Stay ConnectedJoin Kate Lindsay twice a week as we gaze deep into the online abyss—and tell you what’s gazing back.
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The realm of fan fiction is a wild, magical place to be, especially if that fan fiction is set at Hogwarts. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison talk about All the Young Dudes, an extensive Harry Potter fan fiction that has inspired a fandom all its own, and just how that fandom came to be. But first, they chat about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and spend time listening to the first line of some listeners’ NaNoWriMo novels.
Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis, Daniel Schroeder, and Derek John.
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You might have seen a bot on Twitter tweeting out facetuned versions of anybody you could think of, like Robert Pattinson or Mrs. Doubtfire, and wondered where they’re all coming from. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison explain this weird trend, known as yassification, and why it might already be over. Plus, the the return of High Speed Downloads on Shailene Woodley defending her boyfriend Aaron Rodgers, and a neverending feud between Vin Diesel and the Rock.
If you’d like to see some yassified photos, head to @ICYMI_pod on Twitter.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
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Taylor Swift just released her version of the 2012 album Red, but if you’d asked her fandom what was coming the answers would’ve included all sorts of red-string conspiracy theories. On today’s episode, resident Swiftie Madison takes Rachelle down Taylor’s rabbit hole, explaining her origins as a MySpace teen, the easter eggs she has and hasn’t hidden, and how her savvy engagement with fans demonstrates just how much she’s mastered the online medium.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
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Companies don’t want you to know this, but there are lots of helpful tips hidden in plain sight, you just have to be willing to read the fine print. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle talk about all the terms of service secrets TikToker Erika Kullberg has been sharing with her followers, whether these tricks actually work, and exactly who might have to deal with our return and exchange demands.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was rebranding to become Meta, shifting the company’s focus away from the single social media platform to some sort of amorphous, “embodied internet” concept. Khabane Lame, TikTok’s second biggest star right now, got tapped to do some spon-con for the rebrand, appearing in a video alongside Zuckerberg on Instagram. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss who Lame’s rise to TikTok fame, why Facebook grabbed him for their publicity campaign, and how this might all just be a distraction from some rather unsavory news inside the Facebook Papers.
If you would like to learn more about the Facebook Papers, check out:
”The Nationalism of Facebook,” by Siva Vaidhyanathan in Slate
The What Next TBD episode, “Will the Facebook Whistleblower Make a Difference?”
The What Next episode, “How Long Can Mark Zuckerberg Be King?”
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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As the Real Housewives of Potomac wraps its latest season, it’s clear how essential the cast’s social media presences are when trying to understand the dynamics at play on the show. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison talk to culture writer and critic Shamira Ibrahim about how the series has grown increasingly dependent on online drama, and how social media can be a useful tool for following the intricacies of race and class on display. They also explain the meme, “Let’s Go, Brandon.”
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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For this special Halloween episode, you’re in for a handful of treats. Rachelle and Madison reveal their Halloween costumes and talk about what scares and bugs them on the internet this spooky season. They’ll discuss listener-submitted Vines, tweets, and Tumblr posts that are iconic Halloween internet staples, including the viral song “Spooky Scary Skeletons." We’ll dive deep into the origins of the song with Victoria Gold, whose father Andrew Gold wrote the celebrated bop.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Derek John, and Samira Tazari.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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We’re debuting our new segment, “Wormhole,” with this fascinating look into the phenomenon of the viral mukbang YouTuber and drama magnet, Nikocado Avocado. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison invite their internet obsessive colleague and senior producer of Slate’s Decoder Ring, Benjamin Frisch, to discuss who this infamous extreme eating content creator is, and why the internet is convinced Nikocado Avocado is eating himself to death.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Derek John, and Samira Tazari.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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Why have so many young women developed tic disorders during the course of the pandemic? Well, apart from the obvious pandemic-related stressors, TikTok could be a big part of it. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison talk to science journalist Maddie Bender about her report for Vice unpacking this medical mystery. They discuss the correlation between exposure to Tic Tok, a subculture on TikTok where influencers share videos of their tic-related symptoms, and the rise of young women who have developed tic-like behaviors. Though social media could be a trigger for this phenomenon, they’ll discuss if TikTok could also be a part of the solution.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Derek John, and Samira Tazari.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.
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Is it a bones day or a no bones day? That’s the question that’s swept across TikTok, thanks to Noodle the pug. Each morning, owner Jonathan Graziano wakes up and checks if his geriatric pug has bones or not, a helpful way of predicting what sort of day we’re all going to have. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle interview Jonathan (and Noodle) about his sudden viral fame, how Noodle is handling such celebrity, and exactly what it means to have a no bones day.
Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.
Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member.
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