Gen Y Chronicles Podcast

Show summary We discuss “RULE 7 / Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)”, from Jordan B. Peterson’s best-selling book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. In this episode, we examine self-sacrifice, the dangers of expediency and a hypothesis about why evil exists. Show notes 2:00 - Viewing the Biblical stories through a psychological lens 2:47 - Understanding sacrifice in a new way 3:18 - What does “expedient” mean? 6:37 - What happens when your sacrifice is rejected? 9:10 - Sharing with your future self 10:40 - “…the world is revealed to you through the template of your values.” 12:28 - Is it OK to bring a child into a world full of danger and suffering? 18:59 - Why does evil exist? 22:09 - Is lying actually expedient? 25:03 - Little lies are the seeds of totalitarian regimes

Show summary We’re halfway through our Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos book review/discussion series. In this episode, we chat about how suffering is a part of the human condition and how we confront it using stoicism and individual responsibility (RULE 6 / Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world). Show notes 0:48 - Can you ever “set your house in perfect order”? 2:56 - How some people retrospectively see their suffering as a learning opportunity 3:27 - The bathroom attendant story… what would you do? 10:46 - Leo Tolstoy’s nihilistic view on human existence and life… is it cowardly not to be vengeful and displeased with Being itself? 12:37 - Does RULE 6 conflict with RULE 8? 13:46 - Applied Stoicism can potentially help one avoid breaking RULE 6 14:55 - Dennis’ dilemma about Marcus Aurelius’ brand of Stoicism 18:38 - “Every person is too complex to know themselves completely, and we all contain wisdom that we cannot comprehend.” - Jordan B. Peterson 21:09 - We should all start assigning responsibility to individuals for their actions and not the groups or things they are associated with

Show summary We continue our commentary and discussion on Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, and in this episode we discuss socializing children out of the “terrible twos” and we review Dr. Peterson’s 5 disciplinary principles (RULE 5 / Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them). Show notes 0:40 - “Two-year-olds, statistically speaking, are the most violent of people” (Peterson, J.B. & Flanders, J. (2005). Play and the regulation of aggression.) 7:25 - The parent-friend problem 10:25 - Undesirable social behaviour in children if uncorrected, may manifest into major anti-social behaviour later in life 11:22 - “She was out to produce a little God-Emperor of the Universe.” 13:28 - Disciplinary principle #1: “Limit the rules” 16:08 - Disciplinary principle #2: “Use minimum necessary force” 23:04 - Disciplinary principle #3: “Parents should come in pairs” (Amato, P.R. & Keith, B. (1991). Parental Divorce and the Well-Being of Children: A Meta-Analysis.) 24:37 - Disciplinary principle #4: “Parents should understand their own capacity to be harsh, vengeful, arrogant, resentful, angry and deceitful” 27:32 - Disciplinary principle #5: “Parents have a duty to act as proxies for the real world”

Show summary We continue our 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos miniseries, and this week we discuss the harm in excessive self-critical social media comparisons and the powerful concept of incremental self-improvement (RULE 4 / Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today). Show notes 1:59 - Comparing yourself to others is a losing game; your inner critic always wins 5:15 - Many social media platforms can drive internal criticism to unhealthy levels 6:30 - Social media consumption is harming the next generation (The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt) 8:01 - Envy blinds you from seeing what you really need in your life 9:30 - The Monkey Business Illusion (YouTube viral video) 11:02 - Incrementally improve yourself one day at a time--aim low 14:55 - Don’t be a tyrant or a slave--negotiate with yourself 21:11 - Darth Sidious, the postmodernist (YouTube clip) 22:45 - The new #10yearchallenge

Show summary Welcome back to the 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos miniseries. In this episode we explore friendships—from toxic to ideal—while discussing the third rule of the book (RULE 3 / Make friends with people who want the best for you). Show notes 1:50 - Small-town friends 4:09 - Making friends who strive upwards and have goals 6:04 - Helping friends who actually want to help themselves 7:33 - “Friendships are reciprocal, it’s a relationship that’s beneficial for both people” 10:41 - Making good friends is hard, but making bad friends is easy 12:45 - Long-distance friendships can be tough 13:46 - The “good news” challenge 17:10 - Are you really the sum of the five friends you spend the most time with? 20:27 - Is it okay if your friends don’t want you to change? 21:48 - As an adult in a new city, it isn’t always easy to make new friends 23:47 - RULE 3 is also important for marriages as well

Show summary We continue our discussion of Jordan Peterson’s best-selling book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. This week we provide commentary on the second rule of the book (RULE 2 / Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping). Show notes 0:14 - “The best-selling Canadian author of 2018” 1:05 - Why do so many people stop taking their prescribed medication? (Article about medication non-adherence) 2:29 - Does Jordan Peterson's reasoning for RULE 2 actually make any sense? 7:07 - My hypothesis regarding why people don’t treat themselves like someone they are responsible for helping 9:55 - “We are often unaware that we are important to other people” 13:38 - Don’t concentrate on doing only things that make you happy, but concentrate on doing things that are actually good for you 15:23 - “Between you and me, who’s the ‘order’ in our relationship, and who's the ‘chaos’”? 17:57 - Channeling your “dark side” to fuel your assertiveness 27:04 - The importance of having a vision and a direction in your life

