From “woke bae” to “woke-a-cola,” the word woke has taken the internet and mainstream media by storm. But how many people who use the word actually know what it means? On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison (but, really, mostly Rachelle) explain the decades-old origins of the word, and how its meaning has evolved as it’s gone from being sung as a call to “stay woke” by the likes of Erykah Badu and Childish Gambino to being wielded as a slur by the likes of Mike Huckabee. Podcast production by ...
Jan 01, 2022•30 min
It’s the final episode of the year, and a chance to look back at all the ways the internet has gone wrong in 2021. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison invite Tracy Clayton and Josh Gwynn, hosts of the podcast Back Issue, to join them as they discuss all the trends, memes, and moments of 2021 internet that have no place cropping back up in 2022. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 29, 2021•30 min
Martha Stewart loves to tell people on Instagram about the products she likes, but these posts look suspiciously like ads. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle scroll through Martha’s feed to look at all the things she raves about, talk about why she might be breaking the rules, and discuss how the social media advertising guidelines are much more flexible than we realize. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 25, 2021•29 min
Neopets, a kid-friendly site from the early 2000s that let users raise digital pets and play games with them, has fallen far from its peak popularity. The nostalgic luster of it also seems to be fading, following the site’s recent failed attempt at Neopet NFTs—not to mention its years-old, mostly broken user interface. On today’s show, Madison and Allegra look back at the happier times of Neopia past, discussing their early experiences on the site and exactly how it’s grown, or not, with the tim...
Dec 22, 2021•30 min
This past week, Nancy Reagan trended for her alleged oral talents, and an orange cat named Jorts kept locking himself in a closet. On today’s episode, High Speed Downloads are back. Rachelle and Madison each deliver some rapid-fire information about Nancy Reagan’s blow job skills and why everyone is obsessed with Jorts the cat—and the woman who keeps slathering him in margarine. Then they speak to Kate Lindsay of the Embedded newsletter about how she got started with that project and her advice ...
Dec 18, 2021•30 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are excited to share an episode from One Year: 1995, a Slate podcast focused on telling a series of stories from 1995, ones which we may have forgotten or that merit reexamination. In “The Spot,” producer Evan Chung tells the story of what can be best described as the first internet soap opera. “The Spot” follows a small group of creators who, through a series of interconnected blog posts, inspired one of the earliest instances of online fandom. It’s a st...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 3 min
The ICYMI mailbag has started to get full so it’s time for another round of Read Receipts. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison answer some listener questions about why people are emptying out tubes of toothpaste on TikTok, whether there’s any similarity between Taylor Swift’s clue dropping and QAnon, and why there are so many possum memes on Instagram. 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 me...
Dec 11, 2021•29 min
On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle examine two strange new phenomena taking over TikTok. First, Madison explains why Chanel’s advent calendars have become the subject of an internet furor. Then, Rachelle explores Hinge’s new voice notes feature, discusses the voice notes that have gone viral on other platforms, and explains why this not have been the dating app’s brightest idea. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Dec 08, 2021•28 min
Actors Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who became a beloved couple online after meeting during rehearsals for Hamilton, have reportedly ended their engagement. The reports of the breakup came soon after a TikToker posted a video about Ramos allegedly going into a strip club with a woman who was not his fiancée. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison get into the drama, unpack exactly what a wife guy is, and explain why people on social media seem so obsessed with uncovering infidelity—...
Dec 04, 2021•31 min
The subreddit r/TumblrInAction started out in the early 2010s as a place to mock the sorts of oversimplified social justice posts all over Tumblr, but it quickly became a breeding ground for online hate. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Allegra discuss their own history as Tumblr teens, the simplified and misguided ways Tumblr posts tried to share progressive ideology, and how the culture of one subset of Reddit forums that made fun of those posts eventually led to GamerGate and all sorts of onl...
Dec 01, 2021•32 min
YouTube recently announced that it’s doing away with publicly displaying the dislike count on videos. The buttons will still be there, but the numbers will be made private for creators. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison discuss why YouTube has decided to make this change, how dislikes are a tool for harassment, and why our brains have all been broken by the like economy. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to b...
