Axis Conversations

Three Big Conversations:
TikTok has a new US owner, which users worry is muddying the platform's approach to censorship. - 10:16
Data shows that sad and angsty songs are ruling the streaming charts. - 29:28
It's official: our algorithms are making us lonelier. - 40:12
Emoji of the Week: 🙂 - 01:19
Axis Resource--> Check out A Parent's Guide to Emoji
In Other News: -  52:04
Last week, Alex Honnold free-soloed Taipei 101 live on Netflix, with roughly 6.2 million people watching him climb a 1,667-foot skyscraper without a rope. The 2026 Oscar nominations dropped last week, with director Ryan Coogler's horror-thriller Sinners receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations. Speaking of awards season, after a long hiatus, Justin Bieber is slated to return to the Grammys stage this Sunday night. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal on Monday to apologize for his antisemitic comments and psychotic behavior. Athleisure is out for 2026. Some Gen Z creators are leaning into vintage (meaning 90s and early 2000s) sportswear and putting their matching workout sets out to pasture.
--> 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.

TikTok has a new US owner, which users worry is muddying the platform's approach to censorship; data shows that sad and angsty songs are ruling the streaming charts, and it's official: our algorithms are making us lonelier.
Emoji of the Week: 🙂
Axis Resource--> Check out A Parent's Guide to Emoji
In Other News:
Last week, Alex Honnold free-soloed Taipei 101 live on Netflix, with roughly 6.2 million people watching him climb a 1,667-foot skyscraper without a rope. The 2026 Oscar nominations dropped last week, with director Ryan Coogler's horror-thriller Sinners receiving a record-breaking 16 nominations. Speaking of awards season, after a long hiatus, Justin Bieber is slated to return to the Grammys stage this Sunday night. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal on Monday to apologize for his antisemitic comments and psychotic behavior. Athleisure is out for 2026. Some Gen Z creators are leaning into vintage (meaning 90s and early 2000s) sportswear and putting their matching workout sets out to pasture.
--> 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.

Jenna is a writer and content creator based in Orange County, California. She works at Axis as a content specialist. She is currently working on a Master's in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care at Talbot School of Theology. She also runs a Substack publication called "Jenna's Column" where she writes about faith from a Gen Z perspective. In her free time she loves to read (preferably at the beach) and hang out with her husband Parker and their cat, Dolly.
Check out our updated Parent's Guide to Teen Slang
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:
Nostalgia for 2016 hits social media. - 8:54
Some hopeful, if complicated, mental health statistics about college students. - 24:40
Teens would rather send a voice note than make a phone call. - 38:08
Slang of the Week - Ragebait - 1:48
In Other News: - 54:22
The Indiana Hoosiers won an electrifying College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, punctuated by an iconic, fourth-down touchdown run from Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. BookTok's beloved People We Meet on Vacation, an Emily Henry book-to-movie adaptation, has debuted at No.1 on the Netflix film chart with 17.2m views. A new trend on TikTok involves impersonating owls. "Bringing random items to school" is a TikTok trend where kids pull increasingly unhinged objects out of their backpacks purely for laughs. The tremendous success of a stationery store in Chicago is being hailed as indicative of the "return to analog" trend, as the popularity of journals, calligraphy, and sending snail mail letters surges.
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.

Nostalgia for 2016 hits social media, some hopeful, if complicated, mental health statistics about college students, and teens would rather send a voice note than make a phone call.
Slang of the Week - Ragebait
In Other News:
The Indiana Hoosiers won an electrifying College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, punctuated by an iconic, fourth-down touchdown run from Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. BookTok's beloved People We Meet on Vacation, an Emily Henry book-to-movie adaptation, has debuted at No.1 on the Netflix film chart with 17.2m views. A new trend on TikTok involves impersonating owls. "Bringing random items to school" is a TikTok trend where kids pull increasingly unhinged objects out of their backpacks purely for laughs. The tremendous success of a stationery store in Chicago is being hailed as indicative of the "return to analog" trend, as the popularity of journals, calligraphy, and sending snail mail letters surges.
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.