Disagreement Used to Cost You Something

Michaeleen Doucleff: Hunt, Gather, Parent, Dopamine Kids, and What Modern Parenting Gets Wrong

What if everything we know about modern parenting is wrong? NPR global health correspondent and bestselling author Michaeleen Doucleff joins The Ryan Vet Show for the first guest episode of year two, on Hunt, Gather, Parent, Dopamine Kids, and what parents actually have power to change. Michaeleen Doucleff spent nearly 12 years as a global health correspondent at NPR, covering infectious disease outbreaks from Liberia during the Ebola crisis to rural villages on every continent. Then she became a mom, and realized something that would change her life and her work: the parents she met in Maya villages in the Yucatan, with Inuit families in the Arctic, and in Tanzania weren’t struggling the way she was. They were calm, their kids were helpful, and the whole model of family life looked different. That observation became Hunt, Gather, Parent, a New York Times bestseller that has sold more than a million copies in over thirty languages. Her follow-up, Dopamine Kids, takes on the science of screens, ultra-processed foods, and what they’re actually doing to children. In this conversation with host Ryan Vet, Michaeleen walks through what cross-cultural parenting research reveals about cooperation, conflict, and what kids actually need from the adults in their lives. She challenges the seventy-year-old myth that dopamine is the pleasure center of the brain (it’s not, it’s the wanting and craving system), and explains why that distinction matters for every parent dealing with screens, apps, or kids who can’t seem to put the iPad down. She talks about the ultra-processed food environment that nobody chose but everybody is living in, the Harvard research on why these foods are designed for overconsumption, and the practical sanctuaries parents can build at home to take their power back. Ryan and Michaeleen also discuss the loneliness of modern parenthood, the mental health crisis among kids, and why so much of what passes for parenting advice today is based on twenty-five-year-old research that hasn’t kept up with the science. The conversation closes with Michaeleen’s hope for Gen Alpha and Gen Z, and the early signs that a generation is starting to recognize what’s been lost. In this episode: * How Michaeleen went from PhD chemist to NPR global health correspondent to bestselling parenting author * What the Maya, Inuit, and Tanzanian parents she lived with taught her that California couldn’t * Why “your kids are being born into their world, you’re not being born into theirs” is the most important parenting reframe * The cooperation model: including kids in adult work instead of orbiting your life around theirs * Why dopamine is not the brain’s pleasure system, and why that distinction matters for every parent * How ultra-processed foods, apps, and devices are designed to crank dopamine while killing pleasure * The five practical tools from Dopamine Kids for weaning kids off screens without leaving them empty handed * Why food cues, not hunger, drive most eating, and how parents can use that science in their favor * The case for sanctuaries: protected spaces and times in the home where devices don’t enter * Michaeleen’s hope for Gen Alpha and Gen Z, and what the early data is showing Referenced in this episode: * Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans by Michaeleen Doucleff * Dopamine Kids by Michaeleen Doucleff * Harvard research on ultra-processed foods and appetite regulation * Ryan Vet’s COLLIDE essay on the loneliness of parenthood: ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] Connect with Michaeleen Doucleff: * Website (she is intentionally not on social media): michaeleendoucleff.com [https://michaeleendoucleff.com] Connect with Ryan Vet: * Website: ryanvet.com [https://ryanvet.com] * COLLIDE Newsletter: ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryanvet [https://linkedin.com/in/ryanvet] * Instagram: instagram.com/ryancvet [https://instagram.com/ryancvet] * Book Ryan as a Keynote Speaker: ryanvet.com/generational-speaker [https://ryanvet.com/generational-speaker] Subscribe to The Ryan Vet Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. The guest era continues every Monday at 6am ET. Next week: Mike Schneider on the generational housing question and why some millennials are going back to wired headphones, home phones, and analog life. The COLLIDE essay podcast continues every Thursday at 7am ET. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557074/fan_mail/new] ABOUT RYAN VET Ryan Vet [https://ryanvet.com/?ref=podcast] is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist [https://ryanvet.com/futurist/], and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold. JOIN 20,000+ LEADERS FOR WEEKLY INSIGHTS If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide

Is the American Dream Dead or Just Different?

