PODCAST · society
The XYZ Experiment
by Fiona, Darsh & Luke
Looking for a podcast that bridges the generation gap and tackles the issues that matter? Look no further than "The XYZ Experiment". Our show brings together people of all ages to talk about everything from pop culture, social issues, relationships, and everything in-between. With each episode, we delve deep into the thoughts and experiences of our diverse presenters and guests, representing a range of age groups and backgrounds. From the wise wisdom of our elders to the fresh perspectives of our youngest voices, we explore the nuances and complexities of modern life in a way that will have you laughing, nodding your head in agreement or maybe yelling at our podcast in disagreement. So what are you waiting for? Tune in and get ready for some serious intergenerational bonding as we travel through time and explore the issues that matter most, learning from each other and have a blast doing it. Produced by Fiona Kelly and Darsh Ayton Edited by Fiona Kelly
Episodes
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Ep161: Cake: A Love Story Across The Years
Chocolate, lemon, sponge or a traditional Sri Lankan fruit cake — when it comes to cake, we all have our favourites. But have our tastes changed as we've grown older? This week on The XYZ Experiment, Darsh and Fiona take a delicious trip down memory lane, reminiscing about childhood birthday…
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Ep160: Do We Still Need to Know How to Do Things?
Once upon a time, we memorised phone numbers, read maps, did sums in our heads and figured out how to fix things ourselves. We cooked from memory, wrote things down by hand and, if we got lost, there was no little blue dot to rescue us. But now we have Google, GPS, YouTube and AI at our…
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Ep159: What 20 Years of Research Tells Us About Young People
What can 20 years of asking young Australians about sex, drugs, relationships and health tell us about how generations are changing? This week on The XYZ Experiment, we’re joined by Associate Professor Megan Lim from the Burnet Institute, whose research has spent two decades doing something...
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158: Please Don't Remake That! Are Some Stories Sacred?
Why does Hollywood keep bringing back the same movies, TV shows, characters and franchises? And more importantly, do we actually want them to? This week on The XYZ Experiment, we’re talking remakes, reboots, sequels and the stories that apparently refuse to stay finished. Are there some movies…
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Ep157: Eat. Sleep. Move. What Does the Science Actually Say?
What does being “healthy” actually mean — and with so much advice coming at us from social media, are we making it more complicated than it needs to be? This week on The XYZ Experiment, we’re joined by Dr Fran Alves, an early-career dementia researcher at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and...
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Ep156: Your Childhood Bedroom: Is it Still Your Room?
This week on The XYZ Experiment, we’re opening the door to a very personal piece of our past — our childhood bedrooms. What did your room look like growing up? Were the walls covered in posters? Did you choose the paint, rearrange the furniture constantly, or have absolutely no say in how it...
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Ep155: Who Do You Turn to For Life Advice?
Who are the people you turn to when you need advice, perspective or a push in the right direction? This week on The XYZ Experiment, we're talking about mentors - who are they, where we find them and the impact they can have on our lives. We explore what being a mentor actually means. It doesn't...
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154: The Future of Heart Health
Heart disease remains one of Australia's biggest health challenges — but how much of it could actually be prevented? This week on The XYZ Experiment, we welcome back Susie Cartledge, Senior Research Fellow at Monash University and Clinical Nurse Consultant at Alfred Health, to talk about heart...
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Ep153: Necessity or Luxury: What's Worth Spending Money On?
What do you happily spend money on — and what do you refuse to splurge on? This week on The XYZ Experiment, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z talk about the choices we make with our money. What does each generation consider a necessity? What feels like a luxury? And where do those things fit when you’re...
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Ep152: Why Do We Keep Re-Reading the Same Books?
Whilst we're on holiday we are revisiting some of our favourite episodes. This week it's Luke's choice and he is taking us back to Episode 101. In this episode we explore the age-old question that every book lover has asked themselves: "Why do we keep rereading the same books?" Whether it's the...
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Ep151: Have You or Someone You Know Experienced a Cyber Scam?
This week as we're on a break, Darsh has picked Ep88: Are You at Risk of a CyberScam as Dr Kate Gould gave some incredible tips on things to look out for in terms of are you being scammed, what is a scam and raising awareness of these crimes. Dr Kate Gould is a clinical Neuropsychologist…
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Ep150: Have You Found Your Everyday Glimmer Yet?
As we take a break over June, we are sharing our favourite episodes that you may have missed. This week Darsh has picked Ep85: Glimmers: Finding Light and Joy in Everyday Moments. Engaging in glimmers really help us to stay present, find joy and bring light into a world that can sometimes feel a...