Show summary Welcome to the first Gen Y Chronicles podcast episode of 2019! Join us as we discuss the first rule in Jordan B. Peterson’s best-selling book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (RULE 1 / Stand up straight with your shoulders back). Show notes 0:09 - Following through on Jólabókaflóðið (GenYChron Ep. 0017 – Ethnopediatrics, co-sleeping and Jólabókaflóðið) 2:47 - 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson 3:33 - Providing commentary on Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back 7:09 - Observing the “positive feedback loop” and high-stress impulsive behaviour in people 11:56 - Using routine to stabilize one’s mental and physical state isn’t as easy as it sounds 17:32 - Smiling and standing up straight actually works to help change the way I think and feel 21:55 - The Matthew effect and a throwback to our podcast on the Pareto distribution (GenYChron Ep. 0018 – Birthdays, Pareto distributions and spirit molecules) 25:35 - Viewing rejection in a new light

Show summary On this week’s episode, join us on our philosophical journey as we discuss The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, pantheism, meditating with apps, self-healing, hypnotherapy, sensory deprivation tanks and minimalism! Show notes 0:30 - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius 3:50 - “People don't have ideas. Ideas have people.” ― Carl Jung 5:40 - Pantheism and Pandeism 9:00 - “But nothing that is according to nature can be evil.” ― Marcus Aurelius 12:20 - “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.” ― Marcus Aurelius 14:40 - “...for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself.” ― Marcus Aurelius 17:44 - Meditating with an app (InsightTimer) 22:00 - “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” ― Friedrich Nietzsche 24:20 - Integrated medicine and the phenomenon of self-healing the human body via the placebo effect (Joe Rogan Experience #1213 - Dr. Andrew Weil) 30:02 - Hypnotherapy has been proven to cure skin conditions such as warts (NCBI abstract) 34:00 - Sensory deprivation tank therapy 37:09 - Simple living and minimalism

Show summary Join us this week as we talk about empirical evidence for birthday-dependent personalities, the eerie predominance of naturally occurring inequality within our universe and a psychedelic substance that our bodies produce, known as N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Show notes 1:52 - The Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers 5:08 - Gary Goldschneider’s Wikipedia page 7:10 - Confirmation bias 8:10 - “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”. 10:00 - The Pareto principle 10:25 - Vilfredo Pareto 12:14 - Systems Theory 13:05 - Simulation hypothesis 13:57 - “The universe has a bias towards inequality”. 15:30 - The Matthew principle 20:28 - DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman 20:38 - DMT stands for N,N-Dimethyltryptamine 24:27 - NDE or Near-death experience 30:10 - Psychedelic substances can potentially reduce criminal behaviour

Show summary We’re back! After our three-month podcasting hiatus we dive into some parent-friendly topics ranging from child-rearing practices in different cultures, the prevalence of bed sharing outside North America and research surrounding the risks and rewards of co-sleeping. Also, with Christmas just 37 days away, we talk about our plan to adopt a traditional Icelandic gift-giving practice called "Jólabókaflóðið". Show notes 3:08 - Relaxin 5:03 - Public bookcases 6:25 - Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent by Meredith Small 7:05 - Ethnopediatrics 7:44 - Co-sleeping 11:35 - Apnea 12:40 - Is co-sleeping with your infant dangerous? 12:47 - Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 14:00 - Supine sleeping position 17:15 - Baby colic 18:50 - Babywearing 21:52 - Insufficient milk syndrome 28:18 - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by R. Stephen Covey 28:49 - The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 30:00 - Jólabókaflóðið 36:04 - Japanese bedrooms 35:35 - Murphy bed 37:12 - Occidental futon 38:31 - Bedside crib 41:40 - Milk bank 43:55 - Breast milk contains stem cells

Show summary This week we listen to Jasmin share her knowledge about foraging for wild edibles. We talk about our experiences foraging berries, nuts and various plants in Germany and Nova Scotia. We also explain how we make teas, juices and salads from wild berries and herbs. Show notes 1:00 - Picking elderberries and making homemade elderberry juice 3:05 - Elderberry juice is an important ingredient for making German Christmas wine (Glühwein) 3:55 - Make your own camomile tea by picking it fresh in your neighbourhood 5:00 - We noticed that the locals in Munich love to forage for wild onions 6:48 - “Bang peas”? 7:22 - Dandelions 8:35 - Fiddleheads 9:02 - Making tea and salads from the prickly stinging nettle 10:29 - Walnuts do not look like walnuts when they’re growing on a tree 11:53 - Hazelnuts 12:53 - Beware of mushrooms (Do not eat wild mushrooms if you don’t know what is safe to eat) 15:12 - Don’t mistake elderberries for “bird berries” 15:38 - Raspberries and blackberries tend to grow in the same areas 16:41 - Wild “German” plums are generally smaller than the imported variety 19:16 - Beechnuts 19:50- Castanea sativa (Sweet chestnut) 21:35 - Les Stroud on his Survivorman show, demonstrated how to eat cattail roots and wild cucumber 23:54 - Foraging is a fun activity for all ages 24:43 - Edible flowers 25:34 - Acorns 26:38 - I caught a beaver stealing corn from a farmer’s field in Munich 29:03 - Suburban farming in Munich 30:41 - Truffles

