The Rise of Kidulting: Toys “R” Us Is Back, Adults Are the Growth Engine, and Why Fun Is No Longer a Kids-Only Category

Toys “R” Us just came back from the dead, and it wasn’t kids who brought it back. The toy industry posted its strongest first half ever, with adult spending up 25% and driving nearly 60% of all dollar gains. 80% of American adults played this year for themselves. 51% would rather open a blind box t…

The Faith Stack: Pizza to Pews, Holy Girl Walks, and Why Gen Z Is the Most Religious Generation in America

33% of Gen Z identifies as religious. Nearly double the rate of Boomers. New Harris Poll data just broke the secularization story everyone's been telling for thirty years. A hundred strangers showed up to pizza night before Mass in Greenwich Village. 150 women are praying the rosary on a hot girl w…

AI Revolt & Romance: 142 Data Center Protests, Half of Gen Z Open to Dating AI, and the Love Story Your Brand Is Caught In

Americans are protesting data centers on Saturday and naming their chatbots on Sunday. 80% say AI is becoming a surveillance tool. Half of Gen Z is open to a romantic relationship with one. A fake deodorant brand built in an hour landed on the AI shelf ahead of companies with actual clinical trials…

Pet Priority Economy: Blueberry Puppy Facials, Digitized Pet Consciousness, and the Most Recession-Proof Spending in America

40% of Americans would rather have a pet than a child. A quarter of young owners are skipping their own doctor to pay for their animal's care. John and Libby dig into how a generation priced out of traditional family life built a new one and why every industry from luxury fashion to real estate is …

Bet Your Life: Three Million New Bettors, $64 Million on Jesus, and the Gamblification of Everything

Half of young Americans say being able to bet on the news makes the news more interesting. Kalshi just outpaced DraftKings and FanDuel combined. John and Libby unpack how prediction markets escaped sports and started pricing every uncertainty in American life.

Grief Hikes, Grocery Buddies, and Why Asking for Help Is Secretly a Gift

Laid-off tech workers are hiking their grief uphill, together. Strangers are covering each other's grocery bills. Young people are throwing parties to do their taxes. John and Libby unpack The Helper's High and the stat behind it: 91% of Americans say helping others is how they build their own hope…

Disappearing Pride Logos, the Silent Boycott, and the Loyalty Divorce

Breaking up is not so hard to do, particularly with consumers and brands. Every relationship has a test: not how it looks when things are easy, but what happens when they're not. This year, that test is playing out between brands and their most loyal customers and quietly, a lot of them are failing…

Billionaire Backlash: Trolling the Rich, Wealth Caps, and a Generation Locked Out

As Elon Musk closes in on becoming the world's first trillionaire, wealth has drifted so far out of reach that Americans can't fight it the normal way, so they've started to troll it. A mayor announced a tax from the sidewalk outside a billionaire's $238 million penthouse. A movie star walked the M…

Bitcoin Down Payments, Frozen Markets, and the Death of Starter Homes

Fannie Mae just accepted its first crypto-collateralized mortgage. 75% of Americans say starter homes are priced like luxury homes. And most Americans say the housing market feels frozen, buyers and sellers waiting each other out. John and Libby unpack why nobody's moving and why an entire generati…

Wrestling Dates, Supper Clubs, and the Death of the Swipe

Hundreds of Gen Z singles showed up to a Brooklyn warehouse to wrestle strangers for a first date.  Meanwhile, Bumble has lost 90% of its market value, and 77% of singles say dating apps feel more like a marketplace than a love story. So what actually replaces the swipe? In this episode, we unpack …