That's So Rad!

In this episode, Travis and Danny sit down with Darren Robinson, founding guitarist of Phantom Planet, best known for "California"—the track that became the iconic, defining theme song for the hit TV series The O.C.

Darren shares how he picked up guitar at 11, how the band took shape, and why he’s always felt more at home out of the spotlight.

The conversation moves from music memories to 80s and 90s childhood nostalgia, with Darren, Travis, and Danny comparing notes on analog childhoods, freedom, toy commercials, Nintendo, boredom, and life before phones and social media.

The three also give their top three things they wish kids and teens could experience now like they did. Darren also shares what Phantom Planet is up to now, including new music and upcoming shows.

Phantom Planet's website:

https://www.phantompla.net

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/phantomplanet/

Danny's band Wasperjaws:

https://wasperjaws.hearnow.com

In this episode:

• Darren’s early guitar lessons and the unexpected start of his musical journey
• Meeting Jason Schwartzman and the band’s first steps toward becoming Phantom Planet
• The band’s early Los Angeles shows and the manager who saw their potential
• Darren’s first reaction to hearing “California” as a demo
• Growing up around Sunset Boulevard, hair metal, and influential guitarists like Slash
• What it meant to have an analog childhood—and how phones and social media changed things
• Garbage Pail Kids, He-Man, skateboarding, bike rides, and the freedom of being out with friends
• Nintendo memories, including Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt
• Songs that made a lasting impression, from “Money for Nothing” to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
• What Darren says kids today might be missing: boredom, anticipation, privacy, and being present
• Phantom Planet’s new music and upcoming shows

Travis is joined by guest host Danny Smith and Mark Hewitt for a follow-up conversation that starts with tipping culture and quickly turns into a broader reflection on generational values, consumer habits, and what feels different about growing up then versus now.

They also get into a nostalgic list of things from the 80s and 90s that have made a comeback and then each shares 5 things they want to see make a comeback. There's a final stretch on 90s basketball, team identity, and how sports culture has changed.

Book--Generations 2026: The Great Convergence

https://a.co/d/0htzToI5

• The crew compares generational attitudes toward tipping, especially the jump from 10 percent to 20 percent and the pressure of tip prompts at places like Five Guys, Culver’s, Great Clips, and Subway.
• Mark shares a story about being at a Badgers game with all-you-can-eat club seating, where his instinct was to take one trail mix tin while older folks were loading up multiple bags and tins.
• Danny argues that tipping should make sense based on actual service, not just on the existence of a card reader or countertop interaction.
• Travis points out that no-tips restaurants might be the cleanest solution if businesses simply paid employees directly and didn’t push the burden onto customers.
• The group compares boomer and Gen X deal-seeking behavior with their own generation’s more collaborative, less combative approach to pricing and service.
• Mark talks about childhood contrasts across generations, including hotel toiletries, condiment packets, and how normal it felt to live off small free extras.
• The list of comeback items includes Surge, square-body trucks, 90s fashion, baggy jeans, high socks, Crocs, mom jeans, skater clothes, analog media, and camcorders.
• Mark shares how his kids are embracing retro style, including baggy jeans, rolled socks, and old-school audio and video formats.
• Danny brings up the return of physical media and the appeal of listening to a whole album front to back instead of skipping around.
• The conversation shifts to what should come back next, including boom boxes, summer pop songs, fire pit conversations, family dinners, and the old Friday-night TV ritual.
• Mark highlights the family dinner at the classic Pizza Hut restaurant as a near-perfect example of a shared experience that used to feel central to family life.
• The final stretch focuses on 90s basketball, dynasty teams, long player tenures, rivalries, and the shift toward superteams and constant transfers in both college and pro sports.
• Mark reflects on watching the Bulls during their 90s run, including a triple-overtime game against the Pistons and the drama around Jordan, Rodman, Pippen, and the rest of that era.

Travis is joined by guest host Danny Smith and their friend Mark Hewitt for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up in the 80s and 90s, how the Xennial microgeneration got defined, and why that in-between generation still feels uniquely suited to bridge older and younger worlds.

The episode moves from childhood technology to music culture, workplace habits, and the strange way the internet has blurred the edges of whole decades.In this episode, the three compare memories and unpack why so much of the old mystery around music and culture has disappeared. The explore the bigger question about why recent decades feel less distinct than the 80s and 90s once did.

