The NYT puzzles now frequently feature Gen Z slang, advocate less stodgy language, and make more current cultural references, so I am trying to fold that into more of my puzzles. I didn't start with an idea -- just a desire to work more current answers and clues into the puzzle. I began by tinkering with a grid and cycling through some 15 letter answers, which is how I landed on 36A and its partner, 27D. I also added a late alteration and toiled awhile over the top section of the puzzle to make 19A work. This allowed me to make another current pop culture reference. 43D and 54D are not exactly current, but current-ish as well as from personal favorites of mine. - CD