Tag: Gen Z

Categories
Podcasts

Can Young Adults Escape Hustle Culture and Still Achieve the American Dream?

Interview With Cole Douglas Claybourn

Is the American Dream dead for Millennials and Gen Z? Is there a version of traditional success that’s still attainable? How are young adults redefining their life dreams in the face of economic instability and loss of trust in institutions? 

This week on the Know Why Podcast, Cole Douglas Claybourn and Liberty discuss all this and more. A journalist and former English teacher, Cole talks about fighting back against the lies we are prone to believe on his Substack blog “The Road Home” and on his In No Hurry podcast.

Both Millennials with similar backgrounds, Cole and Liberty break down why the traditional American Dream isn’t panning out for many young adults who are still struggling to pay off college loans, buy a house, and start a family. 

They also contrast the expectations Millennials and Gen Z grew up with—change the world, go far in life, do great things—with the realities of what makes life more fulfilling, like local connection and a slower pace of living. 

In short: Millennials and Gen Z are steeped in what feels like a never-ending hustle culture due to economic pressures and a cultural obsession with productivity. And it’s negatively affecting everything from our diets to our creativity to our families. 

If you’re a young adult wondering if you’re the only one struggling to feel successful in life, or if you’re a listener who wants to better understand the challenges facing Millennials and Gen Z, this episode is for you. 

More Resources:

The Road Ahead (Cole’s Substack)

https://coledouglasclaybourn.substack.com

In No Hurry (Cole’s podcast)

https://www.youtube.com/@innohurrypodcast

The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World by Hannah Brencher

Come Matter Here: Your Invitation to Be Here in a Getting There World by Hannah Brencher

To Hell with the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and Overconnected World by Jefferson Bethke

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer

Eddie LaRow on Substack

https://eddielarow.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search

Categories
Podcasts

Humanoid Robot Teachers? No Thanks

First Lady Melania Trump recently asked Americans to imagine a humanoid robot tutor named “Plato.” Meanwhile, many schools are already incorporating AI into the classroom, in some cases eliminating human teachers altogether. Can AI help solve America’s education problems? Or should we draw a line and protect the classroom from AI encroachment?

In this episode, Liberty offers three reasons why AI doesn’t belong in education. First, from a Christian perspective, education is discipleship, and AI can’t disciple. Second, education requires relationship, which research confirms, and AI can’t truly relate. Third, studies are already showing evidence of cognitive decline in AI users, and education technology has, in general, been a large failure.

Learn more about these arguments in the full episode, where Liberty also shares some practical tips for parents to make sure their kids are truly learning to think in the age of AI. Dig in deeper by checking out the resources below, cited in the episode.

More Resources:

Ed Tech is Profitable. It is Also Mostly Useless. (The Economist) https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/22/ed-tech-is-profitable-it-is-also-mostly-useless?utm_campaign=shared_article

Investment in AI is Exploding (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-ECONOMY/AI-INVESTMENT/gkvlqbgxkpb/

There’s a Good Reason You Can’t Concentrate (The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/opinion/technology-mental-fitness-cognitive.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZFA._SqR.AQ0f5SxBmABw&smid=url-shar

Does AI Belong in the Classroom? Emily Harrison on the Know Why Podcast

https://youtu.be/NbSWxQKU7RQ?si=dxhJsR3OAnfO81-k

Dear Christian Parent (Emily Harrison on Substack) https://dearchristianparent.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search

First Fish Chronicles (Emily Cherkin on Substack) https://firstfish.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

The Anxious Generation https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/

Categories
Podcasts

Do All Religions Point to the Same Truth?

Interview With Jon Noyes

James Talarico is a Texas State Representative and senatorial primary candidate, a Democrat, and a Christian. In recent viral podcast interviews with both Joe Rogan and The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Mr. Talarico sparked some controversy with his claims about religion, Jesus, and the nature of truth.

Mr. Talarico’s comments garnered attention in part because he has made his Christian faith a large part of his progressive political platform. But they’re worth examining, because his comments touch on sincere questions that many people have about faith in general and Christianity in particular.