The group also explores why it feels like there are fewer new rock bands breaking through with the cultural impact of 90s acts like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, and Soundgarden. They wonder whether rock has lost its rebellious edge, whether today’s fragmented, algorithm-driven music landscape makes it harder for one band to become widely known, and whether endless access to content has replaced the mystery that once surrounded rock stars.

Mark also shares how his real estate work has shown him the value of being able to operate both digitally and in person, while Danny and Travis connect that to broader generational shifts.

Book--Generations 2026: The Great Convergence

https://a.co/d/0htzToI5

• Mark Hewitt is introduced as a longtime friend of Danny’s and a former coworker from Mooseheart and Thornwell
• Mark explains how being called a millennial pushed him to research the Oregon Trail generation and identify with Xennials
• The group discusses growing up with both analog and digital systems
• Mark shares a real estate story about learning to use Google instead of waiting for traditional instructions
• The crew explores how Xennials often bridge older and younger generations
• The conversation covers VCRs, CD changers, early computers, streaming, and smartphones
• The group debates why decades used to have stronger visual and cultural identities
• Music nostalgia includes Oregon Trail, MTV, band shirts, and the disappearance of new rock bands
• Mark points out that many 90s bands are still touring because newer acts have not replaced them
• The episode closes with the value of relationships, in-person communication, and generosity

Travis and guest host Danny Smith continue their conversation about growing up in the 80s and 90s. This episode is packed with the kind of stories that instantly take you back: school bus chaos, dial-up internet, bad decisions, and the strange freedom of growing up in this era.

They also dig into the school bus as its own kind of social ecosystem, where survival skills, humor, and chaos all mixed together. Danny and Travis share stories from school, the internet transition years, and a few truly unforgettable bus memories. They pose some thought provoking questions along the way as they reflect on formative moments.

Checkout Danny's band Wasperjaws:

https://wasperjaws.hearnow.com

Generations 2026: The Great Convergence

https://a.co/d/0htzToI5

• Danny and Travis revisit what made 80s and 90s kids who they are, from fashion and culture to the everyday weirdness of growing up before constant screens.
• Danny talks about his band Wasperjaws and their upcoming album release, including a full analog rollout with cassettes, CDs, and vinyl.
• The guys break down a funny YouTube comment about Danny allegedly playing a Blues Traveler solo on recorder in a car, leading to a story about middle school friend Joe Broadwell.
• Travis shares a passage about Xennials being the generation that had to adapt to the internet as working adults, and Danny responds with memories of learning email and internet use in school and college.
• They compare early internet life to encyclopedias, dial-up, Napster, and LimeWire, including slow downloads, mislabeled songs, and the constant fear campaigns around file sharing.
• The conversation turns to how fear-based messaging shaped the era, including DARE, old public service ads, and the way kids were told to believe authority without being able to verify much.
• Danny and Travis spend a long stretch on school buses as miniature social worlds, complete with hierarchy, bad smells, fights, bus driver standoffs, and the need to learn how to survive an hour-long ride.
• Danny remembers a bus driver who went all-in on a supervised water gun fight on the last day of school, turning the whole bus route into an unforgettable chaotic memory.

Travis sits down with Danny Smith for a wide-ranging part one conversation about Xennial identity, growing up in the 80s and 90s, and why so many childhood memories still feel oddly defining.

They also talk about the online reaction to the earlier Xennial reel and the debate over microgeneration labels. The episode moves between nostalgia and reflection, asking what we gained from more freedom, more uncertainty, and a lot less tracking.

They also get very sidetracked into roadside attractions, starter jackets, yo-yos, and map quest directions. Some other topics they hit in this conversation: the freedom of being unreachable, survivorship bias, parenting anxiety around screens, printed boarding passes, phones “listening,” fewer grasshoppers, scratched CDs, and the songs that instantly bring them back to the 90s.