Show summary On this week’s show, listen to us reminisce about our eyebrow-raising experiences with servers and cashiers in Germany, Austria and Canada. We compare two different service cultures and two different perspectives to see which one stands supreme. Prepare yourself for a mildly heated discussion! Show notes 0:50 - “It’s strange how the level of expectation for good quality service is pretty low” 1:34 - During one of my university lectures, our professor asked for a show of hands to see if we agreed or disagreed with American-style customer service 3:36 - Canadian restaurant servers vs. German servers 5:09 - The art of German restaurant billing: it may take multiple waves and shouts to get your server to bring you the bill so you can pay and leave 6:08 - In Canada, good tipping is expected, but in Germany it’s not obligatory 8:36 - Dare to return your food to the kitchen in Germany 10:00 - Germany’s cash culture vs. Canada’s card culture 12:18 - Watch out for those German ATM fees; they’ll sting you if you’re from another bank 12:46 - Amaze German cashiers by using your card’s “tap” feature to pay 13:47 - Two meals, one plate 14:38 - Plate-tossing Viennese servers 17:06 - The automated ordering system at McDonald’s in Germany is much more efficient compared to the same system in Canada 19:00 - The definition of an oxymoron: Being ignored at a car dealership 22:19 - The bubbly charm of Canadian servers 24:24 - Are customer service telephone hotlines universally bad? 26:13 - Third time’s the charm when cancelling tenant insurance in Vienna 27:08 - Germans love their paperwork 29:14 - Parking spots for dogs 30:37 - Off topic... Why are the dogs in Munich so well-behaved?

Show summary This week on the Gen Y Chronicles podcast, Jasmin and I tackle some complex topics that affect Gen Y. Listen to our personal experiences and stories about the age perception gap between North America and Europe, and our opinions about the evolution of emotional maturity in Millennials. Show notes 0:40 - How do you define emotional maturity? 1:22 - Jordan Peterson on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend Show #110 discusses why family gets more important as he gets older (YouTube video) 2:25 - Do Millennials value family less and less while career is becoming overvalued? 6:15 - Wisdom from the Game Grumps: You care less about what people think of you as you get older (YouTube video and research article on how age affects perception of emotions) 7:59 - Jerry Seinfeld’s funny observation about older people/fathers: “I can make my own people” (YouTube video) 9:21 - Growing out of your shell of shyness 9:50 - How age is perceived differently in Canada versus Germany 16:39 - At age 18 you are legally an adult, but your brain is still developing until the mid twenties (SciShow Psych video on YouTube) 17:45 - Has the infantilization of youth in North America created an age perception gap between North America and Europe? 20:59 - The “tween” phenomenon. Clarification: There seems to be multiple definitions of the word “tween”. My interpretation is based on the word’s origin from J.R.R Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit (Words you never knew came from literature). A “tween” is someone between the ages of 20 and 33. 22:56 - How different economic and societal factors affect Gen Y (See list of references from the Millennials at Work research article) 27:24 - If you have any ideas for next week’s podcast, please let us know in the comments below or via our Contact page

Show summary Let’s talk about tea... the drink of choice for our generation. This week, we discuss the growing demand for tea among Millennials, coffee substitutes, making tea from local plants and the health benefits of drinking various teas. We also share our opinions on some of the finer green and black teas, and we outline the different perspectives on tea in Canada and Germany. Show notes 0:26 - Tea is more and more popular among our generation than previous generations (YouGov article) 2:34 - Tea shops like DAVIDsTEA in Canada, are catering to the growing demand for more sophisticated tea flavours and varieties 3:06 - Some teas are used as a substitute for coffee (Dandelion coffee and Rooibos tea) 4:00 - Tea perception in Canada vs. Germany (Black vs. herbal) 5:34 - Green, black and white teas all come from the same plant species (Wikipedia article about camellia sinensis and Britannica article about tea production) 6:27 - First flush vs. second flush teas (Article from Tea101) 6:45 - High quality green tea is hard to find in Western grocery stores 8:01 - $28,000 for 20 grams of Da Hong Pao tea (BBC article about Da Hong Pao tea) 8:31 - The best green tea we ever had was Longjing tea or Dragon Well tea... “For a tea drinker, it was a heavenly experience” (Wikipedia article about Longjing tea) 10:00 - Darjeeling is a town/region in India known for its famous tea 10:35 - Tea is for everyone; it’s generally cheap and you can even make your own with local plants (camomile and stinging nettle) 13:35 - Beechnut (Buchecker) is another coffee substitute (The Book of Edible Nuts, page 272) 15:08 - The health benefits of tea 15:38 - Camomile is excellent for treating sore throats 16:25 - Green tea is good for maintaining your oral health (eliminating bad breath and reducing plaque) (Colgate article about green tea being good for your teeth) 16:49 - Ginger tea is good for reducing nausea symptoms in some people who have sea sickness or morning sickness (MythBusters results) 17:40 - Tea is almost treated like a pharmaceutical product in Germany 19:18 - The famous East Frisian tea (Ostfriesentee) in Germany 19:37 - Our favourite teas 20:10 - We attended a Japanese tea ceremony in Hamburg’s Planten un Blomen park (Watch a traditional Japanese tea ceremony) 20:42 - La maison d'à côTHÉ in Gaspé, Quebec, Canada, offered an excellent forest tea containing sprigs of pine, spruce and fir 21:53 - The East Frisian tea ceremony (Watch how it’s done) 22:46 - Tea flowers (Watch a tea flower blossom) 25:27 - Our friend conducted a Chinese tea ceremony for us (Watch an example of a Chinese tea ceremony here)

