Viral Trends 2025

Hello the Internet, and welcome to this special year end episode of Darnley Guys, the production of iHeartRadio. This is a podcast where you take a deep to have into America, share consciousness, and for the end of the year, we like to take a look back at the year and on this episode specifically the most viral stories of the

You for visiting me. You always say you're gonna visit you never do. Come closer, let me see your face. I haven't seen your face in so long. Anyway. Yes, I'm living in a This is a parallel reality because as you hear this, I am horizontal. Probably yeah, ghost.

Well it was not feeling great, but.

I was referencing that I'm going to play video games for two weeks.

Oh what you As they are hearing this, we are in a void of not having to record the show for two weeks. So glorious. We're almost at the finish line. Miles. Yes, thrilled to be joined by three supers producer with a combined age of forty five. We're thrilled to be joined by super producer Bae Wow. Hey, we're joined by a super producer and an integral part of this year and tradition was on the first time we did it. Bru helps keep us up on our on our tiktoks. One of the greats.

It's super producer Baca Rama.

Hello, I'm back baby.

We missed.

I said, don't forget about me. Now look what happened. You got all you now you with the culture. Now okay, well I miss you, we miss you.

We miss you. We're to have you back. And we're of course joined by super producer Victor. Right, it's starting already. We're young.

Oh my god.

So I was like, are we gonna have enough viral stories to talk about? Did stuff go viral this year? Yeah? It turns out a lot of show went viral. We ended up with seventeen pages of stories to talk about. We're not going to be able to get to all of those. So instead we're going to do this like a draft where everybody. We're going to go through our roster of guests and hosts on this show, and everybody's going to pick their number one story, So you have

Zor On zor On Zoran Mom.

People don't don't say it like Cuomo Now, Oh, don't.

Do that to me. Don't do that to me.

No, he is the people's princess. He is America's mayor. It has been very exciting to live in New York City at a time where there's hope again. It feels like two thousand and eight Obama. It is crazy.

Heretually it doesn't go like two thousand and eight Obama. Now that I have the job, I understand I need the banks to back me.

And that is truly how I think everybody in the city felt during the election. Post the election, I honestly the craziest thing pre the election was the campaigners, because as someone who's an apartment dweller here in New York City, the amount of people that have come to my door knocked disturbed my very erratic dogs and been like are you voting and who are you voting for? And I was like, yes, I am voting. Are you doing early voting? And I was like probably, I don't, I don't know.

I'm trying to close the door. I'm voting for Zoron.

They're like, no, you need to tell me the date and time you're going to be voting for or On. I need to know where exactly you're going to be voting for Zoron. I'm like, so I voted, Okay, I voted for Zoron.

I was teams Oron. We've been teams On.

We're hoping that he doesn't fall into the clutches of you know, centrism and the bigotry that is the administration. But you know, there's hope for the first time ever. October was a crazy month. I had never seen so many people campaigning in the streets, excited to see the hottest mayor to come into New York City physically and electorally.

And an Arsenal supporter, Yeah, an Arsenal fan, I thought you were referring to the only stories that went viral for me about Zoron. We're all the stories about how he was going to do a nine to eleven every day and all those cool Cuomo videos.

The moves were crazy, and also I want to acknowledge, yeah, the Islamophobia that like perked up during the campaign because I think those of us who vote in the primaries and were shocked that he got, you know, at the official nomination for the Democratic Party.

Then like a month.

Or two before October or November before like official election day, it was like the Cuomo campaigns were insane. I was at the gym, and you know, they have a public cable at the gym, and all the political campaigns would pop up, and then I would see the Cuomo ads and they were like, literally, Mondomie is doing nine to eleven, He is going to bring this city down and crutches.

He's burning everything up, and I was like, oh.

Teaching Arabicals to kids.

Yeah, it was like doing like the crazy like Sepiatone, like it's like all the classics, and I.

Was Every video begins with like the prayer call, you know, like it like it's an HBO show in the early aughts, cutting to you like.

I used to I miss the sounds of dem Bo playing in the streets, but now it's the call to prayer. New York has changed because.

You're in your own bubble, right, Like when you're in the like left wing like little roll bubble, you're like, oh, yeah, of course everyone's voting for Zoron, Zoro and zor On. But then you go to a regular place where there's other people, like the gym, and they have it on all the TV.

You're like, oh my god, I can't believe.

