Metrosexual is a term first coined by British journalist Mark Simpson in 1994. It is a portmanteau of the words “metropolitan” and “heterosexual,” and it describes straight men who care about their personal style in a similar manner to gay men. The term only entered mainstream discourse in 2002 after Simpson “outed” David Beckham as metrosexual in his Meet the Metrosexual article. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan compare and contrast the metrosexual with similar cultural figures like the flâneur and the Yuppie. Amongst other things they discuss how the 2003 series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy functioned as “metrosexuality: the reality TV show,” how there was a “retrosexual” backlash against metrosexuality towards the later half of the 2000s, and how we might be experiencing the fifth wave of the “men move to cities and become more stylish” phenomenon in the present day. 

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Recorded on 3/30/2025  

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan examine all things related to air travel. They begin with a historical deep dive that breaks air travel down into six distinct eras: the invention of aviation, the first golden age, WWII, the jet age, deregulation after 1978, and the modern era. The boys then go in several anecdotal directions, reminiscing about the airlines of yesteryear (Pan Am and TWA) and the decline of in-flight service. Amongst other things they discuss how the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 caused airlines to begin competing on price instead of service, how Southwest recently got rid of their two free checked bags policy, how Pan Am used to serve passengers beluga caviar, and how the TWA Hotel in NYC gives modern people the opportunity to experience Jet Age luxury.

Links:

The Case For Santos Dumont

The Wind Rises (2013)

Airlines’ Secret Scheme to Keep Airfare Prices High

Boeing: How much trouble is the company in? by Theo Leggett 

Passengers evacuate onto wing of American Airlines plane after engine catches fire at Denver airport by Pete Muntean and Alexandra Skores

Fury as Southwest Airlines puts an end to one of its most popular perks by Ben Shimkus

Goodbye to ‘bags fly free’ on Southwest Airlines, the last freebie in America by Leslie Joseph

Matt Stoller: How To Fix The Airline Industry's Structural Problems

The Rise And Fall Of Pan Am

Come Fly With Me: The Story of Pan Am (2011, BBC Documentary)

The meme about galas

Joseph Meeting Griz from 30 Rock

Joseph on a cargo plane

Woman strips naked and walks screaming down the aisle on Southwest flight to Phoenix by Terry Dickerson

Whitneylynn1 (Instagram Evangelist) 

You’re Crazy For Taking the Bus by Johnathan Richman

TWA Convair 880 Lounge Publicity Photo

San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded on 3/20/2025

Whimsicraft is an aesthetic that flourished from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s that is composed of saturated colors, celestial symbols, heavy patterns, and handmade crafts. It describes “things you would see at an art fair in 1994” and it is “the aesthetic of the 'fun quirky artsy aunt' character in 90s media.” The aesthetic was first identified by Evan Collins, one of the founding members of the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, who is the guest for this week’s episode. Joseph and Nathan begin by interviewing Evan about his history with CARI before diving into an exploration of Whimsicraft. Amongst other things they discuss how the art teacher depicted in Ghost World is emblematic of the wacky ‘90s art teacher trope, how the intro for the HBO kids Original series Crash Box demonstrates the darker found object subaesthetic of Whimsicraft, and how the Cows on Parade art event in the Summer of 1999 served as the culmination of the Whimsicraft ethos and aesthetic. 

Links:

Whimsicraft Pinterest board: https://pin.it/2RP8NSgW3 

Evan’s Whimsicraft Are.na: https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/whimsicraft

Evan’s Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute Patreon page

Evan’s Bluesky

Whimsicraft CARI page

Whimsigothic CARI page

Whimsicraft by hellomynamesjon

Whose art teacher died in Ohio?