Checkout Danny's band Wasperjaws:

Find their music on all the platforms here

Instagram: @wasperjaws

• Travis and Danny revisit the Xennial idea as a bridge generation between analog childhood and digital adolescence.
• They talk about the online reaction to the Xennial reel, including how strongly people identify with, or reject, microgeneration labels.
• Danny shares summer stories from Missouri, including a big family reunion at Lake of the Ozarks and his annual work at a special needs camp in Kentucky.
• Road trip memories include Santa Claus, Indiana, Cadillac Ranch, Wall Drug, Buc-ee’s, and the odd obsession certain regions seem to have with roadside attractions.
• Danny recalls starter jackets becoming a status symbol in the 90s, including the strange moment when discounted jackets showed up in his poor Kentucky town and erased some of the status divide.
• They talk about tight-rolled jeans, hats worn backward, yo-yos, hacky sacks, and the mystery of how trends spread before social media.
• Travis and Danny dig into how road trips used to work before smartphones, map apps, and constant contact, including getting lost for hours with only paper directions.
• They reflect on the tradeoff between childhood freedom and modern parental anxiety, especially around safety, internet access, and tracking kids by phone.
• The episode closes with a playful list of things that make them feel old, including AI, printing boarding passes, phones “listening,” fewer grasshoppers, and the instant nostalgia of 90s songs like Sugar Ray, Weezer, Third Eye Blind, and Alanis Morissette.

Travis and Jeff continue their Xennial conversation with a focus on the decade of the 90s. They continue to discuss what it meant to grow up at the fault line between analog and digital life, and why that experience feels so specific to a small window of time.

A recent Instagram reel Travis shared from the previous episode went viral with nearly 2 million views within a week! They discuss some of the feedback and comments from it and talk about why this whole conversation has resonated with so many who grew up in this era!

Travis and Jeff also swap road trip stories full of Midwest Americana and quirky roadside attractions. Later, the conversation turns more reflective as Jeff, a therapist who works with teenagers, breaks down dopamine, social media and technology, and why constant documentation can pull us out of the moment.

• The follow-up to the Xennial conversation and why the reel about microgenerations took off, drawing nearly 2 million views and thousands of comments.
• Travis and Jeff compare the Xennial experience to Gen X and Millennials, landing on the idea that Xennials lived through a true analog to digital fault line during formative years.
• Jeff shares a family trip to Chicago, including the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum’s Pokemon archaeology exhibit, and the Galloping Ghost Arcade.
• They swap stories about unusual roadside stops like Uranus Fudge Factory, the circus sideshow museum, the world’s second biggest rocking chair, the Spam Museum, the Kazoo Museum, and the neon sign museum.
• The conversation explores how generational labels are social constructs, and why microgenerations can feel more accurate for people shaped by rapid technological change.
• Travis and Jeff discuss childhood freedom, how much more unsupervised play used to be normal, and how that clashes with the more protected parenting style many of them use now.
• Jeff explains how social media is engineered around dopamine, rewarding attention without caring why you stopped scrolling or what it does to your mood.
• They talk about the downside of over-documenting life, from concerts to family moments, and how recording everything can sometimes replace actually experiencing it.
• Jeff notes that memory itself is imperfect and often more meaningful than raw documentation, since stories and recollection can add texture and emotional value.
• The episode closes with a broader look at technology’s effect on dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, and how real-world activity still matters for mental health.

Some cool videos that talk more about Xennials/microgeneration:

https://youtu.be/oCbxtjStZ6E?si=wG_ln6Pru14goI9P

https://youtu.be/Pqs0PokPDqo?si=-AhgOm-fM8xzkAPG

In this episode, Travis and his friend Jeff Elden dive into the distinctive experience of Xennials — those born roughly between 1977 and 1983 — a microgeneration (between Gen Xers and Millennials) bridging the gap between analog childhoods of and digital adulthood.

They reflect on how shared cultural touchstones like the Oregon Trail game and childhood adventures shaped their view of the world, contrasting these tangible memories with today's digital experiences. From favorite childhood games to the evolution of technology from rotary phones to smartphones, the conversation unpacks how these shifts influence identity, resilience, and adaptability.

The episode also explores profound cultural moments such as the Challenger disaster and its impact on perceptions of safety and technological progress. Jeff and Travis discuss how technology's rapid advancement and social media's instant connectivity contribute to a sense of both opportunity and anxiety — particularly around the spread of tragedy and the dopamine-driven cycles of entertainment.

They highlight the importance of reconnecting with the physical world, nature, and tangible experiences for mental well-being in an increasingly virtual landscape. The conversation wraps with reflections on how being guardians of this experience allows them to serve as ambassadors for authentic, real-world interaction, urging listeners to step outside, embrace adventures, and reconnect with the tangible joys of life.

