It's the Brian Lairn Show on WNYC. I'm Amina Cerna, filling in for Brian today. And to end the show,

we'll turn to a new trend that emerged earlier this year, friction maxing.

Have you heard this term?

It's a new trend that advocates for deliberately choosing inconvenience, aka friction, over the efficiency that modern technology-driven convenience provides.

The idea is to build back tolerance for inconvenience and strive for

maybe a little bit more mindfulness in our daily lives. That can look like driving without

Google Maps or having difficult conversations in person rather than texting or even cooking

from scratch rather than ordering delivery. Catherine Jaser Morton, author of

The Cuts brooding newsletter, wrote up her plan to Friction Max this year in life and in parenting,

and she joins us now. Catherine, welcome to WMIC. Thank you for having me. And listeners, how are you

introducing friction back into your digital forward lives?

Maybe you make a point to take public transit instead of hopping into an Uber.

Maybe you're off the social media apps and checking in with your friends, IRL now.

I know at least of one person who uses Instagram on a desktop, but that's a form of friction

maxing.

Call in and share your stories.

212-433 W-NYC, that's 212-433-9-6-92, and we can take your text as well.

Catherine, you've resolved to commit to make 2026 a year of friction maxing.

Did I get that definition right in my intro?

And why would anyone want to add more friction to their lives?

Yeah, you know, you did.

And it's so interesting to be thinking about this in the context of McKay's, you know,

...