Nov 27, 2021•29 min
So much has happened on the internet in 2021, from Bernie in his mittens to the big boat stuck in the Panama Canal. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are joined at the Friendsgiving table by Buzzfeed’s Elamin Abdelmahmoud and Autostraddle’s Christina Grace Tucker to discuss the funniest, craziest, and horniest things to come across their feeds this year. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plu...
Nov 24, 2021•29 min
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, a...
Nov 20, 2021•32 min
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 yass...
Nov 17, 2021•28 min
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 De...
Nov 13, 2021•33 min
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 ...
Nov 10, 2021•29 min
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 publici...
Nov 06, 2021•28 min
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.” Podca...
Nov 03, 2021•33 min
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...
Oct 30, 2021•29 min
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...
Oct 27, 2021•34 min
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 d...
Oct 23, 2021•28 min
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 Sc...
Oct 20, 2021•29 min
Emily Mariko’s salmon rice bowl video has taken TikTok by storm, with fans praising its deliciousness and even claiming that her video helped heal their relationship with food. On this episode of ICYMI, Rachelle and Madison figure out where this story fits into the diet culture conversation and explain how the reaction to Mariko’s dish is about much more than just the ingredients she’s using. Of course, they weren’t about to talk about a viral recipe without trying it, so the hosts took to the k...
Oct 16, 2021•34 min
As a child, Christy Carlson Romano starred in Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and voiced the character Kim Possible on the eponymous cartoon. Then she faded from the spotlight—until recently, when she reemerged as a chaotic YouTube genius. On this episode of ICYMI, Rachelle and Madison talk to Vanity Fair’s Chris Murphy about his recent profile of Romano and unpack why her candid, low-lift YouTube videos actually have quite the keen understanding of what drives clicks. Podcast production by Daniel...
Oct 13, 2021•31 min
How many details must a writer change before real life turns into fiction? That’s a central question of “Who Is the Bad Art Friend?” the seismic New York Times Magazine article about a kidney donation, a Facebook post, and the subsequent fallout that has consumed social media this week. On today’s episode, Madison tries to summarize the story using only what she learned about it from reactions online. Then, Rachelle catches her up on the real story and all its bizarre details. Finally, they disc...
Oct 09, 2021•30 min
It can feel nice to form bonds with people we don’t know by following their lives online! It can also be invasive. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison look at an instance of parasocial relationships gone wrong as one long-distance college couple’s reunion turned TikTok users into amateur investigators looking for signs of infidelity. Why did TikTok give these teens the true-crime treatment? Did they invite the scrutiny for even posting in the first place? To read more about parasocial relat...
Oct 06, 2021•26 min
Scams are everywhere. From the Fyre Festival to Anna Delvy to LuLaRoe, fraudsters just seem to be getting more and more popular these days. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison welcome Laci Mosley, host of the podcast Scam Goddess, to talk about her love of scams and scammers, how she’s been scammed herself, and why she thinks we are all so obsessed with these audacious grifters. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
Oct 02, 2021•33 min
On today’s episode, it’s time for some High Speed Downloads: First, Rachelle and Madison tell you everything you need to know about a viral video of an unfortunate sea lion seeking refuge from a group of orcas. Then, they get to the bottom of a mythical version of Dear Evan Hansen featuring a digitally de-aged Ben Platt. Is it real? Finally, the hosts answer listener questions about the chair emoji on TikTok, “devious licks,” and “soaking.” (We bet you can’t guess which of those aren’t a weird s...
Sep 29, 2021•31 min
The little lad who loves berries and cream is inescapable on TikTok right now. A character from a 2007 Starburst commercial, the little lad has transcended his advertising origins and become a meme all his own. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle explain how and why this lad has taken over your feeds, and why there are so many remixes of his audio. They also talk about all the remixes on TikTok featuring rapper Cupcakke, how these are all part of the ubiquity of advertising, and if there’s ...
Sep 25, 2021•30 min
While authorities searched for missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito, she was everywhere to be found on TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram. Content creators, some well-intentioned and others simply chasing clout and clicks, turned the story of Gabby’s apparent death into the latest in true crime drama. On today’s show, Madison and Rachelle talk about the murkiness of the true crime internet and the ethics of using tragedy for clicks. They’re joined later in the show by Hayley Toumaian, a TikTok creator an...
Sep 22, 2021•38 min
