GenX Stories

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We hope you're hungry! It's time to talk GenX's favorite snacks & drinks. What we loved as kids, what kept us going as young adults (at least when we moved away from our parents!) and even what we're feeding GenZ these days. So spread some florescent Cheeze on a cracker, dig out that 40 year old Twinkie to nibble on and wash it all down with some Tang while you listen to  this tasty walk down memory lane.

Past food episodes

• Season 2:  Food Fight!
• Season 3: What’s Cookin; Good Lookin’

Episode links

• The Existential Necessity of Midlife Change
• Pick Your Favorite Childhood Foods and We'll Guess If You're Gen X, Millennial or Baby Boomer
• 27 Iconic Snacks Only Gen Xers Remember
• Top Ten Uniquely '80s Foods
• 33 Foods That ’80s Kids Will Recognize
• Maurice Lenell  cookie
• After 98 Years, Twinkies-Maker Hostess Just Made a Bittersweet Announcement About Its Future
• Get some Handi-Snacks
• The California Raisins: How A Bunch of Dried Grapes Became A Hit Band
• Charcuterie Boards Are Adult Lunchables
• Remember these retro air-pop popcorn makers?
• 24 Specialty Oreo Flavors
• All the Takis Flavors, Ranked
• Gen X Food Preferences
• Gen Z’s Favorite Snack Is Not What You’d Expect
• Chill, ‘Girl Dinner’ Is Literally Just a Snack Plate

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On today’s episode of GenX Stories we wonder if you can really change your world in midlife? What have we done that we thought we were too old to try? Or what are we still planning to try?  Life definitely ain’t over and you may be surprised how GenXers are choosing to reinvent ourselves in our 50s.

Episode links

• The Existential Necessity of Midlife Change
• The 5 Rules Of Reinventing Your Life At Any Age  
• Here’s How Generative AI is Reshaping Hollywood & the Entertainment Industry
• The Future of AI in the Entertainment Industry
• Kevin Bacon celebrates 65
• Kevin Bacon "walking into 65" TikTok
• 48 Stars Who Didn't Become Famous Until After 40
• Jenny Laden's  book, This Terrible True thing
• A stunning second act! Meet the people who changed course in midlife – and loved it
• Kim Hale on TikTok
• A new start after 60

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On today’s kick-ass encore episode, we have a real treat - Eve’s cousin Jenny talks all about her debut semi-autobiograhical YA novel. Set in 1991 during the AIDS crisis, and revealed through sketches, journal entries & the music we grew up on, hear how sharing her story became an authentic statement about GenX for a younger generation.  When we originally recorded this in season 3, the book wsn’t published yet but now it’s OUT! You can buy it or catch her on her book tour! Also check out the Spotify playlist for the book.  

Book blurb

Told through sketches, journal entries, and first-person narration, This Terrible True Thing is a semi-autobiographical story of high school senior with a gay dad. Applying to art school, and yearning to escape her conservative boarding school, her world at home is struck by AIDS. Balancing mourning and physics, crushes and paralyzing fear, Danielle must struggle to find the positive in the dark days of the early 90s. In this heartbreaking multimedia debut--filled with drawings, poems, and journal entries--author Jenny Laden draws on her own experience to create a story of grief and transcendence, perfect for fans of Francesca Zappia and Jennifer Niven.

Order from :
Indiebound
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Episode links

• The Recollectors
• Adult Children of AIDS Victims Take Their Memories Out of the Shadows
• 'The Recollectors' Gives Voice To Children Who Lost Parents To AIDS
• JennyLaden.com
• Jenny Laden Art FB page
• Jenny Laden on Twitter
• Jenny Laden on Instagram
• This Terribe True Thing book Spotify playlist
• About Jenny: Journey to Becoming a Solo Mom by Choice

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Welcome to Season 5 of GenX Stories! While as kids we used to have a "break" over the summer, GenXers don't really get that anymore at midlife. So what the hell did we actually DO on our podcast hiatus? You'd actually be surprised what we've been up to. Between painting rocks, fuck-it travel and getting Covid, we were pretty busy. Plus our Facebook group shared all the cool shit they did. So listen, or don't. Whatever.

Episode links

• Movie: I know what you did last summer
• Rock On! Painting Rocks- The Best Hobby You Never Heard Of
• Alluvial Definition
• The Azores 
• Our Season 3 Summer Eposide
• NYC Marriot Marquis hotel
• Sweeney Todd on Broadway
• Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
• What is an unveiling?
• The Shiva Ladies
• Mary Tyler Moore Documentary

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While season 4 of the podcast was shorter than we planned, the Gen X stories gang is getting ready for season five. Usually we keep our goofy-ass brainstorms private, but we totally want you to listen in on this one. Not only will you get a behind the scenes look into what we are planning, but you can hear what topics our Facebook group suggested for us. If you have thoughts about anything you hear please contact us here.

