This week, Ariana Grande announces a break from public life, history writer and influencer Hank Green faces backlash for using AI tools, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day has a wild opening weekend. But first:
Slang of the Week: Larping
Similar to its forefather, “poser,” “larping” refers to somebody pretending to be something they are not. This term originated from the acronym LARP (Live Action Role Playing), which involves putting on a costume and acting as a fictional character in public. Among teens, the term has now evolved into an insult for a person who is being performative. One TikToker pointed out (at max volume) that fans of a book, movie, or artist may be deemed a “larper” if they fail a litmus test of niche insider knowledge.
And now for our three conversations..
1. Grande Steps Back
What it is: Ariana Grande’s eighth studio album, petal, came out last week, to underwhelming reviews. Days later, Grande announced that she plans to take “a step back” from public life after her tour due to “endless, ongoing scrutiny.”
What prompted this move: Online speculation about Grande’s health has been ramping up for years, but this week, things took a dramatic turn. Concerned fans posted clips of the singer during her Eternal Sunshine tour, commenting on the visibility of her bones. One wrote, “I audibly gasped at the state of her back.” In her “petal” music video, Grande appeared to respond to critics, playing a performer who mows down male executives with a chainsaw after they critique her body. The Telegraph (paywall) reported that mainstream media has been ignoring the elephant in the room, but that “…her extreme, skeletal thinness has now reached a point where it can no longer be ignored in good conscience.” The verdict is split: some say that commenting on another person’s body is wrong; others disagree, pointing out that Grande’s fan base is primarily young women, who are at higher risk for eating disorders.
Continue the conversation: What is one thing you wish adults understood about body image?
2. A Completely Human-Generated Section Title
What it is: Last week, online influencer Hank Green used the phrase “I appreciate the pushback” in a monologue. His fans freaked out.
Why the panic: As the AI-detection software Pangram’s website puts it, “AI writing contains structural, stylistic, and semantic patterns that can all be detected by a trained eye.” The phrase “I appreciate the pushback” is one such “tell.” So when fans heard the phrase come out of Green’s mouth—well, they had some pushback. Green admitted to having become overreliant on ChatGPT for research but said the phrase in that moment was actually just an ad-lib—which is perhaps more damning. He faults his own relentless production schedule as part of what prompted his AI reliance. Arguably just as significant as many fans’ pessimism around AI is how the cultural pressure to do more, faster, can incentivize exactly this sort of reliance. (To learn more about how younger generations are using and reacting to AI, listen to our latest podcast with Professor Jeffrey Bilbro!)
Continue the conversation: How can you tell if something was AI-generated?
3. Swing and a Hit
What it is: Spider-Man: Brand New Day landed in theaters with $932 million in global ticket sales in its opening weekend. It was the biggest domestic opening of any film, ever.
Why it blew away expectations: After poor box office showings for The Marvels (2023) and Captain America: Brave New World (2025), it was unclear just how big our culture’s appetite for new Marvel superhero stories actually was. And yet, there was never really any question that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would draw a crowd. Tom Holland in the title role remains a fan favorite, and the film put aside past years’ confusing multiverse storylines for an old-fashioned superhero identity crisis. The film earned a 98% fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which would indicate that one good guy beating up multiple bad guys while New Yorkers show up and chew scenery is still a winning formula.
Let’s translate this one further…
You want to know how crazy Spider-Man’s opening weekend was? Our movie theater in Danbury, Connecticut ran out of popcorn—for two hours.
So there I sat, popcornless but captivated, at our showing of Spider-Man: Brand New Day with my two sons and their middle school friend. We took it all in: Zendaya’s hair (perfect), Tom Holland’s attempt at a Queens accent (he did his best), and a script that sent a message straight to the teenage heart.
When we last saw this Spider-Man, it was 2021. He’d cast a spell to protect the people he loved, breaking the rules of the multiverse and shattering reality. But everything went wrong, and to fix it, he had to wipe the memory of everyone who had ever known him as Peter Parker. Now, everybody knows what he can do, but nobody remembers who he is. It’s a “brand new day,” but a cold, lonely world for this Spider-Man, who has lost everything but his supernatural abilities.
That is, until he meets somebody who sees right through him. Somebody, it turns out, with the same problem.
I won’t spoil the plot here (though I can’t make any promises about my friends on our podcast), but the real hero of Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t an Avenger. It’s a caring adult who spoke into Peter’s life at a time when he most needed it. An adult who calls him to believe that he deserves to be loved, simply because he exists. And who reminds him that clinging to that truth is, in itself, a responsibility.
It’s a story that reminds me of my favorite story ever: the one where Jesus saves my friends and me.
In a world where being yourself can feel directly at odds with being accepted, one person who sees you can make all the difference. It’s the key to living out of love, instead of fear, and bridging the gap between our most broken selves and who God says we can be. As it says in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”
For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to help you continue the conversation with your teens:
Parenting together,
Kate Watson and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- The current owners of Myspace (Tim and Chris Vanderhook) announced that they plan to relaunch the classic social media platform, though they did not say when. Let the record reflect that we are on the edge of our seats.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, this summer’s “hottest drink” is officially a bottle of water. Try some today for $6!
- Vogue, on the other hand, has argued that the drink of the summer is “banana-milk coffee.” And right behind that one: durian-mustard maté.
- Netflix is getting sued for $105 million for losing an unencrypted copy of Nicolas Cage’s WWII film Fortitude. Kind of like we might lose a few subscribers after that obscure fruit-caffeine joke in point three.
- Finally, Christianity Today agrees with us that Instagram Plus is really just Instagram Minus. So glad our own Jenna Mindel was on the case!
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!