
NerdWallet has some recommendations for how you can best protect yourself in the event the US defaults on its debts.
Laura has a financial boner for high-yield savings accounts, and the panel discusses how this is a great first step for anyone looking to build their wealth.
Andrew is disappointed with his current portfolio given stock market losses - will he sign up for Apple's high-yield savings account?!
Inspired by this tweet, we discuss things we've bought that were a value add to our lives, and those things that were... not.
We've got some themes to recommend: invest in items that make you feel good, like ergonomic chairs or massage guns! Patrons recommend good skincare, TSA pre-check, quality mattresses, and more!
Our recommendations this week are money savers, educational, and organizational! Nintendo Switch Game Voucher (Andrew), 'The Inflation Blame Game' episode of 'The Problem with Jon Stewart' on Apple TV+ (Laura), and Zebra Midliner pens (Pam).

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available to Patreon and Apple Podcast subscribers:

Is moving to be closer to friends a good idea? Or should you temper your expectations?
We've got some tea to spill on the topic of people moving for the wrong reasons!
Is a member of the #Millennial team planning to move...?

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Neighbor Paranoia, Texas and the Ten Commandments, Doxxing and TikTok May 03, 2023

Show notes

Andrew and Pam hung out over the weekend and bankrupted the show on coffee expenses. #rip
As predicted, the Hollywood Writers Strike HAS BEGUN!
Is it just us, or does it seem like neighbor paranoia is increasing?
Recently, multiple cases have occurred where people opened fire on others for innocent mistakes or even delivering groceries.
What's to blame for peoples' increased paranoia of security in their neighborhoods? Is having a home security system a slippery slope for some?
We share cases of our own paranoid neighbors and whether we think there is merit to their concerns.
Last week the Texas State Senate passed a bill that would require every public school classroom in the state to prominently display the Ten Commandments. We wonder how educators will explain things like "adultery" to kindergarteners.
#Millennial provides podcast-approved messaging for Texas educators to explain the 10 commandments to their grade-school aged students, and a special guest joins us ~from above~ for the task.
Is doxxing ever justified? Pam clues us into a story originating on TikTok, where a creator's video featuring two women making fun of her went viral, resulting in the doxxing of the video's bullies.
If you get caught being a dick, do you deserve to have your family harassed, be fired from your job, or have your reputation tanked online?
This week's recommendations will secure your tech AND your skin! Google Authenticator (Andrew), Super Goop is available for FSA purchase (Laura), and Jack Black intense therapy lip balm (Pam).

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available to all Patrons this week:

#Millennial's Life Pro Tips! Laura was recently inspired to bring this to the table after she pushed back on an expensive medical bill that should have been covered by insurance.
What a time to be alive: slow closing toilet seats and voice assistants really do come in clutch and deserve more credit.
Andrew's life hack for getting off an annoying phone call guilt-free!

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How Soon Is Too Soon For TV or Movie Reboots? (Feat. Eric Scull, Micah Tannenbaum) Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

Our friends Eric and Micah join us from MuggleCast for a discussion all about reboots, inspired by the recent news of a Harry Potter TV series and a Twilight reboot in the works.
But first: TUCKER. IS. OUT! LEMON. IS. OUT! Why did FOX and CNN fire two of their most popular on-air personalities on the same day? Andrew is wet.
Dark Brandon also officially announced he'll be running for re-election in 2024. Get ready for the campaign sequel no one asked for!
Is the premise of a Harry Potter TV reboot exciting? Yes. Could they fuck it up? Also yes.
Because there are no new ideas: Lionsgate is reportedly working on a Twilight TV show. Is there enough content to justify a multi-season show?
How soon is too soon for a reboot or reimagining of a beloved series?
Despite the opportunity for a Harry Potter series to expand on the wizarding world and deliver a fresh interpretation of the series, the failed Fantastic Beasts series and JKR's shitty transphobic views loom heavy.
We discuss how we balance the major JKR issues with continuing to podcast about Harry Potter, and the feedback we receive from listeners who aren't happy with our stances.
This week's recs will keep you entertained, informed, and coffee-stain free! Folex Carpet Cleaner (Andrew), 'Tetris' on Apple TV+ (Laura), 'MUNA' album (Pam), 'Stardew Valley' (Eric), and NPR's 'Up First' (Micah).
Check out Eric's podcast, Thank You For Spieling (which also includes episodes of The Last of Us)

And in this week's installment of After Dark, available on Patreon and Apple Podcasts:

We continue the main show's discussion and focus on the importance diversity will play in casting for all the TV reboots that are inevitably coming.
Will the Harry Potter show stick with 'Cursed Child' canon and cast a black Hermione?
How could a Twilight TV show right a very cringy wrong with the casting of its Quileute tribe?

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