Roundtable: Cigarettes Are Back, Wicked 2, and The Bible App
Release Date: 11/21/2025
Roundtable: TikTok Censorship, The Rise of Sad Music, and Antisocial Media
Axis Conversations
Three Big Conversations: TikTok has a new US owner, which the platform’s approach to censorship. - 10:16 Data shows that are ruling the streaming charts. - 29:28 It’s official: - 40:12 Emoji of the Week: - 01:19 Axis Resource--> In Other News: - 52:04 Last week, Alex Honnold free-soloed Taipei 101 live on Netflix, with roughly 6.2 million people watching him climb a 1,667-foot skyscraper without a rope. The 2026 Oscar nominations last week, with director Ryan Coogler’s horror-thriller Sinners receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations. Speaking...
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CT: TikTok Censorship, Popular Sad Music, and Antisocial Media
Axis Conversations
TikTok has a new US owner, which the platform’s approach to censorship; data shows that are ruling the streaming charts, and it’s official: Emoji of the Week: Axis Resource--> In Other News: Last week, Alex Honnold free-soloed Taipei 101 live on Netflix, with roughly 6.2 million people watching him climb a 1,667-foot skyscraper without a rope. The 2026 Oscar nominations last week, with director Ryan Coogler’s horror-thriller Sinners receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations. Speaking of awards season, after a long hiatus, Justin Bieber return to the Grammys stage...
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Jenna Mindel on Slang, Cultural Trends, and Discipling the Next Generation
Axis Conversations
Jenna is a writer and content creator based in Orange County, California. She works at Axis as a content specialist. She is currently working on a Master’s in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care at Talbot School of Theology. She also runs a Substack publication called “Jenna's Column” where she writes about faith from a Gen Z perspective. In her free time she loves to read (preferably at the beach) and hang out with her husband Parker and their cat, Dolly. Check out our updated Become a monthly donor today, join Check out the podcast now on our Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in...
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Roundtable: 2016 Nostalgia, Mental Health Improvements, and Voice Memos
Axis Conversations
Three Big Conversations: hits social media. - 8:54 Some hopeful, if complicated, about college students. - 24:40 Teens would rather than make a phone call. - 38:08 Slang of the Week - - 1:48 In Other News: - 54:22 The Indiana Hoosiers won an electrifying College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, punctuated by an iconic, fourth-down from Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. BookTok’s beloved People We Meet on Vacation, an Emily Henry book-to-movie adaptation, has at No.1 on the Netflix film chart with 17.2m views. A new trend on TikTok involves . “Bringing...
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CT: 2016 Nostalgia, Mental Health Improvements, and Voice Memos
Axis Conversations
hits social media, some hopeful, if complicated, about college students, and teens would rather than make a phone call. Slang of the Week - In Other News: The Indiana Hoosiers won an electrifying College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, punctuated by an iconic, fourth-down from Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. BookTok’s beloved People We Meet on Vacation, an Emily Henry book-to-movie adaptation, has at No.1 on the Netflix film chart with 17.2m views. A new trend on TikTok involves . “Bringing random items to school” is a where kids pull increasingly...
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Ask Axis: "Should we encourage teens to go to parties?"
Axis Conversations
A question on “camp skits not aging well.” Libby asks, “We generally have just substituted current pop culture references into old skits to bring them up to date. But it's so necessary right now to help kids engage with culture instead of vilifying it. A recent skit we were planning made it seem like the student was nailing Jesus to the cross by going to a party, hanging out with friends instead of staying home with Jesus—and we want our kids to socialize with real people more! But we are also finding way more extreme drug and alcohol content at parties for the kids who do socialize...
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Roundtable: Trade School, Grok Deepfakes, Fiber vs. Protein
Axis Conversations
Three Big Conversations: Gen Z heads to - 05:14 The controversy around Grok’s creation of - 21:26 Fiber is the - 42:00 Slang of the Week: "Choppelganger" - 20:20 --> Check out the definition in our resource In Other News: - 55:06 Harry Styles just dropped a mysterious website called filled with crowd footage and the words “We belong together,” and fans are losing their minds trying to what it means. The year in anime is with a bang, with new episodes of popular on-going shows like Jujutsu Keisen, Freiren: Beyond Journey’s End, Fire Force, and premieres of...
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CT: Trade School, Fiber vs. Protein, and Grok Deepfakes
Axis Conversations
Gen Z heads to , fiber is the , and the controversy around Grok’s creation of . Slang of the Week: "Choppelganger" --> Check out the defenition in our resource In Other News: Harry Styles just dropped a mysterious website called filled with crowd footage and the words “We belong together,” and fans are losing their minds trying to what it means. The year in anime is with a bang, with new episodes of popular on-going shows like Jujutsu Keisen, Freiren: Beyond Journey’s End, Fire Force, and premieres of highly anticipated newcomers like Sentenced to Be a Hero. The Golden...
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Ask Axis: "How do I talk to my teens about swearing?"
Axis Conversations
“I recently had a conversation with my teen son about how words he (and everyone else) uses regularly were not considered ok when I was growing up. Can you speak to how language has changed and what is and isn't acceptable? I generally go back to the Bible saying not to use coarse or filthy language (Ephesians and Colossians) when redirecting him but when everyone is using it maybe it's not how I view it anymore? We also discussed how much more we're exposed, essentially desensitizing us. When you're looking at reels or shorts you can't tell if it's coming. I think I said something along the...
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Roundtable: “End of Beginning,” Gen Alpha’s Sushi Obsession, and the Great Meme Reset
Axis Conversations
Three Big Conversations: Stranger Things star Joe Keery’s synthpop - 12:55 for Gen Alpha - 22:46 the - 31:18 Slang of the Week: - 5:16 In Other News: - 39:06 Mr. Beast’s competition show Beast Games is on Amazon Prime this week. The twist this time? Brains versus brawn. Will Mr. Beast commit more war crimes? Tune in to find out. The French parliament a bill that, if passed, would ban social media access for everyone under age fifteen, and ban phones from all schools. TikTok’s New Year trend is for resolutions, making goals feel tangible...
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- Celebrities are making cigarette smoking cool for a new generation - 9:50
- Wicked 2 is poised to blow the box office back to Kansas - 26:54
- This year’s runaway bestseller is the Bible. - 37:28
Slang of the Week: “Cracked” - 1:10
In Other News: - 51:04
The United States House of Representatives and Senate almost unanimously agreed to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which now awaits President Trump’s signature. A new study from Gallup found that in 2025, 40% of 15- to 44-year-old women would leave the U.S. permanently if given the opportunity (a slight decrease from 44% in 2024). The Game Awards has announced its nominations for 2025, with the turn-based role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 receiving 12 total nominations, more than any other game. Gaming company Valve has announced that it will release its own console, the “Steam Machine,” which many expect to become a significant challenger to Xbox and PlayStation. The man who jumped the rope to embrace Ariana Grande at the Wicked: For Good movie premiere was sentenced to nine days in prison.
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