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PODCAST

Silent Generation

Silent Generation

Silent Generation is a Chicago-based cultural analysis podcast that surveys the cultural consequences of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century. It explores what was lost between the Silent Generation and Generation Z. Topics discussed include aesthetics, fashion, history, and urbanism.Find us on Instagram: silent.generation

society & culture

All Episodes

01:20:47

Ep. 66: Metrosexuals

Silent Generation ·

2025/04/01

Metrosexual is a term first coined by British journalist Mark Simpson in 1994. It is a portmanteau of the words “metropolitan” and “heterosexual,” and it describes straight men who care about their personal style in a similar manner to gay men. The term only entered mainstream discourse in 2002 after Simpson “outed” David Beckham as metrosexual in his Meet the Metrosexual article. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan compare and contrast the metrosexual with similar

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05:02

Ep. 65: Air Travel [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2025/03/25

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGenerationOn this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan examine all things related to air travel. They begin with a historical deep dive that breaks air travel down into six distinct eras: the invention of aviation, the first golden age, WWII, the jet age, deregulation after 1978, and the modern era. The boys then go in several anecdotal directions, reminiscing about the airlines of yesteryear (Pan Am and TWA) and

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01:50:00

Ep. 64: Whimsicraft w/ Evan Collins

Silent Generation ·

2025/03/17

Whimsicraft is an aesthetic that flourished from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s that is composed of saturated colors, celestial symbols, heavy patterns, and handmade crafts. It describes “things you would see at an art fair in 1994” and it is “the aesthetic of the 'fun quirky artsy aunt' character in 90s media.” The aesthetic was first identified by Evan Collins, one of the founding members of the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, who is the guest for this week’s episode. Joseph and Nathan

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01:30:05

Ep. 63: Cheerleader Rock w/ Christine

Silent Generation ·

2025/03/11

Cheerleader rock is a music genre that incorporates cheerleader chants, blaring electric guitars, and marching band instrumentals. It first emerged over two decades ago in the mid-2000s, but it was never identified as a trend or defined as a genre. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by friend of the pod Christine to discuss the two standout acts of this style (The Go! Team and Sleigh Bells) along with several musicians who have released cheerleader rock tracks (Toni Basil,

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05:08

Ep. 62: Pulaski Day [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2025/03/03

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGenerationPulaski Day is a holiday observed in municipalities across the US that have large Polish populations. It honors General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War. He is often called the "Father of the American Cavalry” and is celebrated for having saved George Washington’s life. This week’s episode of Silent Generation covers who Pulaski was, how the

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01:18:02

Ep. 61: Urban Wildlife

Silent Generation ·

2025/02/25

This week’s episode of Silent Generation explores the idea that “around the world, nature is moving to cities.” The boys begin by introducing listeners to the concept of the Anthropocene and the ideas presented in Fred Pearce’s book The New Wild, both of which provide frameworks to start thinking that wild animals are not out of place in urban environments. They then talk about animals that are already accepted city dwellers (pigeons, rats, and squirrels) before talking about “wilder” animals that

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01:05:46

Ep. 60: Early Internet Humor

Silent Generation ·

2025/02/17

From 1995 to 2010, humor on the early internet—and in broader American culture—was arguably the most simple and direct. Referencing a single “ironic” animal (like a moose, cow, or narwhal) or food item (such as tacos, waffles, or nachos) was enough to make someone giggle. As detailed by Joseph and Nathan on this week’s episode of Silent Generation, this style of humor (which they call “zimmy humor”) became so prolific that it began to pop up in places outside of the internet. Amongst other things

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05:15

Ep. 59: Outerwear [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2025/02/04

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys discuss various outerwear styles and the types of weather they are best suited for. They begin by discussing Chicago's extreme seasonal averages before sharing their thoughts on the following outerwear styles: painter jackets, M-65 field jackets, varsity jackets, harrington jackets, denim trucker jackets, leather jackets, mackinaw coats, parkas, the Kara Koram parka, wool coats, peacoats, camel hair

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01:16:30

Ep. 58: The Brutalist

Silent Generation ·

2025/01/29

Brutalism was an architectural style that was popular from the 1950s to early 1980s that consisted of raw concrete surfaces, monochrome colors, minimal ornamentation, and exposed structural elements. It is the architectural style that is referenced in the title of The Brutalist, a film directed by Brady Corbet that has been nominated for numerous accolades this year. On this week's episode of Silent Generation they boys share their thoughts on The Brutalist before discussing Brutalism as an

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01:35:16

Ep. 57: The '60s

Silent Generation ·

2025/01/24

This week the boys discuss Joseph’s favorite decade: the 1960’s. They begin by touching on what life was like for everyday Americans in the ‘60s before detailing several movements (the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, and the antiwar movement) that contributed to the decade earning the nickname “the countercultural decade.” They then talk about hippies and the elements of hippie culture that they appreciate (tie dye, flower power, rock music, and healthy living). They go on to discuss