The when there's almost as if so many people agree that ship is too damn expensive.

Almost it's almost like that. But that's actually not the lesson to take. The lesson to take is the Zorn is a talented politician who's got a good smile, and that's all you need. Oh no, please, no, no, no, please, no more talk about affordability. Affordability as a hoax, thank you.

Uns is real quick. I hope to god this doesn't become because if we all remember during twenty twenty, if you lived here in New York City during twenty twenty, before Cuomo fell from grace, people were like Cuomo sexuals.

If we know that there were instagram that.

They were sexual predators or oh no, you just mean they were yeah, yeah, now.

That is what it means.

But before people were like, no, no, I think Cmo so sexy that I he's saving New York City, Thank you Cuomo Quomo sexual And then it was like, so he is assaulting people, so like Houmo sexuals.

Now he's.

He's Italian.

That's just just charismatic, just.

How they communicate with their hands growing people.

Yeah, so I just hope that doesn't know that. I believe though having a zor on, but it is weird to see the successfulation.

What happened to all these guys.

I'm saying, like everybody, all these memes are like hot sexy mayor Zorah. People are like now they're like, okay, we love his policies, but we also think he's so sexy, and we're like.

No, no, no, we needed to step that down. Just focus on to learn.

Stop fucking idolizing the fucking politicians Jesus Christ, like it's great of like what a candidacy represents, but getting all in on the like the hotness of it all that that's.

No, they're like me the memes I was seeing on my feed of like I bet you they're on field. They look for a third they treat their unicorn really well. I'm like, this is weird.

Wow, this is weird.

Wow.

Okay, great first pick, Rebecca Ramosh. We're moving over to you, Miles Gray, for your first pick, the overall second pick of the Internet Virality twenty twenty five draft. What what you're going with?

Mine is absolutely Italian brain rot.

It's got to be, it's got, it's it is the story Like the one that I have the most trouble believing was this year. Although I will say Zorn I was like, wait, what was happening at the beginning of the year, but like was he was nobody? Yeah, people were like it would be cool, like I think this guy might get ten percent of the boat, so that is wild. But Italian brain rot. The fact that that was not a thing I was aware of at the beginning of the year.

This is still not aware, can you Okay?

So I'll let you know my we mounded seven in with this. It's no separate, right, I.

Mean you could if it's like things that your friends who are teachers told you about.

Yeah, it's just like a thing that overtook that entire and like it's similarly stupid as fuck, Like it's just slibbitty, though it's closer to the Skimmity toilet I think exactly.

This is more skibbitty than six seven. I would say skimmity was last year skimbitty skimmity ishneys old. But again, this was like one of those things, Like I said, if I get a lot of my like news from what's happening with like the real youth, from my friends that are teachers. My one homie who's a music teacher, just was like, dude, my kids are losing their fucking minds watching this Italian brain rock content. And I'm like, what the what are you fucking talking about?

Like, what are these words strung together?

What you exactly? Like, what do you mean Italian brand? He's like he's like, you don't know about this, And I'm like absolutely not. So let me play a video to the the video really that kicked it all off, that became stuck in my brain for months, because once you hear it, you can't unhear it. Before I play this Italian brain rot is basically a bunch of these AI generated made up characters with Italian sounding names that

Lombardino, Corio, Bombardio, Chimpanzini.

So this is just this has just become the thing that now I hear ambiently all the Timeizi Benini. Yeah, Tom tum tum sahor is in my brain is toom the word for people are saying. It's like a mashup name that like, so who is an Indonesian word and tum or whatever is tree and Chinese like not exactly an Italian word. Anyway, this is when I went on deep internet research on these characters. That's all.

That's all.

It is.

Like there's no like shows or like videos where they're doing stuff. It's just like the silly word and like ranking them.

People are doing shit with those characters.

But I think shared cinematic universe.

Yeah. I think for the reason why I can't get out of my mind is because these names are so dumb but familiar and fun to say that I cannot get it out of my mind. And I think it's just the perfect encapsulation of like ai slop, like making our brains twitch.

Uh.

And you know, just watching how this is now becoming like so normal now for like young people that I'm like, kind of I really generationally like look at it all. I'm like, man, this is so fucking different. These kids are laughing, is build different. Gimpanzeini by Nanini is great for me. It's always toomtum tum sahor because it's so absurd and.

