On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton are joined by Daisy Rosario to discuss the hottest show of the summer: Suits. The USA Network procedural follows a magnetic cast of law firm employees who bend the system, fire off quips in court and essentially, wear suits. Suits isn’t the most buzzy or exciting series out there, so how did a show that ended in 2019 experience a resurgence four years later? Since hitting Netflix in June, Suits has been the most-streamed title for 10 weeks and...
Sep 27, 2023•41 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton is joined by Alexia Fawcett, a PhD candidate in linguistics at UC Santa Barbara and Kendra Calhoun, an assistant professor of linguistic anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Calhoun and Fawcett wrote a presentation titled, “They edited out her nip-nops: Linguistic innovation as textual censorship avoidance on TikTok,” which explored both the ways in which and the reason behind why users have developed language like “unalived” and “seg...
Sep 23, 2023•41 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton is joined by Jane Marie, the host of the award-winning podcast The Dream which recently released it’s highly-anticipated third season all about life coaches. The two discuss the rise of life coaching and it’s connection to the MLM universe, how the internet has accelerated the life coach boom and what exactly the American Dream has to do with any of this. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim. With ...
Sep 20, 2023•42 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by Jane Friedman, author of The Business of Being a Writer and the publisher of Hot Sheet, a newsletter about the publishing industry. The three discuss Friedman’s recent battle with AI-generated books that were being published and sold under her name on Amazon. Friedman published a blog about the saga titled “I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon are Becoming Dumpster Fires)” detailing the ...
Sep 16, 2023•50 min
On today’s show, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton are joined by Slate business and tech writer Nitish Pahwa to describe his recent piece on the deranged world of vintage fast-food training videos. In the depths of Youtube, videos from companies like McDonald’s, Hardee’s, and Jack in the Box depict a bygone era where employees were trained by animated burgers and celebrity cameos. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim. Learn more about ...
Sep 13, 2023•41 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice field a listener question about Bloom, the green powder nutrition company that’s popping up all over TikTok. They’re joined by health and wellness writer Julia Craven to talk about Bloom’s virality and what we should know before jumping on the green powder bandwagon. But first, they break down Tinder’s latest villain: the Tabi Swiper. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ...
Sep 09, 2023•52 min
On this week’s episode brought to us by Slate’s The Waves, Tory Lanez has been sentenced for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and we have THOUGHTS. Scamfluencers co-host and former BuzzFeed reporter Scaachi Koul is joined by Refinery29 deputy director Kathleen Newman-Bremang to unpack why so many people turned against Megan despite Tory Lanez being a wasteman. They explain what exactly is a “Toronto Mans” and why this dangerous subsection of man is crossing American borders in the forms of Drake, t...
Sep 06, 2023•48 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice are joined by sustainable stylist and fashion educator Lakyn Carlton to discuss TikTok Shop — a new feature that lets users purchase products without ever leaving the app. TikTok Shop is a modern day QVC, where merchants can shell products they’ve made — or are authorized to resell — in live videos with products tagged on screen. In the age of Amazon Storefronts and Etsy, it’s not surprising for TikTok to enter the e-commerce space. But the crowded, merch...
Sep 02, 2023•40 min
As an end of summer treat, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim dive deep into the drama that engulfed BookTok earlier this August. Over the spring and early summer, hockey-themed romance novels enjoyed a rise in the BookTok charts, a rise that led to an influx of new fans into the hockey community. One team in particular, the Seattle Krakens, became the unofficial team of BookTok, with Swedish player Alex Wennberg receiving special attention. Sexualized commentary by content creators like Kierra Le...
Aug 30, 2023•37 min
On today’s show, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton walk through Addison Rae’s quest for Hollywood stardom. They run through her moments of flop before the release of AR, a collection of Rae’s leaked music from her “lost album.” Then, Candice and Rachelle are joined by Pitchfork associate editor Cat Zhang to break down her bold and delicious review of “I Got It Bad.” This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices...
Aug 26, 2023•43 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by Slate staff writer Luke Winkie to discuss his recent profile of Critical Role’s Matthew Mercer. Launched by Mercer and his friends in 2015, Critical Role is undoubtedly a megahit, boasting over 600 million views on YouTube. As Winkie wrote in his profile, “A 2021 data leak out of Twitch confirmed that Critical Role is one of the richest channels on the platform, generating a mammoth $9.6 million in revenue between 2019 and 2021.”...
Aug 23, 2023•40 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton dive deep into the mystery shrouding Lil Tay, a 14-year-old influencer who went viral in 2018 for being the “youngest flexer of the century.” In the years since her arrival onto the scene, Lil Tay has been hounded by controversy concerning her parents custodial battle, allegations of abuse and suggestions of exploitation. When rumors started swirling early last week that the 14-year-old and her older brother had passed, online speculation bega...
Aug 19, 2023•40 min
On today’s show, Candice Lim is joined by Slate producer Cheyna Roth to dissect the recent troubling events that happened on Below Deck: Down Under. Two crew members were fired after separate filmed incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct, and viewers have been praising several cast members for stepping up and doing the right thing. The underappreciated spinoff is now being heralded as the sea of change this outdated and repeatedly toxic franchise needs. This podcast is produced by Se’era ...
