Olivia Rodrigo, Disclosure Day, and Fatherhood

Olivia Rodrigo’s new album soars to the top of the charts, more dads seem to be opting in to a highly engaged fatherhood, and Disclosure Day raises important questions about faith. But first: 

Song of the Week: I Knew It, I Knew You  

After seeing an early screening of Toy Story 5, Taylor Swift came home and wrote a #1 song about it. “I Knew It, I Knew You” marks her 15th No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single. The track will be featured in Toy Story 5, out this weekend. The song is written from the perspective of Jessie, the beloved cowgirl, about love that was lost and found again, with some harmonica thrown in there, too. “Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time,” Swift shared on Instagram, reflecting on the country-inspired track. For the lyrics, click here; for a lyric video, click here. 

And now for our three conversations..

1. you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love

What it is: On her new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, Olivia Rodrigo takes listeners on a journey through the rise and fall of an intense relationship. 

Why it’s her deepest album yet: “This album is about the ands,” said Rodrigo in an interview with Apple Music. “You can be in a relationship and feel kind of miserable, or you can break up with this person, and, you know, have nice things to say about them.” The record packs the joys, anxieties, and pain of a relationship into 13 tracks, fusing angsty pop-punk and new wave optimism. From the butterflies of a first date (“You’re looking like an angel on the walls of Versailles”), complete devotion (“I am a car speeding down the boulevard without a break”), crushing anxiety (“My head is spinning, my stomach is sick”) to the loneliness of the breakup (“Crying on the curb at LAX”), her third album is full of honesty, grief and a surprising level of maturity. 

Continue the conversation: What’s your favorite love song?

2. Dad’s Day

What it is: Millennial dads are spending a record-setting amount of time with their young children. 

Why it’s nuanced: According to the Pew Research Center, 85% of fathers say that parenthood is one of the most important aspects of their identity, and they’re spending more minutes doing “primary caregiving” in the early years of their kids’ lives. This is good news for moms, as child-rearing increasingly happens without community support, and fathers who share the childcare load are a game-changer. But there’s one big caveat here: a dad’s ability to be engaged on a day-to-day level with kids often requires having a flexible schedule, which tends to require a higher level of education. In other words, who gets to show up most often as a dad isn’t necessarily a reflection of which dads care the most. As we close in on Father’s Day, we’d like to shout out the dads who are showing up in every way they can, even when economic and logistical constraints make them feel like that isn’t enough. 

Continue the conversation: When you think of what it means to be a dad, what comes to mind for you?

3. Alienated

What it is: The new action-adventure movie Disclosure Day from Steven Spielberg explores how humanity might react if the government admitted it had been covering up alien encounters. 

Why it’s timely: Spielberg said that the inspiration for this particular film came after videos of “unidentified anomalous phenomena” or UAPs, began circulating online in 2022, shortly before Congress held its first public hearing about UAPs in 50 years. The timing of the movie’s debut—amidst the US government’s ongoing release of previously classified videos, images, and text documents related to UAPs—is certainly interesting. But of course, Spielberg has been directing movies about aliens for years. And although perhaps some would-be viewers already feel bored (or oversaturated) with the topic of alien invasion, the new film raises key questions about how genuine alien disclosure could shape the nature of faith in the modern world. 

Let’s translate this one further…

This section contains mild spoilers for the movie Disclosure Day. 

At a key moment in the film, Jane tries to convince Daniel that the world isn’t ready to learn that aliens are real. Although she herself has “stopped believing God is divine,” Jane insists that others need an unquestioning belief in God to give their lives stability. She says, “People have been raised to believe in a supreme being, and now you want to show us actual supreme beings? The world can’t handle both.” 

This got me thinking: what sort of faith would get shaken in the light of a genuine alien disclosure? It seems like it would have to be a kind of faith that left no room for mystery—one which perhaps saw theology as a way to contain God instead of a signpost into relationship with Him; which perhaps assumed that God was under some sort of obligation to reveal the existence of aliens in advance. 

But God is, of course, under no such obligation; in fact, in Proverbs 25:2 we are told that He actually delights in hiding things: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

The consensus on the US government’s UAP drops so far is that, although it is strange, the evidence doesn’t prove the existence of alien life. But whatever the truth is, the invitation to cultivate the sort of faith that is deep, rich, and can withstand cultural tumult still stands. 

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,

Evan Barber and the Axis Team

In Other News…

1. The United Kingdom has introduced a law to ban social media access for children under 16 in early 2027, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, and X. 
2. “Overstimulated” has become the most used “therapy speak” (paywall) term among Gen Z, often used as a shorthand for feeling overwhelmed.  
3. Kool-Aid-soaked pineapple has become one of summer’s biggest TikTok food trends, inspiring thousands of videos and turning one kid’s review, “dat bih gah” (that b**** is gas) into a viral meme. 
4. Malls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, theme parks, and even many stores are banning teens who aren’t accompanied by an adult, pointing out concerns about fights, theft, and disruptive behavior. With fewer third spaces available, many teens are finding it harder to connect with friends in person.
5. Lionel Messi scored three goals (a “hat trick”) in Argentina’s World Cup opener, matching Miroslav Klose’s record for the most goals in World Cup History. At 38 years old, Messi is playing in his sixth World Cup, and many consider him to be one of the greatest athletes of all time.

PS: This July, we’re focusing on the significance of stories and storytellers in our teens’ lives. If you have a question for our Ask Axis podcast about how media impacts the next generation, send an email to ask@axis.org!