It doesn't like rhyme like all the other ones are like rhyming, like you kind of get where it's coming from, and then tum tum tum sahor. It's it's I think it's like just people also discovering that the Italian language is fun to say, yeah, and like play with.

I think We've always known that, We've.

Always These damn kids they don't know they don't know from the Italian language. People are making money off of this too. I went to the Philippines this year. There's all kinds of plush toys of tum tum tum sahor and like all of that ship is everywhere.

Which has got to be kind of wild because if it's AI generated, like, then who owns the ip ip It's like for everyone, it's like anyone can now sell your own toom tum tum sahor whatever. Nonsense.

Yeah, it's really intellectual.

Yeah, it's very intellectual. That's a really good point.

All right.

Up next, a resident intellectual Bey is up on ship that like, I don't even I don't even have the beginnings of a way to know what the fuck they're talking about. Bee, You've got the number three pick in the twenty twenty five Virality Viral Stories of the Year draft. Where are you going with it?

Okay, I'm going with Chinese maxing. Okay, guys, Yeah, so this is something maxing.

I see it everywhere. I need someone to help me understand what China maxing Chinese maxing is.

Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about, So I'm gonna be I'm gonna be straight with you.

Are you serious?

Yeah? I mean I think it is like embarrassed for you right now is always embarrassed for me. That is stasis. That is only where we start from.

And I only know because Bowen's been posting memes.

Yes, yes, some of the some of your friends are going through a really Chinese time in their life.

Yeah you know what you don't even know.

So anyway, let's show the Jimmy O Yang one.

Okayang one Okay. So Jimmy's singing.

So Jimmy O Yang is singing with the text saying you met me at a very Chinese time in my life, which is every day.

This video is like reach peak celebrity noess, you know obviously, so that's why Jimmy Yang is making this video. But you know a lot has led up to that, Like he's wearing like an Adidas Chinese.

Like at one yeah, like a.

Pretty like big drop I think like earlier this year.

Or something like that.

And the song like I have been seeing the song and.

Then the other one that's like the being it's like the Chinese rap song, right.

Because I see black people even singing that song that Jimmy O Yang is singing. I'm like, what what is that song?

Is that a popular song in China? It's just like a song that feels China, like the most Chinese and some people are significant this one in this video.

It's like it's like a famous just song that like people sing on like I don't know, like TV shows or you know, like yeah whatever.

And then the rap song. I'm not sure if it's big in China. Actually I'm not really sure, but it is big here.

So okay, I it's weird because I only saw China maxing because I saw this guy on.

So he's also doing stuff.

This guy is a guy that turned Chinese. Also, it's like a guy yeah. But then and then I'm tired of being and not Chinese. So this guy famously is white. So this white guy's even lamenting he wants to be Chinese? Yes, yes, yes, So what is the what are the vibes we're chasing with Chinamaxic?

It's just basically like.

I think it's just like a bear because obvious, like you know, the fall of the West is here, you know, and we're just like, you know, we're sick and tired working, We're sick and tired yeah, yeah, I.

Mean this does race you know a lot of the mainstream stories we're covering where it's like, you know, China coming out with their version of AI and it's like, yeah, we don't spend that much money and it actually works, or webbing Alma going to China in the off season and coming back with superpowers.

Well, I think it's also that like this is like weird Cold War sinophobia is just wearing thin. It's just the same thing like with Islamophobia, like this whole thing of like chyack, what are they doing. It's like, yeah, I don't know, man, the quality of life actually seems pretty good right now compared to like we're we're doing shit like people are rationing firewood for people who can't afford electricity in the United States.

So I think it's like one of those things that baby formula and like people can't get like basic.

Needs right right and everything. Like we even talked about this story about those like Ford executives who went to like a Chinese car manufacturing plant and they're like, guys were fucked. Yeah, yeah, like we're so behind. They were truly talking about it like it was a work of sci fi. They're like they have these things called lights off factories where you don't even have to be there.

And it's like it's it's a lot of also like you know, we're in twenty twenty five now, and like you know, we've been to Japan, We've you know, we've done the K pop stuff, you know.

Right right right, yeah, yeah, it's like we're hopping around Asia. We're like now it's your term. It's like yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, Marxists like hipsters aren't like they're not hipsters anymore.

You know.

It's like a big ideology.

Now you know, we're we're getting we're having business meetings with like ten million cigarettes and.

