GenX Adulting Podcast

We left the studio and hit the road for this one!For two nights at the Billy Strings shows at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama, 10/23 - 10/24/2026, we wandered the lot and talked to the fans who make this scene feel like family, and came home convinced it’s some of the best energy in live music right now.We met with Billy Strings fans of every generation and asked the questions we always ask in addition to ones specific to their own personal Billy Strings experience.  Here are a few:  What year were you born?  Who raised you, and what did you learn from them?  What got you into Billy Strings?  And what advice would you give the next generation?  What comes back is a tapestry of real, unguarded stories about community, kindness, belonging, and more than a few people who found this music and scene during hard times and recovery.Running through all of it is a through-line straight back to the Grateful Dead: the “Shakedown Street” lot tradition, the taper-and-trade spirit, and the sense of a family that gives people a home when they need it most.  Then we headed inside for both nights and come back with our honest reflections on the shows and the experience of meeting such amazing people.If you’re a Billy Strings fan, or curious of what it's all about, this one’s for you.🤝 Support the lot vendors who give this scene its soul.  We've put the links to the makers and artists we met in the show notes.  Please go buy from the people who make the magic.Glenn: (tie-dye site)https://www.galendyes.com/Karo: https://www.goldengoddessexpressions.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldengoddessexpressions/?hl=enAustin: https://www.daffodildaydreams.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daffodildaydreamdesigns/?hl=enLo: https://spinnersection.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girl.tour/?hl=enHandmade by Sarah Beth: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092849298467Smol Moth Art (the artwork Nicole bought)https://smolmothart.com/?country=USCheck Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#billystrings #genxadulting #billystringslot #orionamphitheater #huntsvillealabama #jambandcommunity #gratefuldead #shakedownstreet #deadheads #bluegrass #livemusiccommunity #billystringsfans #jambandscene #lotvendors #concertcommunity #interview #lifestory #livemusic #bluegrassmusic #art #artists Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

The Mike & Molly star gets real about Gen X.Billy Gardell, the star of Mike & Molly and Bob Hearts Abishola, grew up a feral Pittsburgh kid working 40 hours a week at fifteen, left home at seventeen with a suitcase and $26, and snuck into a comedy club every week until they finally gave him a job.  In one of our most heartfelt and hilarious episodes yet, the actor and comedian sits down with us to tell the whole story.Born in 1969 (he shares a birthday with Robert Plant), Billy traces the full arc: a latchkey Pittsburgh-to-Florida childhood, the “so what, now what” work ethic he inherited from his dad - his biggest fan, a gifted artist who dreamed of animating for Disney but worked a bank for 35 years - and the two teachers who saw something in him and changed his life.  He walks us through the comedy-condo years, the grind through New York, Atlanta, and Chicago, and the decade of near-misses in LA before a Hail-Mary audition for Chuck Lorre turned into Mike & Molly and instant chemistry with Melissa McCarthy.He’s also remarkably honest about the stuff that matters most: his 25-year marriage to his wife Patty - including the hard years and the grace that carried them to the “sweet spot” - his health-driven transformation and return to the road on “The Less Is More Tour,” and why, at this stage, he’s using his stand-up to defend younger generations instead of punching down.  Along the way: the lost art of journaling, why Gen X speaks fluent sarcasm, the power of the Gen X “collective,” honoring his father, and the full-circle story of Leanne Morgan bringing him up on stage.Grounded, grateful and gloriously Gen X.  If you need a shot of keep-going energy, this one’s for you.Check Out Billy Here:Website: https://billygardell.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@billygardellofficialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/billygardellofficial/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/billygardellYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BillyGardellOfficialCheck Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#billygardell #mikeandmolly #bobheartsabishola #genxadulting #billygardellstandup #thelessismoretour #melissamccarthy #chucklorre #genxcomedian #pittsburgh #cleancomedy #25yearmarriage #genxgrit #leannemorgan #actorinterview #genx #genxspeaks #genxcrew #growingupgenx #comedy #hollywood #genxnostalgia #standup #standupcomedy #marriage #parenting #genz #genxlife #interview #lifestory #latchkeykids #covid #healthjourney #wellnessjourney Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