Show summary On this week’s episode we sink our teeth into a trending food topic: the meatless burger that bleeds, AKA “The Impossible Burger”. We also review research about the relatively unknown dangers of eating unfermented soy. To finish, we discuss how the ever-increasing global demand for meat may eventually force us to invent a substitute for meat that is equally nutritious and delicious. Show notes 0:20 - Adam Savage introduced me to the Impossible Burger (YouTube video) 0:40 - What’s an Impossible Burger? (Impossible Foods home page) 1:20 - “Faux” (Dictionary definition) 1:34 - Bill Gates is investing in the Impossible Burger (GeekWire news article) 1:57 - Where can you get the Impossible Burger? In 2018, White Castle started to sell the Impossible Burger in the United States (The New Yorker article) 2:13 - What’s the Impossible Burger’s secret ingredient? What is Heme? (Wikipedia article) 3:19 - The Impossible Burger’s list of ingredients (Impossible Burger FAQ) 3:34 - Does the Impossible Burger actually taste and feel like beef? (The Spoon review) 4:43 - The potential dangers of consuming unfermented soy (Research article) 7:24 - In some people, eating unfermented soy can cause a hormonal imbalance (Research article) 7:48 - Consumption of unfermented soy products can lead to lower sperm concentration in men (Research article) 7:51 - Soy milk and soy beverages... how are they made? (YouTube video) 9:17 - Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian fermented soy product (Wikipedia article) 9:43 - Avoid soy-based baby formulas (Health Line article) 11:04 - The evolution of humans and their food 12:25 - The growing middle class and their growing appetite for meat (Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada blog article) 14:29 - From ape-like creatures to humans, the human digestive system and brain size have radically changed over the past millions of years (The Harvard Gazette article) 16:13 - The benefits of eating bone marrow and organ meats (ScienceDaily article) 18:37 - The “super size me” effect (Wikipedia article) 20:00 - Mass production vs. local production of meat 21:51 - The changing diets of cattle, chickens and pigs: grass vs. grain/soy/corn (Health line article) 22:43 - The “meat problem” 23:39 - The hypothetical Willy Wonka of hamburgers 26:29 - Feel free to write us in the comments section below or on our Contact page about a topic you’d like to hear us discuss in an upcoming episode

Show summary This week we focus on the benefits of marriage, the ever-changing perspective of marriage in Western society and the unfortunate victim mentality of Millennials. We’ve collected a tonne of facts that will make you second-guess your preconceptions about marriage. We also share our opinions about why we should actually be excited about Generation Y’s prospects. Show notes 1:03 - These days people are much older when they first marry (Article on the Time magazine) 1:18 - In Germany, people wait longer to get married compared to people in Canada (List of countries by age at first marriage on Wikipedia) 1:54 - In today’s Western culture, marriage has become devalued to the point of becoming taboo 2:33 - People see marriage as a first step towards divorce (Divorce statistics by country on Wikipedia) 3:07 - The likelihood of divorce increases if your parents got divorced (Journal article) 4:22 - In Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador has the lowest rate of divorce; whereas, Quebec has the highest rate (News article from the CBC) 5:15 - Marriage isn’t just for the couple; it’s for the children and other immediate family members, and community they live in (Research article) 7:12 - “Marriage is like social glue” 7:50 - Marriages versus cohabiting relationships (Journal article about comparison, research article about cohabitation’s role in declining marriage rates) 9:18 - Marriage is a human universal (Outlined in the book: Human Universals) (YouTube video of Bret Weinstein talking about marriage as an evolutionary phenomenon) 15:30 - People who are married, or were married, live longer (Research article) 16:25 - “...the benefits of marriage are comparable to or greater than anticancer treatment with chemotherapy” (Research article) 19:00 - Why does research show that married couples are healthier than non-married individuals? Two theories: marriage protection and marriage selection (Research article) 20:10 - Being married can reduced your number of days of inactivity due to poor health (Research article) 20:31 - In the United States, wealthier and more educated people are getting married at higher rates compared to low-income and less-educated people (News article from CBS) 21:01 - The cost of a typical American wedding in 2016 was $35,329 (Article on Fortune) 23:10 - The commitment of marriage forces you to be honest with your partner (YouTube video of Jordan Peterson explaining the real reason for marriage) 25:51 - Children do better in communities where marriages and families are intact (Report on poverty and inequality) 27:54 - Generation Squeeze: Some Millennials view themselves as victims being oppressed by the Baby Boomers 29:32 - There are some reports and surveys that show Millennials have higher unemployment rates, more contract work and have a late start in career-building (News article from the Globe and Mail) 30:44 - Generation Y needs to abandon its victim mentality and start leveraging something previous generations didn’t have: the Internet, social media, mobile technology and artificial intelligence 32:39 - Our generation is the first generation to have real access to the Internet... and real power to reach millions of people. We can become a generation of digital entrepreneurs who have no geographical limitations 35:17 - “Technology is going to be the biggest factor of our success as Millennials” 38:32 - You can now subscribe via our Subscribe page to get our podcast episodes sent directly to your favourite app

