Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars
The point of Julian Shapiro-Barnum's Recess Therapy, a video series where he interviews kids about life's bigger questions, was never to make the kids social media superstars. But that's exactly what ...
9 Feb 202423min
Half a million eyes are on TikTok's "tunnel girl"
In 2022, a TikTok creator who identifies herself as "Kala" began digging. What followed was an increasingly viral series of TikToks chronicling the efforts of Kala, who some on the internet dubbed "tu...
2 Feb 202427min
The schism at the end of the tunnel
The discovery of a secret tunnel attached to a Brooklyn synagogue earlier this month quickly went viral, fueling antisemitic conspiracy theories that long predate the internet. Endless Thread host Ben...
26 Jan 202422min
Encore: The Faker
Earlier this week, the New Hampshire Attorney General's office announced that it was investigating some suspicious robocalls urging residents not to vote in the state primary elections. The voice appe...
24 Jan 202439min
Where's the Beef?
What if vegetables are poison? What if, instead, humans evolved to consume an animal-based diet of steak, liver, brain, testicles, eggs, butter, and milk? Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagra...
19 Jan 202453min
The Minnesota Timberwolves score NBA fandom in Brazil, but there's a kink
Rodrigo Barbosa runs social media for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves Brazilian fan club. He's fluent in Brazil's particularly zany brand of internet humor. But when one his weirdest tweets went vira...
12 Jan 202431min
This episode is a sign from the universe
Manifestation, astrology, tarot — during tumultuous times, people are more likely to look for answers from the universe, and social media has caught on. People are manifesting their luck with the mant...
5 Jan 202423min
Encore: Today You, Tomorrow Me
As we approach the new year, we revisit a story with a timeless message. Ten years ago, a man was stuck on the side of the road for hours with a blown-out tire. Just as he was about to give up, somet...
29 Dec 202322min