• The defining childhood experiences of Xennials, from Oregon Trail to early Nintendo
• The cultural significance of the Challenger explosion in shaping safety perceptions
• The transition from tangible, physical media to seamless digital consumption
• The impact of social media algorithms and instant news on mental health
• The importance of balancing digital tools with real-world, sensory experiences
• Nostalgia for collecting and the physicality of media
• The role of Xennials as cultural ambassadors, bridging analog and digital worlds

Some cool videos that talk more about Xennials and their place in history:

https://youtu.be/oCbxtjStZ6E?si=wG_ln6Pru14goI9P

https://youtu.be/Pqs0PokPDqo?si=-AhgOm-fM8xzkAPG

In this episode, Travis takes us on a nostalgic, caffeinated journey through the iconic 90s soda, Surge. With a blend of humor and insightful history, he uncovers how this seemingly simple citrus soda became a rebellious cultural phenomenon, vanished, and then came roaring back thanks to passionate fans and clever marketing. He also shares about his own love of Surge and some stories around his energy drink addiction in the early part of the 2000s.

From the historical roots of Mountain Dew to Surge's marketing blitz in the 90s, Travis showcases how branding, targeted advertising, and zeitgeist alignment can turn a beverage into a movement. And let's not forget the importance of social media activism—proving that sometimes, voice and passion can bring the wildest of brands back from the dead. Buckle up as we explore the chaos, culture, and comeback of Surge.

The Surge Movement:

https://surgemovement.org/

• The fascinating origin story of Mountain Dew and how it inspired Surge's aggressive branding.
• Surge’s marketing strategy: chaotic commercials, extreme sports appeal, and its “feed the rush” slogan.
• The cultural impact of Surge in schools, skate parks, and teen identity during the 90s.
• The decline due to health concerns and school bans, despite Surge having less caffeine and sugar than Mountain Dew.
• The grassroots movement and social media campaign that led to Surge’s surprising 2014 comeback.
• The power of community activism in reviving discontinued brands and what modern marketers can learn.
• The contrast between Surge and Red Bull’s branding approaches and the importance of understanding your audience.

In this episode, Travis sits down with his 16-year-old son, Asher, to explore what makes him uniquely himself—his passions, faith, and perspective on life. From heartfelt reflections on Father’s Day and family moments to insights about gratitude and thoughts around the World Cup, this conversation is a rollercoaster of humor, wisdom, and genuine connection.

Asher reveals his love for shoes, sports, and design, and shares inspiring thoughts on noticing the little things that make life special, all while maintaining a chill, observant outlook that’s surprisingly mature for his age.

Asher on Cultivate the Ordinary Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cultivate-the-ordinary/id1725656621?i=1000668993350

In this episode:

• How a simple hug and a Father's Day surprise about loss and presence can reshape our view on relationships and gratitude
• The beauty of global sports and the stories behind the teams and countries that unite us (or at least make us laugh)
• The fascinating world of sneaker collecting, the stories shoes tell, and the entrepreneurial spirit of a future designer
• The power of faith and gratefulness, especially cultivated by a young man who sees the world through observant, grateful eyes
• Why being behind in sports or life’s development isn’t a setback—it's a launchpad for courage and growth
• Faith and inspiration drawing from Jesus and living with a purpose

In this episode, Travis welcomes his friend, Danisha Keating, who shares about her journey of resilience in overcoming abuse, being in foster care, and finding herself eventually homeless. She never gave up and her courageous will to overcome led her to gaining her Doctorate in Psychology and now empowers others through her books, courses, social media presence, and speaking engagements.

Growing up as one of eleven siblings in a challenging environment marked by poverty and abuse, she entered foster care during high school. Despite these hardships, she took on the responsibility of raising her siblings, navigating the complexities of life with determination.

Her path was fraught with obstacles, including homelessness and the struggle to balance education with caregiving. Yet, she persevered, earning her degrees and becoming a voice for healing and change. Through self-publishing her latest book, "Taking My Voice Back," she shares her story on her terms, focusing on healing rather than trauma. Her journey is one of breaking generational cycles, finding peace, and inspiring others to pursue their own paths of healing and growth.

Checkout her books, her trauma and business courses, and follow her on socials:

https://danishakeating.com

• Danisha discusses her unique experience of growing up in poverty with foster care background
• How she identified as a "farm girl" and the life lessons from farm animals and land
• The pivotal moment of realizing that trauma did not make her stronger, but healing did
• Her fight against family secrets, societal stigma, and sharing her truth through self-publishing
• The role of forgiveness, legacy, and generational healing in her story
• Practical advice on slowing down, using tools, and intentionally creating peace in life