Axis Conversations

Three Big Conversations:
Meta settles lawsuits with an $18 billion pledge to make social media safer - 06:08
what Gen Alpha is wearing for the back-to-school season - 18:30
the legacy of the beloved country music singer Dolly Parton - 29:52
Song of the Week: "Loser" by Tame Impala - 00:46
→ Click here to read the lyrics (language)
→ Click here to see the video (language)
In Other News: - 39:48
Australia's much-touted social media ban for teenagers is falling apart (paywall) as state authorities find it impossible to outsmart the tech prowess of fifteen-year-olds. Naur! China's big box office winner this week was made on a shoestring budget. The plot is a dream about a cow, or a dream of a cow, or perhaps a cow's dream. The movie was praised for its "craftsmanship." According to data from Eventbrite, events advertising shared hobbies (think mahjong or birdwatching) as "meet cutes," or chances to meet potential romantic partners, increased by 117% over the last year. Fanfiction publishing platform Wattpad, a longtime haven for teens experimenting with fanfiction, updated its content guidelines. Some users were convinced (incorrectly) that Wattpad would no longer host sexually explicit content and fled to another platform called AO3. The Olivia Rodrigo-backed Daisy Chain Festival will take place in Irvine, California, this weekend. The music festival is also a charity benefit and will feature an all-female lineup of musicians, including Doechii, Bikini Kill, Mitski, Katseye, and even the OG female-led festival queen, Sarah McLachlan.
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Meta settles lawsuits with an $18 billion pledge to make social media safer, what Gen Alpha is wearing for the back-to-school season, and the legacy of the beloved country music singer Dolly Parton.
Song of the Week: "Loser" by Tame Impala
→ Click here to read the lyrics (language)
→ Click here to see the video (language)
In Other News:
Australia's much-touted social media ban for teenagers is falling apart (paywall) as state authorities find it impossible to outsmart the tech prowess of fifteen-year-olds. Naur! China's big box office winner this week was made on a shoestring budget. The plot is a dream about a cow, or a dream of a cow, or perhaps a cow's dream. The movie was praised for its "craftsmanship." According to data from Eventbrite, events advertising shared hobbies (think mahjong or birdwatching) as "meet cutes," or chances to meet potential romantic partners, increased by 117% over the last year. Fanfiction publishing platform Wattpad, a longtime haven for teens experimenting with fanfiction, updated its content guidelines. Some users were convinced (incorrectly) that Wattpad would no longer host sexually explicit content and fled to another platform called AO3. The Olivia Rodrigo-backed Daisy Chain Festival will take place in Irvine, California, this weekend. The music festival is also a charity benefit and will feature an all-female lineup of musicians, including Doechii, Bikini Kill, Mitski, Katseye, and even the OG female-led festival queen, Sarah McLachlan.
 
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Katie M. Kelley is a writer, teacher, a lifelong learner, and a mother to eight in a beautifully blended family. She has been a longtime member of the Coffee + Crumbs writing team as well as the podcast co-host, and is the author of three books: Gluing the Cracks, The Very Best Baseball Game, and her most recent book, Grace Will Be There.
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:
Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor debut their new dinosaur movie - 02:32
"that's AI" is the ultimate burn from Gen Alpha - 14:22
how one teacher found a way to get his students reading again. - 29:30
Resource of the Week: Podcast Episode - How to Do What We Do - 00:58
→ Click here to listen to our episode on: Educating Humans in the Age of AI (with Professor Jeffrey Bilbro)
In Other News: - 43:00
This week in AI: In light of concerns about romantic involvement with chatbots, "ChatGPT for Teens" is being marketed as a homework helper that limits "the emotional and intimate exchanges between young people and AI." Robbie Torney from Common Sense Media argues that we should remain cautious until we have actual evidence that these features have been turned off. This week in dopamine: South Korean websites like "Dopamine Shop" and "FoodNeverComes" allow users to "pay" for clothes or food, and still feel like they're getting "retail therapy," without having to spend any money (because the products aren't real). This week in arson: "Prediction market" Polymarket has enabled users to bet on the outcome of wildfires, which historian Jamie Pietruska rightly labels as a "perverse incentive." This week in fabric: The word "polyester" has become a new way for Gen Z to call something out as low-quality or cheap. But you know what's worse than that? Wool and linen, woven together. This week in fabric, again: An article in Teen Vogue suggests that "poetcore" (aka Dark Academia's "cozier, more relaxed cousin") and "vintage 90s mall fashion" will be some of the biggest fashion trends this semester. On a completely unrelated note, here's The Guardian on how social media has "automated individual taste into oblivion."
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor debut their new dinosaur movie, "that's AI" is the ultimate burn from Gen Alpha, and how one teacher found a way to get his students reading again. 
Resource of the Week: Podcast Episode - How to Do What We Do
→ Click here to listen to our episode on: Educating Humans in the Age of AI (with Professor Jeffrey Bilbro)
In Other News:
This week in AI: In light of concerns about romantic involvement with chatbots, "ChatGPT for Teens" is being marketed as a homework helper that limits "the emotional and intimate exchanges between young people and AI." Robbie Torney from Common Sense Media argues that we should remain cautious until we have actual evidence that these features have been turned off. This week in dopamine: South Korean websites like "Dopamine Shop" and "FoodNeverComes" allow users to "pay" for clothes or food, and still feel like they're getting "retail therapy," without having to spend any money (because the products aren't real). This week in arson: "Prediction market" Polymarket has enabled users to bet on the outcome of wildfires, which historian Jamie Pietruska rightly labels as a "perverse incentive." This week in fabric: The word "polyester" has become a new way for Gen Z to call something out as low-quality or cheap. But you know what's worse than that? Wool and linen, woven together. This week in fabric, again: An article in Teen Vogue suggests that "poetcore" (aka Dark Academia's "cozier, more relaxed cousin") and "vintage 90s mall fashion" will be some of the biggest fashion trends this semester. On a completely unrelated note, here's The Guardian on how social media has "automated individual taste into oblivion."
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to ask@axis.org.
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.