Show summary Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! On this week’s episode, we review a list of seven facts based on research about how fathers can affect a child’s development. We talk about the surprising importance of roughhousing, how fathers encourage courageous exploration and many other relatively unknown facts that will change the way you think about fathers. Show notes 2:28 - Analyzing statistics with a critical eye and remembering that studies don’t always use the same research methodologies 3:54 - A good rule of thumb for reliable research: if at least three studies show similar results using similar research methodologies, then the results are probably reliable 4:41 - Fathers encourage courageous exploration; they push you to your limits and help you achieve your potential (Research article) 6:09 - Having a father in your house decreases the chances of having shorter telomeres (Research article) 9:28 - Clarifying the terms: non-resident fathers, resident fathers and fatherlessness 11:24 - Rough-and-tumble play with fathers has many benefits such as: children being able to delay gratification (the marshmallow test), they have better spatial awareness in social situations, they don’t confuse assertiveness with aggression and they learn their physical limits, and can better read others’ emotional cues (Research article) (YouTube video - The absolute necessity of fathers: Warren Farrell/JB Peterson) 15:25 - Discipline and punishment are two completely different things 20:34 - Are hands-off policies in schools desocializing children? (News article about a hands-off policy in a Canadian school) 22:10 - Boys who don’t have fathers tend to join gangs; gangs are a poor substitute for a father’s masculinity (Research article) 23:43 - Children who are emotionally close to their fathers are 80% less likely to spend time in jail during their lives (White paper on the importance of fathers) 24:36 - Children with actively involved fathers have better academic performance and lower risk of dropping out of school (NCES publication) 26:20 - Working fathers earn 22% more than non-father workers, and the more children a father has the more they earn (Trades Union Congress report) 29:09 - The postmodernist view of families

Show summary On today’s show we talk about two cities that make the top-five list on both Mercer’s and Monocle’s “the most livable cities” rankings: Munich and Vienna. Having lived in both cities, we compare our own anecdotal evidence with these two livability rankings. We also chat about how some cities in North America are starting to plan their cities for people instead of cars. To finish, we discuss how happiness is not a goal, but rather a side effect. Show notes 0:28 - The most livable cities in the world (Wikipedia article) 1:48 - Many of the most livable cities are in Canada and Germany 3:15 - The ranting U-Bahn operators in Munich 4:48 - Strangers in Munich are friendlier than strangers in Vienna 5:10 - Comparing Munich’s infrastructure to Vienna’s infrastructure 7:15 - Munich has hundreds of bicycles hanging upside-down in trees (The Local news article) 7:54 - Why are there so few American cities in "the most livable cities" rankings? 9:29 - The affordability of accommodations doesn’t seem to be accounted for in "the most livable cities" rankings 11:00 - Some of the Viennese apartments we looked at appeared to have never been renovated since Mozart’s time 12:17 - Fun fact: Bavaria has over 5000 castles (List of the major castles in Bavaria) 13:12 - The first step to making a city a better place to live in: change the attitude to change the living standards 15:48 - Old school city planners designed most North American cities for cars 17:07 - Halifax, Nova Scotia used to have a railway network of street cars, but they were replaced by cheaper electric and later diesel buses (Article by the Halifax Transit) 18:46 - Organic city design vs. planned city design 21:00 - In Canada, not being a car owner impacts your social standing with your friends, family and co-workers 24:12 - North American cities like Halifax are starting to change the way they plan cities #CitiesForPeople 24:35 - Some cities are starting to convert their car-only streets to pedestrian streets (See the before-and-after photos) 25:52 - Dodging cars while walking to work in Canada was commonplace (cars turning right on a red light was often a problem) 27:40 - Was the #CitiesForPeople concept always a thing in Germany? 28:34 - A free universal transport system might be an option for some cities (New article) 31:02 - Only investing in a city’s outer-core and suburbs is a losing strategy for the city’s tax payers 33:45 - Happiness is not a goal; it’s a side effect (Podcast on YouTube) 37:36 - Preparing for Father’s Day: appreciating the importance of fathers and grandfathers in society 40:09 - Roughhousing is beneficial for a child’s physical and psychological development (Research article about rough-and-tumble play)

