Zeitgeist Report

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-gen-z-men-see-the-system-rigged-against-them/

Two unrelated incidents—the death of Henry Nowick, a young British man stabbed multiple times whose cries for help were dismissed by police after he was falsely accused of racism, and a viral Oregon dispute in which a Lego resale franchise allegedly stole an 84-year-old man's $200,000 collection and faced asymmetric online warfare from his Gen Z grandson and a YouTuber known for infiltrating institutions—are being analyzed as flashpoints for a broader societal rupture. Government data cited in this discussion shows that since January 2025, only 21,000 of 369,000 net new jobs in the US economy went to men, a figure consistent with DEI-driven hiring policies that Gen Z men perceive as systemically excluding them. Two out of three current PhD graduates are women. Gen Z collectively holds approximately 2% of US assets, with many trapped in non-dischargeable student loan debt that increases even when minimum payments are made. Analysts draw parallels to historical patterns—the Viking Age, the Crusades, the American Revolutionary War—in which a surplus of disillusioned young men with no stake in the existing order became catalysts for civilizational restructuring. The discussion identifies two historically effective societal stabilizers: expeditionary conflict (now undermined by drone warfare) and early marriage supported by monogamous cultural norms. Authors writing for male audiences are advised that this demographic, largely abandoned by mainstream publishing, represents a significant and underserved commercial opportunity, with indie authors like Seth Ring selling over a million copies by writing directly to it. Times: 0:00 – Intro: Gen Z Men Ready to Burn It All Down 6:35 – Story 1: Henry Nowick 10:39 – Story 2: Bricks & Minifigs 20:32 – What Can Actually Be Done? 23:00 – Advice for Authors 28:40 – Rome's Secret Weapon 30:24 – The Sexual Revolution's Fallout 35:51 – Writing for Young Men 40:47 – Pushback from Chat 43:45 – Advice for Young Men 47:49 – Grace, Hope & the Call for Cultural Reset Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Patron Toolbox (Author AI Tools): https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Join the AuthorMedia.social Community: https://authormedia.social/feed Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #GenZ

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-pope-leo-xiv-gives-catholic-novelists-green-light-to-use-ai/

Pope Leo XIV released Magnifica Humanitas, a 42,000-word encyclical applying Catholic social teaching to artificial intelligence — the first major religious document to engage AI with genuine technical depth and theological rigor. The five-chapter document roots its analysis in the tradition of Catholic social doctrine dating to Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum in 1891, framing AI as a valuable tool that requires vigilance while explicitly rejecting both uncritical optimism and outright opposition to the technology. The encyclical's primary villains are not AI itself but technocrats — those who reduce human beings to data points and economic outputs — and transhumanists or post-humanists who seek to transcend human physical limitations through technology rather than through the Christian path of salvation in Christ, which the Pope repeatedly frames as "the Word made flesh" in deliberate contrast to what he calls "the flesh made of silicon." Specific concerns addressed include autonomous weapons systems that remove human moral judgment from lethal decisions, CCP-style AI-powered social credit surveillance that treats citizens as cogs in a state machine, and social media algorithms that direct and constrain human imagination. The document calls for international AI governance, transparency, and accountability, and draws a clear boundary: AI may assist human decision-making, but autonomous AI judgment over consequential human outcomes — hiring, publishing acceptance, lethal force — is morally impermissible. Certain sections of the encyclical tested positive for AI authorship using detection tools, and the Italian-language original showed higher AI-use signals than the English translation, suggesting the drafting team used AI assistance. The Pope cited Tolkien's Gandalf in the text, urging readers not to succumb to technological fatalism but to address the problems within their reach so future generations inherit a cleaner world. Times: 0:00 Overview of the encyclical's five chapters 2:24 Who is Pope Leo XIV & why this encyclical matters 7:57 The Catholic Church is pro-science (not anti-technology) 9:55 The villains: technocrats, transhumanists & post-humanists 11:00 Gnosticism, consciousness uploading & Christian rejection 13:40 Autonomous drones in Ukraine – the mercy problem 20:11 The Tolkien/Gandalf quote in the encyclical 21:07 Q&A: What can Catholic authors do with AI? 26:13 The Patron Toolbox & papal alignment 27:36 Rapid-fire Q&A (plotting, blurbs, editing, cover design, translation, social media) 30:37 GDP critique & the devaluation of motherhood 36:26 Summary & closing thoughts on AI tools for Christian authors Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-stories-made-by-people-who-hate-them/