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Ep149: The Importance Of Sleep
Fiona here from The XYZ Experiment. Throughout June we're diving back into our archives and revisiting some of our favourite episodes. My pick this week is Episode 107: Why Sleep Is the Most Important Thing You'll Do All Day. What if one of the most powerful tools for better health, clearer...
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EP148: Consumed: What We've Been Reading, Watching & Loving
What have we been loving recently? This week, we share the books, TV shows and experiences that have recently bought us joy, sparked curiosity or simply made life a little more interesting. From old TV shows and card games to cooking with family and getting lost in a great book, we're sharing...
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EP147: Everyone Says "Live Your Best Life" - But What Does That Actually Mean?
What does it actually mean to live your "best life"? Is it career success, financial security, family, freedom, good health. more sleep or simply feeling calm for five minutes? This week we compare how different generations define happiness, success and fulfilment and whether anyone truly feels...
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Ep146: How Did They Know I Wanted New Shoes?
How private are we anymore really? In this week's episode we discuss the complicated world of privacy, personal information and digital oversharing. From Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin to loyalty programs, online shopping and DNA ancestry kits, we explore how comfortable different generations…
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Ep145: What Was Your "Special Meal" Growing Up?
Food is never food, especially when you're a kid. This week, we look back on meals that meant something; the dishes or trip to the fast food joint when you'd been particularly well behaved, the Friday night fish and chips and the family feast meals tied to religious or cultural traditions. From...
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Ep144: Is Hair Just Hair or a Deeper Part of Who We Are?
From a Margret Thatcher haircut horror story to the latest trends, fringes to full blown reinventions, this week we are talking about the highs, lows and hilarious memories tied to getting a haircut. How much does a good (or very bad) haircut affect your confidence? Are you loyal to one style for...
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Ep143: How Do We Keep Friendship Affordable?
Last week, we asked do we still have "Best Friends"? This week we're going deeper into something a little more uncomfortable - money and friendship. In a world where everything feels more expensive, how is money quietly shaping our relationships? From dinners out, concert tickets, weekends away -...
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Ep142: Do You Call Anyone Your Best Friend Anymore?
What makes a best friend? This week on The XYZ experiment we ponder the idea of 'Best Friends". Is it a lifelong title or is something we grow out of? What makes a best friend in the first place? Is it history, loyalty, or something much deeper? And can you have more than one at anytime? But in...
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Ep141: Guts, Gluten and Getting Through it
This week on The XYZ Experiment, Fiona and Darsh get real about life with unpredictable guts. From the shock of a coeliac diagnosis to navigating the daily realities of Crohn's disease, we share our personal stories, the things no one tells you, and how it's changed the way we eat, socialise and...
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Ep140: Are You Manifesting or Just Hoping?
This week on The XYZ Experiment, we're asking the big question: are we manifesting or just really, really hoping? Gen Z Luke is out there casually saying "I'm manifesting that for you", it's the new 'good luck'. Our Gen Y Darsh takes us back to the glory days of The Secret , when we thought...
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Ep139: Do You Budget? A Generational Reality Check
This week we are talking about the world of budgeting - how we do it, why we do it or why some of us don't do it at all. Across generations, money habits can look wildly different. From a budget planner who tracks every dollar, to the more relaxed approach, we look at our beliefs, tools and life...
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Ep138: Declutter Like Your Generation Depends on it
This week we’re talking about the world of decluttering—but not just the “tidy your drawer” kind. We’re exploring how different generations approach stuff. What we keep, what we throw away, and what we just can’t let go of isn’t random. Is it shaped by our generation, our experiences, or the…
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Ep137: Are You Work Fit?
What does it actually mean to be 'work fit' in today's world? We are excited to be back for 2026 and today we are exploring how different generations prepare themselves to get through a working day, week, month - physically, mentally and emotionally. Is being work fit about resilience and pushing...
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Ep136: What Would We Miss Most in 20 Years if They Disappeared: Things We Hope the Future Keeps
In our final episode for 2025, we look ahead twenty years and ask: what might disappear and what would we truly miss? From Melbourne's iconic trams to the magic of bookshops and cinemas, we explore the everyday joys that shape our sense of place. We also reflect on youth itself, those years when...
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EP135: Finding Your People: How Each Generation Builds Community
In this episode, we explore how Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z each build their sense of community and how those communities shift as we move through different life stages. From neighbourhood friendships and university groups, to workplace tribes, online communities and chosen families, we unpack what...
