
Loading summary
Podcast Advertiser
This is an iHeart podcast.
Ryan Gradosky
Guaranteed Human hey Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. You know one of the perks about.
Jacob Goldstein
Having four kids that you know about.
Ryan Gradosky
Is actually getting a direct line to the big man up north.
Jacob Goldstein
And this year he wants you to.
Ryan Gradosky
Know the best gift that you can.
Jacob Goldstein
Give someone is the gift of Mint.
Ryan Gradosky
Mobile's Unlimited Wireless for $15 a month. Now you don't even need to wrap it. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
Podcast Advertiser
Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com hey parents, ready to turn story time into a magical adventure with a story dream machine? Colorful lights and sound effects bring every tale to life right before your eyes. Choose from a wide variety of story collections to keep the excitement going. Sold separately and with the Storytime Travel case, you can take the fun anywhere. Vacation, grandma's house, even the backyard. Plus the story Dreamers plush adds interactive moments your kids will love. Story time isn't just reading, it's dreaming. Bring story time to life with the.
Hey, I'm Steffi. I go big for the holidays, so I'm going to Famous footwear. With over 800 stores, you're never far from the perfect gift. So make your list and make it famous. Buy one pair. Get one half off@famous footwear or famous.com Some exclusions apply.
Ryan Gradosky
Business owners know that getting a loan isn't always easy, but it can be.
Jacob Goldstein
Fast if you know where to look.
Ryan Gradosky
One of the fastest ways to get.
Jacob Goldstein
A business loan is through an online funding marketplace like Lendio. At Lendio, we built a marketplace of over 75 lenders and funding partners and.
Ryan Gradosky
Who know what you need and can.
Jacob Goldstein
Get it to you quickly. Depending on the type of funding, money.
Ryan Gradosky
Could be on its way to your bank account within 24 hours. See what your business can qualify for.
Jacob Goldstein
In just a few minutes@lendio.com that's L E N D I O lendio.com this is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform. In a simple and affordable way, you can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out Odoo at O D O O dot com. That's O D O o dot com.
Ryan Gradosky
Welcome back to a numbers gamer, Ryan Gradosky. Thank you guys for being here. This is gonna be a fun episode. I have some very special guests, my Gen Z employees who, ladies and gentlemen, they are going to come on the show because over the last year working with them, I have realized that I am getting old and that they do not understand most things that I am talking about. When I bring up a reference to culture or music or movies and I want to see how much they actually know. I want to know if they know on Earth what I'm talking about. So it's to my amusement. It's your amusement. And they've all volunteered to do this. No one's being forced to. We're gonna make a game out of it. It's about, but it's gonna be about Gen X and millennial culture, so it's gonna be great. And if you like this episode, please think about liking and subscribing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get this podcast. Before I get to that, I do want to break down some important data that came out the CDC has finally released, because of the government shutdown, finally released birth data into our country for the last two months. And we have more evidence that Trump's mass deportations are working. In September and October 2025, there were 16, 000 fewer births by women, foreign born women, women who were born outside the United States than there were in the previous September and October of 2024. The percentage of babies born to foreign women has decreased from 25% in January of this year to 23% October, that may not seem like a major change, but it's a big, the complete opposite trajectory of where things were going. Interestingly, it's decreased in 41 states. The overall birth rate of foreign born women and the few states that it has increased because the population of foreign born women is so small that one or two extra children here or there produces big turnaround percentage wise. But for 41 out of 50 states, I mean, there's this broad movement of foreign born women having less children. It's one more data set showing that the population of foreign born people, especially illegal immigrants, has declined. There's an overall decline because of this massive emphasis on self deportation. Right. President Trump hasn't deported, you know, 10 million people, but millions have left. And what I said on this podcast months ago and what I said on my substack is that you would see this as evidence in the data as time went on, like if you're an illegal immigrant and you're eight months pregnant over in March or April, you're not going to self deport. You're going to hang around to have your baby, get American citizenship and then when they're 18, they could sponsor you. It makes complete sense. But if you weren't pregnant then, or if you were only one month or whatever the case is, you may just go on your own and say this is not worth it. And so they're self deporting. And there's been a few things. There's the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there's the census, but this is just one more data set showing it is true. Mass deportation is working. The illegal alien and foreign born population is Decreasing by about 2 million people is what we're guessing. So be it. The net negative population growth for the first time. It's also evidence why you're seeing rents in some of these places decline over the last four months. This steep decline really though kicks in in the