Episode 245: Kenn Thomas, The Octopus, and ‘90s Paranoia feat. Devin O’Shea

Netflix’s Adolescence, a four-part thriller about a 13-year-old murder suspect, has hijacked Britain’s political conversation. Annie Kelly explains why the series hit such a nerve: it maps the online pipelines that radicalize boys in their own bedrooms, dramatizes the deadly consequences of misogyny, and spotlights the adults too clueless to confront these threats. Within weeks, MPs demanded it be shown in classrooms, tabloid headlines frightened parents over coded emojis, and right-wing investigators branded the show a taxpayer-funded anti-incel psyop involving Sophie from Peep Show. Come listen as Annie breaks down how virtuosic television managed to inspire breathtakingly cynical discourse about race, youth violence, and fictional portrayals of social issues. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/QAA /// Annie Kelly on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/annieknk.bsky.social /// Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

3 Mai 1h 56min

A working man. A man who works… to free his boss’ daughter from the clutches of a human trafficking ring. Gabrus joins Jake and Julian as we attempt to make sense of this very puzzling film starring Jason Statham and co-written by none other than Sylvestor Stallone. They’ve come together to make an awful mess, complete with mobsters straight out of Grand Theft Auto and the Russian bad guy equivalent of Beebop and Rocksteady. Gabrus also talks about his experience seeing the film in 4D. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa Gabrus: https://x.com/Gabrus Action Boyz Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ActionBoyz Staying Alive: https://www.siriusxm.com/player/show-podcast/entity/593bdc12-99c0-3430-9afb-9a9e274419df?utm_medium=shared Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

29 Apr 10min

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and Trump’s number one Latin American buddy, is a renaissance man for our era. Crypto, memes, reddit. Repression, megaprisons, anti-communism. We take a look at the history of El Salvador and the ascent of the “coolest dictator in the world”. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://patreon.com/qaa Caio Almendra: https://x.com/caioalmendra The U.S. is Not Special: https://caioalmendra.substack.com/s/the-us-is-not-special Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

28 Apr 1h 16min

Some believe that they can make a better world just by posting enough online. But the YouTube-based Blood Over Intent community raises the stakes by literally bleeding for their beliefs. Born from the trauma of Mark Braun, a Florida plumber turned self-styled Satan incarnate, Blood Over Intent promises followers a ticket to paradise, provided they upload a DIY blood ritual to the web. The kicker? Members claim that smearing a drop of their blood on hastily scrawled intentions will unlock a mythical Arctic portal to Eden underneath the flat earth. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/QAA /// Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe, Nick Sena, Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast. /// REFERENCES The Blood Ritual That Lives on YouTube https://gizmodo.com/the-blood-ritual-that-lives-on-youtube-1826054103 The Sun Dance – Wiwáŋyaŋg Wačípi https://aktalakota.stjo.org/seven-sacred-rites/wiwanyang-wachipi-sun-dance/ Teen Accused of Stabbing Student to Death Was Into Online Blood Rituals and Conspiracies https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjp3px/teen-accused-of-stabbing-student-to-death-was-into-online-blood-rituals-and-conspiracies Satanic Flat Earthers https://mctoon.net/satanic-flat-earthers/ Today on "Classic Depravities of the Internet": Blood over Intent https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassicDepravities/comments/yfs9gu/today_on_classic_depravities_of_the_internet/