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Ep134: What's Your Algorithm Telling You? Gen Z vs Gen X Scroll Stories
In this episode Gen Z Luke and Gen X Fiona dive deep into a very modern question: What is your algorithm showing you right now and what? From TikTok rabbit holes to YouTube recommendations and Facebook, they explore how their feeds look completely different, built from different cultures,...
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Ep133: First Job & Big Dreams: Gen Z Meets Gen X at the Starting Line
Gen Z Luke is about to take his first big step into the workforce, whilst Gen X Fiona vividly remembers what that moment felt like decades earlier. In this episode the two compare their expectations, fears and dreams as they stand on opposite ends of the career starting line. From first job fears...
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Ep132: Scared for Life:Our First Horror Movie Experience
It's Halloween in a couple of days, and on this week's episode Fiona and Darsh share memories of the first time they watched a horror movie and the unforgettable mix of fear, nightmares and fascination that came with it. From VHS rentals and sleepovers gone wrong, too hiding behind hands and...
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Ep131: How Old Were You When You Learnt to Cook?
In this week's episode, Fiona and Darsh stir up a conversation about when they first learnt to cook. What they started with, who taught them, their favourite cook books, and how their relationship with cooking has changed over time. Our Gen X, Fiona finds peace in the kitchen, loving the…
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Ep130: What Happens When You Almost Lose Your Soul Dog?
This week's episode gets personal. Fiona opens up about the heartbreak of almost losing her beloved dog, Suki - her soul dog and constant companion. She shares the fear, the tears, and the overwhelming love that surfaced as she and her family did everything they could to save her (spoiler alert:...
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Ep129: The Friendship Agenda
This week, Gen Y Darsh reveals how her friendship catch-ups come with a plan - from planned agendas to voice memo updates in recurring chat groups. Meanwhile, Gen X Fiona is amazed; her friendship catchups are random, spontaneous and unstructured. Together they explore how different generations...
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Ep128: Becoming Me: A Gen Y’s UK Journey
Dr Minto Felix is not a stranger to migration across borders. In this episode we hear his experience of the Gen Y rite of passage of working and studying in the UK. But Mintos story extends beyond the experience of work, to stories of self discovery and becoming. Note: We apologise for the sound...
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Ep127: The Gift of Getting Older & What Matters Now
This week, Fiona and Darsh sit down to explore what it really means to grow older. From shifting priorities to letting go of things that once felt urgent, they ask: do we actually become more relaxed with age, or just more selective about what matters? Join the conversation as our Gen X and Gen Y...
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Ep126: Lifelong Learning
In this episode , Darsh and Luke delve into what lifelong learning means across the generations. From school, to self education, career growth to personal passions, they explore how learning has shaped their lives and why it continues to matter. They reflect on the role of curiosity, technology,...
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Ep125: What Food Gives You The Icks?
In this episode of The XYZ Experiment, Darsh and Luke dive into the foods that make them squirm. From childhood experiences to cultural quirks, they share the stories behind why certain dishes give them the dreaded "ick". Along the way, they explore whether eating is just about survival or if its...
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Ep124: Buzzing With Logic: The Secret Intelligence of Bees
This week on The XYZ Experiment, we sit down with Dr Scarlett Howard (Head of the Integrative Cognition, Ecology and Bio-inspiration Research Group at the School of Biological Sciences) to explore the surprising intelligence of tiny insect brains. Her current work focuses on bees and whether they...
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Ep123: When Tech Gets Tired: The iPad Problem
This week, Luke (our resident Gen Z) is grappling with the harsh reality that his beloved 7year old iP{ad has hit its expiry date. No longer able to support the latest apps, it's sparked a bigger question: is it fair - or even ethical - that technology becomes obsolete so quickly? From nostalgia...
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Ep122: Scent of a Generation: Perfume, Nostalgia & The Business of Scent
Perfume is no longer just a luxury, it's a booming multibillion dollar industry, growing at record speeds. In this episode, we explore the world of fragrance from a generational lens. We talk about perfumes and colognes we grew up with, the scents that defined our youth, and how a simple spray…
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Ep121: The Evolving Workplace: Lessons from Research and Experience with Professor Greg Bamber
In this episode of The XYZ Experiment, we sit down with Professor Greg Bamber from Monash University's Faculty of Business and Economics, to unpack the forces transforming our workplace. From the different ways generations approach work (or if this Gen ideology is actually relevant), to the...