Christopher Nolan's upcoming film adaptation of Homer's Odyssey has become the latest flashpoint in a recurring pattern of high-profile IP adaptations that alienate core audiences: the film features armor designs critics have compared to Nolan's Batman films, cast no Greek actors despite partial Greek government co-financing, and reportedly includes a rapper performing as a bard in the ancient epic. The controversy follows a consistent commercial pattern — Marvel's Phase Four collapse after Endgame, the cancellation of Amazon's Wheel of Time adaptation after it removed the series' core thematic premise that men and women are fundamentally different, Dune Part Two's alteration of Chani's arc from love interest to antagonist, and the sequel Star Wars trilogy's systematic deconstruction of its own mythology. Each failed adaptation targeted new audiences by compromising what existing fans valued, gaining neither the original fanbase nor the desired new demographic. By contrast, Jorge Rivera-Herranz's Epic: The Musical — an operatic retelling of the Odyssey aimed at Gen Z — surpassed one billion streams by treating the source material as worthy of reverence and creative investment, not correction. Destiny 2's Renegades expansion, a beat-for-beat Star Wars Episode IV adaptation integrated into an existing game universe, similarly revived a flagging player base by delivering what loyal fans actually wanted. The core lesson for authors and creators: attempting to fix source material for audiences who rejected it produces a product inferior to the original that fails to attract new readers while losing existing ones. Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-globalists-vs-nationalists-what-the-uk-and-japanese-elections-tell-us-about-the-changing-culture/

Reform UK — a party that didn't exist a decade ago — just gained 873 seats in British local elections, winning councils across England and even taking London, while Labour lost 595 seats and the Conservatives continued their collapse. Simultaneously, Japan's LDP secured a two-thirds supermajority for the first time in the post-war era, running explicitly on national pride, immigration restriction, and Japan-first economic policy. These aren't isolated events. The same nationalist-versus-globalist fracture is visible in Germany's AFD surge, Argentina's Milei government, El Salvador's crime transformation, Alberta's separatist movement, and the MAGA realignment of the American Republican Party. In this deep-dive Zeitgeist segment from Author Update, we connect these global political shifts directly to the fiction market — explaining why the "ragtag diverse team defeats the empire" story is losing readers, why culture-specific fiction is the most underserved and highest-opportunity category right now, and what authors need to understand about their audience's flag before they write their next book. Essential viewing for any author trying to understand why middle-of-the-road stories are failing and tribal fiction is winning. Times: 0:00 – Intro: UK local elections & Reform UK's sweeping gains 3:29 – Reform UK wins in London & the globalist vs. nationalist divide 6:12 – Japan's election: LDP supermajority & nationalist surge 12:48 – Immigration as the defining issue across all elections 13:34 – Gays for Palestine, Japan-Texas nationalist bonding & the new nationalism 22:22 – George Lucas, Star Wars diversity vs. Hollywood globalism 24:26 – What this means for fiction writers: pick a side or lose your audience 43:35 – Canada, Alberta separatism & anti-globalism finding a home in separatism 47:00 – Hockey romance, tribal longing & writing for your culture 53:18 – Australia & New Zealand: Eastern vs. Western identity crisis Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-first-turning-noblebright-vs-second-turning-grimbright/

What do Kelly's Heroes, Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, and Warhammer 40K all have in common? They're all battlegrounds for a deeper cultural war over storytelling philosophy — and understanding it could transform your writing. In this episode, Thomas and Jonathan dig into the Four Turnings framework and the storytelling archetypes it produces: Noble Bright, Grim Dark, Noble Dark, and the most misunderstood of all — GrimBright. Using iconic films as case studies, they debate whether Luke Skywalker is truly Noble Bright or slipping into grimness, why Han Solo is the quintessential GrimBright protagonist, how Empire Strikes Back became the most emotionally resonant film in the trilogy by blending both archetypes, and why Return of the Jedi's Noble Bright resolution felt out of step with its cultural moment. Whether you're a novelist, screenwriter, or just a serious student of story, this conversation gives you a powerful lens for understanding why certain stories hit differently — and how to intentionally craft narratives that resonate with readers right now, in the heart of the Fourth Turning. Times: 0:00 - Intro: GrimBright and the Four Turnings 1:00 - Kelly's Heroes analysis (WWII film as Vietnam commentary) 3:52 - The Magnificent Seven & Seven Samurai comparison 7:15 - Blending story turnings 8:02 - Star Wars: Noble Bright vs. GrimBright 8:24 - Han Solo as a GrimBright protagonist 10:50 - Jonathan's rebuttal on Luke Skywalker's arc 14:25 - Return of the Jedi discussion 20:40 - Jonathan on the Star Wars trilogy arc 23:15 - The visual setting vs. character spirit distinction 26:33 - Hell's Reach / 40K tangent and defining GrimDark Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #StarWars