22 Apr 10min

Soyjaks! 4chan! Breeding kink! Katy Perry! All that and a surprise update about skateboarder and television personality Bam Margera in this week's episode. First up, Travis will tackle the recent devastating hack of 4chan, the infamous image board that gave us Pepe memes, QAnon family members, and maybe even a president. What is this “Soyjak Party” and why do they hate 4chan so much? Then Julian will cover the recent Elon Musk breeding kink fanfic — if the Wall Street Journal were a “fan” and documented reporting were a “fic.” Finally Jake will report on his investigation on worrying claims from conspiracists that the recent influencer-friendly flight of a Blue Origin rocket was entirely faked. We’ll also try to figure out which graphic designer is responsible for sneaking images of Baphomet into every spaceflight patch. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa /// Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com /// REFERENCES Notorious image board 4chan hacked and internal data leaked https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/15/notorious-image-board-4chan-hacked-and-internal-data-leaked/ Suspected 4chan Hack Could Expose Longtime, Anonymous Admins https://www.wired.com/story/2025-4chan-hack-admin-leak/ Soyjak Party https://wiki.bibanon.org/Soyjak.party The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers https://archive.vn/5r3jL Katy Perry launches into space with all-female crew on Blue Origin rocket https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/katy-perry-launches-into-space-with-all-female-crew-blue-origin-rocket-2025-04-14/

19 Apr 1h 7min

An exploration of the most famous right wing crank painter in the game: artist Jon McNaughton. From tea-party-era images of Obama burning the constitution to MAGA-era images of Trump as Atlas, the progression of his career has mirrored a deeper shift in the Republican base and its obsessions. Our guest is artist, writer, and host of the Doomscroll podcast Joshua Citarella. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/qaa Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

15 Apr 9min

Artificial Intelligence carries a host of risks: it could reshape jobs and the economy, alter educational practices, help powerful figures dodge accountability through AI-assisted decision-making, and even influence our personal relationships and mental well-being. But here’s the biggest question: how will AI affect the content filling up your social media feeds? In today’s episode, journalist Ryan Broderick joins us to discuss the influx of “AI slop” — which increasingly jostles for space alongside human-created content. We’ll explore the “Shrimp Jesus” Facebook phenomenon, a viral (yet entirely fabricated) story about Elon Musk saving a young girl with Neuralink, and the 1995 sci-fi horror film Screamers. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: https://patreon.com/qaa Thanks for subscribing to QAA on patreon. /// Ryan Broderick https://x.com/broderick https://bsky.app/profile/ryanhatesthis.bsky.social Garbage Day Newsletter https://www.garbageday.email/ Panic World Podcast https://pod.link/1740187810 /// Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com /// REFERENCES Nearly all Americans use AI, though most dislike it, poll shows https://www.axios.com/2025/01/15/americans-use-ai-products-poll Behold the AI Slop Dominating Google Image Results for "Does Corn Get Digested" https://futurism.com/google-image-corn-ai-slop Facebook's Shrimp Jesus, Explained https://www.404media.co/email/1cdf7620-2e2f-4450-9cd9-e041f4f0c27f/ Zuckerberg 'Loves' AI Slop Image From Spam Account That Posts Amputated Children https://www.404media.co/zuckerberg-loves-ai-slop-image-from-spam-account-that-posts-amputated-children/ Why you should be skeptical of that ‘leaked’ audio of JD Vance criticizing Elon Musk https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2025/jd-vance-rant-elon-musk-making-look-bad/ ‘Trump Gaza’ AI video intended as political satire, says creator https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/06/trump-gaza-ai-video-intended-as-political-satire-says-creator “AI: The New Aesthetics of Fascism.” New Socialist https://newsocialist.org.uk/transmissions/ai-the-new-aesthetics-of-fascism/ Signal President Meredith Whittaker calls out agentic AI as having ‘profound’ security and privacy issues https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/07/signal-president-meredith-whittaker-calls-out-agentic-ai-as-having-profound-security-and-privacy-issues/

12 Apr 1h 9min

This week, we’ll take a deep dive into the origins of the “AI Apocalypse” theory – the idea that artificial intelligence will one day decide that human beings have outlived their purpose. What started as humble beginnings in billionaire tech mogul circles has now trickled down and pooled in various subreddits, where people will imagine every way the AI could bring about our destruction. From nervous excitement about what’s possible with the latest models to AI Doomers begging forum users to steer clear of AI girlfriends, it’s clear that AI has given us poor humans yet another thing to worry about. Subscribe for $5 a month to get all the premium episodes: www.patreon.com/qaa Editing by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

8 Apr 9min