Mix It Up! All About Courtly Check from MacKenzie-Childs

Victoria Mckenzie-Childs’ Youtube account

Victoria MacKenzie-Childs shows her Kitchen

Harriet The Spy (1996) wind chime garden scene

Crashbox (1999) intro

Cows On Parade Chicago 1999

Cows Milked for All Their Worth

Artwork:

Bazaar Bizzoso Entrance - Atlanta, GA (1993)

Recorded on 3/9/2025

Cheerleader rock is a music genre that incorporates cheerleader chants, blaring electric guitars, and marching band instrumentals. It first emerged over two decades ago in the mid-2000s, but it was never identified as a trend or defined as a genre. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by friend of the pod Christine to discuss the two standout acts of this style (The Go! Team and Sleigh Bells) along with several musicians who have released cheerleader rock tracks (Toni Basil, Gwen Stefani, and Junior Varsity). Amongst other things they discuss how Nathan first discovered The Go! Team through a Cartoon Network advert, how Derek E. Miller envisioned Sleigh Bells as “‘Hollaback Girl’ with metal guitars,” and how Cross The Street by Junior Varsity mirrors Huddle Formation by The Go! Team. They round off the episode by talking about cheerleader fashion and cheerleader movies. 

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Recorded on 3/6/2025

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration

Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in municipalities across the US that have large Polish populations. It honors General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War. He is often called the "Father of the American Cavalry” and is celebrated for having saved George Washington’s life. This week’s episode of Silent Generation covers who Pulaski was, how the holiday came to be, and how the holiday is celebrated. Amongst other things the boys discuss how pączki are eaten on both Pulaski day and Fat Thursday (the Polish equivalent of Fat Tuesday, how the best (Polish) buffet in the Chicagoland area is the Red Apple restaurant, and how the Polish suffix “ski” was restricted to nobility.

Links:

Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens

Artwork:

Recorded on 2/28/2025

This week’s episode of Silent Generation explores the idea that “around the world, nature is moving to cities.” The boys begin by introducing listeners to the concept of the Anthropocene and the ideas presented in Fred Pearce’s book The New Wild, both of which provide frameworks to start thinking that wild animals are not out of place in urban environments. They then talk about animals that are already accepted city dwellers (pigeons, rats, and squirrels) before talking about “wilder” animals that began moving back to cities like Chicago in the ‘90s (otters, snapping turtles, beavers, white-tailed deer, and coyotes). Amongst other things they discuss how Chicago is consistently named America’s “rattiest” city, how a rotund beaver was recently spotted on the bubbly creek branch of the Chicago River, how Chicago is home to 2,000 coyotes, and how coyotes significantly expanded their range after the 1920s due to the Anthropocene. 

Links:

Paul J. Crutzen, Nobel laureate who studied ozone and named new ‘Anthropocene’ era, dies at 87 by Harrison Smith

The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation by Fred Pearce

Chicago Named ‘Rattiest City In America’ For 10th Straight Year by Mack Liederman 

Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan

How Does Chicago Track its Coyotes? Curious City Episode 

River Otter Snapped for First Time in 15 Years of Monitoring by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Wildlife Cams by Patty Wetli

Chonk The Thicc Snapping Turtle Is A Superstar — And Great News For The Chicago River by Maia McDonald

A ‘Remarkably Rotund’ Beaver Is Making A Splash On The South Side by Leen Yasine 

White Tail Deer Population over Time

Fear the deer: Crash data illuminates America’s deadliest animal

Largest Land Predator (by weight) in Each State

How Coyotes Captured the Continent

Coyotes Among Us by Stanley D. Gehry

Coyotes Among Us’ Authors Tell Chicagoans: Respect But Don’t Fear These Smart Predators by Web Behrens

Quiznos coyote moved to another cool refuge

Coyote pulled from the cold food section of Chicago Aldi store

A new VCU study explores the ‘nature is healing’ memes that dominated social media at the height of the pandemic by Brian McNeill

Urban Forests Are the Stroads of Urban Environmental Policy Upzoned episode

The Genius of Copenhagen’s 1947 ‘Fingers Plan’ vs England’s Green Belt Policy by Johnathan Tricker

