Three Big Converserations:

1. The “Gen Z Stare” was a big topic of discussion on TikTok this week, as generations debated social expectations and faux pas - 22:12
2. What it is: James Gunn’s Superman is the genesis for a new DC universe, making $122 million domestically and $217 million worldwide in its opening weekend - 40:40
3. A recent update to xAI’s chatbot Grok resulted in the AI praising Hitler and sexually harassing others on X - 57:08

Song of the Week: DAISIES - Justin Bieber - 0:24

Click here for the lyrics.

Elsewhere in culture: - 13:54

An AI-generated protest song called “Dust on the Wind” is trending on Spotify, the 2025 Emmy nominees were announced with the show Severance receiving a 27 different nominations, people online debated whether giving girlfriends the “princess treatment” was chivalrous or patronizing, more people started using the “Solid Snake method" of conversation which involves repeating the last word someone else says and adding a question mark, and Fortune explored why Gen Z men are still obsessed with Pokémon cards.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Generations are debating why Gen Z so often blankly stares at people who ask them questions, the new Superman movie is celebrated for its sincerity, and what it means that the AI chatbot Grok went rogue and started praising Hitler.

Song of the Week: DAISIES - Justin Bieber

Click here for the lyrics.

Elsewhere in culture:

An AI-generated protest song called “Dust on the Wind” is trending on Spotify, the 2025 Emmy nominees were announced with the show Severance receiving a 27 different nominations, people online debated whether giving girlfriends the “princess treatment” was chivalrous or patronizing, more people started using the “Solid Snake method” of conversation which involves repeating the last word someone else says and adding a question mark, and Fortune explored why Gen Z men are still obsessed with Pokémon cards.

Dr. Tim Mackie serves as the lead scholar and creative director for BibleProject. Tim’s spiritual journey began when, as a teenager, he met a group of skateboarders who were creatively communicating the story of the Bible. With his brand-new faith, Tim enrolled at Multnomah University. After taking classes in biblical studies, he became fascinated with the Scriptural story of Jesus. Determined to deepen his understanding of Jesus’ cultural and historical context, Tim went on to pursue a degree in theology at Western Seminary in Portland, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to his work with BibleProject, Tim has also served as a local church pastor and a professor at Western Seminary, and he now lives in Portland with his wife Jessica and their two sons.

To check out BibleProject click here.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:

1. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a Texas law requiring actual age verification for access to pornographic websites - 13:58
2. An animated film called “KPop Demon Hunters” released on Netflix, and it's been dominating both music and video streaming charts - 32:28
3. Communities in Texas are reeling from grief as the death toll from last weekend’s flash floods continues to climb. At least two dozen victims were children attending the Christian, all-girls camp known as Camp Mystic - 44:54

Resource of the Week - The Conversation Starter (Youtube) - 0:25

Elsewhere in culture: - 08:57

A new report claims that TikTok is building a U.S.-based app to launch in September, a 14-second video featuring Howie Mandel telling a 4-year-old that he is the “youngest person ever” was viewed and liked millions of times, podcaster Joe Rogan speculated that perhaps humans creating AI will be what “the second coming of Christ” was supposed to refer to, the English port of a “horseracing game” involving anime girls as horses started trending in the U.S., and Morning Consult reported that the youngest voting cohort (currently Gen Z) is 12% less likely to identify as liberal than the youngest cohort was in 2016.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

An animated film called KPop Demon Hunters is dominating both music and video streaming charts, A new supreme court ruling could pave the way to federally mandated ID verification on all pornographic sites, and mourning the tragic losses in Texas’s Camp Mystic after their historic flash floods.

Resource of the Week - The Conversaton Starter (Youtube)

Elsewhere in culture:

A new report claims that TikTok is building a U.S.-based app to launch in September, a 14-second video featuring Howie Mandel telling a 4-year-old that he is the “youngest person ever” was viewed and liked millions of times, podcaster Joe Rogan speculated that perhaps humans creating AI will be what “the second coming of Christ” was supposed to refer to, the English port of a “horseracing game” involving anime girls as horses started trending in the U.S., and Morning Consult reported that the youngest voting cohort (currently Gen Z) is 12% less likely to identify as liberal than the youngest cohort was in 2016.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

"How do you get your tween daughter to talk and share things about her day, her friends and school?" - Erin

This podcast is entirely Q&A based! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.

And for more resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Converserations:

1. A new cooperative game called Peak requires players to climb a mountain together - 10:00
2. the psychological thriller We Were Liars has teens weeping on TikTok - 22:14
3. posts about going #monkmode are romanticizing the minimalistic life of the monastery - 31:40

Resource of the Week - The Pour Over- 9:07

Elsewhere in culture:

A new TikTok trend involves saying the phrase “bacon avocado” as a prelude to your actual message, Jurassic Park: Rebirth debuts in theaters this week, the humanoid robot Neo is learning how to do laundry and walk up stairs, a Supreme Court ruling will allow parents to opt their elementary-aged kids out of LGBTQ+ instruction, and today marks the 249th 4th of July holiday in the United States!

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

A new cooperative game called Peak requires players to climb a mountain together, the psychological thriller We Were Liars has teens weeping on TikTok, and posts about going #monkmode are romanticizing the minimalistic life of the monastery.

Resource of the Week - The Pour Over

Elsewhere in culture:

A new TikTok trend involves saying the phrase “bacon avocado” as a prelude to your actual message, Jurassic Park: Rebirth debuts in theaters this week, the humanoid robot Neo is learning how to do laundry and walk up stairs, a Supreme Court ruling will allow parents to opt their elementary-aged kids out of LGBTQ+ instruction, and today marks the 249th 4th of July holiday in the United States!

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.