Molly Worthen is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. She teaches courses on North American religion and politics, global Christianity, and the history of ideas. She writes on these themes for The New York Times and has contributed to The New Yorker, Slate, The American Prospect, Foreign Policy, and other publications. She has also created video and audio courses on the history of Christianity and the history of charismatic leadership for the Great Courses and Audible. Her new book is called Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump.

Check out the book Spellbound.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:

1. AI-generated videos of people cutting and eating glass fruit are trending on social media - 18:55
2. the movie 28 Years Later makes the 28-numbered zombie saga worse - 30:10
3. TikTokers are reminiscing about 90s summer—whether or not they actually experienced it - 52:38

Song of the Week: "Manchild" - Sabrina Carpenter - 0:35

Click here for the lyrics.

Elsewhere in culture: - 12:38

AI-generated "Would You Rather?" videos involving fruit with special powers began trending on TikTok, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie continued to be a theatrical success, Netflix's "Trainwreck" anthology landed documentaries about Astroworld and the so-called "Poop Cruise" in the top 10, people on #BookTok defended annotating books, and teens shared memes about World War 3.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

AI-generated videos of people cutting and sometimes eating glass fruit are trending on social media, the movie 28 Years Later makes the 28-numbered zombie saga worse, and TikTokers are reminiscing about 90s summer—whether or not they actually experienced it.

Song of the Week: "Manchild" - Sabrina Carpenter

Click here for the lyrics.

Elsewhere in culture:

AI-generated "Would You Rather?" videos involving fruit with special powers began trending on TikTok, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie continued to be a theatrical success, Netflix's "Trainwreck" anthology landed documentaries about Astroworld and the so-called "Poop Cruise" in the top 10, people on #BookTok defended annotating books, and teens shared memes about World War 3.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

"I've been struck lately about how much teenage boys are getting into poker and gambling, even from good Christian families. Unfortunately, some of them are doing well, and gaining money doing it… I feel that is dangerous. Is it just something fun to do, or is it a bad habit that will develop into something else? These boys come from very well to do families, so I feel that they don't know how to work for money, or would prefer to just gamble in poker, or in the stock market to get their money." - Anita

This podcast is entirely Q&A based! Send in your questions to [email protected].

And for more resources, go to axis.org.

As we broaden the scope of this podcast to include some fun new things, you will see this feed has changed to Axis Conversations!

This will be the schedule you can expect:

Interviews - Every other Tuesday

Ask Axis (Our new show!) - Every other Tuesday (Alternating)

The Culture Translator (CT Audio) - Every Thursday

The Culture Translator Roundtable - Every Friday

We are excited to continue to provide engaging resources including our new show Ask Axis premiering tomorrow!

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:

1. Summertime provides new opportunities to connect with teens - 14:33
2. TikTokers are enjoying something they call "fridge cigs"- 25:08
3. Some people think ChatGPT is giving them access to the spiritual realm.- 34:34

Slang of the Week - Blackpill- 01:20

Elsewhere in culture: - 11:40

19-year-old Kane Parsons signed on to direct a horror movie for A24 based off his YouTube series "The Backrooms," AI-generated ASMR videos of people cutting glass fruit began trending on social media, TikTok got another 90-day extension, the third and final season of Squid Game was announced for next Friday (June 27), and our newest episode of The Conversation Starter gave some advice for those who can't seem to quit doomscrolling.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Summertime provides new opportunities connet talk with teens, TikTokers are enjoying something they call "fridge cigs", and some people think ChatGPT is giving them access to the spiritual realm.

Slang of the Week - Blackpill

Elsewhere in culture:

19-year-old Kane Parsons signed on to direct a horror movie for A24 based off his YouTube series "The Backrooms," AI-generated ASMR videos of people cutting glass fruit began trending on social media, TikTok got another 90-day extension, the third and final season of Squid Game was announced for next Friday (June 27), and our newest episode of The Conversation Starter gave some advice for those who can't seem to quit doomscrolling.

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

New episodes in this feed every other Tuesday!

Have you ever wished that you had a personalized parenting podcast based on the questions you were having about your own family? A place where you could ask experts and get guidance about what the Bible actually says about how you're raising your teen in today's world?

That's why we are launching our new podcast show, which we're calling Ask Axis, so we get a chance to hear from you.

We'd love to hear from you! Submit your questions at [email protected].

Three Big Conversations:

1. New Roblox called "Grow a Garden" takes off - 09:10
2. Gen Z enjoys nautical-themed knitwear - 20:15
3. An article about how young men need heroes - 31:04

Resource of the Week - Parent's Guide to TikTok - 0:18

Elsewhere in culture: - 2:12

AI renderings of Bible characters as influencers went viral, TikTok's most-followed influencer Khaby Lame was detained (and released) by ICE, an apparent trend of using no-contact orders to avoid conflict on college campuses started catching on, Apple's WWDC 25 conference mostly focused on upcoming design changes and AI tweaks for their devices, and pop star Sabrina Carpenter announced a new album called "Man's Best Friend."

7-Minute Video - Is Roblox Safe?

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

A new game on Roblox called "Grow a Garden" takes off, Gen Z enjoys wearing nautical-themed knitwear in the summer, and as Father's Day approaches, an article about how young men need heroes to look up to.

Resource of the Week - Parent's Guide to TikTok

Elsewhere in culture:

AI renderings of Bible characters as influencers went viral, TikTok's most-followed influencer Khaby Lame was detained (and released) by ICE, an apparent trend of using no-contact orders to avoid conflict on college campuses started catching on, Apple's WWDC 25 conference mostly focused on upcoming design changes and AI tweaks for their devices, and pop star Sabrina Carpenter announced a new album called "Man's Best Friend."

7-Minute Video - Is Roblox Safe?

For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.