A feral Gen X childhood, comedy and finding his people.He calls himself a Big Ugly Piece of Crap, B.U.P.C., or "Boopsy" for short.  But to over 2.5 million followers, Joe Ferris is "The Gen X Poet” and “The Patron Saint of Sarcasm”, who somehow makes everyone feel a little less alone.  The comedian and content creator joins us for a three-hour conversation that's as laugh-out-loud funny as it is deeply real.A Navy brat born in 1978, Joe takes us through a gloriously feral childhood on Charleston and Key West military bases that included sneaking through the fence onto a top-secret missile base, fishing for sharks as a grade-schooler and collecting a lifetime of Gen X scars (and a few CPS visits).  He reconnects the dots to his old high-school football buddy, Jon Wellington aka The DadBod Veteran, walks us through nearly joining the military before walking out at the last second and shares the "divine timing" story of meeting his wife.  Then come the hard-earned years: the MBA, the brutal stretch working two jobs on four hours of sleep and the 40-acre Oklahoma farm he and his wife built (home to Oreo, the 500-pound pet pig).He also gets remarkably candid about the harder parts of his story.  Surviving childhood abuse at the hands of an uncle and the repressed memories that surfaced years later, and why he ultimately went no-contact with his parents.  And he explains how he turned a childhood punishment into "The Gen X Poet," got thrown onto a comedy stage by beloved comedian and content creator Graeson McGaha, and found his people on what he lovingly calls The Island of Misfit Toys.If you've ever felt a little jacked up and a lot Gen X, this one's for you.Find Joe "Boopsy" Here:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@b.u.p.cInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bupc_boopsy?   stkn=MWoxeGNmdWlycXZmdA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18cBofPSi8/?mibextid=wwXIfr  YouTube: https://youtube.com/@bupc-mo8uc?si=8eqnthP8TIBgia1B Check Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#genx #genxspeaks #genxclub #genxcrew #comedy #comedian #boopsy #bupc #contentcreator #growingupgenx #genxnostalgia #80snostalgia #90snostalgia #feralchildhood #military #navy #farmlife #farm #midlife #midlifereinvention #growthmindset #latchkey #genxadulting #podcast #interview #realtalk #lifestory #parenting #girldad Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

How to Launch an Adult Child Who's Stuck.Nearly half of adults under 30 now live with a parent, and most people slap the same harsh label on it: "failure to launch." Parent coach Kim Muench has a kinder, more useful name for it: “lost in place”.  The return guest, founder of Real Life Parent Guide, and author of the new book "Lost in Place: How to Support, Motivate, and Launch an Adult Child", joins us to help parents understand what's really going on with their stuck young adults, and what to actually do about it.Kim is a Jai Institute-certified parent coach, a regular parenting contributor on Dallas's WFAA and the voice behind Real Life Parent Guide and Kim Muench Parent Coach, where she connects with a community of over half a million followers.  In this conversation, she lays out the three things most often driving delayed independence, and why Gen X parents who were often raised to white-knuckle their own big feelings, can be uniquely ill-equipped for their kids' emotions and tip into overcompensating and enabling.  It's a perfect storm, and she's compassionate about how we got here.From there it's all practical: why more young men are struggling than young women, how technology is eroding social skills, the crucial line between helping and enabling, and her signature tool, the Family Living Agreement, for setting clear expectations without blowing up the relationship.  She covers shame, mental health and the need for connection, financial boundaries, how to have the hard adult conversations, and the single best first step any parent can take today.If you've got a young adult who's stuck, or you're bracing for those years, this one's a roadmap, not a lecture.🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation. Check Kim Out Here:Website: https://www.reallifeparentguide.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kimmuenchparentcoachInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimmuenchparentcoach/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimmuench.reallifeparentguideYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kimmuench574Kim's Life Story Episode With Us:Episode 60: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wZzDBtpSU4Check Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/Episode 80#kimmuench #reallifeparentguide #lostinplace #genxadulting #failuretolaunch #delayedindependence #boomeranggeneration #parentingadultchildren #youngadultslivingathome #parentingemergingadults #genxparenting #helpingvsenabling #familylivingagreement #launchingyouradultchild #parentcoach #genxspeaks #genx Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

