Raised Analog, Living Digital - Why Gen X Still Feels Different

Raised Analog, Living Digital - Why Gen X Still Feels Different

From The Superlatively Yes Podcast by Tanya Smith and Jennifer McCroddan

May 19, 2026 · 48 min · Season 8 · Episode 209

About this episode

Tanya and Jen explore Gen X nostalgia and its impact on the generation's resilience and creativity.

If you survived secondhand smoke in a station wagon, folded notes into triangles, waited 6–8 weeks for a cereal box prize, and knew the heartbreak of running out of typewriter ink at midnight, this episode is for you. This week on the Superlatively Yes Podcast , Tanya and Jen take a hilarious and unexpectedly heartfelt trip through Gen X nostalgia. From Ronald Reagan and Johnny Carson to Scholastic Book Fairs, scratch-and-sniff stickers, propane curling irons, Swatch watches, acid wash jeans, and the emotional damage caused by boredom after sunset in the backseat of a car. Nothing is off limits. They revisit the collective moments that shaped an entire generation: Baby Jessica, the OJ Bronco chase, late-night television sign-offs, and growing up in a world where parents had little idea where their children were for hours at a time. Tanya and Jen also explore why Gen X became such a resilient, funny, and deeply creative generation, even if much of that humor came from unresolved trauma and from surviving discomfort with sarcasm. Later in the episode, the conversation shifts to one of their favorite movies of all time: The Devil Wears Prada 2 . They discuss the fashion, the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tanya Smith, Jennifer McCroddan

Topics covered

  • Gen X nostalgia
  • cultural references
  • resilience
  • humor
  • emotional impact
  • creativity
  • storytelling

Keywords

  • Gen X
  • nostalgia
  • cultural references
  • humor
  • The Devil Wears Prada
  • creativity
  • emotional impact
  • storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Devil Wears Prada 2

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