Silent Generation is a Chicago-based cultural analysis podcast that surveys the cultural consequences of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century. It explores what was lost between the Silent Generation and Generation Z. Topics discussed include aesthetics, fashion, history, and urbanism. Find us on Instagram: silent.generation
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Sep 29, 2026 · 1:16:13
This week’s episode of Silent Generation revisits the subject of one of our most popular episodes: yuppies. These are the “young urban professionals” who flooded into finance,…
Sep 22, 2026 · 1:10:03
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Sebastien interviews Nathan about his most recent trip to Brazil. Nathan begins by sharing his impressions of São Paulo’s metro…
Sep 1, 2026 · 3:37
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration What does it mean to “settle down”? What is the difference between “settling down” and “committing”?…
Aug 25, 2026 · 1:21:24
Over the course of the 19th century, the field of landscape architecture emerged as the practice of gardening became increasingly professionalized. The first person to call…
Aug 11, 2026 · 56:03
National Park Service Rustic, also known as “parkitecture,” was the dominant architectural style of national parks from roughly 1916 to 1942. Many early examples of the “rustic”…
Aug 4, 2026 · 10:54
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Shoegaze is a subgenre of rock and roll that first emerged in the British Isles in the late 1980s. The…
Jul 21, 2026 · 1:10:29
Beginning in the mid-1990s, developers began building new low-density housing developments on the edge of major metropolitan areas: exurbs. These communities were even further…
Jul 14, 2026 · 1:16:28
Prior to the rise of the automobile, streetcars were the dominant form of transportation in American cities from roughly 1900 to 1930. Realizing their economic potential,…
Jun 30, 2026 · 5:15
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Although country music is often viewed as a conservative genre today, many of its early stars held…
Jun 23, 2026 · 1:40:27
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by Alex, an industrial engineer, to explore the enduring resonance of American manufacturing in the nation’s…
Jun 16, 2026 · 1:41:44
Freak Folk was a subgenre of folk music popular from the early to late 2000s that emerged after younger indie musicians took inspiration from 1960s psychedelic folk. Initially…
Jun 9, 2026 · 10:29
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Frutiger Aero is a consumer aesthetic prevalent from the mid-2000s to early 2010s that can trace its…
Jun 1, 2026 · 56:46
“Algorave” is a portmanteau of “algorithm” and “rave” that describes an electronic music event where people watch live coding performances. The term was originally coined by Alex…
May 18, 2026 · 1:42:04
The Information Age is a historical period, beginning in the mid-20th century, that is characterized by an accelerated shift from analog technologies to digital ones. On this…
May 6, 2026 · 5:12
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration The “Clear Craze” was a marketing fad from the late 1980s to early 2000s that led to an influx of…
Apr 28, 2026 · 1:12:12
Those Characters From Cleveland, which first launched in 1981, was the character development division at American Greetings. Tasked with licensing existing greeting card…
Apr 21, 2026 · 1:23:54
Soft Countriana is a consumer aesthetic that flourished from the 1970s to early 1990s that is composed of pastels, country geese, storybook creatures, and homages to the…
Apr 14, 2026 · 5:04
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration For roughly seven decades from 1790 to 1855, water transportation was the dominant form of…
Apr 7, 2026 · 3:29
In the summer of 2023, Joseph and I were having a conversation in Podlasie Club about different generational attitudes toward ultraprocessed food. We shared anecdotes about how…
Apr 7, 2026 · 58:10
Pictureplane, real name Travis Egedy, is a musician, artist, and fashion designer who popularized the term “witch house” in a 2009 interview with Pitchfork Magazine. In this…
Mar 30, 2026 · 1:00:56
“Rockabilly” is a portmanteau of the words “rock” and “hillbilly” that originally described a subgenre of rock and roll music in the 1950s. This week’s episode of Silent…
Mar 23, 2026 · 1:20:09
Art Deco is an art and design style relevant from the 1920s to 1930s that is best characterized by its use of metallic colors, geometric patterns, futuristic forms, and…
Mar 16, 2026 · 1:10:32
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien explore the early development of skyscrapers in Chicago, beginning with the construction of the Home Insurance…
Mar 16, 2026 · 10:48
