Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate senior tech editor Tony Ho Tran to parse through what Meta’s victory in a recent AI lawsuit means for its users. Tools like ChatGPT are becoming more common at home and at work, but without protections, they could threaten not just the creativity of artists, but anyone who posts online. As regulation lags behind, how can we protect ourselves? And how many of us are using AI without even knowing it? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Wh...
Jul 05, 2025•47 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay discuss an American woman in her 50s who is going viral for her plastic surgery journey. Michelle Wood is a mom who traveled to Guadalajara to undergo several procedures, including a facelift and a chin implant. She documented her journey before and after the procedure, creating intrigue, curiosity, and surprisingly positive responses online. TikTok reacted similarly when Kylie Jenner revealed the details of her boob job and broke the internet within the same week. S...
Jul 02, 2025•36 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Ingrid Nilsen, an OG beauty lifestyle YouTuber who you may know as “MissGlamorazzi,” to reflect on the 10-year anniversary of her most iconic video to date. Throughout the 2010s, YouTube was the platform of choice for “coming out” videos. During those years, the U.S. saw progress in LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation, including a SCOTUS decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide in 2015. A part of this growing acceptance online included prominent cre...
Jun 28, 2025•51 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Yahoo senior entertainment reporter Kelsey Weekman, who is fresh off the plane from this year’s VidCon. Unlike past years, when TikTokkers took over the Anaheim Convention Center, VidCon 2025 put YouTubers front and center, inducting the first creators into the VidCon Hall of Fame. With platforms like MySpace and Vine coming and going, how has YouTube stuck around? Why can’t TikTok dethrone it? And who on earth is “jmancurly”??? This podcast is produced...
Jun 25, 2025•48 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay start off with two sounds of the summer from a divisive Love Island USA contestant and a popstar “standing on business.” Then, they explain the controversy brewing behind Partiful, the hip event invite app that was a rising star in the tech world, until an NYC Noise blog post brought up that Partiful’s co-founders used to work at Palantir Technologies. Palantir is a data-analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel, who was on President Trump’s transition team and a p...
Jun 21, 2025•40 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate staff writer Nadira Goffe, whose coverage of the United States v. Sean Combs (also known as the Diddy trial) has meant sharing a press room with YouTubers and streamers. These new media journalists have millions of followers, and aren’t beholden to the same editorial and ethical standards as traditional news outlets. As a result, they might just be beating them at their own game. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candic...
Jun 18, 2025•50 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Wired senior writer and producer of Black Twitter: A People’s History, Jason Parham, to attempt to explain the enigma that is “international bestselling author” Quan Millz. With titles like Old THOT Next Door and My Baby Daddy Is A Bedbug, Millz’s books have no trouble capturing the attention of the internet, so much so that the previously-anonymous author was forced to unmask himself to ward off a potential scandal. But who, exactly, are Millz’s books ...
Jun 14, 2025•45 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim dive into the online workplace drama surrounding a millennial founder’s hot take about 9-to-5 workers. Lindsey Carter is the CEO of SET Active, an influencer-targeted athleisure brand you may have seen on Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner. Recently, Carter complained in a now-deleted TikTok about office workers who leave right when the clock strikes 5 p.m. This is not the first time Carter has come under fire for questionable workplace practices, but this time, she’s Su...
Jun 11, 2025•35 min
After dating influencer TheWizardLiz revealed she had been cheated on, her viral tips for how to “keep” a man rang hollow. Candice Lim fills in Kate Lindsay on all the Wizard Liz lore, and how TikTok dating gurus are this decade’s Carrie Bradshaws. But with so much more of our lives on display, it’s riskier than ever for anyone to claim they’ve figured out the secret to love. Have these creators really cracked the code for a successful relationship, or are they just pickup artists in a new font?...
Jun 07, 2025•38 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the wedding weekend heard round TikTok starring one of r/NYCInfluencerSnark’s main characters. Jazmyn Smith (better known as @justjazzzyidk) got married after a year-long engagement that was rife with criticism surrounding her relationship, her fiancé’s financial status, and more. But instead of burying the wedding, she brought her followers along by posting in real time, creating TikTok spreadsheets, and having her assistant run her account while she got ...
