Axis Conversations

Southeastern University cancels class to pray and worship Jesus, "smart glasses" with AI take creepiness to a new level, and what parents should know about the new Wuthering Heights movie.
Slang of the Week: lowkenuinely
In Other News:
Sony Animation Studios (the team behind Into the Spider-Verse and KPop Demon Hunters) has a new animated film called GOAT, starring Stranger Things' Caleb McLaughlin and NBA star Stephen Curry. A new video game in the "Roguelite" genre called Mewgenics had an incredibly successful release last week, but parents should know the game features a lot of questionable—even sacreligious—content. A new TikTok account called @DanySlicer started with two short videos of a man whose face is obscured in shadow. Inexplicably, both videos got millions of views, and many started referring to this completely silent character as the "internet's new villain." Netflix is diving into mixed martial arts, kicking off with a fight between two pioneering and sometimes controversial fighters, Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey. This month on our podcast we explored romantasy and the question many parents are asking: Why are teens and adults so drawn to fantasy and romance novels? Check it out here, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 
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→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
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The Big Conversation:
This month we're focusing on relationships, and we're tackling a question many parents are asking: "Why are teens and adults so drawn to romantasy books?"
Axis Resources → A Parent's Guide to Teen Dating
→ A Conversation Kit on Dating
→ A Parent's Guide to Kicking Off the Sex Talk
 
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

Three Big Conversations:
The hills are alive with the sound of kids saying "chicken, banana," - 14:38
A new AI tool called OpenClaw has an iron grasp on data - 20:20
Backlash took center stage after Bad Bunny's halftime show. - 49:04
Song of the Week: "The Great Divide" - Noah Kahan - 01:16
Click here to read the lyrics.
In Other News.. - 1:04:02
James Van Der Beek passed away this week after battling colorectal cancer. Best known for his role as Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek, he helped define late 90s teen drama, and his legacy continues through streaming nostalgia and even one of the internet's earliest viral reaction GIFs.  At a congressional hearing last week, self-driving car company Waymo admitted that sometimes its cars are being remote-controlled by workers based in the Philippines. An emerging star of the 2026 Winter Olympics is American figure skater Alysa Liu, who won gold and then promptly broke her medal. Cool guys have bangs now, according to GQ. Fellas are trading the long-popular long-on the-top, short-on-the sides haircut for softer, more lived-in fringe. This weekend, the long-awaited, R-rated adaptation of the gothic romance novel Wuthering Heights will hit 3,600 screens and is projected to hit $50 million on its opening weekend. 
Axis Resource → A Parent's Guide to Talking About Hell
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

The hills are alive with the sound of kids saying "chicken, banana," a new AI tool called OpenClaw has an iron grasp on data, and backlash took center stage after Bad Bunny's halftime show.
Song of the Week: "The Great Divide" - Noah Kahan
Click here to read the lyrics.
In Other News..
James Van Der Beek passed away this week after battling colorectal cancer. Best known for his role as Dawson Leery on Dawson's Creek, he helped define late 90s teen drama, and his legacy continues through streaming nostalgia and even one of the internet's earliest viral reaction GIFs.  At a congressional hearing last week, self-driving car company Waymo admitted that sometimes its cars are being remote-controlled by workers based in the Philippines. An emerging star of the 2026 Winter Olympics is American figure skater Alysa Liu, who won gold and then promptly broke her medal. Cool guys have bangs now, according to GQ. Fellas are trading the long-popular long-on the-top, short-on-the sides haircut for softer, more lived-in fringe. This weekend, the long-awaited, R-rated adaptation of the gothic romance novel Wuthering Heights will hit 3,600 screens and is projected to hit $50 million on its opening weekend. 
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.

"Today's teens, especially those who are too young to drive, enter what they call "talking stages," which seem to be a substitute for dating. It's basically a stream of conciousness texting session with one another. I have a 14 year old son. Girls are coming out of the wood work trying to enter a "talking stage" with him. Right now he is talking to 4 girls. He has decided he really likes one of these girls. So the question is, should he continue talking to the other girls, or let them know that he really likes someone other than them? What he has done is ghost the other girls, he simply doesn't answer their texts; this doesn't feel right. What do you think the right way is to handle the situation? I have no idea where girls are getting his number but every week someone new  is texting him out of the blue. It usually starts with, "I thought you were cute so I asked for your number." To me this is also concerning. I think the type of girls he should be looking for are not the ones chasing boys." - Michelle 
Axis Resource → A Parent's Guide to Teen Dating
Axis Resource → A Conversation Kit on Dating
🎧 Listen / Follow / Connect
→ Become a monthly donor today, join the Table.
→ Check out the podcast now on our YouTube Channel!
→ Get your question on Ask Axis! Send in your questions to [email protected].
→ For more Axis resources, go to axis.org.