Axis Conversations

Three Big Conversations:
The hills are alive with the sound of kids saying "chicken, banana," - 14:38
A new AI tool called OpenClaw has an iron grasp on data - 20:20
Backlash took center stage after Bad Bunny's halftime show. - 49:04
Song of the Week: "The Great Divide" - Noah Kahan - 01:16
Click here to read the lyrics.
In Other News.. - 1:04:02
James Van Der Beek passed away this week after battling colorectal cancer. Best known for his role as Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek, he helped define late 90s teen drama, and his legacy continues through streaming nostalgia and even one of the internet's earliest viral reaction GIFs.  At a congressional hearing last week, self-driving car company Waymo admitted that sometimes its cars are being remote-controlled by workers based in the Philippines. An emerging star of the 2026 Winter Olympics is American figure skater Alysa Liu, who won gold and then promptly broke her medal. Cool guys have bangs now, according to GQ. Fellas are trading the long-popular long-on the-top, short-on-the sides haircut for softer, more lived-in fringe. This weekend, the long-awaited, R-rated adaptation of the gothic romance novel Wuthering Heights will hit 3,600 screens and is projected to hit $50 million on its opening weekend. 
Axis Resource → A Parent's Guide to Talking About Hell
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The hills are alive with the sound of kids saying "chicken, banana," a new AI tool called OpenClaw has an iron grasp on data, and backlash took center stage after Bad Bunny's halftime show.
Song of the Week: "The Great Divide" - Noah Kahan
Click here to read the lyrics.
In Other News..
James Van Der Beek passed away this week after battling colorectal cancer. Best known for his role as Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek, he helped define late 90s teen drama, and his legacy continues through streaming nostalgia and even one of the internet's earliest viral reaction GIFs.  At a congressional hearing last week, self-driving car company Waymo admitted that sometimes its cars are being remote-controlled by workers based in the Philippines. An emerging star of the 2026 Winter Olympics is American figure skater Alysa Liu, who won gold and then promptly broke her medal. Cool guys have bangs now, according to GQ. Fellas are trading the long-popular long-on the-top, short-on-the sides haircut for softer, more lived-in fringe. This weekend, the long-awaited, R-rated adaptation of the gothic romance novel Wuthering Heights will hit 3,600 screens and is projected to hit $50 million on its opening weekend. 
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

"Today's teens, especially those who are too young to drive, enter what they call "talking stages," which seem to be a substitute for dating. It's basically a stream of conciousness texting session with one another. I have a 14 year old son. Girls are coming out of the wood work trying to enter a "talking stage" with him. Right now he is talking to 4 girls. He has decided he really likes one of these girls. So the question is, should he continue talking to the other girls, or let them know that he really likes someone other than them? What he has done is ghost the other girls, he simply doesn't answer their texts; this doesn't feel right. What do you think the right way is to handle the situation? I have no idea where girls are getting his number but every week someone new  is texting him out of the blue. It usually starts with, "I thought you were cute so I asked for your number." To me this is also concerning. I think the type of girls he should be looking for are not the ones chasing boys." - Michelle 
Axis Resource → A Parent's Guide to Teen Dating
Axis Resource → A Conversation Kit on Dating
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:
The Grammys offered a chaotic celebration of modern music. - 8:08
"Etsy witches" are getting kicked off of Etsy. - 21:12
Sports betting looms large over Super Bowl LX this Sunday. - 35:06
Song of the Week: "Aperture" by Harry Styles -1:25
Click here for the lyrics.
In Other News: - 53:08
"She's free" is a TikTok trend where friends line up, clap and shine phone flashlights as someone walks a celebratory runway after a breakup.  The 2026 Winter Olympics in the Italian cities of Milano and Cortina begin today. If the 2024 Summer Olympics were any indication, teens will probably be fascinated by the athletes and their respective social media presences. A new platform called Moltbook is designed to be a Reddit-style social media forum for AI bots to publicly chat with each other. The Lunar New Year is coming up soon, which brings a new Chinese zodiac. 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse, and people on TikTok are freaking out about it. Iron Lung, a sci-fi horror film that stars YouTuber Markiplier (who also wrote, directed, and financed it), was a surprise box office success that almost beat Disney's Send Help in its opening weekend.
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

The Grammys offered a chaotic celebration of modern music, "Etsy witches" are getting kicked off of Etsy, and sports betting looms large over Super Bowl LX this Sunday.
Song of the Week: "Aperture" by Harry Styles
Click here for the lyrics.
In Other News:
"She's free" is a TikTok trend where friends line up, clap and shine phone flashlights as someone walks a celebratory runway after a breakup.  The 2026 Winter Olympics in the Italian cities of Milano and Cortina begin today. If the 2024 Summer Olympics were any indication, teens will probably be fascinated by the athletes and their respective social media presences. A new platform called Moltbook is designed to be a Reddit-style social media forum for AI bots to publicly chat with each other. The Lunar New Year is coming up soon, which brings a new Chinese zodiac. 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse, and people on TikTok are freaking out about it. Iron Lung, a sci-fi horror film that stars YouTuber Markiplier (who also wrote, directed, and financed it), was a surprise box office success that almost beat Disney's Send Help in its opening weekend.
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.