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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

02:05:34

Ep. 26: Nuclear Energy Discourse w/ Madison Hilly

Silent Generation ·

2024/05/29

Why has the general public been skeptical of nuclear energy, seemingly even before the technology existed? Joining the boys on this week’s episode of Silent Generation is Madison Hilly, founder and director of the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal, to discuss how the discourse around nuclear energy has been heavily influenced by its depictions in popular culture. They examine The China Syndrome, The Simpsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Chernobyl (2019) to examine how erroneous depictions of

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04:54

Ep. 25: Moral Codes [TEASER]

Silent Generation ·

2024/05/21

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Many parents today tell their children to simply “be a good person” and do not offer them moral guidelines beyond that. “Being a good person” isn’t a robust enough moral framework to deal with the complexities of everyday life, so many people resort to creating their own moral codes (either completely independently, or through the help of internet gurus like Jordan Peterson). On this week’s episode of Silent Generation,

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01:03:45

Ep. 24: Bike Skepticism

Silent Generation ·

2024/05/13

As previously noted, Nathan has a general aversion to bikes and bike infrastructure. But where does his “bike skepticism” come from, and why do many other Americans feel the same way? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation Joseph gets to the root of Nathan’s bias (the temperament of cyclists, tacky bike lane infrastructure, and the “aesthetics of control”) and makes the case for bike-oriented cities. Amongst other things they discuss how most Americans approach biking from a sports angle, the

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01:29:36

Ep. 23: Men's Jewelry

Silent Generation ·

2024/05/08

In Western culture men often wear little to no jewelry, often opting to only wear a wedding ring and/ or a watch. What meaning can be discerned from the jewelry that Western men do wear and why don’t they wear more? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys begin by discussing the form and function of the types of jewelry men most commonly wear: rings, cufflinks, tie pins, watches, necklaces, and belt buckles. Amongst other things they discuss the popularity of pearl jewelry amongst male

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01:33:10

Ep. 22: Seapunk 2 w/ Zombelle

Silent Generation ·

2024/05/01

On this week’s first ever sequel episode the boys are joined by Shan Beaste, best known by her stage name Zombelle, who was one of the co-creators of the Seapunk movement and aesthetic. As detailed in episode 12, Seapunk (2011-2014) was a ‘90s inspired aquatic subculture that Nathan participated in during high school. Zombelle recently re-released her seminal seapunk album Tropicult (remastered by Myrrhkaba) which fortuitously led to her and Nathan connecting over Instagram and spurred this week’s

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01:21:51

Ep. 21: Domestic Travel

Silent Generation ·

2024/04/27

Americans generally travel domestically in four ways: road trips, air travel, train travel, and boat travel. The boys start by sharing anecdotes about their experiences with each type of domestic travel; Joseph says that he traveled for free on military aircraft as a child and Nathan shares how he grew up in a house with a boat in the backyard along the Chicago river. They then question if Americans prioritize cost, convenience, or culture when making decisions on how to travel both domestically and

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01:48:16

Ep. 20: Civil War w/ Patrick

Silent Generation ·

2024/04/15

Trailers for Alex Garland’s Civil War have tantalized the general public (and the hosts of Silent Generation) for months with scenes of explosions and themes of political polarization. This weekend the movie debuted as the #1 film in the nation, being the first A24 film to do so. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys are joined by their friend Patrick to discuss the film and share personal theories of what a second civil war in America would look like. Amongst other things they

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01:48:50

Ep. 19: Hobos

Silent Generation ·

2024/04/11

This week Joseph and Nathan discuss an American cultural figure that can be found at the cross section of many themes thus far covered in Silent Generation: the early 1900s, train travel, ethical codes, and situational homosexuality. Hobos are perceived as yesteryear’s equivalent of the modern homeless person but they were vastly different, hobos were migrant workers with a complex system of rules and cultural values. During the episode the boys pay particular attention to hobo landmarks in Chicago

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01:37:02

Ep. 18: Electroclash w/ Mayalabae

Silent Generation ·

2024/04/01

Electroclash is a musical genre that was most popular from 1999 to 2005 and is described as being a 50/50 mixture of electronic and rock music with an ‘80s bent. Unlike prior electronic genres, live singing, dancing, and stage performance were deployed by electroclash musicians who wanted to channel the theatricality and sex appeal of 1980s rock stars. To help explore the genre Joseph and Nathan are joined by Maya, also known as Mayalabae, a Chicago native who is now a DJ in Montreal. They begin by

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01:27:35

Ep. 17: Vaporwave w/ Drume

Silent Generation ·

2024/03/23

Vaporwave is a 1980’s inspired musical genre and aesthetic that thrived on Tumblr from 2012-2020. Broadly, vaporwave musicians slow down and remix samples of 1980’s songs in order to evoke nostalgic memories of the Reagan era, Yuppies, and globalization. On this week’s vaporwave episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan are joined by Peter (a trance musician known as David James Drume), who previously made vaporwave music under the name Eleven Eastern. They begin by briefly discussing the

