Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
As a professor of computer science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Ian Bogost spends a lot of time trying to connect with his Gen Z students. He knows the stereotypes about this crop of young people: lazy, grade-grubbing, incapable of resolving problems without running to an administrator. But Bogost, who frequently writes about his teaching experiences for The Atlantic, says there are larger forces at work that have changed the way college students think about higher education. If there’s a problem with “kids today,” Bogost says, the adults who’ve shaped their world have a lot to do with it.
Related Reading
Why Are Students Obsessed with ‘Points Taken Off’ (theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/grade-inflation-college-fix/684808/) (The Atlantic)
Is Gen Z Unemployable? (wsj.com/opinion/is-gen-z-unemployable-288d2ec9?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqemLKQSG4X8-i1wZY97gMApKBQkCRHJ6vEXLnGoQrZCeTExdSW7_aY0Gpej1A%3D%3D&gaa_ts=69d548e3&gaa_sig=y5R4UT2IVdfhVnjzDTJMxFWY7j_yjh0QOB2poOX_q3P6jRAgXAJY0Ml7lZxTQ96QPwizLPw32fBMAcXzDwklCQ%3D%3D) (The Wall Street Journal)
Nobody Cares if Music is Real Anymore (theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/07/velvet-sundown-ai-band-spotify/683410/) (The Atlantic)
What We Know About Gen Z so Far (pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/) (Pew Research Center)
Guest
Ian Bogost (https://engineering.washu.edu/faculty/Ian-Bogost.html) , professor and director of film and media studies, and professor of computer science and engineering at WashU
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/collegematters) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
As a professor of computer science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Ian Bogost spends a lot of time trying to connect with his Gen Z students. He knows the stereotypes about this crop of young people: lazy, grade-grubbing, incapable of resolving problems without running to an administrator. But Bogost, who frequently writes about his teaching experiences for The Atlantic, says there are larger forces at work that have changed the way college students think about higher education. If there’s a problem with “kids today,” Bogost says, the adults who’ve shaped their world have a lot to do with it.
Related Reading
Why Are Students Obsessed with ‘Points Taken Off’ (theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/grade-inflation-college-fix/684808/) (The Atlantic)
Is Gen Z Unemployable? (wsj.com/opinion/is-gen-z-unemployable-288d2ec9?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqemLKQSG4X8-i1wZY97gMApKBQkCRHJ6vEXLnGoQrZCeTExdSW7_aY0Gpej1A%3D%3D&gaa_ts=69d548e3&gaa_sig=y5R4UT2IVdfhVnjzDTJMxFWY7j_yjh0QOB2poOX_q3P6jRAgXAJY0Ml7lZxTQ96QPwizLPw32fBMAcXzDwklCQ%3D%3D) (The Wall Street Journal)
Nobody Cares if Music is Real Anymore (theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/07/velvet-sundown-ai-band-spotify/683410/) (The Atlantic)
What We Know About Gen Z so Far (pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/) (Pew Research Center)
Guest
Ian Bogost (https://engineering.washu.edu/faculty/Ian-Bogost.html) , professor and director of film and media studies, and professor of computer science and engineering at WashU
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters (chronicle.com/collegematters) . We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
