209! Defining Cool

What does this "trend-mill" mean, what does it say about us as people, and how bad is it, really? This week, special guests Claire and Chloe join Jess and Joey to talk about the mob-wife aesthetic, accessibility, TikTok, blueberry milk nails, social networks vs. social media, and Trader Joe's totes. They don’t talk about why the combination of peanut butter and jelly is a gotdamn abomination. references Vogue: Blueberry Milk Nails Are Summer’s Most-Wanted Manicure Zaria Parvez: How the Comment Section became Duolingo's new Push Notification The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt onika burgers 

What happens if we're all deathly affraid of the cringe? This week, Jess, Joey, and Aaron talk about pain, yips, shame, fremdschämen, the Apple Vision Pro, and Michael Jordan. They don’t talk about Gracious K. references Skanking Revisiting Critical Nonsense 253! Teaching Agency and the Scandinavian Swimmers Fremdschämen The actual King of Belgium 

Why is cheating in some places treated differently than cheating in other places? This week, Joey, Aaron, and Jess talk about fairness, tribalism, insider trading, meritocracy, winning, and wallpaper. They don’t talk about Pete Shelley. references Veridis Quo USA Today: Who is Shohei Ohtani and what is his connection to the gambling scandal that's rocked baseball? ESPN: NBA eyes Raptors' Jontay Porter for betting issues The Meritocracy Myth by Stephen J. McNamee Jayson Tatum Aaron's Interior Decorating Corner: Anthropologie, Spoonflower, Hovia, Janovic, and Lamps Plus 

This week, a takeover! Joey shares his latest edition from SYLVAIN’s Progress Report newsletter: Awaiting the Eruption: Innovation Strategies for a Post-ZIRP Era.For more from SYLVAIN's Progress Report, see progressbysylvain.co.

Why are we always searching for the right answer?  This week, Jess and Joey talk about gray spaces, equifinality, value judgments, hiring, multifinality, and quantum physics. They don’t talk about the Alignment Theory.  references  Joey's nerd piece: Progress Report: The State Of...Awaiting the Eruption equifinality multifinality the secretary problem The New York Times: ‘I’m Sick of Seeing My Face,’ Says the Internet’s Kombucha Connoisseur 

What are the rules about crying in public? This week, Jess and Joey talk about benchmarking emotions, psychic tears, showing your belly, laughter yoga, pickled sadness, and ... farts. They don’t talk about Mary. references When Joeys cry Lacrymatory Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown National Library of Medicine: "The social impact of emotional tears" The Swaddle: Psychic Tears and the Science of Crying Laughter yoga 

How do we survive dopamine culture?This week, Aaron, Joey and Jess talk about neurotransmitters, The Good Place, Sheryl Crowe, Wall-E, Type 2 fun, and the mortal sins. They don't talk about the important nuance of the many antihistamines for all you allergic people out there.referencesCleveland Clinic: On NeurotransmittersInc: "Why Your Brain Prioritizes Instant Gratification Over Long-Term Goals, According to Science"The Honest Broker Substack: "The State of the Culture 2024" where you'll find that dopamine culture chartCorrections Department: it was NOLS Rocky Mountain Outdoor Educators SemesterWaPo: "What is Type 2 Fun?"WaPo on the joy, and if you can believe it—newfound mess—of Marie Kondo

What's our responsibility to teach agency for the next generation of workers? This week, Joey and Jess talk about Scandinavian Swimmers, in-flight wifi, lawnmower parenting, consent, waffles and ice cream, and pipe cleaners. They don’t talk about ABBA. references Scandinavian Swimmers 

Is it better to be a nerd with your analogies and attempt to be right, or is it better just to be relatable? This week, Joey and Jess talk about Mister Rogers and his (boring) neighborhood, The Big Bang Theory, nerds, the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, linking things, and the Ig Noble Awards. They don’t talk about Lewis Skolnick or Gilbert Lowe. references "Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen!" Baader–Meinhof phenomenon concatenate Also, CONCAT(ENATE) The Ig Nobel Prize: Celebrating Science with Humour 

Why do people love rituals so much? This week, Jess, Aaron, and Joey talk about medicine, Lunar New Year, habits, disease, leg washing, and flossing. They don’t talk about Jane's Addiction. references twitterpated Yale School of Medicine: Phenylephrine, a Common Decongestant, Is Ineffective, Say FDA Advisors. It’s Not Alone Gregorian calendar Ritual, Play and Belief, in Evolution and Early Human Societies by Colin Renfrew National Geographic: "Why do humans embrace rituals? Disease and danger may be at the root of the behaviors." cephalocaudal Gonggong Not-so-late-breaking: OSU microbiologists propose updates to the Linnaean System Recapitulation theory