Like right right, no, I mean so yeah, shout out people recognizing the deep squat that Asian people do. Yeah, yeah, and not so check your knees. Check. A lot of people are like, dude, my knees. I can't people have trouble squatting like that because of their knees, right, Well, American has.

Just been leaning against shit their whole lives. Yeah, we found out that like that does the thing that KGB was like, you can tell an American spy because they'll be leaning against ship. Everyone in a Maria it is always leaning. And yeah in China they're they're squatting. They're sturdy, got a squad. Look, you know, I'm getting sturdy.

Could be quite on squad. I'm in the subway, I'm squatting. I'm not leaning at the wall. Tell you I'm squatting down Chinese you know, I'm scrolling my phone suing for this.

Yeah. Did you know when you were doing that that you were Chinese? Maxim?

You know what now I know?

Now that's the most Chinese thing about it is like shouldn't she didn't even know? I didn't even know. It was like it was a part of me.

It was, yeah, a cigarette squatting, so baby, so babe Becca is invited to the what we say, cookout hot hot Yeah, okay, cool, pull up, pull up.

Yeah.

I'm not even gonna ask if I'm invited. I know the answer.

You're invited.

What amazing? Yeah, this is great. They're like, you have a whole list of things here, many of which I don't No ship, uh double Happiness, don't know what that is? Non Jing cigarette?

These are cigarette.

What that is?

Brands?

These are all cigarette brands.

Got It got And you know, I actually did smoke a don't one of those recently and I was like, damn, this is so crazy.

Actually tastes so good, and like.

Well, what makes it different than a regular cigarette? I don't smoke cigarettes at all, but you're not China Maxine.

Actually don't know obviously, you know, probably different ingredients or whatever.

Like does it taste like dirt? Because I feel like that's what American cigarettes tastes.

Really. There's like a flavor to it.

It's like it's takes you to flavor country.

Yeah, it's flavor Town, and it's like and it's not like, uh, I don't know, it's not like bitter, you know.

What I'm saying.

Interesting? Yeah, all right, guys, you've got your home work. Start smoking Chinese cigarette.

Pack, dude, A double happiness.

Great pick coming in at number three. Number three is always a big pick in the NBA draft. That's where Jordan was picked. That's where a lot of really Jason Tatum. So I expected something strong from Beay there. Up next, we're bringing in youngest member of our team, youngest person maybe in the United States.

I'm in act nineteen years old.

It's super producer Victor.

Right.

Hi, So my pick isn't even on the draft, it's not in this dock and it's not anywhere to be found since we publib earlier this year.

Yeah, it's Chinese to go. Fuck. Yeah, it's the Ai Cat video stories.

Do you guys remember this where it's like, I do they do weird stories and I'm going to put one in the chat. It's not my favorite. I just kind of pull it up, but it gives you an idea. And they were everywhere this year.

Yeah, these blew up. These were huge. This is a great pick from Victor. I was worried, Victor, if I'm being honest, I was worried. He said, I'm going on prompter. I totally forgot about this, but yeah, these were like the most popular thing this year. It like transcends generations, Like older people love this too. I've watched hours of this. This is like hours embarrassing. I just sit watching these.

And another kids like it's okay that you have races and then he's like, oh okay.

Watched a lot of these, but not the cat ones. I have been ubsessed because I have two wiener dogs. I get served a lot of the the wiener dog ones where they're there's wiener dog ones.

Yes see, I know sort and all of y'all. They're like you're a wiener dog.

They're like these wiener dogs that are like cooking in this like Japanese like village. Like they're like in like the mountains and like they're cooking like food in this little cap and it's so let me, I'll see if I.

Can, I'll explain. Like the ones I usually find there's like an unimaginably evil step mother who throws her baby cat out of like an airplane or a boat and the baby cat survives on an island.

Is a stepmother a cat? Yes? Yeah, they're almost all cats, And there's usually a cat remix version of Rihanna, does it shine bright like a diamond hanging in the background, cat version being yeah like that, So I just wanting to make sure I got that out you. Billie Eilish is also a frequent like hat remix version, and I think she heard about it and saying the cat version at one of her concerts. So it's it hit the mainstream.

I love it.

Uh, I've watched so many hours of this and you just it.

Feels simple, is it? Because like it's innocent, it's not challenging you. You do not have to watch war crimes be committed.

Like that's true, but it's also just it gets bizarre, like one is, uh, oh, let's watch this this the.

