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A weekly podcast, hosted by Ryan Broderick, about how the internet warps our minds, our culture — and reality.
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The internet is freaking out about Rocky Horror Picture Show again
Earlier this year, prolific and beloved actor Tim Curry passed away, and of course, his loss was the perfect time to kick off some discourse about his most well-known role: Frank-N-Furter. While it's still spooky season, we've decided to an
How Bronies won the internet
In 2010, Hasbro launched a new generation of My Little Pony toys, and debuted a nice little television show to accompany it. It was called My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and over a million people tuned into its premiere. Although perh
When the internet convinces you you're being followed
Have you ever been gang stalked? Or gang stalked someone? Hopefully not. But if you don’t even know what that is, today we’re talking about a weird little thing called “gang stalking.” That’s when TIs (“targeted individuals”) believe they’r
Why are we addicted to disgusting food videos
Why are food videos so popular online? And why are the most viral ones also the grossest? Today we’re looking back at the history of food videos, from Food Wishes to the hands-only top-down video style pioneered by Tasty to making cereal in
BONUS PREVIEW: "Primetime" gets it
Sit down and take a seat with Ryan & Grant. They discuss the recent release of Primetime as a follow-up to this week’s episode. Want to hear the rest of this conversation? Or ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members
Why "To Catch A Predator" videos feel so gross
To Catch A Predator launched in 2004 and was immediately a massive hit, but despite its long-lasting cultural impact — highlighted by last week’s release of Primetime — it only ran for one season and twenty episodes. The show ended after an
The original looksmaxxer who created our hell world
Who created the strongman hellscape that we’re currently living in? Today, we’re talking about the original looksmaxxer, Zyzz. He got his start online in 2006 with a popular World of Warcraft streaming account, whose earnings he used to joi
We're going independent
A little over a year ago, we had a big announcement — that we were adding video to the podcast with our partner Courier. Just as we go into the third year of exploring how the internet warps our minds, our culture, and eventually reality, w
Charlie Kirk didn't matter
Happy (?) Kirkiversary. One year ago today, Charlie Kirk was killed by someone the right-wing wasn’t able to effectively use for fearmongering. Ryan & Grant look back at what Kirk’s legacy is now — the martyr he wasn’t able to become, and t
BONUS PREVIEW: Is social media actually "dead" now?
Will we ever get another new platform to communicate with on the internet? Today, we’re talking about the various eras of social media platforms — from Myspace to Facebook, Twitter to Instagram, and Vine to TikTok — and their biggest moment
The sicko who invented prediction markets
Where did prediction markets come from, and why are they more popular than ever? Charlie Warzel joins the pod once again to discuss the proliferation of these strange companies like Kalshi and Polymarket that allow you to bet on nearly anyt
Bad things happen when we let robots decide what’s good
Why does culture feel so much less... human than it used to? Wyatt Cenac joins Ryan to discuss the “crisis of taste” — or how, in the past 10-15 years, tech companies have flipped media on its head. People used to spend more time making thi
Our autopsy of the DNC autopsy
Why did the Democrats lose so badly in 2024? Rob Flaherty joins us to dissect the "DNC autopsy" — the formerly internal report about what went wrong in 2024 — about which he gave his own thoughts on The Bulwark in May. Rob was the deputy ca
BONUS PREVIEW: Enhanced masculinity crisis
Did you catch Peter Thiel's Enhanced Games in Las Vegas on May 24th? You know, the libertarian-minded, steroid-fueled, biohacked Olympics. No? Still nothing? After recruiting mostly ex-Olympic athletes from track & field, swimming, and weig
The Onion's big plans for InfoWars
Venerable satirical Chicago-based outfit The Onion is truly on a mission to save democracy — and it starts by relaunching FKA Alex Jones’s InfoWars, which The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron LLC, acquired via bankruptcy auction.
We went to the UFC fight at the White House lol
This past weekend, Ryan & Grant went down to see what the UFC Freedom 250 fight on the White House lawn was all about. What they found was $30 margaritas, $120 graphic tees, one (1) mechanical bull, and a whole lot of people who just wanted
This celebrity murder case feels like fan fiction
Today we’re talking about the D4vd murder case, one of the darkest stories in pop culture at the moment. D4vd — or David Burke — got his start as one of the original Fortnite streamers, who then built a big Discord community around himself,
BONUS PREVIEW: This is the dot-com crash all over again [Part 2]
What would the internet look like if major tech companies like Meta and Google were no longer usable? With Google more deeply integrating AI into Search and changing how it’s worked for the first time in 25 years, many fear “Google Zero,” w
BONUS: How the internet destroyed TV (and itself) [Part 1]
Why is everything online just clips now? We’ve reached a point with digital video that’s made it impossible even for a normal, non-sicko to ignore: we’re awash in slop (whether AI-created or not). Ryan works through his thinking with Grant
Fauxbituaries (Hyperfixed)
We’re taking a breather to let Grant out of his cage and get some fresh air, but we didn’t want to leave you without something to panic about. So this week we’ve got an episode from friend of the show and previous guest, Alex Goldman, the h
New York hipsters and the antichrist
Today we’re talking about billionaire Peter Thiel and his many fascinating, varied interests. You might know him for secretly funding Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit that destroyed Gawker, but did you know that he is also pretty interested in New York
Revisiting "Her" in the age of AI relationships
If you forgot to add this important event to your calendars, Spike Jonze’s 2013 sci-fi film, Her, was actually set in 2025. Ryan and Grant watched the Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson vehicle now that we’re just past that date to see
Why AI cat videos are becoming the internet’s newest weird obsession
Why are cats so popular on the internet? It started with cat memes like I Can Haz Cheezburger and Keyboard Cat, then we became enamored with cat celebrities like Lil Bub, Grumpy Cat, and Princess Monstertruck. And now, we’re witnessing the
How trad wives took over the internet — from 4chan to TikTok
Where did the "tradwife" trend come from — you know, aside from the 1950s — and why has it become increasingly popular online? Today, we’re talking about not just how men aren’t doing that well, but maybe women aren’t either. This question,
You're one post away from becoming the internet's main character
Remember Chewbacca Mom, Damn Daniel, BeanDad, or most recently, Chappell Roan? These are just some examples of people who have become the “main character” on the internet — for better, or mostly (maybe always) worse. Today we’re talking abo
PREVIEW BONUS: Clavicular's crash out and the death of clipping
Are we watching the collapse of short-form video and on the cusp of yet another pivot to (a different kind of) video? Today we’re talking about the rise of livestreaming and what makes it different than the Vines and YouTube Shorts that you
When sex is "optimized"
Today we’re talking about Aella the e-girl and “rationalist," who is probably also pretty smelly — at least if her birthday gangbang (https://aella.substack.com/p/my-birthday-gangbang) breakdown is to be believed. She's known for issuing co
Why the internet's grossest influencer is more powerful than you think
Today we're joined again by journalist Kat Tenbarge to talk about one of the grossest guys on the internet. He’s also one of the most popular Twitch streamers there is. His name is Zack Hoyt, better known as Asmongold. His first video was i
The internet sucks, and Congress might make it worse
The law Section 230 is maybe the invisible force that governs everything in our lives. With a California court ruling against Meta, what are we to do? How responsible should social media companies be for the content posted on them? Brian Re
Cicada 3301: The internet puzzle that might’ve been a psyop
In 2012, a strange message appeared on 4chan: “We are looking for highly intelligent individuals….” What followed became one of the internet’s most mysterious puzzles: Cicada 3301. Players uncovered hidden codes, real-world locations, encry
