Giving Up
Giving Up
John deBary, Youngmi Mayer, Alex Pemoulié
Giving Up is the podcast where three aging Millennials talk about giving up: surrendering to the inexorable march of time and their inevitable demise. Each week we talk about why the world is mad at us and then we vote on who has the most interesting topic to talk about as it relates to our generation's unique spot as people who grew up with the internet but still remembers what life was like before it. Fueled by diagnosed ADHD we cover a range of topics from pop culture, to parenting, generational warfare, and beyond.
Giving Up - Episode 11: "RuPaul's Mid Race"
In their triumphant return to the airwaves, the crew re-aquaints themselves with the structure of their own podcast as they tackle subjects like fine dining, cannibalism, and The Sex Talk. 
Feb 14, 2024
1 hr 25 min
Giving Up - Episode 10: "Putting the 'mid' in 'Mid-Season Finale'"
On this momentous occasion, the tenth episode of Giving Up and the last episode before the holiday break, John, Youngmi, and Alex reflect on the past half season, share in their distrust of lakes, and finally dive into the Half Baked Harvest controversy that they've been threatening to talk about for months.  The crew ends the season with a rousing Newlywed Game and by sharing their hopes for 2024. 
Dec 13, 2023
1 hr 14 min
Giving Up - Episode 9: "Your Abs Know What Quantum Computing Is"
Returning after a two-week break in recording the crew catches up about Alex's trip to Mexico, Youngmi's son's pneumonia, and John's completely baseless feeling that Alex and Youngmi are mad at him because they stopped responding to the group text for five hours last Friday. The thunderdome yields a discussion of online fame.
Dec 6, 2023
1 hr 5 min
Giving Up - Episode 8: "In Korea, Pooping Is National Discourse"
Sorry if you're seeing this twice! A draft of the episode went up on Sunday by mistake, but we're not mad at you for listening!!! In this episode the crew wonders why the discussion always comes back to defecation and Alex and Youngmi are horrified that John sometimes forgets to eat. The Thunderdome results in a discussion of how each generation has a different level of intimacy with technology.  Just a heads up: this episode contains some discussion of disordered eating and intimate partner violence.   
Nov 29, 2023
1 hr 6 min
Giving Up - Episode 7: "Hunter Schafer Is Our Daughter"
During a discussion of feeling one's age, the crew makes a collective realization that John and Alex are actually Hunter Schafer's parents. The discussion of age continues during The Thunderdome when the crew discusses age gaps in straight relationships. 
Nov 22, 2023
1 hr 11 min
Giving Up - Episode 6: "Aggressively Mid"
The crew starts with a fullsome discussion of constipation and infant feces before consoling John about the demise of his non-alcoholic drink company. The Thunderdome finds John, Alex, and Youngmi diving into their pasts with surprising results. 
Nov 15, 2023
1 hr
Giving Up - Episode 5: "Hot Dogs Are Food!"
The crew dissects the internalized misogyny and homphobia inherent in policing one's own speech patters and how to impugn someone's actions without coming off abelist. The results of The Thunderdome lead the crew to reflect on the relationship between restaurant working conditions and food media against the backdrop of Momofuku Ko's closure. 
Nov 8, 2023
1 hr 14 min
Giving Up - Episode 4: "Maybe the Real Squirrel Jerky Is the Friends We Made Along the Way"
John laments his indifference towards his own birthday while Alex and Youngmi ponder how to raise oppression-aware children without making them insufferable perma-victims. The Thunderdome features a surprisingly magnanimous outcome and the crew wonders, finally, what trick-or-treating will look like after the apocalypse.
Nov 1, 2023
51 min
Giving Up - Episode 3: "Why Don't You Have Any Eyes?"
Without planning on it, Alex, John, and Youngmi end up recording a Halloween special. John tells the group what it's like to have sleep paralysis and Alex recounts the time she cast a spell on herself and accidentally burned her house down. Spooky season indeed. 
Oct 25, 2023
1 hr 6 min
Giving Up - Episode 2: "My Retirement Plan Is the Collapse of Society"
This week the crew talks the futility of retirement plans, the challenge of actually getting your friends to come to your events, and the fraught politics of Mother's Day. They also add a new closing segment where each one shares the favorite thing they're looking at this week.
Oct 25, 2023
1 hr 13 min
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