SOLVED! SAMPLE! #29 - "Don't Be Cringe": Is Gen Z's Humor a Political Warning Sign?
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.6 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 15 December 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date: 12-10-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was out this week) discuss:
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Ch. 1 - Generational humor, and analysis of Gen Z's absurdist humor and the impact it's having
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Ch. 2 - The unexpected social side effects of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's campaign on Gen Z volunteers
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Ch. 3 - The "App"stinence Movement helping people get off of social media
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Ch. 4 - How the peak Millennial humor mobile game "Sword and Sworcery" has evolved with the times
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SOLVED! Backstage: Behind the Algorithm: Elon Musk's "Grokapedia" reminding us of the "Conservapedia" of 2010s punchlines, and the co-opting of Gen Z meme humor by right wing extremists to normalize hate.
REFERENCES
Gen Z Humour: What's so funny about something so unfunny? - Hayden Lim Khai Eun via Medium
Inside 'Gen Z humor,' the layered and absurdist internet jokes millennials are struggling to keep up with - Business Insider
A crash course in Gen Z humor - Pion
We Laughed Into The Void—And It Laughed Back: Understanding Gen Z Humor - Berkeley Political Review
A Little-Noted Element Propelled Mamdani's Rise: Gen Z Loneliness - The New York Times
A mass exit from social media - Mashable
Should you practice Appstinence? Gen Z and Gen Alpha are embracing this Harvard student movement - Fast Company
7 Reasons to Think Social Media Has Peaked The platforms have serious problems. - New York Magazine
The Mysteries Of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP - Waltorious Writes About Games
Social media is dead – here's what comes next - New Scientist
EXTRAS
NOT SPONSORS/AFFILIATES
Brick - Device to help you manage phone use
Freedom - App to help you manage device use
How to make your smartphone into a dumb phone - (Modern Dumbphone)
Transcript
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