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Many millennials either are already in their 40s or are staring them down. Are they having a midlife crisis?

As this generation enters midlife, their lives look really different from their parents' lives: Millennials are more educated and have a higher median net worth, but the generation is also more unequal than previous generations, has higher debt and has lower rates of homeownership and marriage. How does that all shape what millennial midlife crises are starting to look like?

Brittany finds out with Vox senior correspondent Alex Abad-Santos, who recently wrote an article about the millennial midlife crisis, and Sara Srygley, research associate at the Population Reference Bureau.

This episode originally aired on June 20, 2025.

For more episodes about the forces shaping Millennials’ lives, check out:

You're not broken - the job market is.

Enough is enough. Is it time to leave America?

The ugly truth of America's expensive homes

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The MET Gala 2026 was eclipsed by its own sponsors, making the event feel out of touch and out of fashion.

Beyoncé made her first MET Gala appearance in ten years. Rihanna showed up (very late). And there were many incredible fashion moments: from Emma Chamberlain to Nicole Kidman to Lena Dunham. But the whole affair was overshadowed by the sponsorship of Jeff and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Plus, other tech billionaires, Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin, made their MET Gala debuts. All calling into question...what is this event (and art) really for?

To get into it, NPR Music's Anamaria Sayre is joined by culture critic Marjon Carlos and culture writer Shelton Boyd-Griffith. Together they rate the best and worst of fashion's biggest night and explain why the MET Gala feels like it's in decline.

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The MET Gala 2026 is already off to a controversial start, and no one has even shown up yet.

That's because Anna Wintour has been buddying up with a certain billionaire, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The couple are the lead sponsors of this year's gala. To be clear, the wealthiest people have always been involved with fashion's biggest night, but this year some folks feels its more in the spotlight - at a time when many Americans feel like life is getting more and more unaffordable. 

Brittany is joined by culture critic Marjon Carlos and culture writer Shelton Boyd-Griffith to lay out the stakes of this year's MET Gala - from the billionaires to the best dressed.

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The Jackson family and estate have joined forces to give us another biopic of Michael Jackson's life. Michael doesn't tell us anything new about the King of Pop, but it has had the biggest opening weekend of a music biopic ever. From Whitney Houston to Freddie Mercury, why do these posthumous biopics always seem to fall flat, and what do decades of Jackson family drama say about how we reckon with the complicated figures in pop culture and our own lives? Brittany talks with Aisha Harris, critic and co-host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, to find out.

Want more deep dives on the legacies of pop culture icons? Check out these episodes:
Jesse Jackson & the end of the civil rights superhero
Marilyn Monroe was more than just 'Blonde'

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The slur disappeared but is once again popular to use on and offline. What's up with that?

Over the past few years, the R-word - a term for disabled people that otherwise left the cultural lexicon - has been popping up more and more. It is the rare slur that goes out of vogue and makes a resurgence, particularly among young men. It's return may also have larger implications that affect policy, culture, and how we treat each other.

Disability advocate Imani Barbarin joins the show to break down how ableism can take root in casual conversation, and why words matter.

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