last four, three months. Right. In the last three months is where you're seeing this spike happen as mass deportations pick up. So the early estimates is that there's about 603,000 births from September to October. September and October 2025. That's a 3% reduction over last year. Not immense, but it's not easily evenly distributed. Among non Hispanic whites it's down 1.1%. Among American Indians it's down 4.7. Among Latinos, big one big illegal alien population population, it's down 5.3. Black Americans are down 5.4. Asians also big forem population, are down 6%. The only group that is increasing in infertility and births are multiracial. They're up by 3.9% now. Even though births are down slightly, the percentages are increasing for certain groups, especially whites because they're, they decline the least of all other major groups. The black birth rate, which is, you know, heavily American born, they've been plunging like it's almost, it should be studied by sociologists. They're very well likely going to be under 12% of the overall births next year, which is pretty shocking given how say they were for so long in the, in the, in the birth data going back to the 90s. And that's because of many different things. A lot of conservatives will say it's because of abortion. And abortion plays, you know, a part of it. So does contraception. But there's also higher levels of college education among black women. College education is one of the major determining factors of whether or not you're going to have children later on in life versus earlier. And there's mass decline in teen pregnancy. When I was a kid, teen pregnancy was very common. Teen pregnancy is almost completely like it doesn't happen almost at all anymore, especially among Latino and black women. That, that, that group has fallen substantially as has fertility across the board. And of course, there is the question of affordability and people are putting off having a child because it's unaffordable Right now. All those things are playing into the factors, especially among black women and how few children that they are having. It's a strange phenomenon that is happening to such a degree now because it was huge in the last two years and it's continuing at pace in this year. I'm going to do a true nerd fest on the birth data for my substack. If you guys want to check it out at the National Populist newsletter on substack, it'll be very, very interesting. I might do a whole episode gearing into the end of the year. I'm gonna have a religion episode as we get closer to Christmas time with my priest, my priest, Father Nick, who's agreed to come on the show. And we have a few other fun episodes. But this is, I think, a data set getting into really where things are moving culturally. There's a lot of things that play people decide to have a child. Affordability is one of them, culture is one of them, how desirable it is to have kids as a, you know, preference. Religion's another one. So there's a lot to kind of decipher from this information. I can't wait to sit there and really break it down for you guys. That'll be on my sub. Second, I'll probably cover for the podcast. Okay, enough of this data. I want to get to the fun stuff. I want to quiz my employees on what they know about Millennial and Gen X culture, my Gen Z employees. So stay tuned. That's coming up next.
Lendio Announcer
If you've been in business for at least six months and have a decent credit score, you could get business funding in as little as 24 hours. But you don't have to spend a ton of time going from lender to lender to find the best match for your small business. Drive your business forward with Lendio. Just let Lendio do it for you. At Lendio, we've built a marketplace of over 75 lenders and funding partners who know what you need and can get it to you quickly see what your business can qualify for in just a few minutes@lyndio.com that's L E N D I O Lindio.com this is Jacob Goldstein.
Jacob Goldstein
From what's yous Problem? Business software is expensive, and when you buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate. Odoo solves that because all Odoo software is connected on a single affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data. Odoo has over 60 apps available for any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting. All linked and talking to each other. Check out odoo@odoo.com that's o d o.
Podcast Advertiser
O.Com stay cozy, stay home and save big online during Lowe's December deal drops because honestly, why go anywhere when the deals come to you? Check this out. Lowe's is going to give you two free select tools from dewalt, Craftsman or Cobalt when you buy a select battery or combo kit. Yep, two tools free. It's basically a holiday miracle. Plus rewards members get free standard shipping all month long. Yet another reason not to leave your couch. Kick back, click around, let the savings roll in. Shop New December deal drops on Lowes.com every week this month. Fresh deals, cozy vibes, zero effort. Did you know that parents rank teaching financial literacy as the toughest life skill? That's where green light comes in, the debit card and money app made for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance and track spending with real time notifications. Kids learn how to earn, save and spend responsibly while parents have peace of mind knowing smart money habits are being built with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com iheartra that's greenlight.com iheart the holidays are back at Starbucks, so share the season with a peppermint mocha, Starbucks signature Espresso, Velvety mocha and cool peppermint notes topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls together is the best place to be at Starbucks.