Way you just stopped talking.

Sorry, yeah, equivalent, which is Wiener Doug cooking kind of pouring some honey on a plate, putting honey on a little plate.

Very care is definitely a more nice one. The second one I sent is like More the ones that I, oh.

Something is something is wrong with that egg the way it was just leaking. These are all AI videos, so like things.

Miles. They did not get a dog to do that.

I was, I thought, so I was like, how the funk is it holding on to that eggshell.

As you do that?

Okay? Uh, this is actually is so calm because what is what Victor showed is that butter. It was buttered.

I think he was buttering and like flower was coming out of the butter.

Yeah, I think it was trying to be folded in. But again, the AI wasn't that cat. Yeah yeah, yeah. But what's interesting is this is so much more photo realistic. We're the one that Victor sent More felt like like a brats Doll universe.

Yeah, very cartoonish.

This really feels like what is this like if my grandmother was still alive, I would show this to what is he making?

I'm Churia with these? Yeah yeah yeah, Well the smoke is coming to the thing, to the waffles into the waffles in this video.

Yeah. Yeah, very therapeutic these videos.

There's also like a genre of cat video. I've seen a lot where cats are like on someone's front porch, like playing the accordion or something, and then a person like comes out. I was like, hey, stop it, yeah, like it was a cream.

Yeah.

Because it looks like it's a door camera, I can like hide the AI stuff a little bit so it actually looks realistic. There's also a animal AI story that I should acknowledge fooled my ass, which is which was the animals jumping on a trampoline that that was a big thing this year.

Yeah.

That I was like, guys, the animals have found the trampoline the way I like that during super producers like Jack Jack Jack.

Jack Jack Jack Jack decked or not even close? You fool?

Yeah?

What's are you giving one too? What's yours? What's your top story?

My top story, Miles, and I'm glad you asked is a rapture talk h the TikTok moment where we got to find out that a bunch of Christians thought they were about to be raptured and then just glory in the day on the Internet where they thought they were like this is the thing that has happened historically repeatedly, and you get to see very smug people be like all right, so here are tips for those of us who are going to heaven, and then for you guys

It was great because it had the same texture of like viral TikTok trends, where there's like kinds of videos you do to get in on the trend, and a lot of people are like, how I'm preparing for God to take me away?

Like yeah, And there were some of the great AI videos of that too. Yeah go out, yeah number one, go outside, don't get stuck to the ceiling like Willy Wonka.

The thing I found really interesting about this, this trend that's the only trend I have a take on, is that.

Oh it's Brian the editor, Oh shit, yeah, is that ship?

Is that hyper religious people in America, mostly white, took what a black man said seriously and acted on it like what did sure did?

Doesn't make any sense? Well he's from Africa. I wonder if that was the other thing. They're like, well he is.

From black man wants equity, get the fuck out of here. Black man says, the entire world is ending, and they're just on board. It doesn't make any sense.

It's about the message, That's what it was like. The world is ending, Okay, come on up, sir, come on up. Finally, Yeah, someone's talking the truth. Yeah.

And there were definitely like some that were mixed in there. There were jokes, but there were a lot of people who were like, Okay, so I've sold my car, getting ready, getting ready to go. Why did you see What are you going to do with the money? Yeah? Yeah, Brian and I had the exact same thought. Like I kept hearing that.

I was like, for what I mean, this was our our favorite creator, I think was oh Punku. This guy would always take camera show like Minecraft Animations and be like, this is exactly what the raptor is going to look like pre viz.

For the Rapture on bro, don't scroll. This is the Rapture and how it's gonna happen. So check it out right, this is my guy. Boom trumpet sound right, trumpet sound trump It sounds right? Trump sound?

Look who pulled up? Looking pulled up?

Okay, Jesus returned Jesus returned, disappeared. Wow, the souls, the dead souls are going look at this baby, look at the.

Boom gone, look at this baby boom Wow. Yeah, so just great work by that guy. Wait does one of them disappear and the other ones like.

Couples know they both just as I think, a nune pops up from the shrubs behind them, clocks them, and then they vanish.

That's weird.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The thing also loved about is like this guy not even like quoting the Bible at all. He's like, here's gonna have been boom Trump is sound.

Revelations.

You didn't read that part, but I'm talking about generally all of his stuff is like, not even in the text of it. It's just all very tangle.

I mean, that's what Christianity is now, Yes.

