Silent Generation

Ep. 14: The Olympics

In anticipation of the impending Summer 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Joseph and Nathan question why the games seem to appeal to people who are otherwise uninterested in sports outside of the Olympics on this week’s episode. They point to the opening ceremony, “hometown” athletes, and (comparative) lack of corporate advertising. They then address the highlights and lowlights of the 5 most recent Summer Olympic Games: Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016), and Tokyo (2020). Amongst other things they discuss host city public transit expansion projects, the velodrome in the Chicago suburbs, the dark side of the Olympics, their favorite Olympians, rugby,  and how cute the 2024 game’s mascots are.
 
Links: 
London 2012: Indian Gatecrasher at Opening Ceremony Identified
The Tokyo Olympic’s Gymnasium 
Poland by Lil Yachty
The Good, the Bad, & the Snowy of Salt Lake City Transit
IOC Salaries 
 
Artwork: 
Flickr: Rome Olympics 1960 - Opening Day
 
Recorded on 3/3/2024

Ep. 13: The Fresh Coast w/ David

Shifting to fresh water, why does America undervalue one of its greatest natural resources? The Great Lakes are in many ways culturally invisible; many Americans underestimate their size and economic importance. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys are joined by their friend David (a recent transplant and Great Lakes enthusiast) to discuss how the Midwest needs to be divided into the Great Lakes and the Great Plains in order to boost the region.  The former should be rebranded as America’s third coast, the “Fresh Coast,” in order to start making the region more attractive to incoming climate refugees from the Sun Belt. They also discuss the “Dirty Coast,” the idea of the logo map, Michigan’s Pure Michigan ad campaign, their predictions for A24’s upcoming Civil War film, and the “Jell-O Belt.”
 
Links: 
The Great Lakes shipping routes graphic
The Death and Life of The Great Lakes by Dan EaganHow to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr
Immewahr’s Logo Map tweet
Pure Michigan’s Steam Locomotive Ad
Great Lakes’ ice cover doing almost the unthinkable
 
Artwork:
Great Lakes including Canals and Tributary Navigable Streams, 1948
David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries
 
Recorded on 2/18/2024

Ep. 12: Seapunk

Seapunk was a subculture and musical genre that emerged in 2011 after people started sharing ‘90s aquatic imagery on Tumblr, and Nathan (Silent Generation host and ex-Seapunk) gravitated toward it while he was a diver in high school and adopted the aesthetic. While Seapunk, Nathan created an extensive 120 slide slideshow that documented the Seapunk subculture as it was actively happening that he shares with Joseph on week’s episode of Silent Generation. They walk through Seapunk’s origins, founders (Lill Internet, Ultrademon, Zombelle, Unicorn Kid), fashion, music, fame, lull period, resurgence, and permanent decline. Amongst other things they detail Grimes’s involvement with Seapunk, the week when both Rinhanna performed Diamonds on SNL & Azealia Banks dropped her Atlantis music video, Slimepunk, Icepunk, and Nathan's many close calls with meeting other Seapunks. 
 
Links: Nathan’s Seapunk Slidedeck 
 
Artwork:Kevin Heckart 
 
Recorded on 2/11/2024
 
All song clips used in this episode are claimed as fair use

Ep. 11: The '70s

The ‘70s can be construed as being one of the darkest decades in American history. Crises such as stagflation, declining union membership, the 1973-1975 recession, the Energy Crisis, and the Vietnam War all occurred simultaneously. Said clothing produced during the ‘70s showed a shallow optimism which can be seen in garments like newsboy caps, satin shirts, bell bottom jeans, tube socks, and platform shoes. In addition they discuss the dominant colors of the ‘70s (brown, avocado green, and harvest gold), the consumer rights movement, yoga pants, and share intel they gathered from family members who were alive during the ‘70s. 
 
Links: 
The ‘70s Pinterest BoardHow Color Choices Echo the Economic Climate and Why It MattersThe Last Days of Discomen_satinshirts
 
Artwork:Pauline and Dairn, New York, 1970CC BY 2.0 DEED, Attribution 2.0 Generic
 
Recorded on 2/8/2024

Ep. 10: Cowboys w/ Kone Ranger

This week the boys are joined by Kone, a local fashion designer who co-owns the eponymous Kone Ranger clothing brand along with his brother Kevin. Kone Ranger opened up a permanent location in Avondale in 2022 to offer Chicagoans the opportunity to buy handmade Western-inspirted garments. But what do cowboys mean to Kone? To answer this question, they begin by critiquing both the function and form of the various elements that make up a cowboy’s’ outfit: cowboy hats, handkerchiefs, Western shirts, chaps, and cowboy boots. They then address broader ideas such as the connection between cowboys and knights, the appropriation of Western clothing in other regions of the country, the difference between cowboy uniforms and cowboy costumes, and gay cowboy films (Broke Back Mountain and Power of the Dog).
 
