Hello, it's Manveen. We hope you're having a wonderful Christmas break. While we're

sleeping off the turkey and mince pies, we didn't want to leave you without an episode of the story

to listen to. So, we've picked out a few of our favourites from 2025's archive. Happy listening

and happy Christmas. From the Times and the Sunday times, this is the story.

I'm Manvien Rano.

You must know someone who fits the category.

Maybe you're one yourself.

I probably am.

The sort of person who goes around boasting when they're hashtag adulting,

because, well, those moments can feel rare.

The term kiddalt is actually a Western word.

I believe it was actually coined in England,

and it refers to grown-ups who refuse to abandon their hobbies and interests and

pastimes of their youth. In times of old, we were told to put childish things behind us so that we

can become fully fledged adults. But as you are undoubtedly well aware, in the modern era,

this isn't exactly the case. And Japan was very

much ahead of the curve when it came to preserving childhood characteristics well into adulthood.

Yep, Japan definitely got their first. So much so that for many people, when they think of the

country, they don't just think of the majestic volcanoes, the ancient temples, and for the next few weeks, the spectacular sight of the cherry blossom season.

Instead, they're just as likely to think of the bustling cities, the fluorescent billboards, and the bright, cutesy characters made famous by pop culture titans like Pokemon,

Studio Jibbley, and Nintendo.

The watching of anime cartoons, the reading of manga, comic books by adults was something that

...