In this episode of Xennials, host Charlotte Kan dives into the concept of ‘neural nostalgia’ to explore how the music we listened to as teenagers left an indelible mark on our brains. She welcomes Claude Grunitzky, founder of global media brand Trace, who shares how music helped shaped his life and career. They discuss Claude’s multicultural background, his early influences, and his move from London to New York – from trip-hop to hip-hop. The conversation touches on the globalisation and hybridisation of music in the 90s, from Massive Attack to Afrobeats, and how technology and AI are impacting the music industry today. Recorded June 2024

In the seventh episode of this 10-part series, Xennials creator & host Charlotte Kan welcomes back Professor James Brooke-Smith, a leading authority on the 90s, as well as teacher of English and Film Studies at the University of Ottawa and author of ‘Accelerate! A History of the 90s’. In this episode, they discuss the highlights of the decade, zeroing in on the UK and its role in the 1990s: Britpop, New Labour and the thriving YBA art scene are just some of the topics covered. Recorded October 2023

During this episode of Xennials, host Charlotte Kan explores the pivotal decade of the 1990s with Gernot Wagner, climate economist at Columbia Business School and a fellow xennial. Together, they explore the release of the first IPCC report that sparked a global wakeup call about the escalating dangers of greenhouse gas emissions and the critical steps needed to curb global warming.

Gernot reflects on the 1989 Los Angeles Times headline that framed global warming as the decade’s hot issue, a prediction that was frighteningly accurate yet insufficiently heeded. We dive into the highs and lows of the 1990s’ climate initiatives, including the ambitious yet ultimately inadequate Kyoto Protocol. Gernot shares his personal evolution from a precocious teen grappling with the economic impacts of environmental policies to a leading expert navigating the complex interplay between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Recorded March 2024

In this episode of Xennials, host Charlotte Kan asks award-winning journalist, author and “GenXtraordinaire” Matt Potter to share the forgotten tales of a generation born in the shadow of the baby boomers.

In a freewheeling discussion, they unpack the infamous label that was slapped on gen X by Time Magazine back in 1990: Lazy, indecisive, with the attention span of a zapper. Matt offers a compelling counter-narrative, drawing on historical critiques that echo through the ages from the Bible to Socrates. This episode takes a deep dive into the perennial, generational tug-of-war, exploring the loud societal scripts.

Don’t miss out on this explosive blend of personal stories, historical insights and the rebellious spirit of the 90s – an era that refused to conform – and rediscover the ’xennial spirit’, where irony meets inquiry, analogue meets digital, solid meets fluid.

Recorded March 2024

Michael Alcee, a New York-based psychologist, delves into the nuanced world of Xennials, a generation at the unique crossroads of analog and digital eras with podcast host Charlotte Kan. For him, Xennials, seamlessly synthesize, empathize, and mobilize, drawing strength from the unique fusion of analog nostalgia and digital progressiveness. This generation is characterized by its unique cognitive and emotional flexibility, adeptly navigating between seemingly incompatible worlds, translating, mediating, and bridging divides. Their emotional intelligence combined with tech-savviness results in innovative leadership styles, as seen in leaders like Zelensky and Ardern. Compared to older GenXers, they effortlessly pivot between personal and professional realms, maintaining a personal warmth yet retaining the etiquette of the analogue world. 

In this episode of Xennials, host Charlotte Kan explores the dynamic decade of the 1990s, a pivotal period characterised by increasing economic growth, technological advances, and significant monetary and fiscal policies globally. We’ll discuss how these factors shaped the xennial generation, positioned between generation X and millennials. Our guest, Gilles Moec, chief economist at AXA, provides insights into major events like the 1997–98 Asian and EM financial crisis, the European monetary system crisis of 1992, the rise of neoliberalism, and the consolidation of global economic power. We also touch on the implications of these events for today’s economic and political landscape, including the formation of the euro and the emergence of the United States as the world’s sole superpower post-Cold War.

Recorded November 2023

This episode of Xennials dives into the rapid evolution of mobile phones, from a mere 12 million subscriptions in 1990 to an astonishing 8.6 billion today, surpassing the world’s population. Ben Wood, chief analyst and CMO at CCS Insight and the founder of the Mobile Phone Museum, joins host, Charlotte Kan, to unpack the transformational journey of mobile devices during the ‘90s. From joining the then up-and-coming British company Vodafone in 1994, to witnessing the zenith of BlackBerry‘s dominance, Ben provides a first-hand account of the industry‘s ever-shifting landscape. We also delve into the profound societal shifts brought about by mobile devices. While these gadgets democratised access to information and education, they also paved the way for addiction, cyberbullying and misinformation. As they gaze into the crystal ball, Ben and Charlotte discuss the future of mobile technology: Will smartphones remain ubiquitous, or will innovations like smart tech dominate?

Recorded November 2023

What do Emmanuel Macron, Mark Zuckerberg, Jacinda Ardern, Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky all have in common? They are Xennials, the last, micro-generation of ‘analogue’ children who came of age in the 1990s during peak globalisation and before the digital economy took off.

In this first episode in the new series, Charlotte Kan, together with a leading authority on the decade, Professor James Brooke-Smith, teacher of English and film studies at the University of Ottawa in Canada and author of ‘Accelerate! A History of the 1990s’, discusses the highlights of the decade and looks at what impact the ’90s had on today’s world.

James sums up the 90s as "One of the most transformative historical shifts of the modern era, equivalent to the invention of printing."

We explore a decade that begins with high hopes in 1989 & the Fall of the Berlin Wall and ends, tragically, with 9/11. Our discussion spans Francis Fukuyama's 'End of History', grunge and the Detroit acid house/techno scene, NAFTA, WTO, neoliberalism and the perks of globalisation, an increasingly connected world, Digital Utopianism, our first mobile phones, whether 'Xennials' are even a thing and a seemingly extinct staple of the 90s: irony...We conclude with a 'Xennial Quiz' (favourite book, band, movie, gadget of the 90s?)