It is vibes. And and then that's why I'm suing my professor for saying I couldn't argue christ vibes against sociology or whatever.

All right, that was round one. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back for round two. We'll be right back, and we're back, and that we're back to you. You've been given a lot about it.

I want to pick.

Oh yeah, we're round two, maybe round three, we'll see. I mean, I'm assuming round round two will go a little bit quicker because the stories aren't quite as impactful, but we'll see.

Okay, so many I'm gonna do macha being performative.

I thought that was a really funny.

Weird pivot where it was like, basically, all of a sudden, the TikTok men are like, no, no, like to be cool and to like get girls, you have to like.

Like macha and.

Yeah, and then the Asian community was like, what if we just enjoy macha? Can we not enjoy macha?

This is our drink. And now you're telling men.

That it is like performative to enjoy macha because they're trying to appeal to femininity and women. It was such a brain rot circle, like how gen Z wants to be appealing to one of the other or like meeting calls.

I was completely unfamiliar with this one. I'll jump a link in the chat. I do have macha painted on the outside of my cup so that people think I'm drinking macha when I'm drinking actual coffee.

Basically, the overarching of like the performative male archetype. Right, So there's like all these memes without the performative male archetype, and it's basically just like gen Z kids, boys leaning into like femininity to.

Like attract women, right, like the dead leering, like the you know.

Baggy pants like beanies, rolled up three, you know, hanging off the boo boos reading outside.

They took it to the max at these competitions. They'd be dudes with an arm full of open three with a macha, the boo boos, all the stuff.

It was pretty funny.

And then I loved the Asian community fighting back and being like I am not gonna let you call macha performative.

I'm gonna enjoy my macha.

Fu all yeah, Like where how come y'all are just jumping in suddenly like this is performative.

Well, the performative part is that it's a perpetually full macha. Yeah, someone who doesn't like macha getting macha to show people that they're like down.

Culture, yeah, yeah, that they're interested. And then where you're at there, they're not making you get a drink on the first day, we can get a macha is at the same.

Time where they'll be like, yo, if a dude is like carrying like a big bag, like not like a backpack, Like he's also trying to come off as like not threatening kind of thing, like the type of bags.

Yeah, there's a there's a contest in the in the chat if you want to see what these people look like.

Yeah, like yeah, like having a big tote wearing like a frayed sweater with maybe some loafer thing.

Was like, it's like there'd be a dude in a Claro concert sitting down reading a book.

Yes, yeah, this is perfect. Yeah what I'm talking about.

Oh wow, they got Claro blast.

It's always Clara, It's always c See everybody got the tote bag. Everybody's bini killed.

But I'm then you got the shirt, I got the shirt. Oh yeah, he got a oh he got a little man.

This is a performative male contest.

Yeah, doing the best performative.

Male contests, like people showing up in public.

Yea.

For I felt like when I was in New York like three times this year. Twice there was something happening in Washington Square Park where there was there was.

A contests in New York. There's a Timmy che ma. Look like contests in New York. I feel like there was like one other one, and that meme archetype in general is very connected to this.

Yeah as well, hanging like we used to just do dance battles, lost the art.

These ares, these are the sass one.

The Bay Area. That video was, Yeah, it was in New York or LA. It would be more white probably.

Oh my god.

And the dangly earring. I saw that reference on a I don't think so, honey recently on last Culture, So I don't think something so that is in the same category.

It's actually giving a little bit of empathy to those who are of the dangle earring dash for us, so.

It's like it doesn't some people just want to put that on and maybe that's how they're experimenting with being exactly She's a good person, you know. M Yeah, I don't want Macha like I like ma. I don't want it to be a problem. I don't want it to make me seem like I'm putting feelers out to be like, hey, Macha, you know what I mean?

Yeah, you got to wear a shirt that announces that on the front though, where it's like, yo, I'm only drinking this Macha because I actually like it. Like I'm actually not even approaching.

I'm a wife guy. Okay, I'm drinking this Machia just because I like it. All Right, great pick, Becca, I feel like so much more informed about all the wrong decisions I'm making. Miles Gray, You're up next with the second pick and the second round of the twenty twenty five Viral Stories of the Year draft. What's you going with? Oh my god, this is tough.