Ryan Gradosky
So this is a very exciting episode of my podcast we have on my team, my Gen Z team, to talk about different things that happened when I was a kid for Millennials and Gen Xers. Because a lot of times I've noticed over the last year that I've been working with these guys that they don't know what I'm talking about. And I thought this would be fun. So we have on my show today, we have on my employees, Will wiley, Alex, and colton. Thank you all for being here. By the way, they were not forced to be here. They all volunteered to be here. So the way it's going to work is this. We're going to break down to three different categories. Sixteen questions. You guys get a point if you get it correctly. The question correctly, you lose one if you get it incorrectly. The winner at the end gets a prize. So the first category will be music. So I know you guys are all excited about all these songs I picked, by the way, were number one hits. They were not. I didn't pick number seven on a random cd. These were all. Everyone of my generation and a little older knew all of these songs, so. All right, Mr. Producer, go to slot one of song one. Children.
Podcast Advertiser
That's what they say when we're together.
Ryan Gradosky
And watch out you play.
They don't.
Podcast Advertiser
Understand and so we're running just as fast as we can.
Holding on to one another.
Ryan Gradosky
Anyone who knows the answer.
Not a clue. Not a. I got nothing. Alex. Alex, you listen to music?
Lendio Announcer
Yeah.
Ryan Gradosky
That's kate bush. Kate bush. No, it is not Kate bush. Colton, anything that you could guess?
Jacob Goldstein
I got nothing.
Ryan Gradosky
Okay. That is tiffany. The song is called I think we're alone now. It was a. Before there was Britney spears, Before there's sprinter carpenter. There was. There was tiffany, Biggest solo teen pop girl of the 80s. All right. Getting off to a great start. But, alex, thank you for giving it a shot. Second song. Go to it. Vibrations good like sun kiss Many want to know who done this Marky mark. And I'm here to move you rhymes improve you and I'm here to prove for you Then we can party on the positive side.
Feel the vibration Come on, come on.
Okay. Song. Marky mark.
Lendio Announcer
Yeah.
Ryan Gradosky
Well, marky mark is mark wahlberg. I was like, okay, this is a famous person. You guys were definitely gonna know at least who the actor is. But before he was an actor with a singer. I'm actually so happy that you know one thing. Yeah, I've been to his burger joint. Is that how you know who he is? No. Oh.
Yeah. He was a rapper and his brother was on new kids on the block. I was going to pick new kids on the block, but literally the song is the. The only line in the entire show. And the entire song is just lyric is that is the name of it. So I was like, this is going to be too Easy. Okay. We're down with the 80s. That was good vibration. Sorry. 1991, that was early 90s. All right, third song. Go to it.
Like me check on you why do I bother when you're not the one for me?
Okay. Huge band, mid-90s. Two super big albums that they came out with banger after banger.
I've heard that before, but I. You've heard that before? Where have you heard that? Well, in, like, restaurants. Mm. So your parents just didn't tell you and they failed you? Okay. What? Anybody? No. Anybody else want to take a stab at it? Colton, like, aha. It is not aha. No, Aha was from the 80s and they were a one hit wonder. This band had a bunch of other hits. Alex, anything? Is it from Ace of Bass? Yes, that is true. That is Ace of Bass. I saw the sign. All right, Alex, look at you. Alex likes music, so I figured, okay, this is gonna be an Alex moment right now, so. All right, three more. Here we go. This was one of my favorite, favorite songs when I was a kid. It was a one hit wonder, but it was like a char topper and it's a banger. So. Okay, next one, slot four. Have a history of taking up my shirt.
Day since you tackled me I still got the red runs on both my knees it's been three days since the afternoon you realize it's not my fault but I'm only too soon Yesterday you forgiven me and now I sit back and wait till you say you're sorry. All right, give it a shot. Yeah. Alex, is that one week? Yeah. Do you know the artist?
Something? Ladies. Bare Naked Ladies. Wow, Alex. There you go. Very exciting. All right. Very cool. All right, we got. Alex is on a roll right now. Okay. All right, two more. We're getting later into the. So this is like the 2000 now. So you guys were all alive at this point, which is a, I guess a must for anyone to know his music. Okay. I'm sure everyone's gonna know the next one, but go ahead if. Let me know if, you know.
Cry maybe. That's right. Every little thing I do never seem enough for you. Yo, CH Boys. Bye bye bye. That is not bye bye bye. Literally, the words were not bye bye bye like you just heard them. And the only lyrics of Bye bye bye are those words. I mean, how did you. Oh, my God, Wiley. Like, what are you talking about? No, no, it was not the name of the band is in the video. But that was an immense confidence. I appreciate that. Anybody else? That's Justin Timberlake, isn't it? Yes. Okay. I was gonna say he looks way different now. No. Yes. Okay, but you already gotta get your hands. What's the name of the song? Do you know this on?