We will try to do a few encore/silly episodes for you this summer but when season 5 drops, we promise you won’t be disappointed. Thank you for being there for us over this tricky year and listening to our little show. Seeya in September!

Episode links

• ASMR Meaning and Why ASMR Videos Are So Popular
• AARP TikTok
• “The fuck  you are”
• The Top 10 David Letterman Top 10 Lists
• 100+ Hilarious Steven Wright Quotes and Jokes
• Why does everyone have a podcast?
• Kelly Manno on IG
• From Slinkies To Trapper Keepers, This Gen X ASMR Series Transports You To The Sounds Of The ’80s
• George Carlin stuff bit
• People Are Saying GenX Retirement Homes Should Be in Abandoned Malls and It Sounds Like Heaven on Earth
• How long should TV shows be? The rise of shorter TV

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The band is finally back together! After months of dealing with so much personal big stuff this season, the GenX Stories crew is finally together just in time to talk about it all. On this episode, we discuss accountability and integrity, when we actually started adulting and how we manage the bumps along our midlife road with humor. We also gain insight from our Facebook community as they get really raw and vulnerable on a topic that demands it of us all. Cuz really - for such a grown up word, how do we determine what "adulting" means for our generation?

Episode links

• What is “adulting”?
• Urban Dictionary definition
• What does it mean to be a grown up?
• How Oprah Winfrey inspired a generation of outspoken women
• She Invented Adulting. Her Life Fell Apart. She Wants You to Know That’s Okay
• The Benny Hill Theme
• The Chicken Dance
• Choose Joy meme

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Today we've got a GenX topic that effects us all deeply: making friends at midlife.  Weird you say? Well you may be surprised to hear that after years of doing this podcast together, Lori and I had actually NEVER MET. At least not in person. 

All that changed earlier this spring and we’re going to spill all the tea. (well, most of it). Not only did we meet (and talk and talk and talk and talk) we had dinner with 2 other new friends we made through our facebook group (and drank, and drank and drank.) So here is the question -  is there a trick to making new friends at midlife, and are those “rules” different than when you were younger? Or is it just dumb luck. Listen and find out.

Episode links

• Why It’s Harder to Make Friends After 40 (and How to Combat the Odds)
• The Scientific Reason It's So Hard to Make Friends as an Adult (and What to Do About It)
• Why Making Friends in Midlife Is So Hard
• 12 Ways to Make Friends in Mid-Life and Beyond
• Past podcast ep: Bad Boys & Mother Crushes
• Past podcast ep: Ride or Die - Gen Friendships
• Past podcast ep: 30th College reunion friends
• I Tried Bumble BFF for 30 Days—Here’s What Happened
• GenX Stories FB group

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What happens when a generation that uses gallows humor to deal with trauma loses someone they love? That’s the question The Grief Mixtape Project will explore through stories from you, our community. To learn more and contribute your voice to the Grief Mixtape, go to at genxstories/grief.

Related Podcast episodes

• Losing a Parent as a GenXer
• Do  you gotta have faith?
• Becoming  a sandwich generation

Eve’s writing about grief

• The problem with caring
• GirlDad
• Dad’s Eulogy

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On today’s encore episode, the gang digs into what makes GenX the latest “sandwich” generation and how we’re handling it. Smushed between taking care of our parents and our kids, how did we go from being ignored to being needed by two different age groups? No matter what kind of generational sandwich you are - club, open faced, keto, whatever - hear about choosing support groups over ice floes. 

Episode links

• What is a sandwich generation?
• GenX women facing the caregiving crisis
• The Sandwich Generation: When Caregiver Seems to Be Your Only Role
• What Is a Mother-in-Law Suite, and Should I Consider Adding One?
• Swedish Death Cleaning
• I Care A Lot movie  
• Care Options for People with Dementia or Alzheimer's 
• 9 ways sandwich-generation caregivers can manage stress 

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Subscribe to GenX Stories in your favorite podcast app
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In an encore episode, the crew dishes on one of the sexiest topics around: money. Ok, maybe not THAT sexy but we can make anything fun. Between paper route Ponzi schemes, having a monthly “nut”, wondering if we can ever retire, and how much we still owe Columbia House, you’ll never think of Gen X finances the same. Crack open that piggy bank and tune in today.

Episode links

• The Flying Lizards "Money" song
• Look up social security and see your working history
• 5 Interesting financial Facts About Generation X
• “I want my two dollars” from Better Off Dead
• What’s your monthly nut?
• Ewan McGregor Expedia ad about stuff
• Generation X: All Eyes on Retirement
• Best money tips for people in their 40s and 50s
• Gen Xers are the forgotten financial superheroes
• Why Gen Xers Are Way More Worried About Money Than Boomers

Connect with us
Subscribe to GenX Stories in your favorite podcast app
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