Hey, I'm Kate Lindsay, and you're listening to I-C-Y-M-I, or in case you missed it, Slate's

podcast about internet culture.

And today we are joined by writer and producer and co-owner of Defector, also host of her own podcast called Try Hard.

Alex Sujong Loflin, welcome Alex.

Hello, thank you for having me.

It's so great to have you again.

I was not here the first time, so it's all new to me. But I'm very excited that we get to chat now because today's topic is a very fun one. Her most recent piece is about a phenomenon that she coined called lip filler accent. I won't say more because we are going to talk all about it shortly.

But first, you and I revealed up top when we joined that today we got like basically the type of compliments from strangers that you dream of and that like make your whole day better, I would love to hear what was yours,

walk me through it because you told me it involves a Gen Z barista.

Huge, yes.

Yeah.

I went to breakfast this morning at a little cafe in my neighborhood that I've never been to,

and I go in and there's this cool looking barista just like cool outfit I can't even tell you

what she was wearing but it was it was cool she was cool you know in a way that I kind of couldn't

fathom and she looked at me and she said I like your haircut your bangs are cute and I was like

oh my god, thank you.

You do have like a kind of Gen Z passing haircut.

Oh my gosh.

Wow, that's huge as I am 34 years old.

Yeah.

Yeah, so mine was similar.

Well, I don't, I can't say if this person was Gen Z. I was walking literally from the subway

...