Is it girlfriend? It is not girlfriend. That was by Justin Bieber. An entirely different person.
No, it's like Justin Timberlake now. It's not enough, right? No, it's not. Okay, so it was. It's gonna be me, but. All right, we're on a. I was close. We're on. No, you weren't. Okay, last song, last part of the music thing. This was in the mid 2000s, another one hit wonder. But definitely when like emo ish rock music was a big thing in the 2000s, this is what I listened to. Not this song. But, you know, I listen to emo throughout my entire teen years. I had a lot of guyliner going on. This was the biggest song of that genre. So last one. Go ahead.
We got the song. Go ahead. What's that? What is it? Alex Hater Delilah. Oh, there you go. Okay, so Alex. Yeah, that was the biggest one. I loved emo music, like, but there's most of. Didn't ever chart. Didn't go anywhere. So I couldn't, like, I couldn't bring up like Motion City soundtrack or something. You guys would have never heard of it. So. Okay, leaving the first round. Wiley's at negative one, Alex is at negative one, and Alex is at negative one as well, so. And Will and Colton are tied for zero. So let's. Hopefully they bring up something on the board whatsoever. Okay, so these are some big movies and I lump movies and TV shows in together. Right. I'm going to describe it. I'll tell you some. Either director or actor was in it. Tell me if you can name it and then let me know if you've ever seen it. So the first one is about. It's. There's a huge movie, 1985 by John Hughes. Five teenagers are stuck in detention. It is a classic staples of Gen X. 80s movies.
Five teenage. Okay, well, we'll go. Alex, you go first because you raised your hand first. The Breakfast Club. There you go. Okay, that was. Did you know that, Will? Yeah. You did? Okay, all right, so at least, you know. Colton, did you ever see any movies? Yeah, I've seen Breakfast Club before. I couldn't think of the name. I was thinking detention or something, but it was something. It was Breakfast Club. All right, so this is. All right, classic staple, 80s movie I think everyone has probably seen at this point. It's Plays on, like, TBS a lot or something like that. All right, next question. This was a 1995 movie. It was a retelling of Jane Austen's book Emma. It starred Alicia Silverstone, who tries to set up two teachers who are falling in love while she's falling in love with her step brother.
Classic. Classic 90s movie. Lisy Silverstone. Cast hint. What? Can we get more cast hints? Alicia Silverstone, she's the main part in it. Okay, okay. I don't. Britney Murphy is also in it, but she's passed away since then.
Anyone guess? Take a guess. Take a stab at high school 90s.
You know, as if was like a huge line in the movie that became something rolling with the homies. Anything? Oh, I've heard people say as if before. No, that's just in general conversation. You've probably heard that, but, like, have you? Like, it's Pretty in Pink. No, it's not bringing the pink, but I get. I. I thank you for trying. Anyone else? Colton, Anything? Nothing. Okay. It's called Clueless. Oh, have you ever heard that movie? Yes, I have. Yeah. Have you seen that movie? That's more of a chicks, like, that's it. I know. It's. It's. But it's a 90s like it. Never mind. Okay. All right. This is a TV show from the 90s. Hope it's done better. It's a huge classic that millennials and Gen Xers watched. Right? It was about main characters. A guy named Corey, his best friend Sean, and his girlfriend Topanga, as they went through high school and college and marriage together. This was on for seven seasons. Huge, huge growing up show. Freaks and Geeks. No.
Okay. But Freaks and Geeks, I'm actually even shocked you know the name of. So that's a big deal. Colton, Anything? It was Must see. No, Nothing will free high schoolers. No, Every time you say high school, I'm gonna guess Breakfast Club. Okay, but that's not the answer all the time. Alex. Is it Boy Meets World? It is Boy Meets World. Alex. Yes. Okay. You never heard of Boy Meets World? They had a sequel called Girl Meets World, but his daughter. Yeah, Ben Savage. I was able to remember it. Okay, all right, I figured. All right, there's another tv. This show was what I watched every day before. He was a superstar on Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston played a dysfunctional suburban dad named Hal who tried to make ends meet with his working class wife, Lois, and their four kids, Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey. Okay, go, Wiley, go ahead. Oh, actually, Malcolm in the Middle. Okay. I was going to give it to. You guys know that show? Yeah, Malcolm in the Middle. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Did you know that, Will? Yeah. Oh, you did? Okay. Wow. All right, good. I grew up watching that. All right, last movie. Last one from this category. It's a millennial teen movie. It's a coming of age masterpiece where a character named Foe gets a fake I.D. call the name McLovin.
