Sep 28, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min · 9 segments
The world changes, life is hard. That's not news. But are millennials uniquely misunderstood, or simply the first generation to document their own confusion so thoroughly? Deepika Arwind, author…
Deepika ArwindGuest
A.M. GautamGuest
Sunaina JainHostAnd getting a bit more into the actual stories you're telling, right? If the conversation is about indeed the stories that we tell about ourselves, many conversations around generations do revolve around expectations.
As you started saying that there is, you read about us being the first generation to experience be born into a neoliberal India and what does that mean for us etc so your book Aditya explores specifically how people construct stories about their generation right how do and therefore I'm kind of curious about how do expectations shape the way generations understand themselves and what roles do narratives play in shaping who we are collectively and there's that one particular essay that deals with it and maybe you can speak a little more to that.
I mean, there is not a specific essay which deals with this, but it's a sort of a theme that keeps popping up in all the essays basically.
So, for example, if you pick my essay called Millennials versus Apocalypse, which is about environmental anxiety, there is a lot to be anxious about, first of all.
But then also, there is a sort of trend That makes you feel good about being anxious about the environment, which I get is a slightly complex thing to think about.
But think of it like this, that carbon footprint, for example, is a concept that was invented by a petroleum company called British Petroleum.
These guys have had a major oil spill and they wanted to shift the focus from themselves and from other oil companies.
They partnered with Ogilvy and they created this campaign where each person could measure their carbon emission.
So the guilt was passed on from corporations to individuals, right? And we are still harping on about it.
But no matter how many paper straws you use and no matter how much, you know, you buy containers for your shampoo and use, I don't know, jute bags or whatever.
It doesn't really matter all that much in the end, except that you are not living like a pig.
But it doesn't matter in the really big picture because 70% of the world's carbon emissions come from just 100 companies.
All sorts of awareness campaigns you can run, all the water that you can save by not showering and using a bucket instead.
Whatever Ogilvy and British Petroleum told us isn't really enough to create a significant difference.
We are constantly being told that our buying behavior will have an impact on the world.
And all of these, these things together, you know, they, they can creep up on you and they can really impact what you think of yourself and your place in the world, because somehow you're going to have to cope with it.
And getting a bit more into the actual stories you're telling, right? If the conversation is about indeed the stories that we tell about ourselves, many conversations around generations do revolve around expectations.
As you started saying that there is, you read about us being the first generation to experience be born into a neoliberal India and what does that mean for us etc so your book Aditya explores specifically how people construct stories about their generation right how do and therefore I'm kind of curious about how do expectations shape the way generations understand themselves and what roles do narratives play in shaping who we are collectively and there's that one particular essay that deals with it and maybe you can speak a little more to that.
I mean, there is not a specific essay which deals with this, but it's a sort of a theme that keeps popping up in all the essays basically.
So, for example, if you pick my essay called Millennials versus Apocalypse, which is about environmental anxiety, there is a lot to be anxious about, first of all.
But then also, there is a sort of trend That makes you feel good about being anxious about the environment, which I get is a slightly complex thing to think about.
But think of it like this, that carbon footprint, for example, is a concept that was invented by a petroleum company called British Petroleum.
These guys have had a major oil spill and they wanted to shift the focus from themselves and from other oil companies.
They partnered with Ogilvy and they created this campaign where each person could measure their carbon emission.
So the guilt was passed on from corporations to individuals, right? And we are still harping on about it.
But no matter how many paper straws you use and no matter how much, you know, you buy containers for your shampoo and use, I don't know, jute bags or whatever.
It doesn't really matter all that much in the end, except that you are not living like a pig.
But it doesn't matter in the really big picture because 70% of the world's carbon emissions come from just 100 companies.
All sorts of awareness campaigns you can run, all the water that you can save by not showering and using a bucket instead.
Whatever Ogilvy and British Petroleum told us isn't really enough to create a significant difference.
We are constantly being told that our buying behavior will have an impact on the world.
And all of these, these things together, you know, they, they can creep up on you and they can really impact what you think of yourself and your place in the world, because somehow you're going to have to cope with it.
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