Jun 04, 2025•38 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Sara Petersen, author of Momfluenced, to chat about season two of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Mormon women once pioneered mommy blogging, so how did we get from vlogging to…swinging? The influencers who make up the reality show cast, known as “MomTok,” claim their racy antics are breaking stigmas and modernizing gender roles. In reality, they’re weaponizing their misunderstanding of feminism for their own personal gain. This podcast is produced by...
May 31, 2025•50 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are going back to college and telling the tale of two Greek life chefs on TikTok. Kevin Ashton gained almost 5 million followers after posting recipes and behind-the-scenes footage of his life as a sorority house chef at the University of Nevada, Reno. Beloved by students who review his meals on their accounts, Ashton has brought a new spotlight onto the less glamorous side of Greek life. In contrast, pastry chef Grant Grocost has found an audience taking his followe...
May 28, 2025•38 min
Vibe Check’s Zach Stafford joins hosts Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay to talk about influencers Jalen Noble and Monet Mcmichael’s new Texas farmhouse. Built in 1850, the property includes a gym and a “guest house” that many commenters pointed out likely has ties to slavery. What responsibility, if any, do owners of former plantations have to honor that history? And where did Jalen go wrong in his attempt to fight back against these allegations? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitle...
May 24, 2025•51 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim are joined by Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead to talk all things Pope Leo XIV, who made the internet go wild following a highly-covered conclave, strong Chicago ties, and a digital footprint that keeps unfurling. But another reason the Pope has seemed more exposed than ever before is because for some groups online, it’s becoming trendy to be Catholic. They break down the first days of our new pope and how recent converts are creating a new Catholic culture that not...
May 21, 2025•39 min
Influencer baby-naming has become a competitive sport, with people making predictions and even locking down Instagram handles before anyone has given birth. Despite this, most influencer baby names are…the same? If they’re not going rogue with “Malibu Barbie,” they’re reinventing the wheel with names like “Laikynn.” Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay dive into platforms like r/Tragedeigh, which document these ridiculous names in the wild, and try to figure out why influencers are getting increasingly ...
May 17, 2025•35 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim explain the situation surrounding influencer Kayla Malec and beauty YouTuber James Charles. Malec is a 19-year-old TikToker who was in a 9-month relationship with a content creator named Evan Johnson. After their breakup, Malec posted a YouTube video accusing her ex-boyfriend of domestic abuse and violence. Days later, Johnson was charged by officials in Tennessee with domestic assault, and last week, he pled guilty to those charges and was sentenced to 18 months in ...
May 14, 2025•28 min
While snark pages are universal, the UK website Tattle.Life has gained a reputation for being particularly cruel and relentless against influencers. Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay give a full breakdown of the website, which was founded in 2018 by a woman whose identity has never been revealed. She, along with other diehard users, reject the dramatic narrative the site has earned, and insist they’re just there to hold influencers accountable. Where, then, does this reputation come from? And what wi...
May 10, 2025•35 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim check in with the “Caveman Skincare” method and they pour one out for Skype. Then, they dive into the internet controversy surrounding a TikTok running influencer and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Kate Mackz is the host of a TikTok series called The Running Interview Show where she jogs with celebrities. Last week, Mackz — who up until this point, did not discuss politics much on her page — interviewed Leavitt for the series and it ended up creating a...
May 07, 2025•31 min
While J.K. Rowling celebrates a new UK ruling that classifies “women” as biologically female, casting for the upcoming HBO Max adaptation is underway. Which fans have stuck by the series despite the author’s views, and will others be able to resist the siren call of a brand new TV series? Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay welcome ICYMI’s new producer Vic Whitley-Berry to talk about their feelings of betrayal watching the creator of their childhood favorite series incessantly target trans people onlin...
May 03, 2025•56 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break down the drama surrounding an influencer’s new book that has kicked off a whole controversy before it’s even been released. Christina Najjar, better known as Tinx, has made a successful career as a TikTok influencer who doles out dating advice to her more than 1.5 million followers. Her new book is a summer beach read following an influencer who escapes to the Hamptons after getting canceled. But TikTok creators have been suspicious leading up to the book’s rel...