Okay, Will, go ahead. Super bad. There you go. I'm gonna give Will one. Can I get faster with the questions? Colton, did you see that movie? No, I've never seen McLoughlin or never seen it. Okay, It's a good one. It's a. It's definitely. It's got a lot of like Emma Stone's first movie. It's a cool mid-2000s, definitely millennial movie. All right, I'm gonna do five questions on World events. This is things that definitely steeped in Gen X and millennial culture that we all remember. Like it. Where we were, what, like what happened. All right, this is the first one. And this is. I wasn't even alive for this, but it was. I even know about it because it was so famous. In 1986, a little girl, an 18 month old girl, fell down a. Fell down a well. And for 58 hours, the entire media covered her rescue. What was that baby girl's name? Yes, it was literally one of the first news stories that was ever breaking news where it was covered minute by minute before there was like CNN and everyone covered everything minute by minute. This was like the breaking news. Are they gonna get this little girl out of the. Well, this huge America story was in Texas that. I know you guys are in Texas, but no, nothing you ever heard of Baby Jessica. Guys, it was huge. I can't even. I can't emphasize this, but like, it was a big, big deal. All right, in 1998, when the world was shocked when this Spice Girl announced that she was going to leave the band after just two albums and a tour and a movie. Who was the. Who was the Spice Girl that broke up the band and it made. Go ahead, Will. It's not Ice Spice, is it? Ice Spice is not a person.
If that is a person, it is not a person and a band. Will, I don't know who Ice Spice even is. Is that a rapper? They're a contemporary artist. Yeah. And you think that they were around in the 90s in the spice Girls. Okay. No. Cole, Alex, go ahead. Was it Ginger? It was Ginger Spice. Alex is like the one who's sitting There and throwing stuff. Colton, did you ever hear of the Spice Girls? I've heard of them, yes. Okay. All right, well, she was the one that broke up the band. All right. In 1997 and 2000, Camel and Marlboro Cigarettes retired their classic brand ambassadors. Can you name either one of them? Go ahead. Will was one of them the Marlboro Man. The cowboy. Yes. Marlboro man and Joe Camel. Those are like the two. We used to be able to advertise on cigarettes back in the day. Like not on television because that was even before me, but like on billboards you could advertise. And Joe Camel and. And Marbone man were like the image, like the cowboy and like cool. Joe Camel, if you smoke cigarettes, which, you know, we all know you were cool for smoking cigarettes. All right, last two, before there was Facebook, there was MySpace. And when you made a MySpace account, the creator was your first friend. Who was the creator of MySpace? What was his first name? He was go at will. Was is not Joe. Colton, I feel like this is the one that you're going to get now. Alex, there was a Tom. Yes, it was Tom. Okay. Yes. Tom was your first friend on Facebook ever. My story on MySpace, when you added friends and there was a top eight and people would fight over who was in whose top eight, friendless, it was anarchy. All right, this is. I've like given up on everybody. This is the last question. And this is like still like prominent today. In 1999, June 1999, the world changed when a 19 and 20 year old launched a peer to peer sharing website with the logo of a cat with headphones. It became the first website that millennials could illegally download music and share it open. The game idea of streaming. Go ahead, Will. Was it Napster? It was Napster. All right. I'm shocked by, like, Colton, what were you doing in the night? I guess you were barely alive in the 90s. I don't know. Colton, you had zero. Wy, you had negative one. Will, you had zero. Alex. This is like the only hope for somebody to actually have alex. You had two guys, two out of 16. Okay. Alex is the winner. I appreciate you all for doing this. It kind of. It kind of.
Was worse than I thought it was.
It was worse than I thought it was. I'm not gonna lie about it, but I am happy that you at least tried.
I'm going to start instituting a movie and music song of the month for any one of my employees. So anyone knows what I'm talking about. But I appreciate you guys endlessly for doing this. Thank you for coming on. Thank you. Thank you, Ryan. Bye. Congrats to Alex. Hey, we'll be right back after this.
Lendio Announcer
If you've been in business for at least six months and have a decent credit score, you could get business funding in as little as 24 hours. But you don't have to spend a ton of time going from lender to lender to find find the best match for your small business. Drive your business forward with Lendio. Just let Lendio do it for you. At Lendio, we've built a marketplace of over 75 lenders and funding partners who know what you need and can get it to you quickly. See what your business can qualify for in just a few minutes@lindio.com that's L E N D I O Lindio.com this.
