Episode 18: Turning 18: Feeling “Whelmed”

In this episode Kate Thomas sits down with her daughter Audrey to cover:

• What turning 18 actually means for young people in 2026
• Voting for the first time and what political participation means to Gen Z
• The strange mix of independence and expectation that comes with young adulthood
• How Gen Z sees the world and what they wish older generations understood
• Sydney Swans fandom, growing up in Sydney and the pressures facing young people today
• The moment between childhood and whatever comes next

Episode 18 opens with a word that perfectly captures something many young adults feel but rarely have language for: whelmed. Not overwhelmed by the weight of adulthood, not underwhelmed by a milestone that turns out to feel like any other day, but somewhere in the middle. Exactly whelmed. Kate and Audrey explore what turning 18 actually means in practical terms in 2026, from the excitement of being able to vote for the first time, to the freedom of being able to walk into an over-18 venue even if you choose not to, to the quiet strangeness of being expected to suddenly have your life figured out. 

One of the most interesting threads in Episode 18 is the conversation about voting for the first time. For Audrey, turning 18 in Australia means entering a mandatory voting system for the first time, and the episode explores what that feels like for a generation that has grown up watching political instability, climate anxiety and social media-driven polarisation. Kate and Audrey discuss what young people actually care about politically, how Gen Z approaches civic participation differently from previous generations, and why the act of voting feels both significant and complicated for many young Australians in 2026. 

Episode 18 gives Audrey genuine space to share how her generation sees the world, and the result is one of the most candid and illuminating conversations in the On the Mones catalogue. The pressures facing Gen Z are real and specific: the housing crisis, social media's influence on mental health, the blurring of online and offline identity, and the weight of inheriting a world shaped by decisions made long before they had any say. Audrey speaks about these with a clarity and groundedness that challenges the easy generalisations older generations often reach for when talking about young people. 

The lighter moments of Episode 18 touch on Sydney Swans fandom, the role sport plays in identity and community for young people, and the specific texture of growing up in Sydney in the 2020s. These details ground the conversation in something real and specific rather than abstract, and they give the episode a warmth and intimacy that makes it genuinely enjoyable listening even for those without a personal stake in the AFL. 

Episode 18 closes on something quietly moving: the acknowledgement that turning 18 is not really about becoming an adult overnight. It is about standing at a threshold between one version of life and another, not quite sure what is on the other side, and finding that the uncertainty itself is something to sit with rather than rush through. Kate and Audrey capture this beautifully, and the episode is a reminder of why the most powerful conversations on this podcast are often the ones that have nothing to do with hormones at all. 

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You can view the transcript for this episode below