The American Dream isn't dead. It's been redefined. And the generation rewriting it isn't asking permission. Generational futurist, USA Today bestselling author, and keynote speaker Ryan Vet traces the rise, the reality check, and the reframing of the most powerful idea in modern American identity. From historian James Truslow Adams coining "the American Dream" in 1931 to the Baby Boom suburban script of cars, mortgages, and the white picket fence, to Gen Z trading possessions for possibilities and collectivism for individualism, this episode follows the arc of an idea that built a nation and the cultural shift now rewiring what success even means. Ryan walks through the perfect storm that made the mid-century Dream feel statistically normal: postwar productivity nearly doubling, homeownership jumping from 43.6% to 61.9% between 1940 and 1960, the 1956 Interstate Highway Act funding 41,000 miles of road, television going from 9% of households in 1950 to 85% to 90% by 1959, the pill reshaping who could pursue a self-directed life starting in 1960. Then he zooms in on the present: real median earnings for 25 to 34 year olds matching Gen X at the same age, household wealth under 40 climbing about 30% from 2019 to 2024, fertility down to 1.6 children per woman, marriage ages climbing, and a generation defining wealth as flexibility, mobility, and experience instead of square footage. And he takes on the contradictory survey data head on. Only 27% of Americans told ABC News/Ipsos in 2024 that hard work still reliably gets you ahead. Yet 53% told Pew the same year that the American Dream is still possible. And 69% told the Archbridge Institute in 2025 that they have achieved the Dream or are on their way, with freedom of choice and a good family life ranking far above wealth as the markers of having made it. Three surveys. Three different stories. One country. Ryan explains why, and what it means for anyone trying to lead, hire, sell to, or raise the next generation. In this episode: * Where the phrase "the American Dream" actually comes from, and why James Truslow Adams wrote it in the depths of the Great Depression * The R.E.S.P.E.C.T. framework and how nearly every pillar of generational momentum accelerated the mid-century Dream * Why the Baby Boom Dream wasn't just a story Americans told themselves, it was a statistically normal outcome for a large share of the population * The data that quietly refutes the "young people are poorer than their parents" narrative * Why housing affordability is only part of the reason Gen Z and Millennials are delaying or skipping the suburban starter home * How three major 2024 and 2025 surveys produce three different answers about whether the American Dream is dead, and what that contradiction reveals * The shift from collectivism to individualism, and why that single move reframes work, family, faith, geography, and ambition * What leaders, parents, and organizations get wrong when they assume the next generation is chasing the same Dream their grandparents were Referenced in this episode: * The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams (1931) * Generations by Jean M. Twenge (2023) * Pew Research Center, 2024 survey on the American Dream * ABC News/Ipsos, 2024 poll on hard work and getting ahead * Archbridge Institute, 2025 American Dream Snapshot * Federal Reserve Distributional Financial Accounts (2024) * COLLIDE Newsletter by Ryan Vet: ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] * Full essay version of this episode: Is the American Dream Dead or Just Different? [https://collide.ryanvet.com/p/is-the-american-dream-dead-or-just-different] Subscribe to The Ryan Vet Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. New COLLIDE essay episodes release every Thursday at 7am ET. Guest era episodes release Monday mornings at 6am ET. Join the COLLIDE newsletter at ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] for the research, reflections, and frameworks behind every episode. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557074/fan_mail/new] ABOUT RYAN VET Ryan Vet [https://ryanvet.com/?ref=podcast] is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist [https://ryanvet.com/futurist/], and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold. JOIN 20,000+ LEADERS FOR WEEKLY INSIGHTS If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide

Start Here: What Shapes Us, and Where Are We Going

What shapes us? And where are we going? This is the Start Here episode of The Ryan Vet Show, the line in the sand between the essays that built this podcast and the conversations that will define what comes next. Generational futurist, USA Today bestselling author, and keynote speaker Ryan Vet introduces the next chapter of The Ryan Vet Show, a podcast about generations, culture, leadership, and the forces actually shaping the future. After more than a year of solo essays on generational change and what forms a culture, the show is expanding to include conversations with researchers, founders, reporters, educators, New York Times bestselling authors, and people with remarkable stories to tell. This episode is the bridge. Ryan walks through why generational labels like Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z so often fail us, why formation matters more than chronological age, and what it actually looks like to lead, parent, work, and build across generations in a culture that increasingly confuses disagreement with danger. He shares his personal origin, from incorporating his first business at fourteen years old to writing AI algorithms on napkins in 2009, long before the current generative AI wave. He sets the ground rules for how the show will handle conversation, curiosity, and disagreement in the next chapter. He also previews the guests joining year two of The Ryan Vet Show, including NPR global health correspondent and bestselling author Michaeleen Doucleff (Hunt, Gather, Parent and the dopamine kids book), Lenore Skenazy (founder of Free Range Kids and the TED speaker once called America’s worst mom), a third-grade teacher rebuilding play and recess, Facebook’s employee number 57, a digital nomad on his eighth country, an expert on private equity’s role in youth sports, and more. In this episode: * Why The Ryan Vet Show is expanding from solo essays to guest conversations in year two * The label lie, and why Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z shorthand misses what actually forms people * How formation, not chronological age, shapes a generation * Ryan’s personal origin, from his first business at fourteen to early work in AI and machine learning starting in 2009 * The disagreement ground rules for the next chapter of the show * Why curiosity is one of the few real defenses against modern manipulation * What guests are coming next in year two of The Ryan Vet Show Referenced in this episode: * Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin * COLLIDE Newsletter by Ryan Vet: ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] Subscribe to The Ryan Vet Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes of the guest era release Monday mornings at 6am ET. The COLLIDE essay podcast continues every Thursday at 7am ET. Join the COLLIDE newsletter at ryanvet.com/collide [https://ryanvet.com/collide] for the research, reflections, and frameworks behind every episode. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557074/fan_mail/new] ABOUT RYAN VET Ryan Vet [https://ryanvet.com/?ref=podcast] is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist [https://ryanvet.com/futurist/], and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold. JOIN 20,000+ LEADERS FOR WEEKLY INSIGHTS If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide

Gen Z Is Ungrounded and Going Back to the Mall - The Generational Pendulum Swings Back to In-Person

The most digital generation is going back to the mall. Generational futurist Ryan Vet explains why Gen Z's IRL revival is a leadership signal. Ryan Vet, generational futurist, expert in generations, and AI keynote speaker, unpacks the resurgence of physical retail, the Generational Pendulum, and what Gen Z's return to malls, bookstores, and coffee shops reveals about how this generation was formed. A generation that was tracked, supervised, and over-scheduled is now hunting for the unstructured, in-person moments older generations took for granted. The workplace is next. Key Takeaways * Gen Z's foot traffic at malls is up 57% year-over-year, and 82.2% of Gen Z mall-goers say they are there to socialize, not to shop (Placer.ai, 2026). * The Generational Pendulum is swinging back: 83% of 18-to-24-year-olds say social retail environments improve their sense of connection (Lightspeed, 2026). * Gen X was rarely watched. Gen Z has been over-watched. That difference is formative, not cosmetic. * The mall was practice. It taught budgeting, trade-offs, self-control, and watching peers make bad decisions in real time. A generation that skipped that practice arrives at work without those reps. * Gallup (2025) reports Gen Z is the loneliest generation at work, nearly twice as likely as Gen X to say they experienced loneliness a lot of the previous day. * Leaders cannot replace lived experience with a Slack onboarding checklist. Workplaces need more unstructured time, multi-age interaction, and real apprenticeship. * The recalibration has already started. Gen Alpha (currently 1-13) may be the generation whose parents intentionally design a more analog childhood. Research and Sources Cited * Lightspeed. (2026). Gen Z wants more than products: 83% of 18-24-year-olds say hangout stores boost connection. * Placer.ai. (2026). How malls can win in 2026. * Pew Research Center. (2014). Generation X: America's neglected middle child. * Pew Research Center. (2025). Americans' trust in one another. * Gallup. (2023). Gen Z voices lackluster trust in major U.S. institutions. * Gallup. (2025). State of the global workplace: 2025 report. * Starbucks. (2025). Starbucks coffeehouse designs enter a new era. * City of St. Charles, Illinois. (n.d.). Charlestowne Mall redevelopment. * Business Insider. (2025). Starbucks plans to phase out its mobile-only stores for a future with more warmth and human connection. Connect with Ryan Vet * Read the full essay: Gen Z Is Ungrounded and Going Back to the Mall [https://ryanvet.com/collide/gen-z-is-ungrounded-and-going-back-to-the-mall/] * Subscribe to Collide: www.RyanVet.com/collide [https://www.ryanvet.com/collide] * Website: www.RyanVet.com [https://www.ryanvet.com] * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryanvet [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanvet/] * YouTube: @RyanVet [https://www.youtube.com/@RyanVet] * Book Ryan to speak: ryanvet.com/booking [https://www.ryanvet.com/booking] About Ryan Vet Ryan Vet is a generational futurist, USA TODAY bestselling author, international keynote speaker, and host of The Ryan Vet Show. As an expert in generations and an AI keynote speaker, he helps leaders, parents, and organizations make sense of how Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta are reshaping work, family, and culture. Collide is his weekly research-backed newsletter on generational leadership, read by 21,000+ leaders. #GenerationalFuturist #GenZ #GenX #GenAlpha #Loneliness #ThirdPlaces #Mentorship #Leadership #ExpertInGenerations #RyanVet #CollidePodcast #AIKeynoteSpeaker #FutureOfWork Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557074/fan_mail/new] ABOUT RYAN VET Ryan Vet [https://ryanvet.com/?ref=podcast] is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist [https://ryanvet.com/futurist/], and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold. JOIN 20,000+ LEADERS FOR WEEKLY INSIGHTS If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide