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-southern-poverty-law-center-indictment/

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts — including six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Prosecutors allege the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donor funds between 2014 and 2023 to individuals tied to the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and organizations connected to the 2017 Charlottesville Unite the Right rally — the very groups it publicly denounced on its widely-cited Hate Map while using them to drive fundraising. The hosts analyze the full scope of the allegations, the institutional collapse of nonprofit credibility, the manufactured-demand fraud model that may have driven the scheme, and what the indictment signals for the broader "racism industrial complex," cancel culture's waning power, and how authors — especially those writing mission-driven fiction — must now think about authentic communication in a world that has lost trust in institutions. Times: 0:00 SPLC Indicted — Federal grand jury charges, 11-count indictment breakdown 3:39 How nonprofits manufacture the problems they're paid to solve 4:33 The DuPont/Freon case study — paid protesters and manufactured outrage 6:36 Paid protesters explained — most daytime protests aren't organic 7:14 Regulatory capture — why companies push for their own regulation 9:47 Prediction: SPLC is the first of many similar indictments 11:27 How SPLC's hate map was used to cancel people from banking and PayPal 16:55 Growing distrust of charitable organizations and the NGO industrial complex 19:41 The nonprofit conflict-of-interest problem — why ending the mission ends the org 21:39 Fourth Turning: collapsing institutions and giving locally 23:30 What this means for mission-driven authors — be real, not corporate Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #Racism #PublishingNews #Government

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/what-do-americans-consider-immoral/

A new Pew Research study mapping American moral attitudes reveals data every fiction author needs before writing their next book: 90% of Americans say marital affairs are morally wrong (the only near-universal consensus), 52% view pornography as immoral, only 4% think eating meat is a moral issue, and between one-third and one-half of Americans don't consider most topics to be moral questions at all — a profound cultural indifference that directly shapes how readers respond to the consequences in your stories. The study covers affairs, abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty, IVF, gambling, spanking, marijuana, divorce, alcohol, contraceptives, physician-assisted suicide, and extreme wealth. For authors, your novel's moral framework is unavoidable — the consequences you write, the endings you choose, and the villains you create all embed a worldview that readers silently internalize. Understanding where your audience actually stands — not where loud online voices claim they stand — is the difference between writing a story that resonates and one that alienates. Full data breakdown, generational analysis, and direct applications for fiction writing. Times: 0:00 – Intro: Pew Research study on American morality & why it matters for authors 2:40 – Married people having an affair (90% say morally wrong) 3:56 – Viewing pornography (52% say morally wrong) 5:13 – Using contraceptives (only 8% say morally wrong) 6:27 – Having an abortion (47% say morally wrong) 6:59 – Homosexuality (39% say morally wrong) 8:37 – Doctor-assisted suicide (closest split of any topic) 10:45 – Death penalty (34% wrong vs. 38% acceptable) 12:00 – Gambling (29% morally wrong, 50% not a moral issue) 13:28 – Spanking children (23% morally wrong) 15:48 – Using marijuana (23% morally wrong, 52% not a moral issue) 16:49 – Getting a divorce (23% morally wrong) 17:51 – Being extremely rich / billionaires (63% not a moral issue) 19:08 – Drinking alcohol (16% morally wrong — Baptist vs. Catholic debate) 25:42 – IVF / In vitro fertilization (9% morally wrong) 28:50 – Identity-based vs. action-based morality (woke moral framework explained) 33:46 – "Little Black" pony book & hidden moral frameworks in children's stories Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/capturing-a-shifting-zeitgeist-of-paranoia-betrayal-and-disrupted-domestic-normalcy/