Show summary Do you know how your personality compares to 10 000 others? This week we try to demystify ourselves by taking a scientifically valid personality test. The results were somewhat surprising... we also discuss some facts worth knowing about intelligence and how your IQ is determined. To top it off, we talk about our childhood experiences in an obsolete education system. Show notes 0:35 - understandmyself.com (A scientifically valid personality test that compares the five big personality traits against +10 000 people who’ve also taken the test) 2:32 - Learn more about the understandmyself.com personality test and its practical applications (YouTube link) 5:40 - Jordan Peterson’s 2017 lecture on Biology & Traits: Openness/Intelligence/Creativity I (YouTube link) 5:45 - Fluid IQ and crystallized IQ (Wikipedia article) 7:03 - Fluid IQ decreases with age, but you can slow down this process with exercise (Research article) 8:05 - Brisk walking is a good kind of exercise for all ages (Research post by Harvard Medical School) 9:00 - “We evolved to out-walk our prey” (Wikipedia article about persistence hunting) 11:14 - “Does diet affect intelligence”? (Research article) 11:40 - Breastfeeding boosts fluid IQ (Research article) 12:44 - “If you have a big head, it might be a good thing” 12:58 - The controversy surrounding IQ 13:52 - China is trying to find the Holy Grail of intelligence 15:19 - The United States military has been testing the IQ of their recruits for decades 16:54 - “I’m sure there are a few other things about childhood development that could affect your fluid IQ” (Spanking or other forms of corporal punishment can lower a child’s IQ) 19:31 - How do you define intelligence, and are there different types of intelligence? 23:13 - “You may have a great brain that can process things really quickly, but if something is taught to you in a really poor way, then it may take you a very long time to learn that properly” 23:39 - “Good teachers are underrated” 27:27 - Learning mathematics in university was much easier than learning it in grade school 28:38 - “That’s a big critique of the modern Western education system” (Article about the downfall of the Western education system) 33:00 - “I don’t understand why financial knowledge is not taught from early on” 34:03 - What are your alternatives to the current education system? (Montessori education, Waldorf education, etc.) 37:29 - School-aged children aren’t getting enough free play and this is a serious public health issue (Research article) 42:27 - Is homeschooling or home education an option worth looking at?

Show summary Warning: listening to this week’s podcast episode may change the way you think about food and your genes. Did you know what you eat today can affect your great-grandchildren’s genes? Can fasting actually make you live longer? Did you know that the recommended limits on alcohol consumption significantly differ from country to country? Is eating eight servings of grain-based foods per day still a relevant recommendation? Show notes 0:18 - Learning about epigentics on SciShow in 2012 (YouTube link) 0:48 - What does epigenetics mean? (Wikipedia article) 2:32 - How starvation affects epigentics and future generations 3:24 - Study on roundworms passing on their epigenetic information to their offspring (Research article link) 5:27 - Reduced caloric intake in rodents has shown to increase overall lifespan (Research article link) 5:50 - Fasting in cultural and religious traditions 6:58 - How dietary practices outlined in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible/Torah) helped ancient people live safer lives 8:25 - “A 24-hour fast restructured the gut microbiome in diabetic mice which beneficially impacted the shape and number of colon cells”... (Dr. Rhonda Patrick on Twitter) 10:51 - “Everything I do in my life, will affect my future children and their children”. 12:40 - Did you know that Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was filmed in Munich? 15:48 - The processed food revolution in the 1950s and 60s (Check out some actual 1950s recipes being prepared) 17:11 - Is it too expensive to buy fresh whole foods? 19:56 - Tips on how to eat healthy in Canada when you’re living on a tight budget 21:36 - Getting some good deals on local fruits and vegetables at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market (Home page) 22:42 - The national guidelines for alcohol consumption from country to country differ drastically (Research article) (UK’s guidelines vs. Germany’s guidelines vs. Canada’s guidelines) 24:20 - Beer used to be consumed as a substitute for water (Wikipedia article) 25:10 - Learn more about the latest research on the risks of alcohol consumption (BBC documentary - The Truth About Alcohol) 26:46 - The confusing and outdated Canada’s Food Guide (Link to the Guide) 29:31 - Eggs are good for you (yes, even the yolk) (Harvard Health Letter) 31:13 - “Europeans in general, don’t stay away from the fatty stuff”. 31:41 - Why do Canadians usually tend to drink milk that only has one to two percent fat content? 34:29 - In Europe they don’t refrigerate eggs in stores, but in North America you’ll always find them refrigerated (YouTube link) 37:42 - Egg vending machines are a thing in Germany (Image)