The General of Gen X Talks Tells His Wild Life StoryBorn on the far side of the hill the Hollywood sign sits on, Mark Mendenhall has lived a life that sounds made up: running with the Hell's Angels, turning down $50,000 from the man who invented Trivial Pursuit and raising a houseful of kids as a single dad long before he became "The General" leading the Legion of X.  He joins us for an almost four hour conversation you won't want to end.You may know Mark as the Gen X Dad, or "The General" of Gen X Talks, the wildly popular series where his Gen Z son Briggs puts his larger-than-life Gen X father on camera, mining generational tension for comedy gold and building a devoted community along the way.  But before the Legion of X, there was a genuinely cinematic life story.Mark takes us from a feral Gen X childhood in the San Fernando Valley and his parent's early divorce, to being a regular guest on the "Bruce and Tony in the Morning" radio show as a kid, life as a mechanic and the game he invented but refused to sell.  Then the heart of it: fighting through a brutal first divorce to win sole custody of his children, reconnecting with and marrying Mary, building a big blended family, and his wife's harrowing battle with leukemia where she was given just months to live, and fought for a year and a half to beat it.  Mark also shares about his years where he fostered around 30 kids and was a devoted and protective foster dad.  He closes with how a goofy idea with his son grew into Gen X Talks, the brand collaborations and the Gen X Cruise, and the hunt for a hidden legend: the lost Los Padres Mine.If you love a larger-than-life Gen X story, this is the one.Check Out Gen X Talks Here:Website: http://www.genxtalks.com/Online Store: https://21b933-78.myshopify.com/?accountnumber=8729638601013TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@genxtalks?_r=1&_t=ZP-9A46r7fi71qInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/genxtalks/?hl=enYouTube: https://youtube.com/@genxtalks?si=6PKxBL0cB0CbLgABFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1MZcn8HS6x/?mibextid=wwXIfrX: https://x.com/genxtalks1?s=11&t=GWShPFMxCeVnJMDJSHHWOwCheck Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation. #genxtalks #genxdad #thegeneral #legionofx #genxadulting #genxnostalgia #80snostalgia #growingupgenx #fostercare #fosterparent #fosterdad #adoption #blendedfamily #genxcontentcreator #sanfernandovalley #generationalhumor #marriage #divorce #cancer #stepdad #comedy #podcast #interview #mechanic #midlife #midlifejourney #genx #70snostalgia #genxpopculture #genz #california Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

She Quit Teaching to Make 80s and 90s Skits.  Now She Has Over 3 Million Fans.Carmen Q. Gollihar left her teaching career to make nostalgic 80s and 90s comedy skits, and built an audience of over three million. But there's far more to the woman behind the wigs, the big fonts and the unforgettable characters. In this episode of GenX Adulting, Carmen sits down with us for a conversation that's every bit as heartfelt as it is hilarious.Born in 1976 and raised in a big Mexican-American family in Texas, Carmen walks us through a fiercely independent Gen X childhood, the classic Gen X work ethic and the winding road from the classroom to full-time content creation. She talks about why Gen Z is so obsessed with the 90s aesthetic she recreates, and how she built a loyal following on pure authenticity, real props and sets and zero AI shortcuts.She also opens up about the harder chapters: years of infertility that led to building her family through adoption, the heartbreaking loss of her older sister and a candid warning about the dangers of prescription medication, and her brother's life with schizophrenia, as well as why she's determined to help break the stigma around mental illness. Add in real talk on hormone replacement therapy and thyroid health, imposter syndrome, Hispanic superstitions, and protecting your work from content theft, and you've got one of our most honest, wide-ranging conversations yet.Funny, vulnerable and unmistakably Gen X. If you love a good reinvention story, or you’re one of Carmen’s loyal fans, this one's for you.Check Out Carmen Here:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carmenqgollihar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmenqgollihar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmenqgollihar YouTube: https://youtube.com/@carmenqgollihar Snapchat: https://snapchat.com/t/802LxQ06Check Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#carmengollihar #carmenqgollihar #genxadulting #80sand90snostalgia #90saesthetic #genxcontentcreator #teacherturnedcontentcreator #midlifecareerchange #midlifereinvention #adoptionjourney #breakingmentalhealthstigma #hrtandmenopause #latinacontentcreator #genxcomedyskits #menopause #hrt #marriage #infertility #mentalhealth #comedy #genx #teacher #contentcreator #mexicanamerican #parenting #family #podcast #interview #realtalk #nostalgia #80snostalgia #90snostalgia #popculture Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