In this special announcement, Nathan welcomes Sebastien as the newest cohost of Silent Generation! Nathan begins by noting that Sebastien will be the main cohost until Breanna…
Mar 12, 2026 · 1:21:48
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Breanna begin by discussing how fine dining transitioned from an activity enjoyed at home to an activity enjoyed at…
Feb 16, 2026 · 1:15:42
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Breanna discuss all things dinner parties. The two begin by discussing what they like about dinner parties and their…
Feb 10, 2026 · 1:19:21
Soft Colonial Wanderlust is a Victorian-inspired consumer aesthetic that was popular from the late 1980s to mid 2010s. It consists of black and white photographs, hand-colored…
Feb 10, 2026 · 16:50
In this special announcement, Nathan welcomes Breanna as the newest cohost of Silent Generation! The two kick things off by reflecting on their time in Dallas and the activities…
Dec 8, 2025 · 4:15
In this important announcement, Joseph shares his plans to leave Silent Generation and Nathan shares his plans to continue it. The podcast will relaunch in two to three months…
Dec 1, 2025 · 1:00:21
Nevada (also known as Nevadastyles on Instagram) is a hair artist from New York City who has lived a bicoastal lifestyle for the last half decade. For the majority of that time…
Nov 17, 2025 · 1:04:40
Adult contemporary is a radio format and marketing category originally created by Billboard magazine. It has encompassed many genres, starting with easy listening in the 1960s.…
Nov 10, 2025 · 1:20:30
Prior episodes of Silent Generation have focused on secular social movements that emerged around the turn of the 20th century. Fraternities technically predate this era, but they…
Oct 31, 2025 · 5:14
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration The field of cryptozoology emerged in the mid-20th century as people began to investigate sightings of…
Oct 27, 2025 · 57:01
Witch house is a music genre and internet aesthetic that emerged in the late 2000s as bands combined occult imagery and sounds. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation,…
Oct 15, 2025 · 1:04:49
The United States once had the best public transportation system in the world. Private companies built subway, elevated, interurban, trolley, and long distance train lines with…
Oct 8, 2025 · 10:04
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration “Civil servants” are employees of the municipal, state, or federal government. Within cities they…
Sep 25, 2025 · 1:09:33
In 2017 a new uniform emerged for men employed by the financial industry: fleece/ puffer vests, dress shirts, slacks, and dress shoes. The unadorned look was first documented by…
Sep 16, 2025 · 10:25
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan talk about father figures in their…
Sep 3, 2025 · 1:06:55
Nothing expresses the aesthetics of infrastructure as clearly as American rest stops. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by artist and professor…
Aug 27, 2025 · 1:21:58
The aesthetics of infrastructure are often treated as an expensive afterthought, noticed and appreciated only by artists. But can it even be beautiful to begin with? On this…
Aug 20, 2025 · 30:34
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week’s episode attempts to address how and why many American cultural practices and institutions…
Aug 13, 2025 · 1:12:45
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan discuss all things men’s fragrances. They begin by weighing the reasons men typically wear fragrances (“sex sells,”…
Aug 5, 2025 · 1:06:07
Gorpcore is a hiking-inspired aesthetic that was first identified in a 2017 article published in The Cut. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph begins by…
Jul 30, 2025 · 5:16
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This is the third and final installment of Silent Generation’s three part series on Bohemianism. In…
Jul 16, 2025 · 58:36
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph interviews Nathan about his recent trip to Poland and the Czech Republic. He recaps his travels to Gdansk, Warsaw, Krakow, and…
Jul 3, 2025 · 1:03:11
Manouche jazz is a musical genre (or musical idiom) pioneered by Django Reinhardt, a French-Romani jazz guitarist and composer who lived from 1910 to 1953. He developed manouche…
Jun 24, 2025 · 30:58
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan discuss one of the biggest culprits of…
Jun 17, 2025 · 1:16:25
On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan detail all of the garments men wear to the beach and the various ways they make men look attractive. They begin…
Jun 9, 2025 · 5:10
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration “Gayborhoods” (also known as gay villages) are gay neighborhoods that emerged in the United States at…