Show summary This week we cover a mishmash of topics ranging from the slow death of bilingualism in Canada to discovering the secret recipe of Jasmin’s special breakfast. Also, did you know that marshmallows were eaten by ancient Egyptians to sooth sore throats, and that there are some countries where divorce is still illegal? Open up another tin of your favourite Surströmming and get ready to learn something new. Show notes 1:50 - “As a kid, I always thought it would be impossible for me to learn another language” 2:28 - “This is verb conjugation... memorize it, and you can speak French!” 3:36 - Bilingualism in Canada is dying... Those who learn French in schools can’t actually speak it 5:06 - Learning languages in German schools vs. in Canadian schools 7:15 - Bilingual kindergartens in Germany 9:02 - “Remember, remember the fifth of November...” (Listen to a reading of the poem) 9:47 - “That’s what the Anonymous mask is based on” (V for Vendetta the film) 10:43 - Most Europeans think you can speak French if you’re from Canada 11:25 - “Force feeding yourself French vocabulary” (Great website for learning vocabulary for almost any language) 12:39 - Tips on how to improve the teaching of French in Canadian schools 14:47 - Throwback to episode 4 (Practising French with a chatbot) 17:13 - How was it to learn German? 18:01 - Overcoming my biggest language barrier... me 21:04 - Learning German slang... “It’s sausage!” 22:48 - The advantages of Romance language roommates (Romance languages) 25:08 - One of the last countries in the world that might legalize divorce: Philippines (YouTube link) 28:26 - Who initiates divorce more often, men or women? (Research article) 29:20 - The big five personality traits in psychology (Wikipedia article) 30:18 - Some personality traits may influence who initiates divorce first (Research article) 32:32 - Is it a good idea to marry your best friend? 35:07 - Jasmin’s special breakfast 37:01 - Be satiated... when you eat more fat, you tend to eat fewer carbohydrates, sugars, etc. 37:37 - Alternatives to yogurt: Skyr and Kefir (Corrections: Skyr is not fermented and Kefir is not traditionally Icelandic or Mongolian. It originates from the Caucasus region. Kumis is similar to Kefir, but originates from the Central Asian steppes.) 38:12 - Fermented Baltic herring from Sweden (Surströmming) is claimed to be the smelliest food in the world (Watch people trying to eat Surströmming) 38:59 - Probably the unhealthiest breakfast in the world: Pop-Tarts 40:20 - People have been eating marshmallows for thousands of years; the original marshmallows came from a mallow plant found in marshes (Clip from SciShow about the origins of marshmallows 2:25 to 4:38) 44:25 - Kids in South Carolina being sent to “simulated” jail (YouTube link) 45:35 - Statistics about growing up in a single-parent home 46:10 - What is a telomere? 47:34 - Children become biologically stressed when they lose their father (Research article)

Show summary This week we talk about your health on two fronts: the dangers of not getting enough sleep and the health benefits of going to the sauna. We provide a brief summary of Joe Rogan’s mind-blowing podcast with Matthew Walker, and we share our sauna bathing experiences in Canada and Germany. Last but not least, we define the trending #IntellectualDarkWeb by reviewing the facts. Show notes 0:50 - Matthew Walker talks about sleep on Joe Rogan’s podcast (YouTube link) (Matthew Walker’s book: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams) 1:41 - The mid-afternoon crash 3:32 - The benefits of power napping 3:50 - How many hours of sleep should you get? 4:21 - How early should the school day start? 5:40 - Consequences of chronic sleep deprivation 6:01 - How long can you survive without sleep? 8:07 - Tips on how to fall asleep 13:47 - The unfortunate consequences of misdiagnosing sleep deprivation as ADD/ADHD 16:22 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick talking about the health benefits of going to the sauna on Joe Rogan’s podcast (YouTube link) 17:51 - Sauna culture in Canada vs. Germany 19:30 - “Aufguss” in German saunas (YouTube video demonstrating an “Aufguss”) 23:21 - Dennis’ story about almost fainting in a sauna 31:34 - Are Germans becoming more Americanized? 32:37 - #IntellectualDarkWeb 33:24 - Who makes up the Intellectual Dark Web? 34:55 - The Intellectual Dark Web isn’t actually a “Dark Web” 35:10 - The Intellectual Dark Web is going on tour (Events list) 37:16 - Shouldn’t it be called the Intellectual Light Web? 38:33 - Shouldn’t journalists be reporting the truth? 38:55 - The job of a journalist is to report the truth and to report fact 41:51 - The confusion surrounding political labels and their misinterpretation in different countries 43:48 - Find out where you are on the political compass by playing Democracy 3

Show summary In this week’s podcast episode we dive into a treasure trove of free knowledge. Did you know you can take free courses at Yale on YouTube? Did you know you can access the Internet for free? The Internet is a paradise of human knowledge, where we can learn French by speaking with chatbots and debunk rumours about Chinese spyware in mobile phones. All this and more, for free, in this week’s episode from the Gen Y Chronicles. Show notes 0:48 - Stephen King’s opinion about writing your ideas down on paper (YouTube link) 2:07 - The holy trinity of having more energy: diet, sleep and exercise 2:49 - A throwback to episode 1 about avoiding a high-sugar, low-fibre diet (Podcast post) 5:05 - The free online Yale course I’m taking: Introduction to New Testament (RLST 152) (YouTube link) 5:20 - Free university courses from Yale, MIT, Harvard, etc. on YouTube 6:47 - MOOC (Mass Online Open Course) (Wikipedia article) 7:51 - Learn why cats purr and how Google Search tracks the spread of influenza (YouTube link) 9:00 - SciShow Space, Eons, CrashCourse World History, CrashCourse Psychology, CrashCourse Mythology 10:10 - Learning how to play the piano on the Simply Piano app for Android (Download link) 10:46 - Practising mental math strategies on the MathsApp for Android (Download link) 11:04 - The “secret” Chinese mental math strategy (News article) 13:14 - Accessing the Internet for free: The New York Mesh (YouTube link) 16:55 - Many areas in Detroit don’t have access to high-speed Internet connections (YouTube link) 19:25 - Conversing with a French-speaking chatbot on the Mondly French app for Android (Download link) 21:48 - Prezi is a great alternative to PowerPoint for presenting your ideas (Prezi homepage) 25:55 - The DACH region has a LinkedIn-like professional networking platform called XING (XING homepage) 29:12 - Nokia went from producing fishing boots to mobile phones (Article link) 29:53 - The Windows mobile OS was choked-out by the competition (Wikipedia article) 31:51 - Joe Rogan mentioned that American telecommunications providers are trying to ban Huawei phones based on paranoia about Chinese spyware (Article link) (How to pronounce Huawei) 40:12 - How Vice and Vice News went from being alternative to becoming “mainstream-alternative” 41:27 - Abby Martin and “The Empire Files” on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast (YouTube link)