For instance… Is ultimate truth a mystery, or can it be known? Are all religions ultimately pointing to the same universal truth, just (to use Mr. Talarico’s metaphor) in different languages? What’s most important to understand about Jesus? And what is the point of religion, anyway? Is it to understand the story of reality—or to understand the story within ourselves?

Atheist-turned-Christian apologist Jon Noyes joins the Know Why Podcast to examine these questions closely and reveal that ultimate truth can be known, and share why finding it matters.

More Resources: How Should We Then Live? By Francis Shaeffer https://www.amazon.com/Should-Then-Li…

Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433502208/…

Stand to Reason https://www.str.org/home

Categories
Podcasts

Why Young Men Need Spiritual Mentors in an Age of AI Companions

Interview with Matt Trayler

Young men are craving mentors. But in an era of AI companions, social isolation, and for many, an uncertain economic future, finding the kind of guidance and support a mentor provides can be a challenge.

That’s where CBMC comes in. Christian Business Men’s Connection was founded during the Great Depression, another time period that found many men struggling with disenfranchisement, discouragement, and a lack of direction.

In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, CBMC Director of Programs Matt Trayler talks about…

  • The problems facing many young men today
  • Why men need community
  • Why spiritual mentorship matters
  • Practical tips for finding connection as a mentor or mentee
  • And more.

Listen and check out the free programs and resources at the link below, or share them with a man in your life.

More Resources

Home
Categories
Podcasts

Is Having Kids Bad for the Environment?

Repost with Update – Know About Family Formation

Many young adults are worried that having children will overburden a planet that’s already overpopulated and further damage the environment. They’re also worried about what kind of environment their kids will be born into. Are these valid concerns — and if not, why not?

In this episode of the Know Why Podcast (originally aired in 2023), Liberty takes listeners through research and perspectives from millennials, parents, climate scientists, and more, exploring a question many young adults are asking.

More Resources:

Why I Stopped Being a Climate Catastrophist  https://www.breakthroughjournal.org/p…

Three tough truths about climate by Bill Gates https://www.gatesnotes.com/home/home-…

Anxiety over climate warming is leading some young adults to say they don’t want children (AP)

https://apnews.com/article/climate-an…

Climate Anxiety vs. Reality (The Free Press)    • Climate Anxiety vs. Reality  

Categories
Podcasts

Should We Do Things We Don’t Enjoy? On Harvard, Grade Inflation, and Finding Life’s Deeper Meaning

Quick Questions With Liberty

News outlets have reported Harvard University’s students’ reactions to the threat of stricter academic standards, after a commission found that grades were massively inflated despite a decline in academic involvement at the college. Some reacted by worrying they wouldn’t find their classwork enjoyable or fulfilling if academic standards were raised.

Beyond Harvard, is there an underlying assumption in modern culture that life is to be enjoyed? Liberty examines that assumption, identifies why it’s problematic in everything from education to relationships, and recalls research that points to what makes humans more deeply fulfilled.

More Resources: All A’s at Harvard (World)

https://wng.org/opinions/all-as-at-harvard-1762387132

The Perverse Consequences of the Easy A (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/08/harvard-college-grade-inflation/684021/

Does This Study Reveal the Key to Human Flourishing? (Know Why Podcast)

Categories
Podcasts

What Should Christians Think About the ‘Charlie Kirk Effect?’

Quick Questions With Liberty

In the three weeks since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, something is rippling across the nation that many are calling the “Charlie Kirk Effect.” On social media, individuals are professing Christian faith, returning to church, or going to church for the first time, citing Charlie Kirk’s life and public death as their inspiration.

While many Christians are celebrating this effect and even calling it a revival, others are wrestling with Kirk’s full legacy, even expressing dissatisfaction with other Christians’ public admiration of Kirk’s life and work.

In this episode, Liberty asks the question: How should Christians think about the “Charlie Kirk Effect?” Looking at Scripture and history can help, because when we look closely at the so-called “heroes” of the faith, what we see are people who have failed again and again…and still been used by God. And maybe that’s the point.

Share your thoughts below.