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Ep120: When Knowing More Ruins The Magic
In this episode of The XYZ Experiment, Darsh, Fiona & Luke, dive into the unsettling experience of learning the hidden truths behind beloved things—and how that knowledge can forever change your relationship with them. From the surprising origins of Monopoly as an anti-capitalist protest to the...
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119: Wanderlust with Intent: Gen Z Does Travel Differently
In this episode our guest Amelia and co-host Luke, dive into the Gen Z approach to travel and it's not about snapping selfies at landmarks (sorry Millennials!). For Gen Z it is all about the experience. Whether it's slow travel, solo travel, or chasing the vibe in lesser known places, this...
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Ep118: Drive to Survive for The Generations
In this episode, we hit the road and compare what it was like learning to drive, then versus now. Our Gen X Fiona takes us back to the Wild West days of minimal supervision, dodgy cars and maximum freedom. Meanwhile, our Gen Y Darsh shares what it's like navigating modern driving; think apps,...
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Ep117: Deadly Obsessions: Why We Can't Stop Binging True Crime
Why are we all so obsessed with true crime? In this episode Darch and Fiona dive into their love - or unease- with true crime podcasts and TV series. From "Serial" to "Making a Murderer, we unpack what it is about crime stories that keep us up at night (and somehow help us fall asleep). Do...
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Ep116: Is TV Dead? Or Just Evolving
Remember rushing home to catch your favourite show live? Gen X Fiona does. In this episode we ask: Does anyone actually watch TV anymore? We explore how each generation consumes television - from appointment viewing and box sets to streaming, bingeing and endless YouTube rabbit holes. Is sport…
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Ep115: Deflect, Distract, Diffuse: How Gen X, Y, & Z Handle the Pressure
Stress. Anxiety. Overwhelm. In this candid conversation, our Gen X, Y and Z come together to share how they actually cope (or don't) with the pressure of modern life. From doom scrolling and deep breathing to counting backwards from 5 and using the alphabet, we explore what works - and what...
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Ep114: Meet Tara: The Story of a Woman Who Not Only Survived but has Thrived
From the wilds of Tanzania to the western suburbs of Melbourne, Tara Crowe's life has been anything but ordinary. In this episode , we follow Tara's journey through unexpected twists - geographical, emotional, and deeply personal. She's a woman who's rebuilt, rediscovered, and redefined herself...
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Ep113: Fiona & Darsh on Sisterhood: It's Complicated and Perfect
In this heartwarming episode, Darsh and Fiona explore the beautiful, complex, and often hilarious world of sisterhood. As two women who grew up surrounded only by sisters, they reflect on what it means to be part of a sister tribe - through childhood squabbles, adult support systems, and lifelong...
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Ep112: Am I Turning Into a Millennial? A Gen Z in Crisis
Luke, our resident Gen Z, is spiralling, convinced he is turning into a millennial and confronts the terrifying possibility that he is losing his edge. But is it really a generational identity crisis, or just the inevitable creep of maturity? In this episode, we explore the anxiety of adulting…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Looking for a podcast that bridges the generation gap and tackles the issues that matter? Look no further than "The XYZ Experiment". Our show brings together people of all ages to talk about everything from pop culture, social issues, relationships, and everything in-between.
With each episode, we delve deep into the thoughts and experiences of our diverse presenters and guests, representing a range of age groups and backgrounds. From the wise wisdom of our elders to the fresh perspectives of our youngest voices, we explore the nuances and complexities of modern life in a way that will have you laughing, nodding your head in agreement or maybe yelling at our podcast in disagreement.
So what are you waiting for? Tune in and get ready for some serious intergenerational bonding as we travel through time and explore the issues that matter most, learning from each other and have a blast doing it.
Produced by Fiona Kelly and Darsh Ayton
Edited by Fiona Kelly
HOSTED BY
Fiona, Darsh & Luke
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The XYZ Experiment have?
The XYZ Experiment currently has 161 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The XYZ Experiment about?
Looking for a podcast that bridges the generation gap and tackles the issues that matter? Look no further than "The XYZ Experiment". Our show brings together people of all ages to talk about everything from pop culture, social issues, relationships, and everything in-between. With each episode, we...
How often does The XYZ Experiment release new episodes?
The XYZ Experiment publishes regularly with 161 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The XYZ Experiment?
You can listen to The XYZ Experiment on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The XYZ Experiment?
The XYZ Experiment is created and hosted by Fiona, Darsh & Luke.
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