In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2025, this episode was first published in March.
Japanese ‘kidults’ revolutionised pop culture in the 90s and 00s, turning to their inner children to cope with economic crisis and post-industrial societal ills, despite being ridiculed. As the milestones of adulthood - property, marriage and careers - become increasingly difficult for millennials and Gen Z to achieve - are westerners now turning to ‘kidulting’ to find answers?
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Guest: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Sam Chantarasak.
Further listening:
Clips: SEGA, Pokémon Theme/POKEMON, MSNBC, CNN, AJ+, Sony, PlayStation, CBS, SXSW, TikTok/@otakuintokyo, TikTok/@kaitlyneats, Your Name/dir. Makoto Shinkai/CoMix Wave Films/Toho.
Photo: Getty Images.
Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com.
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