In Horner Park’s Natural Area, ‘No Dogs’ Signs Ignored, Vandalized: ‘People Don’t Really Care’ by Seth Slabaugh

The Nature of Cities blog

r/urbanwildlife

Artwork:

City bird skyline building. A pigeon sitting on a ledge overlooking a city

Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license https://web.archive.org/web/20161229043156/https://pixabay.com/en/service/terms/

Recorded on 2/23/2025

From 1995 to 2010, humor on the early internet—and in broader American culture—was arguably the most simple and direct. Referencing a single “ironic” animal (like a moose, cow, or narwhal) or food item (such as tacos, waffles, or nachos) was enough to make someone giggle. As detailed by Joseph and Nathan on this week’s episode of Silent Generation, this style of humor (which they call “zimmy humor”) became so prolific that it began to pop up in places outside of the internet. Amongst other things they discuss how foamy the squirrel took inspiration from Invader Zim, how members of the Twee subculture expressed their love of whimsical animals to signal their individuality, and how Boxxy managed to do the “rawr xD” sound in real life.

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Recorded on 2/9/2025

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration 

This week the boys discuss various outerwear styles and the types of weather they are best suited for. They begin by discussing Chicago's extreme seasonal averages before sharing their thoughts on the following outerwear styles: painter jackets, M-65 field jackets, varsity jackets, harrington jackets, denim trucker jackets, leather jackets, mackinaw coats, parkas, the Kara Koram parka, wool coats, peacoats, camel hair polo coats, snowboarder coats, rain coats, and windbreakers. Amongst other things they talk about how the popularity of varsity jackets peaked in 2011, how raincoats are the most socially acceptable way to wear yellow in Western cultures, and how windbreakers are not suitable to wear in Chicago despite the city’s “windy city” nickname.

Links:

Winter temperatures in selected US cities versus European capital cities

The M-65 Field Jacket

The Orange Kara Koram by Daniel Hakimi

What Color is the Sacred by Michael Taussig 

Anna Khachiyan’s Puffer Jacket Tweet

A Brief History of the Yellow Raincoat

I have lost all faith in zips by Adrian Chiles 

Gold Coast estate sale Tiktok video

Artwork:

The K2 Expidition

Recorded on 2/2/2025

Brutalism was an architectural style that was popular from the 1950s to early 1980s that consisted of raw concrete surfaces, monochrome colors, minimal ornamentation, and exposed structural elements. It is the architectural style that is referenced in the title of The Brutalist, a film directed by Brady Corbet that has been nominated for numerous accolades this year. On this week's episode of Silent Generation they boys share their thoughts on The Brutalist before discussing Brutalism as an architectural style. Amongst other things they discuss how the the life of local Chicago architect and Holocaust survivor John Macsai differed from that of Laszlo Toth’s, how Notre Dame’s Brutalist library features a large mural religious mural that is colloquially known as “Touchdown Jesus,” and how UIC’s Brutalist campus was not in fact designed to quell student protests.

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Recorded on 1/26/2024

This week the boys discuss Joseph’s favorite decade: the 1960’s. They begin by touching on what life was like for everyday Americans in the ‘60s before detailing several movements (the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement, and the antiwar movement) that contributed to the decade earning the nickname “the countercultural decade.” They then talk about hippies and the elements of hippie culture that they appreciate (tie dye, flower power, rock music, and healthy living). They go on to discuss how the color baby blue stands out as the defining color of the decade, how California became the subject of many ‘60s songs after it became the largest state in the country in 1962, and how the 1963 film Charade has much funnier writing than modern CGI-reliant slapstick comedies. 

Links:

Coming Apart : The State of White America by Charles Murray

Flower Power (photograph) by Bernie Boston

Shoes as a Source of First Impressions

Joan Didion’s quote about Los Angeles

Charade (1963)

Artwork:

Aubrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in Charade (1963)

Recorded on 1/22/2025