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01:37:28

Ep. 16: Yuppies

Silent Generation ·

2024/03/13

Yuppies get a bad rap. In his seminal work The Culture of Narcissism (1979), Christopher Lasch described how the coming generation of baby boomers would broadly exhibit symptoms of pathological narcissism such as hedonism, envy, greed, and an aversion to aging. Yuppies (young urban professionals) migrated en masse in cities during the1980s and were the apotheosis of their generation’s narcissistic pathology; they had wildly successful careers but each promotion and salary increase was never enough

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01:20:59

Ep. 15: Chainmail w/ Sky Cubacub

Silent Generation ·

2024/03/11

Sky Cubacub is a local artist who designs custom clothing for the full spectrum of gender and ability through their clothing line Rebirth Garments. While the majority of the garments Sky now makes are made out of stretchy spandex material, much of their early work was made out of chainmail and they remain one of the World’s foremost chainmail artisans. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan (former Rebirth Garments intern) gets to interview Sky and explore the symbolic meaning of

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01:46:41

Ep. 14: The Olympics

Silent Generation ·

2024/03/06

In anticipation of the impending Summer 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Joseph and Nathan question why the games seem to appeal to people who are otherwise uninterested in sports outside of the Olympics on this week’s episode. They point to the opening ceremony, “hometown” athletes, and (comparative) lack of corporate advertising. They then address the highlights and lowlights of the 5 most recent Summer Olympic Games: Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016), and Tokyo (2020)

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01:23:30

Ep. 13: The Fresh Coast w/ David

Silent Generation ·

2024/02/21

Shifting to fresh water, why does America undervalue one of its greatest natural resources? The Great Lakes are in many ways culturally invisible; many Americans underestimate their size and economic importance. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys are joined by their friend David (a recent transplant and Great Lakes enthusiast) to discuss how the Midwest needs to be divided into the Great Lakes and the Great Plains in order to boost the region. The former should be rebranded as

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01:25:29

Ep. 12: Seapunk

Silent Generation ·

2024/02/17

Seapunk was a subculture and musical genre that emerged in 2011 after people started sharing ‘90s aquatic imagery on Tumblr, and Nathan (Silent Generation host and ex-Seapunk) gravitated toward it while he was a diver in high school and adopted the aesthetic. While Seapunk, Nathan created an extensive 120 slide slideshow that documented the Seapunk subculture as it was actively happening that he shares with Joseph on week’s episode of Silent Generation. They walk through Seapunk’s origins, founders

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01:10:32

Ep. 11: The '70s

Silent Generation ·

2024/02/14

The ‘70s can be construed as being one of the darkest decades in American history. Crises such as stagflation, declining union membership, the 1973-1975 recession, the Energy Crisis, and the Vietnam War all occurred simultaneously. Said clothing produced during the ‘70s showed a shallow optimism which can be seen in garments like newsboy caps, satin shirts, bell bottom jeans, tube socks, and platform shoes. In addition they discuss the dominant colors of the ‘70s (brown, avocado green, and harvest

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01:50:52

Ep. 10: Cowboys w/ Kone Ranger

Silent Generation ·

2024/02/05

This week the boys are joined by Kone, a local fashion designer who co-owns the eponymous Kone Ranger clothing brand along with his brother Kevin. Kone Ranger opened up a permanent location in Avondale in 2022 to offer Chicagoans the opportunity to buy handmade Western-inspirted garments. But what do cowboys mean to Kone? To answer this question, they begin by critiquing both the function and form of the various elements that make up a cowboy’s’ outfit: cowboy hats, handkerchiefs, Western shirts,

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01:18:41

Ep. 9: Department Stores

Silent Generation ·

2024/02/01

Department stores are in many ways the ultimate third place. You can use them to meet up with friends, to avoid the elements, to get a bite to eat, to look at interesting displays, to get advice on your wardrobe, and to buy a wide variety of consumer products. So why are they declining and what can be done about it? This week Joseph and Nathan begin by talking about the early history of department stores (with particularly sharp focus on Chicago) before talking about their personal experiences in

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01:59:31

Ep. 8: Silicon Valley Aesthetics w/ Rafa

Silent Generation ·

2024/01/22

This week the boys are joined by their personal friend and the pod’s first ever guest, Rafa, a Palo Alto native and Chicago transplant. They begin by examining the aesthetics of individual FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) before examining the tech industry and silicon valley as a whole. Amongst other things they discuss skeuomorphism, Corporate Memphis, the Clear Craze, the Thompson Center, BART’s Silicon Valley Extension, blobitecture, and the philanthropic pursuits of

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01:31:40

Ep. 7: Men in Uniform

Silent Generation ·

2024/01/17

Are men in crisis? What role can uniforms play in mitigating the “deaths of despair” and anomie we see in our larger society? This week Joseph and Nathan begin with a quote from Uniforms by Paul Fussell and start to address the various social and psychological effects that uniforms induce: patriotism, pride, shame, and (on a darker note) deindividuation. Amongst other things they discuss the Village People, Nathan’s cycles, chainmaille epaulets, Trump’s Space Force uniforms, and the dress code of

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