Todd and Cathy share the upcoming changes to their podcast, Zen Parenting Radio, which will be renamed Zen POP Parenting starting June 1st! They also discuss the normal shifts in kids’ friendships, highlighting the importance of loyalty, boundaries, and the reality that friendships evolve. As parents, we can feel more overwhelmed than our kids when these changes happen, but it’s important to normalize the ups and downs of friendships and offer support without letting our own fear or discomfort take over.Cathy and Todd dive into how 80s pop culture—especially the roles played by William Zabka—shaped Gen X’s early ideas about bullying, power, and masculinity. From The Karate Kid’s Johnny Lawrence to Just One of the Guys’ Greg Tolan, Zabka’s characters weren’t just villains—they were cultural blueprints. In this episode, they explore how these archetypes trained us to recognize bullying as loud, obvious, and physical, and why that old model leaves many Gen X parents unequipped to understand the quiet, social cruelty their kids face today. They reflect on Zabka’s surprising return in Cobra Kai, the emotional growth Gen X is still working through, and how we can better support a generation that sees power and empathy very differently.
