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, for how companies hire employees, invest resources, and plan marketing campaigns; for politicians and policy makers about who they want to serve or punish, and how they want to build their coalitions; and for journalists and commentators who can popularize and spread these narratives in ways that permeate the public consciousness. These things matter - they affect how we see ourselves in the world, and that affects how we behave... and that affects everything else.

In this episode we get back to basics -- why we make this show, what we think the stakes are, and who we think should care.

The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by Neil Howe and William Strauss

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi:

"The 67-Hour Rule" by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic

Generations by Jean Twenge

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website: inthedemopodcast.com
• LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast
• Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com

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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 about privacy and security abound. We sat down with Katy Coduto, PhD, an assistant professor of media studies at Boston University and author of the forthcoming Technology, Privacy, and Sexting: Mediated Sex.

Find out more about Katy here: https://kdcoduto.com

Check out these other episodes about sex and intimacy for Millennials & Gen Z:

• The Social Sex Revolution, with Cindy Gallop
• Intimate Inequalities with Cristen Dalessandro

In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

In the Demo is edited by Allison Preisinger and AMP Studio. Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 holds such a powerful allure for those who never experienced it firsthand.

They discuss what accounts for this cross-generational appeal, from the mythologizing of the 90s in media to the enduring impact of the era's defining genres and artists. And they discuss how technology and cultural shifts of the past 30 years shaped the way listeners discover, consume, and connect with music, and what this tells us about the nostalgia and identity in the digital age.

• 60 Songs that Explain the '90s
• New York Times “Grunge: A Success Story”
• Bandsplain
• The Oregon Trail

Rob Harvilla is the host of the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s and a senior staff writer at The Ringer; he's been a professional rock critic for 20-plus years with stops at the Village Voice, SPIN, Deadspin, and other alt-weeklies.

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 and mediated world.

Anne Helen Petersen, author and cultural critic, joins host Farrah Bostic to discuss the evolving narratives surrounding millennials and Gen Z. They explore how the optimism of the 90s and early 2000s has given way to disillusionment, the impact of political polarization on younger generations, and the collective burnout experienced by a society that glorifies productivity over rest.

Resources

The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

"How the Stanley Cup Went Viral" by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker

"It's Just a Water Bottle" by Amanda Mull in The Atlantic

Vox's "Today, Explained" episode, "The kids are all home"

Our Guest

A former senior culture writer for BuzzFeed, Anne Helen Petersen now writes her newsletter, Culture Study, as a full-time venture on Substack. Petersen received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on the history of celebrity gossip. Her previous books, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud and Scandals of Classic Hollywood, were featured in NPR, Elle, and the Atlantic. She lives in Missoula, Montana.

Your Hosts

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University, and founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies.

Stay Connected

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LinkedIn

Newsletter

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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 reporting on differences by generations, and the overall landscape of such content and reporting. This announcement supports a lot of what Farrah and Adam have been circling while conducting their research into the Millennial narrative, and Pew's got the data to explain why their approach makes so much sense. Kim Parker, director of social trends research at Pew Research Center, joins to share more context on the thinking and data that got them to this exciting (to us) conclusion.

Read the article from Pew here: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/22/how-pew-research-center-will-report-on-generations-moving-forward/. Learn more about Kim Parker here: https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kim-parker/

In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 in McLean, Virginia where the authors set their work. Then, Adam talks to the woman behind that very quote to understand how she feels the myth has defined, served and punished her generation.

In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 content of books like iGen and Generations, specifically how authors manipulate data and rely on anecdotal evidence to support predetermined narratives. The conversation also touches on broader themes of individualism, collectivism, and the complex interplay between societal changes and generational characteristics.

• iGen by Jean Twenge
• Generations by Jean Twenge
• Sun Signs by Linda Goodman
• Monitoring the Future
• Harvard Youth Poll
• Google Books Ngram Viewer

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website: inthedemopodcast.com
• LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast
• Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com — Sign up for our newsletter to receive exclusive content, episode highlights, and behind-the-scenes insights delivered to your inbox.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 examine Jean Twenge's work, particularly her two most recent books iGen and Generations. They explore the transition from academic research to popular nonfiction, questioning her data sources, her analytical frames, and her conclusions. The conversation touches on the use of large scale longitudinal studies, the dangers of oversimplification, and the impact of media representation on public perception of generational differences. And it challenges some of her assumptions about narcissism, individualism, and generational traits, highlighting the complexities of social science research and its representation in mainstream media.

Generations by Jean Twenge

iGen by Jean Twenge

Monitoring the Future — longitudinal youth study at the University of Michigan

Narcissistic Personality Inventory

The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into practical strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

Adam Pierno is an author, strategist, and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. He is also the founder of Specific Branding and Research, where he helps brands understand customer habits and create effective growth strategies. With 25 years of experience, Adam has written two books on marketing. Discover more at adampierno.com and find Adam on LinkedIn.

• Website: inthedemopodcast.com
• LinkedIn: In the Demo Podcast
• Newsletter: inthedemo.substack.com

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.