Silent Generation

Silent Generation

Silent Generation is a Chicago-based cultural analysis podcast that surveys the cultural consequences of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century. It explores what was lost between the Silent Generation and Generation Z. Topics discussed include aesthetics, fashion, history, and urbanism. Find us on Instagram: silent.generation

  1. Ep. 98: Art Deco

    HACE 1 DÍA

    Ep. 98: Art Deco

    Art Deco is an art and design style relevant from the 1920s to 1930s that is best characterized by its use of metallic colors, geometric patterns, futuristic forms, and references to ancient civilizations. It is the most celebrated of all of the design styles that can be grouped under Interwar Modernism, but what makes it so popular? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by charting Art Deco’s emergence in France to its eventual dissemination at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. They then detail two Art Deco skyscrapers (the Carbide & Carbon Building and the Guardian Building) before delving into a conversation about Art Deco and American identity. The episode rounds out with an analysis of Art Deco in three pieces of media: Bioshock (2007), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Metropolis (1927).   Links: Art Deco Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/art-deco/  Art Deco of the 20s and 30s by Bevis Hillier (1968)  Art Deco Architecture: Everything You Need to Know as the Style Turns 100 by By Katherine McLaughlin and Elizabeth Stamp Art Deco: Everything You Wanted to Know  Ep. 110: Consumer Aesthetics Research Podcast w/ Evan Collins A History - Vienna Secession Secession Building  Stoclet Palace Carbide and Carbon Building The History of The Guardian Building: An Art Deco Landmark Lobby murals at Buffalo City Hall Sen̓áḵw Bioshock (2007) Nightmare Alley (2021) Metropolis (1927) North & Pulaski    Artwork: The "Spirit of Light" sculpture on the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse, NY   Recorded on 3/16/2026

    1 h y 20 min
  2. Ep. 95: Dinner Parties

    16 FEB

    Ep. 95: Dinner Parties

    On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Breanna discuss all things dinner parties. The two begin by discussing what they like about dinner parties and their personal experiences hosting and attending them. They then review common features of traditional dinner parties (cocktail hour, place settings, multiple course meals, and after-dinner entertainment) before detailing how they have changed over time. Amongst other things they discuss how Emily Post and Martha Stewart presented competing visions of the high-effort dinner party, how the depreciation of dining-related antiques demonstrates the decline of dinner parties in America, and how modern dinner parties emphasize a relaxed approach that is best demonstrated by Allison Roman’s Nothing Fancy.    Links: Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home by Emily Post How Dinner Parties Became the Fuzzy Blanket of Adulthood by Alissa Wilkinson The Dinners That Shaped History by Brenda Wineapple Eating Together : Food, Friendship and Inequality Alice P. Julier The Pleasure of Your Company (but No Gaucheries, Please!): Dinner Parties in 19th-Century America by mansionmusings Entirely Entertaining: Dishing Dinner Party Trends Through the Decades I Tracked Down The Company Ruining Restaurants The Art of Entertaining Why Dinner Parties Still Matter Entertaining by Martha Stewart Martha (2024) Martha Stewart wheelbarrow clip The Exterminating Angel (1962) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Why the dinner party is a declining art by Harmeet Kaur Politics on the menu in Seoul as Donald Trump dines on shrimp from disputed waters and 360-year-old soy sauce by Nicola Smith Cameron praises Obama at lavish state dinner by Mark Madell Presidents at State Dinners: A Historical Overview Nothing Fancy by Allison Roman Alison Roman’s “Nothing Fancy” and the Art of the Unpretentious Dinner Party by Michele Moses With 'Nothing Fancy,' Alison Roman Aims To Rebrand Having People Over For Dinner by Wynne Davis   Artwork: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton (and others) at a party given for Rudolph Valentino   Recorded on 02/08/2026

    1 h y 16 min

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Silent Generation is a Chicago-based cultural analysis podcast that surveys the cultural consequences of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century. It explores what was lost between the Silent Generation and Generation Z. Topics discussed include aesthetics, fashion, history, and urbanism. Find us on Instagram: silent.generation

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