Apr 30, 2025•34 min
J.D. Vance killed the Pope. Demi Lovato keeps their twin Poot locked in the basement. Lea Michele still can’t read. These things, unfortunately, aren’t true, and are instead just some of the inside jokes the internet has decided to collectively agree on over the years. In this episode, Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay break these internet lies down, and ask: Why do we make these jokes, and what happens when an inside joke breaks containment? This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Ber...
Apr 26, 2025•28 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay run through the lows of Coachella, before breaking down a lawsuit against one of the festival’s most visible e-commerce brands, Revolve. Earlier this month, Revolve was hit with a $50 million class-action lawsuit accusing them of deceiving more than 1 million customers using social media marketing tactics. The lead plaintiff named three influencers as co-defendants, saying they didn’t disclose that Revolve paid them for sponsored posts and had she known the posts wer...
Apr 23, 2025•30 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay check back in now that states have begun passing laws that supposedly crack down on family vlogging and child influencers. While a new Utah law requires family vloggers to put money away for their kids, it misunderstands almost everything about how being a creator works. Without politicians who understand social media leading these bills, they could end up posing a threat to the entire creator industry. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Olivia Briley, Candic...
Apr 19, 2025•31 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the controversy surrounding 30-year-old influencer Remi Bader, who was recently accused of lying to her audience for undergoing a procedure without telling them. Bader gained popularity on TikTok where she’d post “realistic” clothing hauls as a size 16 woman. Soon, she was heralded as a body positive influencer and the face of a movement she didn’t necessarily attach herself to. But when Remi started rapidly losing weight, her followers clocked it immediat...
Apr 16, 2025•31 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay dig deep into the Mel Robbins lore. The lawyer-turned-self-help-guru’s “let them theory” has taken over TikTok, encouraging people to let go when faced with situations or behaviors they cannot change. However, not only does “let them” remind the pair of another trendy (but problematic) self-help phrase, but it also might contribute to unhealthy social behaviors that, thanks to the internet, have resulted in a loneliness crisis for Gen Z. This podcast is produced by D...
Apr 12, 2025•33 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the saga revolving around a fashion industry employee who got fired after posting a viral TikTok about whether or not influencers were boring. From the “Brokey” challenge to internet history-making GIFs, more and more people are getting fired because of social media. But is it fair — or even legal — for a company to fire someone just because they post online? And how much control should your job have over your social media? Plus, the emerging creator whose...
Apr 09, 2025•32 min
Kate Lindsay and Candice Lim break down the saga revolving around a fashion industry employee who got fired after posting a viral TikTok about whether or not influencers were boring. From the “Brokey” challenge to internet history-making GIFs, more and more people are getting fired because of social media. But is it fair — or even legal — for a company to fire someone just because they post online? And how much control should your job have over your social media? Plus, the emerging creator whose...
Apr 09, 2025•32 min
Candice Lim picked the wrong time to become a fan of Emergency Intercom , the podcast hosted by former Viners Enya Umanzor and Drew Phillips. However, it makes her the perfect person to explain the recent backlash to her co-host Kate Lindsay. Emergency Intercom has longtime listeners threatening to quit after an out-of-touch joke about Greta Thunberg revealed a larger frustration with the hosts being out of touch, and the podcast losing its appeal. This podcast is produced by Olivia Briley, Cand...
Apr 05, 2025•41 min
Candice Lim and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe play High Speed Downloads and recap the most pressing stories on their timelines. In one minute or less, they’ll explain the internet’s rising support of Snow White star Rachel Zegler. They also discuss some massive developments in a story involving one of South Korea’s hottest actors and the untimely death of a Korean actress. But first, they recap Nadira’s nostalgia-filled trip to New Jersey’s very own JonasCon. This podcast is produced by Oliv...
Apr 02, 2025•38 min
Candice Lim and Kate Lindsay are joined by Slate senior culture editor Jenny G. Zhang to discuss @Hubs.Life, an influencer who made content about his 9-5, only to become so successful, he quit. Connor Hubbard first gained traction online for his day in the life videos which were interesting to some, depressing to others. Despite their low entertainment quality, Hubbard’s TikTok videos gained him nearly 1 million followers from people fascinated by his typical life working a corporate job. Then, ...
Mar 29, 2025•40 min