Jacob Goldstein
Is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out Odoo at O D O o dot com. That's O D O o dot com.
Podcast Advertiser
Stay cozy, stay home and save big online during Lowe's December deal drops because honestly, why go anywhere when the deals come? Check this out. Lowe's is going to give you two free select tools from dewalt, Craftsman or Cobalt when you buy a select battery or combo kit. Yep, two tools free. It's basically a holiday miracle. Plus, rewards members get free standard shipping all month long. Yet another reason not to leave your couch. Kick back, click around, let the savings roll in. Shop new December deal drops on Lowe's.com every week. This month, fresh deals, cozy vibes, zero effort. The holidays are back at Starbucks, so share the season with a peppermint mocha, Starbucks Signature Espresso, Velvety mocha and cool peppermint notes topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls together is the best place to be at Starbucks.
Did you know that parents rank teaching financial literacy as the toughest life skill? That's where Greenlight comes in. The debit card and money app made for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and track spending with real time notifications. Kids learn how to earn, save, and spend responsibly while parents have peace of mind knowing smart money habits are being built with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight Risk free today@greenlight.com iheart that's greenlight.com iheart.
Ryan Gradosky
Now it's time for the Ask Me Anything segment of this podcast. If you want to be part of the Ask Me Anything segment, email me ryanumbers game podcast.com that's ryanumbers plural game podcast.com many it's only one today I have. I'm very backed up. I know it. So if you've emailed me, I will get to your question on this podcast before the end of the year. Stay tuned. Please stay. You know, keep listening. I know that I've I know I probably 10 or 11 that I still need to get to for the end of the year and they will all be answered. This one comes from Tom. Tom says I'm a longtime listener, but first time caller from Australia. Thank you Tom for listening to this podcast all the way from Australia. That's wonderful. Thank you. Keep up the great work. Been excited to listen to your podcast for most Australian coverage of American politics is just a slop ripped straight from New York Times, MSNBC and CNN Is not the Truth. I actually know a bit about Australian politics. I covered it in my book that I wrote a couple years ago and I follow it. Australia had an election where the left won a big, big victory, but also the right was very splintered and their leadership wasn't that solid. Okay, he says apologies in advances. I'm sure you've bombarded with questions in this nature that will be over litigated over the coming years. My question relates to the 2020 presidential election. Obviously usual caveats apply. It' years away and a lot can happen between now and then. With that in mind, I was wondering from electoral strategy standpoint, in 2020, where do you see as the greatest opportunity and threats for The Republican nominee, J.D. vance, or whoever it is, and vice versa for the Democrats? Keep up the great work, Tom. Okay, 2020 is a very important presidential election. Not for only deciding who the President's going to be, but because it will be the last presidential election where the Rust Belt will seriously matter. Not that it won't matter at all, but but in for the last few decades, you needed to win several Rust Belt states in order to sit there and get the presidency or win a state like Virginia like George W. Bush did. That's not going to be the case come 2032 because of how people are moving. States like Florida and Texas are going to gain at least eight or More Electoral college votes. While California, New York, Illinois will lose, there will be enough electoral college votes in the states of North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona and Nevada combined to offset all the other states where they will be only swing states that matter come 2032 and afterwards. So as long as all those states stay red, a Republican candidate would only need to win the solidly red state of Ohio. And this is extremely likely right now for president. They won't have to win Wisconsin. They want to win Pennsylvania or Michigan, the long shot states of New Hampshire, Minnesota or wherever. It will just be Sun Belt, which will change also the politics of things like tariffs and things like manufacturing, states that are heavily dependent on it historically versus ones that are not heavily dependent on it. So 2028 will matter for that reason for Republicans. I mean, obviously they're going to start working with the Trump coalition. They're going to start working with what states Trump want to see if they can keep any on the board with inflation and with the housing issue and with just the cost of living. States like Nevada, states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin will all be on the ballot. Also, the demographic changes in Georgia will play a very big hand. Georgia's population, black population, has grown substantially and that especially in the Atlanta suburbs. And that will alter how competitive it stays. It's very clearly trending to the left. How long does it trend to the left? How much of the rural black vote which has been trending to the right, it's one of the few parts of Georgia that's been trending the right, the black belt of Georgia. Can they move that over more? Can they have turnout increases more? Southern Georgia is votes has a lot more vote potential than northern Georgia does. Like the Marjorie Taylor Green Green district. There's not, I mean, Republicans can do maybe a little better, maybe a hair better, but they've