He wrote the book on GenX.  Literally.  Back in the '90s, when GenX was written off as a generation of slackers, Bradley Richardson wrote one of the first business books for the cohort, and it became a best-seller.  Now, about to turn 60, the best-selling author, speaker and creator of Advanced Adulting is helping those same GenXers navigate midlife, and his own story is a masterclass in reinvention.  A 5th-generation Texan who grew up in Lubbock, Bradley takes us from a West Texas childhood and life as a successful junior tennis player who left home for a tennis academy and eventually got recruited to play for the Oklahoma Sooners, to accidentally becoming a published author with "JobSmarts for TwentySomethings."  From there: the parenting books for GenX dads ("Daddy Smarts"), the best-seller on the emotional side of job loss ("Career Comeback"), an extensive run as an executive recruiter, and features everywhere from The Wall Street Journal to Rolling Stone to Good Morning America and NPR.But the heart of this episode is the personal arc: family strife growing up, the highs and hard lessons of a first marriage and divorce, co-parenting, healing and his blunt refusal to call any of it a "midlife crisis", because he sees it as reinvention.  He gets honest about grief, understanding his parents as human beings, embracing vulnerability and authenticity, his "60 by 60" project, and what "Advanced Adulting" really means. If you're staring down midlife and wondering what's next, this one's for you.Check Out Bradley Here:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imbradleyrichardsonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/imbradleyrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImBradleyRichardsonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imbradleyrichardsonCheck Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/#bradleyrichardson #advancedadulting #genxadulting #midlifereinvention #genxturning60  #careercomeback #careerreinvention #genxauthors #mensmidlifecoaching #genxsandwichgeneration #vulnerability #60by60 #authenticity #midlife #midlifejourney #selfdiscovery #personalgrowth #mentalhealth #author #texas #tennis #marriage #divorce #healingjourney #healing Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

Married to an Avoidant: The Parts Nobody Talks AboutWhen conflict arises, why does he deflect, redirect, dismiss and avoid? After a clip explaining what happens to a woman when her partner is avoidant struck a nerve and took off online, we decided to go all in on what it's really like to love, and to be, an avoidant partner.This is the follow-up to our popular Attachment Styles Episode 32, and this time it's boots-on-the-ground research: Nicole reads real comments from women who've been through the push-pull, while Brian offers the rare, candid male perspective as someone who admits he's historically been avoidant and has worked to change. Together we unpack the classic anxious-avoidant trap (Nicole's former anxious style meets Brian's avoidance), why avoidants pull away and shut down, and the deactivating "hot and cold" patterns that leave partners confused and exhausted.We dig into the roots of it all: childhood, a lack of any modeling for conflict resolution, and trauma that turns avoidance into a defense mechanism, and get honest about the GenX angle that asks, are the men of our generation especially wired to suppress emotion and dodge conflict? Most importantly, we talk about the way forward: the difference between avoidance and healthy "I need time, let's come back to this" communication, firm boundaries with real consequences, self-awareness, and whether an avoidant can actually grow toward secure attachment.If you've ever felt like you and your partner were speaking two different emotional languages, this one's for you.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━📄 Full transcript of this episode:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/transcripts/podcasts/genx-adulting-podcast/episodes/episode-76🔎 Search every episode transcript:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/transcripts🌐 GenX Adulting Podcast:https://genxadultingpodcast.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#genxadulting #avoidantattachmentstyle #anxiousavoidanttrap #dismissiveavoidant #whyavoidantspullaway #datinganavoidant #attachmentstylesexplained #pushpullrelationship #emotionalunavailability #genxrelationships #healingavoidantattachment #secureattachment #avoidantpartner #anxiousattachment #relationshipadvice #genxwomen #womenshealth #mentalhealth Check us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

