Why IRL: Intimate, Random, Life Experiences Are Bringing Humans Back to Life.

What happens when the first fully digital generation decides screens aren't enough and starts paying $800 to sleep in a cabin with strangers just to make a real friend? Humans are sprinting back toward each other — and toward friction, mess, and absurdity — as a form of resistance and relief. Now we need to understand what that means for every business still optimizing for convenience. This episode unpacks Peak Human, why an 84-year-old man inviting strangers to smoke cigarettes with him went viral, and what every brand needs to protect before they automate it away.

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What if GLP 1s just turned off the engine that powers billions of dollars in consumer spending? GLP-1s were supposed to be about weight loss — but people keep using one word to describe what they actually feel: quieter. Less food noise. Less doomscrolling. Less drinking. Less wanting. When 54% of Millennials are taking or considering a drug that dials down desire itself, that's not a wellness trend, that's a cultural wave. And when the craving stops at scale, every industry built on impulse and compulsion has an existential problem. This episode unpacks the Great Quiet and what every business selling noise needs to be thinking about right now.

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A man got his heart broken by an AI bot that was literally designed to agree with him. He's not alone — there are 54,000 people in a Reddit community called "My Boyfriend Is AI." And recently the world's first AI dating café opened in NYC with a waitlist. In this episode, we explore the Attachment Economy: how AI moved from answering your questions to capturing your heart, and what it means for every brand still competing for something that used to be called loyalty.

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What if buying a $500 spell on Etsy is the most rational financial decision a young person can make? What happens when you've done everything by the book and still can't afford the rent? The systems have stopped working, and young people are turning to witches for hope, thankfully, over nihilism. Now, we need to understand what that means for marketers. This episode unpacks the age of Lottery Over Logic and why 4 in 10 young Americans are consulting witches for major financial decisions and what every business selling logic needs to be thinking about right now.

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So, Get This — Hosts John Gerzema and Libby Rodney (The Harris Poll) will share unexpected and uncomfortable insights you need to hear. Each episode will break down new cultural insights grounded in research that forces you to rethink what you thought you knew.

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