basically maxed out of that area. Southern Georgia is where they have to sit there and grab the votes from to offset Atlanta. So that'll be a problem. North Carolina is changing dramatically as people move there in big, big waves. North Carolina, I think is the Elector is like 5 or 6% Hispanic now, which is interesting. The research Triangle has brought a lot of college educated people there. Appalachia State has changed the western part of that state. So North Carolina will continue to be competitive going forward. It will definitely stay to pay attention to, especially since they have a Democratic governor, a lot of Democrats in, in, you know, in statewide office positions that will try to move and influence the state. And then there's the three big rust belt states which is Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota and way Wisconsin. Trump won Wisconsin by less than one point and he and won the other two by less than two points. The Muslim vote in Michigan will play an immensely important role in this election as will be the suburban vote. Suburban women have historically not liked Donald Trump that much. A lot of historically moderate places like western Michigan, big Dutch country, have not liked Trump that much. Can JD reverse some of those trends a little bit like in the Dutch area of western Michigan. Kenny, hold on to Bucks county which is a critical swing county while, while bringing out people like an eerie Pennsylvania or in the suburbs of Pittsburgh in the working class, working class parts of the state. Working class white parts of the state. One interesting about Pennsylvania that will be different is that Pennsylvania instituted a mandatory voter registration when you renew your license. So in 2016 when Trump ran there were millions and I'm talking millions of non college educated whites who were not registered to vote in Pennsylvania. That is starting to pick up substantially as they're registering to vote. They're, they're kind of forced to register to vote. So there'll be a lot more there for Trump for, for JD or for Ruby or for whoever to really pick off of like the base of the Republican Party. As for Democrats, look, Democrats essential problem is that they've had an issue turning out black voters the way that Obama did. For obvious reasons. Right. He was the first black president. But even at bringing them out at Joe Biden levels was proven difficult for both Hillary and Kamala. Having to re engage black voters will be a critical part of whomever the Democratic nominee's strategy is as well as the question of if the Democrats pick a far left candidate, many believe that they'll just gin up the base and that will be enough to sit there and bring out anybody. But for as many times as that's been successful, it's been as unsuccessful many in, in dozens other cases. And these very typically swing but conservative areas will be a question. You know, Barack Obama was a very important figure in our history because the first black president, but there were a lot of demographics waiting for that to happen. I don't think that those demographics are necessarily waiting for the first gay president or for the first Latina president or for the first, you know, a lot of other people and groups, interest groups. I would would probably be willing to bet that the Democrats will not have a woman as their nominee in 2028. I'm just guessing, I don't obviously know ahead of time. I think the one big question for Democrats for Their vulnerabilities going forward is where do Democrats start their election? I've talked about this over and over and over again. If Democrats start the election process, the primary process in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, any of those places, the opening will be there for a Bernie Sanders and aoc, a very, very far left socialist to win the nomination. Because those are district, those are states that the Democratic voters in those states are more willing to move to the far left. If it starts in South Carolina, if it starts in Georgia, if they start in the Deep south, those black majority voting states in the Democratic primary, they vote for the more conservative candidate in almost every single case. That is the states that gave us Bill Clinton and gave us Joe Biden and you know, have always kind of ticked to the center of the party. They don't like progressives. They're certainly not going to vote for Pete Buttigieg, who's pulling a zero percent with black voters. I think all of that is interesting. I would like to sit there and see how that, how that shakes out. Obviously, we have a long time. We don't know where the economy is going to be. We don't know where. If there's an international incident, hopefully there won't be. We don't know if there'll be, you know, another Covid or whatever the case is. We don't, there's a lot we don't know. It's hard to sit there and play out, you know, what if there's gonna be a surprise, we don't, we have no clue there'll be a surprise. But that being said, I think that it's very likely that the traditional swing states will be most of the effort that everyone will spend their time on. And JD or Rubio, whoever it will be, will have to pick up one of the Rust Belt states. And that's why I think Trump was in Pennsylvania over the weekend or over the week rather. And I expect that the both Trump and every prospective Republican will spend a lot of time in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the titular swing state, so that's that. Hope you enjoy this podcast. Please like and subscribe in the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. And Please subscribe on YouTube. I'm trying to really grow that channel and I appreciate you all so much. I hope you guys are enjoying your Christmas season and I will be back on Monday. Thank you.
Lendio Announcer
If you've been in business for at least six months and have a decent credit score, you could get business funding in as little as 24 you don't have to spend a ton of time going from lender to lender to find the best match for your small business. Drive your business forward with Lendio. Just let Lendio do it for you. At Lendio, we've built a marketplace of over 75 lenders and funding partners who know what you need and can get it to you quickly. See what your business can qualify for in just a few minutes@lendio.com that's L E N D I O lyndio.com this.
Jacob Goldstein
Is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Profit? Business software is expensive, and when you buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate. Odoo solves that because all Odoo software is connected on a single affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data. Odoo has over 60 apps available for any needs your business might have have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounting, all linked and talking to each other. Check out Odoo at o d o o.com that's o d o o.com I.
Podcast Advertiser
Use Shipt Same day delivery to stay connected with my sister during the holidays. She lives across the country. Shipt has tons of stores to order from. Groceries from Albertsons, crafts from Michaels, even pet supplies from petsmart. The list goes on. So when we have long distance movie nights, I turn to Shipt to get face masks, snacks and everything else we need delivered to her and to me same day. Download the app or visit Shipt.com that's S-H-I-P-T.com stay cozy, stay home and save big online during Lowe's December deal drops because honestly, why go anywhere when the deals come to you? Check this out. Lowes is going to give you two free select tools from dewalt, Craftsman or Cobalt when you buy a select battery or combo kit. Yep, two tools free. It's basically a holiday miracle. Plus rewards members get free standard shipping all month long. Yet another reason not to leave your couch. Kick back, click around. Let the savings roll in. Shop New December deal drops on Lowes.com every week this month. Fresh deals, cozy vibes, zero effort. The holidays are back at Starbucks. So share the season with a peppermint mocha, Starbucks Signature Espresso, Velvety mocha and cool peppermint notes topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate curls together is the best place to be at Starbucks.
This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human.
Episode: It's a Numbers Game: Gen Z vs. Gen X Pop Culture Quiz + 2028 Election Forecast
Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Ryan Gradosky
Network: iHeartPodcasts
This episode offers a dynamic blend of data-driven political analysis and lighthearted generational culture wars. Host Ryan Gradosky first dives into fresh CDC data on birth rates and immigration, drawing connections to the impact of recent policy and demographic shifts. The mood shifts in the second segment as Ryan tests his Gen Z employees' knowledge of Gen X and Millennial pop culture with a spirited quiz. The show wraps with an "Ask Me Anything" that forecasts the pivotal issues and shifting battlegrounds of the 2028 presidential election.
The tone is humorous, energetic, and at times wistful, especially during the culture quiz segment comparing generational reference points.
[02:23-08:39]
CDC Releases New Birth Data
Population and Policy Impact
Why Are These Changes Happening?
Notable Quote:
"Mass deportation is working. The illegal alien and foreign born population is decreasing by about 2 million people is what we're guessing."
— Ryan Gradosky, [04:44]
[11:23-27:37]
A humorous segment in which Ryan quizzes his Gen Z team (Will, Wiley, Alex, and Colton) about Millennial and Gen X music, TV, and pop culture references. The stakes: points off for wrong answers, glory (and a small prize) for the winner.
[12:31-18:43]
Notable Quote:
"I am actually so happy that you know one thing."
— Ryan Gradosky, celebrating a correct answer ([14:00])
[19:43-23:16]
Notable Quote:
"Every time you say high school, I'm gonna guess Breakfast Club. Okay, but that's not the answer all the time."
— Alex, [21:58]
[23:16-27:37]
Scoreboard:
Notable Moment:
"This was worse than I thought it was. [...] I'm going to start instituting a movie and music song of the month for my employees so anyone knows what I'm talking about"
— Ryan Gradosky ([27:37-27:48])
[30:37-39:44]
Host Ryan answers a listener's question from Tom in Australia about the changing political and demographic map for the 2028 U.S. presidential election.
Notable Quotes:
"By 2032... North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona and Nevada combined [...] will be only swing states that matter."
— Ryan Gradosky ([31:15])
"Democrats essential problem is that they've had an issue turning out black voters the way that Obama did. For obvious reasons."
— Ryan Gradosky ([36:28])
This episode marries macro-level political/demographic commentary with the micro-level humor of a cross-generational pop culture quiz, reflecting how both numbers and nostalgia shape America’s present and future. The blend of heavy data and light entertainment is classic "Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," inviting listeners to laugh at generational divides—and consider how shifting trends will impact upcoming elections.
For full context, listen to the episode on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.