In the Demo

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired June 13, 2024. We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here,...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired August 31, 2024. The story about Millennials and dating is all about apps, sexting and ghosting - the habits of the toxically online. But it’s not all toxic - it can help people discover how to be intimate and confident in their romantic relationships. Still, real concerns a...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired on April 18, 2024. The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired on May 16, 2024. Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated a...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired on July 18, 2023. BREAKING (kidding, sort of). In late May, Pew Research announced they would "only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life" after a year-long analysis of their own approach to repo...

We're taking a short break so we wanted to share this Best Of In the Demo podcast episode with you. This episode first aired February 9, 2023. In this episode, Farrah and Adam look more closely at the beginnings of the Millennial Myth, literally the opening quote of Millennials Rising . We discuss how much of the myth hangs on one short quote written in an essay by a (then) high school girl living...

Generational stereotypes and the flaws in popular research on Millennials and Gen Z are dissected, revealing how cherry-picked data and misleading interpretations shape public perception. In this episode of In The Demo, we continue our deep dive into the work of Jean Twenge, questioning some of her methods as well as biases in her research on generational traits. We analyze the structure and conte...

Millennials Rising may have kicked off the race to define the Millennial generation, but one author in particular has become the singular thought leader among commentators, researchers, and others: Jean Twenge. Her books iGen and Generations helped her move from toiling in academic obscurity to shaping the discourse. In this episode of In the Demo, hosts Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno critically ex...

Gen Z is far more complex and resourceful than popular stereotypes suggest — intimate conversations with young people show us how they're navigating an increasingly challenging world. Their attitudes towards work, creativity, and personal fulfillment tell us a lot about how this generation is forging its path.  In this episode of In the Demo, host Adam Pierno speaks with filmmakers Branden Ma...

We've been having a great time for 30+ episodes complaining about bad research, reporting, and punditry (and book-writing) about generational narratives. Who doesn't love-to-hate a good "Millennials killed some industry" story? But there are real stakes here, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to s...

Social media and smartphones are causing an epidemic of mental illness and anxiety among Gen Z, according to some prominent thinkers - but are these sweeping claims backed by evidence? Maybe the answer is: it's complicated, and jumping to simplistic conclusions is at best useless and at worst, dangerous. In this episode, we talk about recent discussions about the work of psychologist Jonathan Haid...

Millennials are reframing their generational identity as they enter homeownership and parenthood, but broken systems remain. Nostalgia for a pre-internet era offers an escape, and reflects a yearning for IRL experiences and human connection in an automated and mediated world. Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding mi...

Preconceived notions and media narratives have warped perceptions of social media and internet culture, shaping misleading stories about generations. A critical look beyond the headlines reveals the complex realities of how people of all ages engage with online platforms in nuanced ways. Farrah Bostic and Adam Pierno welcome Rebecca Jennings, a reporter at Vox covering internet culture, to unpack...

The nostalgia and ownership that younger generations feel toward the music and culture of the 90s is fascinating. In this episode of In The Demo, Farrah and her guest Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs that Explain the '90s podcast, explore why the decade holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand. They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from t...

Growing impatience with generational stereotyping has sparked a critical reexamination of how we categorize and analyze age cohorts. Despite Generation Alpha still being born, that won't stop consultants and pundits from making sweeping predictions about who they will be and laying out dubious prescriptions for how they should be raised. By scrutinizing the motives behind labeling Generation Alpha...

The demographic cliff - a controversial idea that declining population growth will trigger economic disaster. But is it real or just sensationalized clickbait pushed by those with an agenda? Investment advisor Harry Dent popularized demographic cliff fears in the mid-2000s to sell his financial advice (and a book, of course). From there, it became a favored trope in education, where school adminis...

When the Millennials came of age to enter the workforce (which took nearly 15 years) the media was awash in headlines about how to cater to this powerful new generation. Today, the headlines have turned to Gen Z. Farrah and Adam go deeper than the headlines to reveal that the story is still about Millennials. Reminiscent of the treatment of Gen X, Gen Z is constantly compared to their elders, but...

In this episode, Farrah and Adam discuss the role and effectiveness of strategy in advertising, including how connected it needs to be to cultural trends, consumer insights, and business realities. And then - they take a deep dive into an article by Richard Huntington in WARC, " The Future of Strategy 2023: Marketing is in desperate need of a reality check " in which he agrees with our premise tha...

The best advertising reveals something you’ve thought for a long time about a product, service or its users (or yourself!) and presents in an unexpected way. Either for a laugh or some emotional response. Today, we’re seeing advertisers take broad stereotypes of generational segmentations and paste them directly into ads. The results are, um, not great.  MENTIONED RESOURCES: 2024 Lamb: The Ge...

Adam and Farrah commence a new season, and in the spirit of the new year, take a look at recent Millennial headlines and found that... nothing has changed, and nothing ever will. Links: Jodie Foster on Gen Z The ironic reason Gen Z are ageing faster than millennials — Metro The Plastic Surgery Trend Gen X, Millennials, & Gen Z All Agree On — The Zoe Report How you wear a scarf can reveal if yo...

A special drop in our feed - the inaugural episode of Farrah's new show Cross Tabs, released on Iowa's GOP Caucus day, January 15, 2024. Host Farrah Bostic (In the Demo Podcast, The Difference Engine) and pal Paul Soldera (Equation Research), set the table for what Cross Tabs is all about: demystifying what polls are and how they work. Mentioned links: Jill Lepore's "Politics and the New Machine"...

Our special guest for our final episode of the year is our good friend Faris Yakob. He and his wife Rosie are the force behind the consultancy Genius Steals, a nomadic strategic and creative consultancy. Faris is also the author of a book about how advertising works through the lens of the concept of attention. It's called, Paid Attention which is now in its 2nd edition. He has been at a variety o...

We are taking this Thursday off for Thanksgiving, sorry to our non-American listeners! We will be back with one more episode in December before pausing to work on Season 2, which is already under way. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or your podcast app of choice. You can email us with questions or thoughts - adam@inthedemopodcast and farrah@inthedemopodcast. In The Demo, a podcast abou...

Is your generation your identity? What happens when your actual life starts to veer away from the story of your life? In this episode, we take a look at the way some members of the Millennial generation are starting to experience a mid-life identity crisis as they realize that they did in fact become married, home-owning, parenting adults with retirement savings. We examine these "getting older" M...

Adam and Farrah regroup to discuss what they've learned from past episodes featuring Cindy Gallop, Katy Coduto PhD, and Cristen Dalessandro PhD (find them in the feed!!) about Millennial sex, dating, and intimacy. You know, the stuff you have to deal with before you even get to worrying about whether they're getting married on time and having enough kids! Intimacy, relationships, and generational...