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01:01:10

Ep. 56: Party Cities w/ Thot Topics [EXTENDED TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2025/01/20

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys are joined by Nick and Cris from the Thot Topics podcast to talk about “party cities,” cities whose economies cater to debaucherous tourists. They begin by surveying the following party cities and the types of partiers they attract: Las Vegas, New Orleans, Cancun, Berlin, and Miami. They then detail some of the negative effects of overtourism on locals before sharing where each of them would go if they

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01:11:36

Ep. 55: Y2K Futurism

Silent Generation ·

2025/01/07

Y2K futurism is an aesthetic that emerged in the late ‘90s and early-2000s that consists of the color silver, consumer electronics, large sunglasses, and "blobjects." Its depictions of what the future could look like in the 2000s were utopian and optimistic, simultaneously celebrating the new millennium and the early internet. On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan start by listing the key elements of Y2K Futurism before detailing the various ways the aesthetic materialized in the physical world,

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05:21

Ep. 54: Historic Preservation w/ Marquisdefacade...

Silent Generation ·

2025/01/02

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by local architecture influencer Steve (otherwise known as Marquisdefacade) to discuss historic preservation. They begin by weighing the pros and cons of historic preservation before detailing how the historic preservation movement in Chicago succeeded (or failed) to preserve the neighborhoods of Old Town, Bronzeville, and Logan Square. Amongst other things they discuss how Logan

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01:41:34

Ep. 53: New Religious Movements

Silent Generation ·

2024/12/27

New religious movements are religions that are peripheral to a society's dominant religious culture, the earliest and most enduring example being Mormonism (which began in 1830). The majority of practitioners in new religious movements are recent converts and NRMs often get labeled the pejorative term “cult.” On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys explore how NRMs emerged in response to the problems of modernity by examining Mormonism, The Baháʼí Faith, The Enthusiastic Sobriety

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01:09:10

Ep. 52: Hunting Fashion

Silent Generation ·

2024/12/23

This week Joseph and Nathan examine the various aesthetics that have come out of hunting fashion. They begin by discussing how shooting and hunting in the United Kingdom are leisure activities that have historically only been available to the most wealthy, and why British clothing associated with the activity looks more formal and more conspicuous than its American counterpart (such as red fox hunting coats). The boys then go into a deep dive of how hunting camouflage developed out of military

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05:03

Ep. 51: Futurism [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2024/12/10

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Futurism was an Italian art movement focused on speed, technology, and violence that began in 1909 after Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the Manifesto of Futurism. Italian Futurists thought that their nascently-industrialized country was developing at a slow pace due to the weight of Italy’s past and they wanted to break free; artists like Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Luigi Russolo, and Tullio Crali depicted

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01:26:57

Ep. 50: Modern Masculinity w/ Gent Z

Silent Generation ·

2024/12/02

How is modern masculinity different from classical masculinity? This week the boys are joined by local menswear influencer Gent Z to discuss how men in the modern era intentionally refine their masculinity through self improvement. Amongst other things they discuss what the end goal of self-improvement should be, what male role models they personally look up to, and what they think about the idea that there is a “crisis of masculinity.” Links: How to Build New Habits by Taking Advantage of Old

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01:30:37

Ep. 49: McBling

Silent Generation ·

2024/11/19

McBling is a mid-2000s aesthetic characterized by tacky displays of wealth, celebrity culture, fake tans, and bleach blonde hair. According to Vogue magazine it emerged in “2003, following the American invasion of Iraq, and ended with the onset of the Great Recession in 2008.” McBling arose organically in popular culture and was only later identified as an aesthetic by the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute, and this is the first Silent Generation episode to cover an aesthetic identified by their

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05:06

Ep. 48: Online Dating w/ Breanna [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2024/11/13

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by Breanna, a Silent Generation listener who works as a software engineer for a major online dating company, to discuss online dating. They detail the early history of online dating (such as how the first person to develop a computer based dating service was a working class British woman named Joan Ball) before sharing their experiences with online dating websites and apps such as

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01:54:41

Ep. 47: Pokémon

Silent Generation ·

2024/11/07

Pokémon is the highest grossest media franchise of all time, but has it declined in quality? On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan use Pokemon as a case study to talk about gamer culture, nostalgia, and fandoms more broadly. After breaking down the history of Pokémon into three booms and one bust, the boys detail what they like about the franchise (Ken Sugimori’s artwork, HM moves, and their favorite Pokémon) and the things they dislike about it (competitive Pokémon play, shiny hunting, and

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