Show summary On this podcast episode we explore what’s causing the sensitivity epidemic: political correctness run amok, micro aggressions, helicopter parenting, trigger warnings, Scent Free Around Me, censorship at universities, safe spaces, etc. We live in a society where we have to constantly walk on egg shells or risk being labelled a social pariah. Let’s dive deep into the root causes and get to the bottom of it (or at least try to grasp the “what” and the “why”). Show notes 0:25 - Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan and Simon Sinek 1:10 - The generation line-up 2:40 - Millennials... Are we entitled? 3:50 - The root issue and parenting methods 5:25 - Jordan Peterson’s theory about helicopter parenting (YouTube link) 8:40 - Shrinking families 9:50 - The helicopter parenting epidemic and safe spaces 11:00 - Safe spaces, micro aggressions and trigger warnings 12:10 - Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (Joe Rogan Experience #1081 - Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying) 13:00 - The university culture in Europe (Austria and Germany) 16:45 - “Who’s for capital punishment, who’s against capital punishment? Let’s see a show of hands.” 19:00 - The millennial “cocoon” 20:20 - A culture of rewarding everything 23:40 - “People are very direct in Germany; I think that’s a great thing” 25:40 - The Scent Free Around Me movement (Journal article) 28:18 - Rick Mercer said everyone has become a little too sensitive (News article) 29:04 - Allergy policies in Canada vs. Germany 32:40 - Bouncy castle caution 35:20 - A father in British Columbia gets in trouble for letting his kids use public transit alone (News article) 38:15 - What’s the right age to allow your kid to have a cell phone?

Show summary Listen to our experiences about moving to 4 different cities across the globe in 4 years. We share with you our nomad-like strategy for moving like a millennial. We also talk about a few random but hotly debated topics: marriage stats, controlled substances and vegetarianism. You may also learn something new about the “Imperial City”, “Athens on the Isar River”, “Haligonia” and the “Gateway to the World”. Show notes 0:50 - The Gen Y moving strategy 4:00 - eBay classifieds in Germany and Kijiji in Canada (eBay classifieds group) 7:40 - How to negotiate prices on stuff you find on the classifieds 8:50 - Couch talk 15:00 - Random research about marriage (research and survey results) 17:10 - New cancer warning labels on coffee in California (news article) 19:00 - The cigarette buying experience in Germany and Canada 21:25 - Cannabis in Canada: The legalization of marijuana in Canada (news article) 22:50 - Age and alcohol: Canada vs. Germany 25:00 - “Beer is food here” 27:05 - The Viktualienmarkt in Munich (Wikipedia article) 27:55 - Rabbit liver pâté (recipe) 32:30 - Food poisoning in Vienna: “You said your friend recommended it, and said it was tasty” 34:05 - Pescetarianism: Is that a religion or a diet? (definition) 38:40 - “It’s not easy being a vegetarian”

Show summary We’re excited to welcome you to our first podcast episode. Today we discuss a wide range of nagging social issues. We make a few observations about independent kids in Germany vs. kids in Canada, your online freedom and personal privacy, low-sugar diets, gut bacteria, the supermarket scene in Germany and yes... goose fat. Show notes 0:55 - Independent German kids 3:20 - Parenting styles (authoritarian, anti-authoritarian and helicopter) 5:00 - Discussion at NYU School of Law with Jonathan Haidt (YouTube link) 6:45 - "News doesn't tell you what you need to hear, it tells you what you want to hear" 11:15 - James Damore and Heather Heying at Portland State University "Should we be paranoid about Google?" 13:30 - ProtonMail: Secure, free and encrypted email based in Switzerland (ProtonMail’s homepage) 17:05 - The monopoly of information by private enterprise: Black boxes like Microsoft, Yahoo and Google 18:25 - The Edward Snowden revelation (recommended documentary) 20:00 - Concern about privacy and social media practices in Germany 23:30 - German protests against a national census and the Canadian long-form census 28:15 - WHO guideline for added sugar consumption (press release) 29:15 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick Joe on Rogan’s podcast - How a high-sugar, low-fibre diet can cause inflammation (Joe Rogan Experience #1054 - Dr. Rhonda Patrick) 31:40 - "Your immune system is really affected by your gut bacteria" 33:03 - A better brand of pasta (Barilla’s homepage) 35:15 - "You think Europeans are healthy... I think that's a prejudice" 36:35 - Canada is a land of imported food 38:10 - Discount super market chains galore in Germany 39:00 - "I like goose fat... Should you say that on the podcast?" (Schmaltz) 41:40 - "Public enemy number one... one bear, it was treated like Godzilla" (First bear in Germany in 170 years) 43:20 - Why can't we buy wild game in stores in Canada? (News article) 46:10 - Vilifying food and outdated food guides 48:30 - "This whole anti-fat thing is based on flawed research" 53:10 - "I somehow learned to take a shower without this class lol!"