May 28, 2025 · 53:49
Normcore is a “a post-authenticity coolness that opts into sameness.” The term was first coined by the trend forecasting group K-HOLE in their 2013 report Youth Mode: A Report on…
May 20, 2025 · 1:07:02
Utopian Scholastic is an aesthetic that was popular in the education field from the late 1980s to early 2000s. It consists of stock image collage, early CGI, references to…
May 14, 2025 · 5:12
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys discuss what makes IKEA one of Joseph’s favorite…
May 7, 2025 · 1:10:21
Scene is a youth subculture that evolved from emo in the mid to late 2000s. Members of the subculture were typically referred to as “scene kids”, but scene kids with large online…
Apr 30, 2025 · 1:39:15
Vernacular architecture is architecture that uses local materials and traditional techniques to construct buildings without the guidance of licensed architects. It is…
Apr 24, 2025 · 30:07
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Historical dressing refers to the act of wearing clothing that is authentic to a specific time period,…
Apr 15, 2025 · 1:30:35
World’s fairs, now called World Expos, are large global expositions that exhibit the achievements of nations. They originally focused on industry and technology before shifting…
Apr 1, 2025 · 1:20:47
Metrosexual is a term first coined by British journalist Mark Simpson in 1994. It is a portmanteau of the words “metropolitan” and “heterosexual,” and it describes straight men…
Mar 25, 2025 · 5:02
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan examine all things related to air…
Mar 17, 2025 · 1:50:00
Whimsicraft is an aesthetic that flourished from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s that is composed of saturated colors, celestial symbols, heavy patterns, and handmade crafts. It…
Mar 11, 2025 · 1:30:05
Cheerleader rock is a music genre that incorporates cheerleader chants, blaring electric guitars, and marching band instrumentals. It first emerged over two decades ago in the…
Mar 3, 2025 · 5:08
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in municipalities across the US that have large Polish populations.…
Feb 25, 2025 · 1:18:02
This week’s episode of Silent Generation explores the idea that “around the world, nature is moving to cities.” The boys begin by introducing listeners to the concept of the…
Feb 17, 2025 · 1:05:46
From 1995 to 2010, humor on the early internet—and in broader American culture—was arguably the most simple and direct. Referencing a single “ironic” animal (like a moose, cow,…
Feb 4, 2025 · 5:15
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys discuss various outerwear styles and the types of weather they are best suited for.…
Jan 29, 2025 · 1:16:30
Brutalism was an architectural style that was popular from the 1950s to early 1980s that consisted of raw concrete surfaces, monochrome colors, minimal ornamentation, and exposed…
Jan 24, 2025 · 1:35:16
This week the boys discuss Joseph’s favorite decade: the 1960’s. They begin by touching on what life was like for everyday Americans in the ‘60s before detailing several…
Jan 20, 2025 · 5:12
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys are joined by Nick and Cris from the Thot Topics podcast to talk about “party…
Jan 7, 2025 · 1:11:36
Y2K futurism is an aesthetic that emerged in the late ‘90s and early-2000s that consists of the color silver, consumer electronics, large sunglasses, and "blobjects." Its…
Jan 2, 2025 · 5:21
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by local architecture influencer Steve (otherwise known as…
Dec 27, 2024 · 1:41:34
New religious movements are religions that are peripheral to a society's dominant religious culture, the earliest and most enduring example being Mormonism (which began in 1830).…
Dec 23, 2024 · 1:09:10
This week Joseph and Nathan examine the various aesthetics that have come out of hunting fashion. They begin by discussing how shooting and hunting in the United Kingdom are…
Dec 10, 2024 · 5:03
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Futurism was an Italian art movement focused on speed, technology, and violence that began in 1909…
Dec 2, 2024 · 1:26:57
How is modern masculinity different from classical masculinity? This week the boys are joined by local menswear influencer Gent Z to discuss how men in the modern era…
Nov 19, 2024 · 1:30:37
McBling is a mid-2000s aesthetic characterized by tacky displays of wealth, celebrity culture, fake tans, and bleach blonde hair. According to Vogue magazine it emerged in “2003,…
Nov 13, 2024 · 5:06
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by Breanna, a Silent Generation listener who works as a…
Nov 7, 2024 · 1:54:41
