TikTok influencer Alix Earle brags about never having read a book, some good news about Gen Z and millennial church attendance, and how Gen Z is processing the failed execution of Christa Pike. But first:
Song of the Week – “Nicole Kidman” by ADÉLA
Topping the Spotify charts this week is the song “Nicole Kidman” by ADÉLA. Lyrics compare the artist to Kidman herself, with a chorus that shouts out Moulin Rouge and Babygirl. There’s also a music video more explicitly referencing Eyes Wide Shut. The song has a driving hip-hop beat with a pitch-shifted gospel track in the background, a trend that continues to be popular. The lyrics of “Nicole Kidman” are overtly sexual, with ADÉLA commenting on her own body, stage presence, and fame. Speaking of her fame, ADÉLA may seem to be coming out of nowhere, but the Slovakian artist was an early elimination in The Debut: Dream Academy, a reality competition that spawned Katseye, and has spent the years since planning her breakout into the limelight, focusing on a bratty persona and her talents as a classically trained ballet dancer. For the lyrics, click here (language); for a lyric video, click here (language).
And now for our three conversations..
1. “Maybe Dr. Seuss?”
What it is: When asked by Interview Magazine (language), “What’s the last book you read?” influencer Alix Earle replied, “I’ve never read a book. Like, maybe Dr. Seuss.”
Why people are freaking out: The response to Earle’s comment has ranged from “Being an illiterate person is not the flex you think it is” to “I had no idea she was this funny.” Earle became a TikTok celebrity by making GRWM (get ready with me) videos as a college student at the University of Miami, and her latest night routine video shows her cheekily reading Dr. Seuss before bed. The mix of outrage and apathy in the comment section feels like a microcosm of how people feel about literacy in the US. Teachers and readers are sounding the alarm after data showed less than half of US adults read a book in the last year. On an average day, 15- to 19-year-olds read for just 9 minutes, according to the 2024 American Time Use Survey. As more people turn to short-form video for entertainment over books, it makes sense that one of TikTok’s most popular creators is not a big reader.
Continue the conversation: How is reading different from watching something?
2. Spurred Toward Love
What it is: Research from Barna shows that among 18-35 year-olds, just over one in three are attending church more often, compared to a year ago.
What it means: The full breakdown shows that 45% are attending church “about the same,” and 21% are attending church less. Still, it’s an optimistic picture, given that church attendance is growing. The research also shows that “to pray” and “to worship Jesus with other people” are the top reasons young people say they attend church. It’s encouraging, especially when we consider why Christians choose to carve time out of the week to gather together. As the author of Hebrews says, it’s a chance to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Continue the conversation: When was the last time someone encouraged you? How did they encourage you?
3. A Failed Execution
What it is: Last week, Christa Pike, a woman sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a classmate, survived her attempted execution—reigniting a long-standing national debate over capital punishment.
What many Gen Zers are thinking: Gallup polling data from 2024 suggests that Gen Z is the generation least likely to support the death penalty. They write, “Less than half of U.S. adults born after 1980—those in the millennial and Generation Z birth cohorts—favor the death penalty. At the same time, roughly six in 10 adults in older generations are in favor of such laws. Two decades ago, there were no meaningful age differences in views of the death penalty.” And it’s not just about declining trust in the justice system—though that is certainly a factor. Younger people seem to have more sympathy for the complicating factors that are present for the majority of violent criminals, including childhood trauma, untreated mental health conditions, and neurological impairment. But this wane in public support for capital punishment isn’t without historical precedent. The last time it happened, in 1972, after five years without an execution, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional, and 629 people on death row had their sentences commuted.
Let’s translate this one further…
In 2014, a podcast called Serial went viral. It explored the murder of Hae Min Lee, and her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed’s arrest and subsequent conviction for her murder. The series centered around a key question: what if Adnan Syed didn’t do it?
The question at the heart of Serial’s first season seems to also be at the heart of Gen Z’s reluctance to support the death penalty. Their widespread reaction to the Lindsay Clancy trial raised similar issues. Teens are asking what it means to be “guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt”—and if a human justice system is ever really equipped to decide.
Now, no one is arguing that Christa Pike didn’t actually torture and murder her classmate Colleen Slemmer back in 1995, although some have argued that her mental health issues at the time should prevent her from receiving the death penalty. But even in cases where the crime is undeniable—is the death penalty justice?
The issue doesn’t just divide generations—it divides lots of people, including some Christians. Sister Helen Prejean, an anti-death-penalty activist and author of Dead Man Walking, writes that, “This is what Christians and people of goodwill must realize: we are all worth more than the worst thing we’ve ever done in our life, and the death penalty cruelly violates the dignity of people whose lives matter to God.”
On the other hand, Andrew T. Walker, an associate professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes, “In Christian theology, the logic of capital punishment is grounded in a reciprocal and retributive understanding of divine justice: So profound is the dignity and worth of a human being that the only fitting response to the wanton murder of a human being is the forfeiting of one’s own life.” Walker also argues that using lethal injection is just a way to try to make ourselves feel better about execution, and that public executions by hanging or firing squad would be a more effective way to ensure death and deter future criminal activity.
Here are three questions to help start a curiosity-led conversation on this issue:
- Do you think the death penalty is ever justified? When, and why?
- Do you believe people like Christa Pike can change? What does that require?
- Why is it so much easier to filter these conversations through a political lens instead of a scriptural lens?
Parenting together,
Evan Barber and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- Choosin’ Taylor: To the chagrin of some of the Axis podcast team, Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” dethroned Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which had held its record-setting position as the #1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 for 24 weeks.
- Choosin’ Eden: A new limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s modern classic, East of Eden, hit 6.5 million viewers in four days since premiering on Netflix. The miniseries features Florence Pugh, violence, nudity, and, bizarrely, Hinge commercials.
- Choosin’ maxxin’: Clavicular, he of the self-smashed jawbone (and other, more horrific, allegations), has launched “Camp Looksmax,” and the first session sold out in 72 hours. Read more about the influencer at The Gospel Coalition, where our own CJ Fant covers the rise of the looksmaxxer.
- Choosin’ racin’: Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a new racing game by Fuse Studio, is getting more buzz (and better reviews) than any game in recent memory set in the Star Wars galaxy.
- Choosin’ flip phones: Gen Z writer August Lamm has released You Don’t Need a Smartphone, an expanded version of her self-published pamphlet of the same name with practical tips for untethering from devices. Lamm has been named by the New York Times as the “bard” of the anti-smartphone scene.
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!