Categories
Podcasts

Neither Trans Nor Tradwife: Understanding the Truth of Femininity

Interview With Rachel Schroder

What does it mean to be a woman? The culture has wrestled with this point for decades. Ironically, diametrically opposed sides often make the same mistake: conflating the aesthetics of femininity with its definition. 

Many who embrace transgender ideology argue that feeling feminine and dressing the part are all it takes to identify oneself as “woman.” On the other hand, many reacting against modern feminism display their “trad wife” life on Instagram, striving to divide household labor along stereotypically gendered lines.

Joining the Know Why Podcast, Rachel Schroder argues that both camps miss the true definition of femininity, trading its aesthetics for its full meaning and purpose. She helps us know why the full definition of femininity is broader than what is often portrayed by “trad wife” extremes, and also more family-oriented than modern feminism allows. 

Listen for a thought-provoking and encouraging conversation about what it means to be a woman, how women can embrace both their biological nature and their God-given talents inside the home and in the workforce, what balancing family and career might look like, and how developing virtue matters more than following stereotypes.

More Resources: 

The Truth Between Trad Wife and Trans
Categories
Podcasts

Men and Meekness: Understanding Masculinity That is Neither Weak Nor Toxic

Interview With Andrew Warthen

You can’t have healthy marriages without healthy individuals, and healthy individuals are people who understand themselves and their purpose in life.

Perhaps one reason more young men aren’t getting married, despite many desiring to do so, is because they lack understanding about who they are and what they were made for.

The left tells men that being masculine is “toxic.” On the far right, misogynistic influencers like Andrew Tate respond by telling young men to embrace those “toxic” traits without apology. Often missing from the masculinity conversation is a character trait that provides the much needed balance: meekness.

In this episode, guest Andrew Warthen explains why “Meek is not Weak,” why good should not always equal safe, and how men can find purpose in fully understanding the meaning of their masculinity.

Listen to this next installment of our “Know About Family Formation” series, and check out the links below if you’d like to dive deeper into this topic.

Be sure to rate the podcast, subscribe, and comment or email Know Why with your thoughts or requests for future topics!

Articles Referenced: 

Meek is Not Weak, It’s Masculine

‘Life Without a Father’: Less College, Less Work, And More Prison For Young Men Growing Up Without Their Biological Father

https://ifstudies.org/blog/life-without-father-less-college-less-work-and-more-prison-for-young-men-growing-up-without-their-biological-father

Study: Gen Z Now Leads in Church Attendance 

Study: Gen Z Now Leads in Church Attendance

Gen Z Men and Women Divided Over Getting Married, Having Kids

https://www.newsweek.com/gen-z-men-women-divide-kids-marriage-poll-donald-trump-kamala-harris-republican-democrat-2126843

Andrew’s Recommended Resources: 

Father Mike Schmitz on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/fathermikeschmitz/?hl=en

Bishop Robert Barron on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@BishopBarron

Ryan T. Anderson at the Ethics and Public Policy Center

https://eppc.org/author/ryan_anderson

The Heritage Foundation

https://www.heritage.org

The Daily Wire

https://www.dailywire.com

Theology of the Body by John Paul II

https://stmarys-waco.org/documents/2016/9/theology_of_the_body.pdf

Love and Responsibility by John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) 

Categories
Podcasts

Does Marriage Make Men Richer?

Know About Family Formation

Young men on the far right and young women on the far left have little in common—except for their views on marriage. Leading voices in the “manosphere” argue that marriage is of no benefit to men, especially when it comes to finances. Many women believe the same lie.

According to a robust body of research compiled by Dr. Brad Wilcox in his book “Get Married,” men who get married experience a significant financial boost called the “marriage premium,” and women who get married are less likely to experience poverty. While financial gain isn’t and shouldn’t be ultimate reason for marriage, it’s important to combat pervasive lies with facts.

Listen to for the specifics in this latest installment of Know Why’s “Know About Family Formation” series.

More Resources:

Get Married by Brad Wilcox

Why is Marriage Good? Interview with John Mancini

Why Men (And All Humans) Need Sacrificial Relationships