Generation: The Podcast

Remember a lifetime ago when you hadn’t yet fallen in love with Chester? He was stripping off his glittery rainbow micro crop top in the middle of campus. Do you remember Chester’s spiritual ascent in Episode 8 when his water polo teammates had their Magic Mike moment? And remember how it was Chester’s own patented brand of A LOT-ness served back to him that made him crack a smile and then start voguing topless? In the first moments of the season 1 finale, Chester is dancing on a pole in a party bus. And by the end of the episode, he’s stripped barer than ever before — confronted with himself in an entirely new way. After a whole season of Generation, it’s not only Chester who has evolved. So has the actor who portrays him, Justice Smith. He discusses how on the sixteenth and final (for now!) installment of Generation: The Podcast with hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell, and Generation co-creators Zelda & Daniel Barnz. It’s a little sappy, it’s deep, and Daniel almost divulges who Chester greets in that gripping final scene (just kidding — he tells us why it’s so top secret.) Promise you don’t want to miss this one <3 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The penultimate episode of the first season of Generation traverses many places the series has yet to go: inside a Dad brain, to the brink of throuple disaster, and straight into the unfiltered root of conflict between iconic besties Nathan & Riley. Oh, and Paris. There’s artifice, betrayal, and more camera metaphors. For such a special layered episode, we bring you a special guest pairing: The Twins — Chloe East and Uly Schlesinger, iconic on-camera sibs Nathan & Naomi. They join hosts Whembley Sewell & Gigi Goode, as well as our astute in-house Generation expert, the show’s creator, Zelda Barnz, for the second-to-last episode of Generation: The Podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have noticed that The Riley Episode is different from every other episode of Generation. It’s intensely focused on Riley’s subjectivity, and as her 24 hours without sleep unfurl, you fully descend into her blurred reality. This was the result of deep collaboration between Chase Sui Wonders, who plays Riley, and the writers, including Generation co-creator Zelda Barnz and Sharr White, who co-wrote this episode. These three join hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell on the fourteenth episode of Generation: The Podcast to share some of the juiciest BTS moments from the season and talk intuitive shooting, self-excavation and how they got that iconic Riley line: “didn’t anyone ever tell you not to get in the car with strange girls!?” Plus: how to talk about mental health without talking about mental health, unpacking Megan’s successful mothering moment, and of course, Griley analysis with the biggest stan in the game. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some might say the fundamentals of drag are impeccable styling, a flair for the dramatic and knowing how to act like a bossy bitch. We see these talents embodied in the greatest drag queens of our time (cough, cough, Gigi Goode), but as our ever-astute recurring guest Generation creator Zelda Barnz points out: if she had been raised with different circumstances, Megan would have loved drag. In episode 13 of Generation, our backdrop for a messy night of botched expectations is a drag benefit at Hamburger Mary’s and much to her chagrin, Megan is there to see her children’s nontraditional relationships play out live. So in the thirteenth installment of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell check back in with Zelda and Martha Plimpton about her character’s evolution. Plus, we get the exclusive take from Gigi herself about making her scripted television debut as drag queen number two. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Geometric wisdom tells us that all triangles have one thing in common (apart from having three sides): they are stable. But when two supporting sides simply decide to leave and create a new triangle, one side is left trying not to cry while bra shopping at the mall. Our favorite deltoid friend group DNA faces unforeseen tests in episode 12 of Generation. So in the twelfth episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Whembley Sewell & Gigi Goode delve into DNA’s ups and downs with Nathanya Alexander, who portrays its foundational member, Arianna, series writer and Generation musicologist Max Saltarelli, and Generation creator Zelda Barnz. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The troubled teen is a well-worn fixture in television. Usually in tow are their absent, well-meaning but clueless or totally narcissistic parent(s). But what we’ve rarely seen portrayed on TV is the presence of an elder queer caretaker who is rigorous when she needs to be and chill about the small stuff. Quite fortunately, the Generation crew is graced with the presence of Ana, Greta’s fabulous tia. In episode 11 of the HBO Max original series, she not only hooks up Riley with a job that will help her escape the confines of her parents, but she steps in and says maybe the only words that Riley really needs to hear. So it’s only right that on the eleventh episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell get a deeper take on Ana with the actress who portrays her, Nava Mau, and Generation co-creator Zelda Barnz. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generation writer Christina Nieves puts it best: “when you meet your match, that shit is deep and really complicated.” We’ve seen nothing short of total disasters take place when our favorite soul-aligned pairs first fumble toward connection. But teenagers learn relatively quickly and their wells of courage aren’t yet depleted by years of compounded disappointment. In other words: second chances are plentiful. In episode 10 of the HBO Max original series, we encounter a parade of them — between Greta & Riley, Chester & Bo, even Luz & Greta. In the tenth installment of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell break down the why and how of these encounters with Generation creator Zelda Barnz, Christina Nieves and Haley Sanchez, who stars as Greta. And they get philosophical about cars, the bar inside Ralph’s (the supermarket), and what makes a romance real. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Secrets are like the red blood cells flowing through the veins of teenage life. But when a secret becomes a lie, it’s more like an aberrant air bubble that can clog an artery and cause a life-threatening embolism. The first episode back from Generation’s mid-season break is full of the kinds of secrets that really toe the line between a fib to protect a friend and deep vein thrombosis. So in episode nine of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell pick up these secrets and get a closer look at the bearer’s motivations with Generation co-creators Zelda & Daniel Barnz and Lukita Maxwell, who stars as Delilah. Come for the deeper understanding of your favorite teens on television; stay to learn the art of the three-act kiss. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“I find randomness kind of hopeful,” Chester’s prophetic new crush declares, and a glimmer of sun fissures a storm cloud. The sentiment carries through Arianna’s rousing confession to Delilah about her own adoption story, and the whole gang’s amulet-laden send-off to the most unexpected member of a future, yet-to-be-named generation. These moments are all quiet — ceremonial even — and they carry us through Generation’s mid-season finale and pivotal eighth episode. On episode eight of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell unpack all the pauses with a round table of guests: Lukita Maxwell, who portrays Delilah, series writer Christina Nieves, and Generation co-creators Zelda and Daniel Barnz. *** Note: This is the last podcast episode for S1A. Generation: The Podcast will return for S1B leading up to the 6/17 premiere. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have figured it out by now: Generation is a show told through perspectives. So sometimes you’ve got to zoom out and remember that the way you’re seeing things is *not* the universal truth. And sometimes two people with different perspectives — two people in one hotel room, for example — are living entirely different realities. In episode seven of the HBO Max original series, building tensions come to a head as a motel party of epic proportions unfolds. So on the seventh episode of Generation: The Podcast, guests Chloe East, who stars as Naomi, and series writer Sono Patel hold space for processing with hosts Gigi Goode and Whembley Sewell about some of the show’s most climactic moments. It’s group therapy for Riley/Greta stans and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of the most bombastic episodes of Generation yet. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say the door slams hard behind you when you leave the house of judgment (and by 'they,' we mean pop cyborg Caroline Polachek in her song “Door.”) And what could be more soothing to the confined teenage soul than spending hours in a school bus hurtling toward the gay mecca of San Francisco? In episode six of the HBO Max original series, the gang grabs their fake IDs (with very white names) and heads north to escape overbearing parents & rude societal expectations. Greta in particular has a lot to mull over on the bus ride.... So on this sixth episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell reveal the layers of Greta’s journey with the actor who portrays her, Haley Sanchez, as well as series writer Max Saltarelli (who we can thank for the Polachekian soundtrack to the very first time Greta & Riley hold hands) and Generation co-creator Zelda Barnz. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hormonal teens may eternally seem fast to their elders, but the slow burn is still alive. In the fifth episode of the HBO Max original series Generation, homosexual pining glimpses acceleration in the liminal space of the Southern California equivalent of the Snow Day. Our protagonists’ crushes intensify: Greta and Riley’s mutual desire deepens, and — unbeknownst to Sam — so does Chester’s romantic pursuit of his guidance counselor. So on the fifth episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell talk about the anatomy of a queer teenage crush with show co-creator Zelda Barnz and Chase Sui Wonders, who stars as Riley. Plus: fashion as carapace, bleached blonde tendrils as flagging, and isolation as an incubator for creativity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behind every mother’s truly unhinged external monologue is a rampant internal monologue. In other words, if an Orange County white evangelical Christian mom is going off at the PTA meeting about gluten-free snacks… it’s definitely not about snacks. In episode four of the Generation, the HBO Max original series, we get a closer look at Megan, the woman who birthed dynamic twin duo Naomi and Nathan, and worries relentlessly about whether or not they will go to hell. So on the fourth episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell unpack Megan’s relationship to normalcy, sex, loss, and change with series writer Sharr White, legendary actor Martha Plimpton, who brings Megan to life onscreen, and Generation co-creator Zelda Barnz. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generation is, at its heart, about connection. To biological family, chosen queer family, and of course, every teen’s number one obsession: their friends. And what better way to explore the complex possibilities and crags of family and friendship than getting really, really… toasted? In episode three of the HBO original series, the gang gets stoned and has revelations big and small. The biggest, most irreversible, and most public revelation belongs to Nathan. So on the third episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell get into real and fictional comings out with show creator Zelda Barnz and Uly Schlesinger, who stars as Nathan. It’s the Bisexual Representation episode. And, we finally find out what’s the story behind those stressy mall birth scenes that start every episode with a putrefying bang. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast episode contains a discussion about active shooter/lockdown drills which may be triggering to some listeners. Discretion is advised.  Episode two of the HBO Max Original series gives the American high school institutions of lockdown and the Gay Straight Alliance club the Generation treatment: chewing them up and spitting them out with moments of wry humor, poignancy and utter chaos. And we get a closer look at Arianna, the ride-or-die friend and party girl who uses her gay dads as an excuse for making homophobic jokes. In the second episode of Generation: The Podcast, hosts Gigi Goode & Whembley Sewell get the real take on cringe high school traditions from series creator Zelda Barnz and explore what animates Arianna’s antics with the actor who portrays her, Nathanya Alexander. Plus: more sapphic longing, Gen Z mental health awareness, and, of course, the big “dickscovery.” Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Generation’s pilot episode, we’re introduced to series protagonist Chester as he struts through his high school campus impeccably dressed in a glittery crop top, turning heads and creating a spectacle. But by the end of the episode, we are beginning to know a teenager who struggles to be seen, who wants to be connected, and who plumbs the depths of loneliness. In the first episode of Generation: The Podcast hosts Gigi Goode and Whembley Sewell unravel Chester with the actor who brings the character to life, Justice Smith, as well as Generation’s co-creators Zelda and Daniel Barnz. Listen to find out what’s really going on between Chester and the new guidance counselor, Sam, what it’s like for a real, queer teenager to write a TV show about high school with her gay dad, and why queer teens like Chester deserve a closer look. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the companion podcast to the explosive new HBO Max dramedy Generation, hosts Gigi Goode and Whembley Sewell sit down for a roundtable chat with creators, writers, and actors from the show to unpack a specific episode of the TV series and ultimately, peel back the many layers of the most complex and evolved generation ever. Together, the group reveals the origins of each Generation episode: who brought the story to the table, what inspired it, and how it all came together in the writers’ room and on set. In doing so, these intimate conversations uncover how some of the more pressing issues facing Gen Z—from identity and sexuality to social media and depression—have affected these guests’ personal lives, and directly influenced the storylines and dialogue portrayed within the show. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices