What if, instead of saving all our freedom for retirement, we borrowed some of those years and sprinkled them throughout our working lives?

Designer Stefan Sagmeister shuts down his entire business for a year every seven years. And research by DJ DiDonna, author of 'Big Time Off', suggests that people who take sabbaticals often describe them as some of the peak experiences of their lives — returning with less burnout, more creativity, stronger relationships and greater confidence to make changes.

So why do so many of us wait until we're burned out, made redundant, hit by a health scare — or finally retire — before giving ourselves permission to stop?

In this episode, we explore how to take a sabbatical, why it's very different from an extended holiday, and whether we should actually design regular periods of time off into our careers.

You'll hear us discuss:

• What actually counts as a sabbatical — and the importance of duration, intention and genuinely disconnecting
• Why it can take six to eight weeks just to properly switch off from work
• Why sabbaticals shouldn't only be something we take when we're burned out or desperately need a break
• Chris's accidental sabbatical after quitting his job and moving to California with no job or home lined up — and the paid three-month career break he now wishes he'd used differently
• The four stages that can help you get more from a sabbatical: decompress, disconnect, explore and experiment, then work out what you want to bring home
• Why adults need more opportunities to play, experiment and do things that have absolutely nothing to do with career progression
• The case for taking six to twelve months off every decade, rather than saving all our freedom for retirement
• How you could start planning and saving now to make regular sabbaticals financially possible
• Why Gen Z might choose to accumulate experiences rather than things — and whether Gen X could learn something from that
• How to address the big barriers: money, children, career progression and the fear of what you'll come back to
• Why a sabbatical could actually make you more resilient, interesting and confident when you return
• And how Gen X can apply the same principles to designing a more flexible transition into retirement

Along the way, Chris challenges Lily to start planning now for a six-month sabbatical around the time she turns 30 — and by the end of the conversation, she's ready to set up the savings pot.

Because perhaps the question isn't “Can I afford to take a sabbatical?”

It's “How could I design my life so that I can?”

And, just as importantly: what might it cost me if I never do?

Hit play now.

1.30 A celebrated sabbatical taker

2.42 Defining a sabbatical

5.57 Origins of the sabbatical and current reality

8.39 Do you take a sabbatical or does it take you?

10.28 Chris' 1st sabbatical (California)

15.57 Chris' 2nd sabbatical (at home)

18.56 What makes a good sabbatical?

23.12 How Gen Z can plan and prepare for multiple sabbaticals

32.31 How to overcome the barriers

40.06 The risk of not taking one

41.40 Is it too late for Gen X to take one?

43.48 What to do now to set yourself up for a sabbatical

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

Why does Gen Z still tune in every night for Love Island when they barely watch broadcast TV at all?

And why do shows like 'Love Island' and 'The Traitors' still manage to get different generations sitting on the same sofa, rooting for their favourites, booing the villains and talking about what happened the next day?

This episode starts with Chris trying to understand Lily's fascination with Love Island — and quickly turns into a much bigger conversation about how Gen X and Gen Z consume entertainment, news and culture very differently.

From the days when millions of Gen Xers watched Top of the Pops at exactly the same time, to a Gen Z world of TikTok, streaming, Reddit, Letterboxd and personalised algorithms, we explore what we've gained from having almost unlimited choice — and what we might have lost along the way.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why Love Island and The Traitors have become rare examples of appointment television for Gen Z
• Lily testing Chris on his surprisingly extensive knowledge of Love Island vocabulary
• Why shared TV moments might matter more in an increasingly personalised media world
• How Gen X went from three or four TV channels to today's overwhelming choice — and whether more choice actually means better TV
• How Gen Z discovers what to watch through TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and online communities
• Why Lily increasingly finds that the news comes to her, rather than deliberately seeking it out
• The strengths — and risks — of getting news through social media rather than traditional news organisations
• What Gen X misses by not being immersed in online culture, and what Gen Z risks missing when algorithms decide what appears in their feeds
• What both generations could borrow from each other's media habits

Along the way, we get into Big Brother, The Apprentice, Line of Duty, Top of the Pops, soap operas, decision fatigue, shrinking attention spans — and whether reality TV really is any more ridiculous than the programmes previous generations were glued to.

Because perhaps the most interesting thing about Love Island isn't who couples up with whom.

It's that in a world where everyone's feed, recommendations and viewing habits are increasingly personalised, millions of people still occasionally want to watch the same thing, at the same time, and talk about it together.

Listen in for a Gen X/Z exchange on how our media habits are changing — and why both generations might benefit from letting other people, rather than just the algorithm, broaden what we see.

1:45 Why Gen Z love Love Island

3:40 The Traitors - what Gen X & Gen Z love

4:56 Are we headed for real life Squid game and Hunger Games?

6:53 How emotionally manipulative are these shows?

11:24 Why the shift from scripted drama to reality game shows?

12:24 Chris' Love Island vocab test

17:05 The new appointment television

21:15 What Gen X had

26:48 How we discover new things to watch

29:45 The Bechdel Test

31:17 How long do you give a new show?

33:31 How Gen X and Gen Z find and consume news

38:40 What we can learn and borrow from each other

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

What if the biggest mistake we've all made about meaning is thinking we have to find it?

If you've ever wondered "What am I supposed to do with my life?", felt pressure to discover your purpose, or questioned why your achievements haven't brought the fulfilment you expected, this episode is for you.

In this episode we explore what meaning really is, why it's different from purpose, and why both Gen X and Gen Z are often asking exactly the same questions—just from different stages of life.

Drawing on ideas from Arthur Brooks, Bill Burnett & Dave Evans, Jim Collins and David Brooks, we discuss why meaning isn't something you discover like buried treasure, but something you create through the choices you make, the people you surround yourself with and the way you experience everyday life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The difference between meaning, purpose and direction—and why confusing them leaves so many people feeling stuck
• Why the pressure to find your "one true calling" may be holding you back
• The surprising exercise from Stanford's Life Design Lab that changes how you think about your future
• Why the moments when you feel most alive often reveal far more than your biggest achievements
• How difficult experiences can become some of the most meaningful chapters of your life
• Why relationships, contribution and belonging are at the heart of a meaningful life
• A simple way to identify where more meaning might already be hiding in your everyday life

Whether you're in your twenties trying to figure out what's next, or in midlife wondering what the second half of life is really for, this conversation offers a different way of thinking about fulfilment—one that's less about chasing the perfect destination and more about designing a life that feels worthwhile.

If you enjoyed our episodes on life design, success and comparison, wellness, or longevity, this conversation brings many of those ideas together around one of life's biggest questions.

Listen in and discover why the question isn't, "What's my purpose?"—it's, "How can I create more meaning in my life today?"

Hit play now

1:18 The questions about meaning we're asking

2:27 What do we mean by meaning and purpose?

6:28 A test for finding purpose

10:17 Where we find meaning

14:17 How we can miss meanigful moments

16:53 Where to look for meaning

18:16 Meaning in suffering

21:10 How meaning is relational

25:42 How Gen Z might approach finding meaning differently to Gen X

29:25 Practical things you can do to find more meaning in your life

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

It's back... and this time we've brought reinforcements.

One year after launching The Gen X/Z Exchange, we're celebrating our first birthday with a rematch of one of our most popular episodes: The Gen X/Z Quiz.

When we started the podcast, we thought the biggest differences between Gen X and Gen Z would be our attitudes to work, relationships and modern life.

A year later, we've discovered we actually agree on far more than we expected.

But our cultural reference points?

That's another story...

Joining us for this anniversary special are returning guests Charlie Perkins and Carl Scutt (from our most downloaded episode on CV writing), alongside some new faces, as Team Gen X and Team Gen Z battle it out once again.

Can you beat both teams?

Play along and test how much you really know about the generation before—or after—your own.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Which generation knows more about the other's music, TV, films and historic moments

• Whether Gen X can identify modern internet culture, social media slang and viral trends

• Whether Gen Z knows anything about Live Aid, classic soaps, when the UK used to score at Eurovision, and how primitive 1980s technology was compared to today's

• How the final question produced the biggest surprise of the entire quiz

Listen in to hear if Gen X can even the score from last time.

Along the way you'll learn a surprising amount about both generations, laugh at some spectacular wrong answers, and maybe realise that we aren't actually as different as we sometimes think.

One year ago, this quiz helped launched our podcast. One year later, we're running it again to celebrate - with some familiar faces, a couple of new ones, and exactly the same mission: helping two generations understand each other just a little bit better.

You'll find the original quiz episode here:

https://www.thegenxzexchange.com/2453294/episodes/17507364-the-gen-x-z-quiz-how-much-do-you-know-about-the-other-generation

Happy first birthday to The Gen X/Z Exchange—and thank you to everyone who's joined us for the journey so far.

1.05 - Intro and guests

3.39 - Round 1

14.30 - Round 1 scores and round 2

19.41 - Round 2 scores and round 3

26.34 - Round 3 scores and round 4

42.43 - The final question

44.20 The final scores

45.53 - Our reflections on the first year and thank you message

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

Will you live to 100?

Medical science has added around 30 years to the average lifespan over the last century. But have we added 30 healthy years?

In this episode, Chris and Lily explore the difference between lifespan and healthspan — why living longer isn't enough if those extra years are spent dealing with illness, frailty or loss of independence.

Drawing on ideas from Peter Attia's bestselling book 'Outlive', they discuss the everyday habits that can dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, while helping you stay active and independent for longer.

Whether you're in your twenties or your fifties, the choices you make today could shape the quality of your life decades from now.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why healthspan matters even more than lifespan

• The biggest mistakes Gen X and Gen Z make when thinking about ageing

• Peter Attia's four pillars of longevity: nutrition, exercise, sleep and emotional health

• Why strength, balance and muscle matter far more than appearance

• How healthy habits compound just like investing money

• Practical ways to reduce your risk of dementia, heart disease and other chronic illnesses

• Why it's never too early - or too late - to invest in your future health

From family experiences with ageing parents and grandparents to practical, science-backed advice, this conversation explores how both generations can give themselves the best chance of living longer, healthier and more meaningful lives.

If you enjoyed our recent episodes on wellness culture and why we're all so tired all the time, this is the perfect follow-on conversation.

Hit play now.

1.02 Live to 100 no matter what or 90 years healthily?

3.05 What Gen Z thinks about old age

4.09 What Gen X thinks

7.50 How healthy habits compound over time

9.23 Are we optimising for the wrong things?

11.32 What do you want to do in old age?

14.20 The Four Horsemen

15.05 Fast death vs slow death

16.58 Can you outrun your family medical history?

17.46 Nutrition

19.39 Exercise & stability

23.16 Sleep

23.57 Emotional health

26.19 Staying healthy for a 60-year Gen Z career

27.50 What you can do now

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

Have we become a little too obsessed with wellness?

From green powders and cold plunges to therapy talk, mindfulness apps and self-care routines, wellness has gone from a niche interest to a multi-trillion-dollar industry. But is it actually making us healthier and happier, or just giving us more things to worry about?

In this episode of The Gen X/Z Exchange, Chris and Lily explore the rise of modern wellness culture and ask whether we've reached a tipping point. Looking at the issue through both Gen X and Gen Z eyes, they unpack what's genuinely helping us live better lives and where wellness might be doing more harm than good.

You'll learn:

• How wellness became one of the biggest industries in the world

• Why the 2010s and the COVID pandemic changed the way we think about health and wellbeing

• Whether therapy talk and self-diagnosis have gone too far

• The surprising downside of chasing the perfect body and perfect lifestyle

• Why corporate "wellness washing" often misses the point

• How wellness can become isolating instead of bringing us together

• Why community and strong relationships may be more important than expensive wellness trends

• What Gen X and Gen Z can learn from each other's approach to living well

Chris and Lily also discuss the uncomfortable truth that many of the people who could benefit most from wellness support are often the least able to afford it, and explore how we can build healthier lives without buying into every new trend.

Listen in and you'll discover that real wellbeing might have less to do with optimisation and more to do with connection, balance and belonging.

Hit play now and join the conversation.

0.58 What wellness means

2.44 The global wellness industry

5.56 Mental health goes mainstream and the COVID effect

8.49 the wellness response

9.55 has wellness got toxic?

10.33 therapy talk is now normalised

11.52 The focus on body image

13.48 Self-diagnosis culture

15.52 The dark side of wellness

17.32 Wellness washing

22.24 What the two generations can offer each other to make sense of wellness culture

23.38 The importance of community & relationships to our health

25.22 How wellness culture can be isolating

27.43 Our takeaways

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

How do you make a great first impression in a new job? And what separates the people who thrive in their first 90 days from those who struggle?

Starting a new role can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Whether you're beginning your career, changing employers, stepping into leadership, or navigating a fully remote environment, the first few months can shape your success for years to come.

In this episode of The Gen X/Z Exchange, Chris and Lily explore what it really takes to start a new job successfully. They dive into Michael Watkins' renowned 'First 90 Days' framework, Chris's experience of leading teams and changing roles throughout his career, as well as Lily's perspective having landed her first professional internship, plus there's advice from Chris' LinkedIn community. They unpack how to build confidence, credibility and momentum from day one.

You'll learn:

• How to create a learning agenda for your first 30 days in a new role
• Three clues that help you quickly understand a company's culture
• The four types of people you should identify and build relationships with early
• How to secure early wins between from 30-60 days
• What great employees and leaders do during days 60 to 90 to build trust and reputation
• Four powerful problem-solving questions to ask when tackling new challenges
• The biggest challenge facing employees in today's remote and hybrid workplaces
• Five essential conversations to have with your manager at the end of your first 90 days

Chris and Lily also compare the different concerns Gen X and Gen Z employees face when starting a new role and share the lessons that surprise them most.

Whether you're starting your very first job, moving to a new organisation, or stepping into a leadership role, listen in and you'll discover how to navigate the first 90 days with confidence and set yourself up for long-term success.

Hit play now and give yourself the best possible start.

If this episode resonates, you might also find episode 14 from 3rd December 2025 useful: 'Gen X, Gen Z, Boomers & Millennials: Gabby Rosely decodes how the generations can all get along at work'

1.01 Lily's new job

2.05 Stats of the first 90 days

4.11 First 30 days - your learning agenda

7.31 Three clues to company culture

9.01 Four types of people to look for in the culture

11.30 30-60 days: how to secure early wins

15.05 60-90 days: building consistency and developing your reputation

15.35 For problem solving questions

17.28 Five mini conversations to have with your boss at 90 days

19.30 The biggest challenge being new and fully remote

22.27 Top concerns of Gen X & Gen Z starting a new job

28.21 Quick fire advice from our LinkedIn connections

31.03 Lily's key takeaways

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/

We don't have a full episode this week - there are two reasons for that you'll hear about in this preview.

Instead, here's a sneak peek of some of the topics we have planned. If there are any others you'd like us to discuss, let us know!

The Gen X/Z Exchange is a UK podcast exploring career change, purpose, wellbeing and modern life through honest conversations between a Gen X dad and his Gen Z daughter - helping you navigate life’s transitions with perspective across generations.

Send us a voice message on Speakpipe!

https://www.speakpipe.com/thegenxzexchange

Connect with us:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisperkins172/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-perkins-8446a82bb/