Links:
The Cultural Myth of the Cowboy, or, How the West Was Won by Jennifer MoskowitzMark Maggiori’s paintings ‘Hey Y’all!’ Tries Friend From New JerseySweetgrass by Lucien Castaing-Taylor
 
Artwork provided by Kone Ranger
 
Recorded on 1/28/2024

Ep. 9: Department Stores

Department stores are in many ways the ultimate third place. You can use them to meet up with friends, to avoid the elements, to get a bite to eat, to look at interesting displays, to get advice on your wardrobe, and to buy a wide variety of consumer products. So why are they declining and what can be done about it? This week Joseph and Nathan begin by talking about the early history of department stores (with particularly sharp focus on Chicago) before talking about their personal experiences in department stores. Amongst other things they discuss The Crystal Palace, Goth Target, Richard Nickel, the connection between department stores and the death of the flaneur, and Chicago’s North Lawndale community area. 
 
Links:
On the Birth of the Flaneuse by the Flaneuse ProjectIT’SUGARThe Robinson-Patman ActLevy’s in Nashville, TNThe Department Store is Dead by LovewhatyousellGlitching through the matrix at the State Street Macy’s by its.murt
 
Recorded on 1/27/2024

Ep. 8: Silicon Valley Aesthetics w/ Rafa

This week the boys are joined by their personal friend and the pod’s first ever guest, Rafa, a Palo Alto native and Chicago transplant. They begin by examining the aesthetics of individual FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) before examining the tech industry and silicon valley as a whole. Amongst other things they discuss skeuomorphism, Corporate Memphis, the Clear Craze, the Thompson Center,  BART’s Silicon Valley Extension, blobitecture, and the philanthropic pursuits of billionaires. 
 
Links:Corporate MemphisSilicon Valley has a Sustainability Crisis by Alice BucknellBubble Vision by Hito SteyerlWhy Does Everything On Netflix Look Like That?
 
Arwork: By Dicklyon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=140969915
Recorded on 1/14/2024

Ep. 7: Men in Uniform

Are men in crisis? What role can uniforms play in mitigating the “deaths of despair” and anomie we see in our larger society? This week Joseph and Nathan begin with a quote from Uniforms by Paul Fussell and start to address the various social and psychological effects that uniforms induce: patriotism, pride, shame, and (on a darker note) deindividuation. Amongst other things they discuss the Village People, Nathan’s cycles, chainmaille epaulets, Trump’s Space Force uniforms, and the dress code of the U.S Senate.
 
Links: 
 
Men in Uniform Pinterest Board Uniforms: Why We Are What We WearThe American AstronautBreaking Points - Saagar Celebrates Senate Nuking Fetterman Dress CodeMammoths and Mastodons: All American Monsters
 
Recorded on 1/7/2024

Ep. 6: Legalize Slums

This week the boys discuss one of the most controversial ideas alluded to by the Strong Towns organization: “legalize slums.” Strong Towns is a non-profit organization that advocates for walkable neighborhoods, higher-density housing, ending parking minimums and many other urbanist policies but they have largely avoided addressing the topic of informal housing. While “legalize slums” can be interpreted quite literally, Joseph and Nathan envision on this week’s episode that the slogan can be used as a dysphemism for vernacular architecture, higher density housing, loosening zoning restrictions, and reducing permitting hurdles for new construction. Amongst other things they discuss Jane Jacobs, Englewood, the migrant crisis, and San Francisco NIMBYs.
 
Links:
Upzone’s “legalize slums”-esque episodeYou don’t need to move to the Netherlands to be happyThe U.S. Needs More Housing Than Almost Anyone Can Imagine by Annie Lowry Curing Slums: The Jane Jacobs WayLibrary Patrons' Psychosocial NeedsA Love Letter to the Slums: The Urbanism of Final Fantasy 7
 
Art by Daniel Rautenbach 
 
Recorded on 12/17/2023

Ep. 5: Interwar Modernism

The interwar period is defined as being from 1918 to 1939 while the modernist period is loosely defined as being from the early 1900s to 1940s. What were architecture, design, and art like during the time period where the two overlapped? Within this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan pay particular attention to the Streamline Moderne, Bauhaus, Deutscher Werkbund, and International styles of architecture and design. Other ideas explored include the aesthetics of the future, the color chrome, Jean-Michel Frank’s interior design, the Age of Anxiety, glass blocks, antiquing, and the potential demolition of the Century & Consumers buildings. 
 
Links:
Interwar Modernism Pinterest boardThorne miniature rooms’ California HallwayGun that shoots frozen tearsThe original Chicago Federal Building
 
Art:
Narcissa Niblack Thorne. California Hallway c.1940. The Art Institute of Chicago.(CC0) 
 
Recorded on 12/10/2023