A new Catalytics report reveals that psychological and domestic thrillers have exploded into a $2.6 million monthly royalty market — and the data exposes exactly why authors who understand the cultural moment behind this surge are cashing in while others get left behind. Domestic thriller as a search term went from near-zero to surpassing "psychological thriller" on Google Trends by early 2025, driven by post-pandemic isolation, deep fake paranoia, eroded institutional trust, and a generation that no longer feels safe inside their own home or marriage. Freida McFadden alone holds 28 titles in the virtual bestseller list, top-20 authors show 53% year-over-year stickiness, and the top 20 Kindle chart is dominated by twist-heavy, gaslighting, unreliable-narrator stories set in suburban homes and crumbling marriages. This video breaks down the Catalytics data, the dominant tropes driving sales, the AI supply flood threatening to dilute the genre, and the deeper cultural zeitgeist — from the fourth turning to the collapse of the family as a safe space — that every thriller author needs to understand before writing their next book. Times: 0:00 - Intro: Psychological & Domestic Thrillers Overview 2:04 - Evidence of Changing Consumer Demand (Google Trends data) 5:41 - Amazon Sales Performance & Bestseller Rankings 7:18 - The Literary Trajectory (Hitchcock era to today) 12:08 - Author, Publisher & Category Landscape (Freida McFadden, top titles) 14:25 - What This Trend Reveals About Our Culture 21:46 - Live Chat Discussion & Q&A 25:56 - Horror as a Search for God (philosophical discussion) Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-project-hail-mary-rockets-past-226-million-at-domestic-box-office/

Project Hail Mary has crossed $430 million worldwide at the box office, and the reasons behind its runaway success reveal something profound about what readers and viewers are desperately hungry for right now — and what it means for authors trying to connect with modern audiences. We break down the cultural forces driving its popularity: the male loneliness epidemic and the near-total absence of phileo (brotherly) love in modern storytelling, the power of ruthless heroes making hard decisions in dark times, the return of glory and the extended denouement, the intentional rejection of preachy messaging, and the stunning choice to film a space movie with zero CGI and no green screen. We also explore how the concept of the "Fourth Turning" is reshaping what audiences demand from stories, why saturated color palettes and emotional range are making a comeback, and what lessons indie authors can apply right now — from epilogue structure to character growth arcs — to write books that will resonate for years to come. Times: 0:00 – Intro: Project Hail Mary box office numbers 1:01 – Why books/movies scratch different psychological itches 1:33 – Male loneliness epidemic & how Hail Mary addresses it 8:56 – Ruthless characters & the drugging scene (spoilers) 16:47 – No sermons / avoiding preachy messaging 17:55 – Character growth through sacrifice 19:46 – Practical filmmaking: no green screen / puppets vs. CG 20:51 – Natural vs. gratuitous diversity 22:23 – Heroism vs. power: virtue growth in storytelling 22:59 – Color grading & the shift away from muted tones 28:02 – Outro Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews

Read the blog post: https://www.authormedia.com/zeitgeist-ai-as-metaphor-corporations-pagan-gods-the-managerial-state/

For the past 40 years, AI villains in fiction have been metaphors for the soulless managerial state — the faceless corporations, bureaucracies, and institutions that stripped human agency throughout the 20th century. When HAL said "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that," no one in 1968 had ever touched a computer — but everyone had been told "no" by a system that didn't see them as human. We trace this metaphor from 2001: A Space Odyssey through War Games, the Terminator, and the Matrix, then flip the script: AI today may actually be the tool that dismantles the managerial priesthood by replacing the TPS-report bureaucracy entirely. The counterpoint? These stories aren't about corporations at all — they're about pagan gods, soulless divine entities that demand human sacrifice and can only be addressed in their own language. Whether you're writing sci-fi, fantasy, literary fiction, or trying to understand why your readers crave stories about fighting the system, this episode gives you the deepest storytelling framework for AI, authority, and the human soul that you'll find anywhere. Watch Author Update Live at 4pm (Central) on Fridays: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Update Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/novelmarketing Novel Marketing Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Novel-Marketing Author Arsenal Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Author-Arsenal Patron Toolbox: https://www.authormedia.com/patron-toolbox/ Hosted by Thomas Umstattd Jr. and Jonathan Shuerger. Subscribe for weekly publishing industry analysis, author marketing strategies, and tech insights you can actually use. Visit AuthorMedia.com for show notes, tools, and resources. #AuthorTube #PublishingNews #AINews