What the Class of 2026 Is Really Bringing to the Workforce: Loneliness, AI, and the Mentor Gap

The Class of 2026 is the loneliest generation ever to walk across a graduation stage, and the workforce is not ready for them. Generational futurist Ryan Vet, an expert in generations and AI keynote speaker, unpacks why the college Class of 2026 is unlike any cohort before it. They are the first traditional graduating class whose entire college experience was shaped by generative AI, whose adolescence was marked by political polarity, and whose childhood absorbed the aftershocks of the Great Recession. In this episode, Ryan answers the questions leaders are actually asking. What makes the Class of 2026 different from previous Gen Z graduates? They were born in 2004, the same year Facebook launched. ChatGPT became free to the public the same semester they began college. They are the first cohort whose entire undergraduate experience was rewritten in real time by generative AI. Why is Gen Z the loneliest generation at work? Gallup's 2025 State of the Global Workplace report found Gen Z employees are nearly twice as likely as Gen X and three times as likely as Boomers to report daily loneliness. Only 23 percent of remote-capable Gen Z workers prefer fully remote work, lower than every older generation. What does Gen Z actually want from the workplace? Mentorship. 83 percent of Gen Z workers say a workplace mentor is important, yet only 52 percent have one (Adobe, 2023). Deloitte's 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found most Gen Z employees feel their managers are too busy with tasks to offer real guidance. How should leaders talk to new graduates about AI? The honest conversation is not, "Don't worry, AI won't take your job." It is, "Here is what AI is going to change about this role, here is what I still need a human to do, and here is what I am going to teach you that no model can replicate." The biggest takeaway: this generation does not need more flexibility. They need more meaningful connection. Read the full essay: www.ryanvet.com/collide/what-the-class-of-2026-is-really-bringing-to-the-workforce [https://www.ryanvet.com/collide/what-the-class-of-2026-is-really-bringing-to-the-workforce/] Subscribe to the Collide newsletter: www.ryanvet.com/collide [https://www.ryanvet.com/collide] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557074/fan_mail/new] ABOUT RYAN VET Ryan Vet [https://ryanvet.com/?ref=podcast] is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist [https://ryanvet.com/futurist/], and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold. JOIN 20,000+ LEADERS FOR WEEKLY INSIGHTS If you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide