Tag: Millennials

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

How to Build the Village Your Family Needs

Interview With Nadya Williams

“It takes a village.” Parents often hear this old adage, and having a community to help with childcare or call on during emergencies sounds nice. But the reality for many parents today is that their “village” is nowhere to be found.

Author, academic, and homeschooling mother Nadya Williams joins the Know Why Podcast to discuss an overlooked village source that historically played a major role in more Americans’ lives—the local church. Reflecting on the state of parenthood today, Nadya offers practical advice for building a village right where you are. She reminds parents that villages are about more than “insurance friends” to call during an emergency…they’re about thriving.

More Resources:

What’s a Village For? A Response to Olga Khazan by Nadya Williams (IFS) https://ifstudies.org/blog/whats-a-vi…

Nadya Williams on Substack https://substack.com/@nadyawilliams?u…

The Gospel Comes With a House Key: Practicing Radical Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Comes-H…

Scruffy Hospitality — Google Search https://www.google.com/search?q=scruf…

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

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

Three Reasons Why Medically-Assisted Suicide is Wrong

Summer Series 2025

This episode looks at the issues of medically-assisted suicide, also called doctor- or physician-assisted death, and euthanasia. Referring to a recent feature in The Atlantic, Liberty uses examples from Canada to show three problems that arise when medically-assisted death is legalized in a society, and three reasons why it is wrong.

TW: The episode includes several mentions of medically-assisted death, including real-life anecdotes, and mentions of suicidal ideation.

More Resources:

Canada is Killing Itself (The Atlantic) 

How Can I Help a Friend Struggling With Suicidal Thoughts? (Know Why Podcast) 

988 Lifeline

Categories
Podcasts

Why Men (And All Humans) Need Sacrificial Relationships

Summer series 2025

Young men are in crisis. A recent article argues that married fatherhood is the key to solving the masculinity crisis, because married fatherhood gives men the meaning in life they inherently desire. It’s true that humans need human relationships to be fulfilled, and that marriage incentivizes fathers to invest in their children. But is there more to it that that?

What if our need for other people is more than an evolutionary accident, and actually a sacred design? What if marriage is more than a cultural construct that incentivizes paternal involvement, and actually a demonstration of the highest form of love? What if all of us—not just men—need to know that we are needed, and find our greatest fulfillment in sacrificial love over selfish pursuits?

Listen to know why, and don’t forget to check out past series at KnowWhyPodcast.com.

More Resources:

Married Fatherhood Is the Key To Solving The Masculinity Crisis 

Is looking for a “best friend” getting in the way of building a village? 

Categories
Podcasts

Should You Be Friends With Political Opponents?

Summer Series 2024

How politically diverse is your friend group? If your answer is “not very,” you’re not alone. Nearly half of U.S. voters view their political opponents as “downright evil,” according to a 2024 poll. Fewer and fewer people live in politically diverse areas, and digital media exacerbates our ideological bubbles.

But Americans miss out on a lot of good things when we avoid people who think differently than we do. In this episode, Liberty discusses why political polarization has worsened, why it’s a problem, and how we can fix it.

More Resources:

You Don’t Need the Same Politics to Surf Together

How Can I Keep Faith Above Partisanship? Interview With Chris Butler 

Them: Why We Hate Each Other—And How to Heal by Ben Sasse 

Categories
Podcasts

Are Your Beliefs Based on Hot Takes or Ideas?

Plus: Know Why’s 100th Episode Celebration!

Are your opinions based more on hot takes or real ideas? Liberty spends the first half of this episode discussing why young adults are more likely to build their worldview on a foundation of “takes” rather than carefully considered ideas. This results from things like social media algorithms to the way modern classrooms teach English and literature.

Then, she switches gears to commemorate Know Why Podcast’s 100th episode! You’ll hear short clips from Know Why’s top five most popular episodes, which showcase the range of topics and perspectives featured on the podcast.

We don’t want you to have takes, but ideas you can hold with confidence, which is why the Know Why Podcast started in the first place. Help us celebrate episode 100 by liking, commenting, subscribing, and sharing Know Why with a friend!

More Resources:

The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books (The Atlantic)

KnowWhyPodcast.com

Why is Anger Unhealthy? Know About Jesus: Interview with Brant Hansen (Part 2) 

Is Social Media Robbing Me of a Richer Life? Know About Healthy Tech Habits: Interview With Dr. Brad East

Does Christmas Have Pagan Origins? Interview with Joshua Barnes 

Did Jesus Prescribe Gender Roles? Know About Jesus: Interview with Dr. Sandra Glahn (Part 2)

Are All Pro-Lifers Religious? Know About Pro-Lifers: Interview With Monica Snyder (Part 1)