Pokémon is the highest grossest media franchise of all time, but has it declined in quality? On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan use Pokemon as a case study to talk about…
Nov 1, 2024 · 5:02
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Why did Joseph go to Copenhagen last week? Did he bike around a lot? How many hot dogs did he eat? How…
Oct 30, 2024 · 1:29:48
Hyperpop is a music genre that is noted for its hyperfeminine, artificial, and childlike sound. The term “hyperpop” came into popular use after Spotify staff created a hyperpop…
Oct 24, 2024 · 1:33:04
Kevin Heckart is a Kansas City based artist who created the artwork behind seapunk’s original aesthetic. This special episode coincides with both the one year anniversary of…
Oct 8, 2024 · 5:20
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration For this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan watched Francis Coppola’s latest (and likely final) film,…
Sep 24, 2024 · 1:24:00
What is Chautauqua? Chautauqua began in 1874 in Chautauqua, New York as a Summer camp that trained laymen to be Sunday school teachers. President Ulyses S Grant visited the…
Sep 16, 2024 · 1:30:19
In a more anecdotal direction, this week’s episode is on American Summer camps. The boys detail how camping was first developed in 1861 by Frederick Gunn before discussing their…
Sep 12, 2024 · 5:02
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Scouting is a grassroots, child-led movement that began in the early 1900’s after children discovered…
Sep 6, 2024 · 1:35:24
Why was Nathan in Rio de Janeiro last week? Why was he there in 2018? What did he do there? What new fruits did he try? These are some of the important questions Joseph asked…
Aug 31, 2024 · 1:26:52
How did the spy-fi literary and cinematic genre come to be? This week Joseph and Nathan chronicle how detective fiction authors took inspiration from sensational espionage cases…
Aug 15, 2024 · 5:00
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys are joined by local filmmaker Charles Livingston to discuss male desire. They begin…
Aug 9, 2024 · 1:30:54
On this week’s (sans Joseph) episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by his friend Kamara to discuss antiques. They talk about how they first got into antiques, the best…
Aug 3, 2024 · 5:12
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration This week the boys cover a listener suggested topic that is closely associated with their lines of…
Jul 30, 2024 · 5:01
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Christopher Lasch identified narcissism as the dominant pathology of the Baby Boomer generation in his…
Jul 20, 2024 · 1:39:49
Ivy Style, otherwise known as Ivy League, is a style of men’s dress that became mainstream at Ivy League schools during the 1950’s. Students started wearing casual versions of…
Jul 16, 2024 · 2:04:52
This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by Marissa Macias, a local artist and fashion designer who owns the insect-inspired clothing brand Petrichor, to discuss insect aesthetics.…
Jul 3, 2024 · 5:00
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Originally started as a Facebook page by three Portland natives, health goth was an online internet…
Jun 28, 2024 · 1:31:48
While many recent episodes of Silent Generation have focused on decline, this episode explores how movie theaters have had multiple golden eras. Vaudeville theaters,…
Jun 22, 2024 · 1:32:30
In response to the Berlin Crisis of 1961, President John F. Kennedy chose to encourage everyday Americans to construct homemade bunkers. Civilians could suddenly mitigate their…
Jun 12, 2024 · 5:00
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Many themes thus far discussed on Silent Generation are present in fast food culture: car-centrism,…
Jun 4, 2024 · 1:39:04
On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan examine sportswear worn by both athletes and their fans. Episode 14 of Silent Generation already covered Olympic sports, so this week’s…
May 29, 2024 · 2:05:34
Why has the general public been skeptical of nuclear energy, seemingly even before the technology existed? Joining the boys on this week’s episode of Silent Generation is Madison…
May 21, 2024 · 4:54
Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration Many parents today tell their children to simply “be a good person” and do not offer them moral…
May 13, 2024 · 1:03:45
As previously noted, Nathan has a general aversion to bikes and bike infrastructure. But where does his “bike skepticism” come from, and why do many other Americans feel the same…
May 8, 2024 · 1:29:36
In Western culture men often wear little to no jewelry, often opting to only wear a wedding ring and/ or a watch. What meaning can be discerned from the jewelry that Western men…
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
Your podcast? Get the Podli badge for your site
