Little Big RedNote
Endless Thread7 Helmi 2025

Little Big RedNote

Sometimes, after a long day speaking English, former WBUR podcast fellow Cici Yu just wants to zone out and spend time on the internet where everyone is speaking her native language, Chinese. Her app of choice? Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. So, when Cici logged on recently to find a feed filled with English-speaking Americans, she was surprised.

Show notes:

"The great social media migration: Sudden influx of US users to RedNote connects Chinese and Americans like never before" (CNN)

"More speech and fewer mistakes" (Meta)

"Instagram hides search results for 'Democrats'" (BBC)

"Instagram and Facebook Blocked and Hid Abortion Pill Providers’ Posts" (The New York Times)

Credits: This episode was produced by Grace Tatter. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus. It was hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson.

Jaksot(439)

Nothing Violent

Nothing Violent

There's a conspiracy theory on Reddit right now suggesting that Reddit is using aggressive tools to hide posts praising or supporting Luigi Mangione's alleged execution-style killing of the CEO of Uni...

11 Huhti 202524min

Introducing Levittown, new podcast from Kaleidescope and Bloomberg

Introducing Levittown, new podcast from Kaleidescope and Bloomberg

Have you ever been deepfaked? Or maybe this is just a new fear – that photos of you end up online that are you – but not really you? What would you do? For an increasing number of people – especially ...

8 Huhti 202530min

Toyota Hilux trucks - why are they popular online and in war zones?

Toyota Hilux trucks - why are they popular online and in war zones?

In April of 2024, a group of aid workers were killed by Israeli Defense Forces while bringing food to Central Gaza. The IDF had alleged that its military analysts had identified a gunman on top of one...

4 Huhti 202531min

How to responsibly leak information to the press

How to responsibly leak information to the press

Well, the messaging app Signal has been in the news recently, thanks to a snafu in which prominent federal defense officials mistakenly added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a gro...

28 Maalis 202525min

Adrián and the Whale

Adrián and the Whale

There are moments that define each of our lives. Some we can predict: graduations, marriages, births, death.  Others? Not so much. And in the year 2025, sometimes, if the stars align just so, you may...

21 Maalis 202523min

Bonus: A conversation with Hasan Piker

Bonus: A conversation with Hasan Piker

Last week, we introduced you to the wildly popular, albeit controversial, streamer and self-declared socialist Hasan Piker — what he’s all about, how he’s delivering his message to millions of followe...

19 Maalis 202553min

The Stream is Up

The Stream is Up

Every day, seven days a week, for eight hours or more, Hasan Piker is live on the video game streaming platform Twitch. This is where he shares his political commentary with a dedicated community of v...

14 Maalis 202536min

Terminally Online

Terminally Online

"Should I be joking at a time like this?" That's the question then 33-year-old Brooke Eby asked herself when she uploaded her first piece of TikTok comedy in 2022, about being diagnosed with a termin...

7 Maalis 202530min