Aug 16, 2023•46 min
On today’s show, Candice is joined by Vivian Yoon, the writer and host of K-Pop Dreaming. They dissect the hype surrounding K-pop viral sensation NewJeans, talk about the musical influences that make them stand out, and share their own experiences growing up with K-pop. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Rachelle Hampton, Candice Lim and Daisy Rosario, with special thanks to Emily Charash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 12, 2023•40 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Daisy Rosario give their takes on Doja Cat’s latest controversy: hating her fans. They trace her long-documented and problematic history with the internet, then ask how much a fandom can endure before the unstanning process begins. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 09, 2023•34 min
The mosh pit has a reputation as a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression. There’s some truth to that, but it’s also a place bound by camaraderie and—believe it or not—etiquette. In this episode, we explore the unwritten rules of this 50-year-old live-music phenomenon with punks, concertgoers, and a heavy-metal physicist. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin with Katie Shepherd. This episode was written by Katie Shepherd. This episode was edited by Willa Paskin and And...
Aug 05, 2023•35 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton dive deep into the ethics of AI-generated music. Since the days of Alan Turing, music created by computational models has been inextricably bound up with technological process. But now that tools like Voicify.AI are going viral on TikTok and the Recording Academy has updated their rules to allow music created with AI tools to be eligible for Grammy consideration, is it already too late to consider the musicians whose work will be made obsolete...
Aug 02, 2023•35 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice reach into the ICYMI mailbag to answer why TikTokers are pretending to be video game characters, how a city girl became an anti-feminist prairie wife, and why snacktime is getting an obnoxious rebrand. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 29, 2023•47 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice dive deep into the ICYMI mailbag to answer listener questions about Colleen Ballinger’s 10-minute ukulele-backed apology, the renaming of Twitter, and the disappearance of 25-year-old Carlee Russell. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 26, 2023•47 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice meet in person for the first time! They recap the July 10 attack on fanfiction site AO3 — Archive of Our Own — which caused a site outage and a state of panic for many writers, readers and their fandoms. The site was created in 2008 as an online fanfiction archive that soon became a safe haven for women and the queer community. So what happens when that safe haven is threatened by malicious hackers? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy...
Jul 22, 2023•38 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice are joined by sustainable stylist and fashion educator, Lakyn Carlton. The three break down a now-infamous factory tour that the fast fashion giant Shein coordinated for a group of (un)lucky influencers. Since its founding in 2008, Shein has grown to a reported $100 billion valuation that is sustained by alleged labor violations and a cult-like following. In the Information Age, where Shein’s many controversies are well-known, how does the company manage ...
Jul 19, 2023•48 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice talk all about the Emmys. This week the TV Academy announced the nominations for the 71st Emmy awards. Just a few days later, SAG-AFTRA announced that negotiations with the Academy had officially broken down and the actors’ guild was joining the writers’ guild on strike. So what does this all mean for the monthslong campaigns that actors have waged online to capture a nomination and, hopefully, a win? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Dai...
Jul 15, 2023•46 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to dive into her piece about Spill, the latest Twitter alternative to hit the streets. But first, they parse out the chaos surrounding Keke Palmer and Jonah Hill, whose respective relationship drama entered public discourse over the past week. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 12, 2023•51 min
On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Slate business and tech writer Nitish Pahwa to break down the recent controversy surrounding Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. In May, Huffman announced Reddit would be charging third-party apps, bots and companies for using the site’s Data API. Redditors erupted in protest, with many popular subreddits going dark to signal their opposition to the move. The protest was effective, but where does Reddit go from here? This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley ...
Jul 08, 2023•39 min
How the music streaming business opened the door to billions of dollars in fraud. Guest: Ashley Carman, Bloomberg News reporter covering the podcasting, music, and audio beat. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Podca...
Jul 05, 2023•23 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle dives into one of Candice’s most treasured subreddits: r/bathandbodyworks. They trace the boom of candle consumption during the pandemic, how sale culture keeps the store in business, and Candice’s definitive rules for curating your haul. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 01, 2023•44 min
On today’s special Pride Month episode, Rachelle and Candice hear from their queer listeners about finding love online. Stories come from digital spaces as far flung as Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom boards to Craigslist missed connections, from Minecraft rose gardens to couch surfing websites. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 28, 2023•36 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim parse out this week in #OceanGate, when a 5-passenger underwater vessel heading for the Titanic went missing. The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed all five passengers are presumed dead following a “catastrophic implosion,” but the internet remains obsessed and desperate for more answers. We take a look at OceanGate the company, why someone would sign up for this voyage, and how four days of unanswered questions turned into millions of tweets, me...
Jun 24, 2023•39 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice are joined by Eater senior reporter Bettina Makalintal to discuss the rise of private chef content on TikTok. Specifically, the three discuss the now-yearly spectacle of chefs creating content about their summer sojourns to the Hamptons to cook for their wealthy clients. A form pioneered by Meredith Hayden, a.k.a @wishbonekitchen, Hamptons private chef content is now a phenomenon eagerly awaited by a section of TikTok viewers who call it their Super Bowl....
Jun 21, 2023•40 min
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by Franchesca Ramsey, a television writer and producer, comedian, and former vlogger whose videos have amassed more than 30 million views on YouTube. The trio dive deep into the current controversy engulfing Colleen Ballinger, better known as her alter ego MirandaSings. In recent weeks, Ballinger has come under fire for the allegedly inappropriate communications she’s had with minor fans throughout her years long career. Ramsey, Ham...
Jun 17, 2023•51 min