A GenX Perspective You Won't Get Anywhere Else, From a Former 80s KidJohn Kotrides spent most of his life with one foot in analog and one foot in digital, and an entire career working and hustling before he finally found the thing he was born to do. You might know him as GenXJono on social media, the GenX nostalgia creator whose childhood was "fueled by hose water and well-intentioned neglect", and now has a following of more than 2 million across YouTube, Facebook and beyond. In this episode of GenX Adulting, he sits down with us to tell the whole story.John takes us back to the beginning: Greek immigrant parents who came to America in 1965, sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Church, and the 24-hour family diner that was often referred to as the "fourth sibling", where his father routinely worked 12-to-18-hour days. He talks about his evenings watching shows like Dynasty, Dallas and Knots Landing with his beloved mother, actively translating the American vernacular for her. John reflects on his time as a feral latchkey GenX kid, decades of grinding through a career of multiple jobs, (typically being held all at once), and the moment it was love at first sight when he met his wife.Then came the plot twist: during COVID, his youngest daughter discovered TikTok, his wife didn't want her on it alone, and John, for the first time since he was a kid, wasn't working one or two jobs. He started making videos, built his platform rooted in his GenX perspective on life that is the perfect combination of nostalgia and relatability, and became a third act success story who proves it's never too late to find your thing.It's a warm, funny, deeply GenX conversation about immigrant hustle, growing up as the last analog generation, deep pride in a strong marriage and being a girl dad, and continuing to connect, resonate and thrive in midlife.Check Out GenXJono Here:Website: https://www.genxjono.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@genxjonoInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/genxjono/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenxJonoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@genxjono/featuredCheck Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#johnkotrides #genxjono #midlife #latchkeykids #genxcreator #contentcreator #buffalobills #universityofbuffalo #bartender #banking #finance #marriage #parenting #advice #greek #comedy #nostalgia #80s #80snostalgia #popculture #genxmovies #genxtvshows #genxmusic #genxadulting #genxnostalgia #analogchildhood #feralgenxchildhood #greekimmigrantfamily #familydiner #growingupinthe80sCheck us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers

The Average Kid Sees It at 12: GenX's Smartphone ReckoningThe average age a child first sees adult content is now 12, and for the GenX parents who were the first generation to hand their kids a smartphone, that reality hits differently.  Return guest MJ Eldridge, the creator known as “MJ aka Mommie”, joins us in studio for a frank, non-explicit conversation about how kids' access to adult content has completely changed in our lifetime, and what parents can actually do about it.We trace the whole arc only GenX truly witnessed: from Playboys and XXX theaters, to Girls Gone Wild tapes, to the moment unlimited content moved into every kid's back pocket 24/7.  We get honest about how our own helicopter generation protected kids from every danger except the one in their hands, what the research says about early exposure and developing brains and how it's reshaping the way young people date, communicate and form healthy relationships.It's also a level-headed look at the hard questions: the difference between education and prevention, why MJ started digging into this after her divorce, and where the booming 2026 wave of age-verification laws, content filtering and the "phone-free childhood" movement fit in.  If you're a parent trying to figure out the smartphone era in real time, or curious to understand the fallout from giving kids frictionless access to adult content with no guardrails, this is a conversation worth your time.Check MJ aka Mommie Out Here:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inappropriatemommie🎧 New to MJ? Go back to her five-hour life story in Episode 45.Check Us Out Here:https://genxadultingpodcast.com/🔔 Subscribe for more Real People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.#onlinesafety #digitalsafety #internetsafety #parenting #digitalparenting #onlinedating #genz #masculinity #modernman #realtalk #podcast #interview #mensmentalhealth #relationships #dating #maleambition #datingculture #uncomfortabletruths #societalshift #adultcontent #90s #2000s #addiction #adultcontent #mjeldridge #mjakamommie #inappropriatemommie #genxadulting #protectingkidsonline #phonefreechildhood #theanxiousgeneration #ageverificationlaws2026 #screentimeandkids #genxparenting #digitalparentinginthesmartphoneera #onlinesafetyforkidsCheck us out at genxadultingpodcast.comReal People. Real Stories. Real Conversations. From Every Generation.Hosted by two GenXers