I think if I'm going off of purely something that I've really enjoyed, it's just been these this like this comedy group from Australia Mates Rates on TikTok, and they just do this thing where they're like doing names of like fake South African people and they're just improvising. I love it so much and I can't get this is the thing. I've also been sharing with my friends a lot where yeah, take names of this. I've definitely shared

Nice to see you here in Joe, I did you show you around later? Hey?

Mate, I'm Robbie Bush. I can sell you some great diamonds. Just don't ask where the game from.

Hello, gosh, it's de Cler. Have you met my san?

I meant thanks for coming to my bra. I'm got my bullsack. I'm from Brodisia. Sorry, didn't mean to say that.

It's good hunting.

Again.

These are just this has been a year of finding a bunch of really just fun stupid videos. Another one I do have to shout out is this one dude, Sir Spence, who I found really funny. There's just one this is very funny doing a video about he's just playing beer pong and he's hitting the dudes. This guy is white, okay, and he is hitting these people with the patwa in a way that's fucking really really on points. So I got to give it up for this one.

Yes, Sir Spencer is great.

On the universe, on the.

The algorithm of Einstein. You cut down Big Baniri, Big and white Boy. Anyway, So a lot of my videos are white people pretending to be other Yeah.

Yeah.

I saw something similar to this recently, and it was like people making fun of how the Canadian accent has become Jamaican.

Like these.

Toronto.

I'm not even gonna accent Toronto Mande.

That's the Toronto Mandem accent.

Also, our writer JM was just on our ear end episode. You should have heard him.

Yeah, what's up pro Ski. Yeah he said this show is baardesk fam And I was like, huh yeah.

Yeah.

He said we look like a couple of buckties, and I think that was cool. But yeah, that was another huge thing. I've had so many of these, like weird vocal stems go off, and it's been the South weird South African names, probably Toronto Mandem speak.

Say like to tos or whatever.

Tools There's like a whole like series where a guy's just in malls in Toronto asking people questions, and a lot of the time I was like, this can't be real, but it I think it is all right.

Up next, Bey Wang, you got the third pick in the second round of the draft. I now realize that we've done this backward. Usually when you do a draft it goes in a reverse order, but I wasn't ready, So I think I think it's better this way. We're not doing snake style. Bey, what is your pick in the third pick of the second round of the top viral stories of twenty twenty five.

Yeah, so I only really came up with one, but now that we're on second round the okay, So, like the Charlie Kirk face.

Swaps, Yeah, that's a pretty recent one.

Yeah, it's a recent trend. And yeah there's this one with like Arian and Kronde like and him.

Wait that people are swapping his face onto her.

Yeah yeah, yeah, Oh gosh, she looks great. Actually, she looks really good.

Yeah.

I think that's like the first like swap that was like kind of like what the hell?

Yeah yeah, yeah, rist this is the man. This is like also just scary. Some like this also goes along with like those cat porch videos Jackie were talking about, is that this is also bred such a new era of like meme that is like reality but AI is enabling some really. I saw one video where a dude is driving in his car with his girl and it says like they got like a like CarPlay screen in the car and it says incoming call from throat Goat

Yeah, you just like some shit the movie where a car goes off a cliff.

Right seeing it all now, really this is like kind of a whole new thing where I'm like, oh god, this texture is becoming way more eerie. Uh in a way that.

Charlie Kirk face swapped with in that video.

I don't really know.

Actually it's like a rapper, yeah, I mean he looks great.

Yeah. Somebody sent me this like a long time a while ago, and it was the first one I saw.

I was like woa, oh wow, wow wow.

And the editors in the chat put in like grand Theft Auto six and it's like, oh, it's Charlie Kirk, Like that's Cash.

No, that's that's Charlie.

Charlie Kirk asked, and Charlie Kirk as Cash, Paatel, Ye, I'm gonna need you to stop, Brian.

This is way Jesus queen. Yeah, yeah, hunting all right, great, pick Bay were over to Victor Cure, pick Man, what do you got?

I think I'm gonna have to steal one of Becca's I'm sorry Becca.

They were for the community.

The community, he's going for the steal. How far into the Summer I Turned Pretty did you get? Because that flacter was big on the Summer I about it like twice a day. If I'm being completely honest, I've seen the show three times now, once on its own and then twice with two different people running commentary over it. The Summer I Turn Pretty is insane? How far did you go?

Beca I'm gonna be honest.

I only got a few episodes in I because Okay, my sister in law is twenty two, so she's a bibet and she was like, Becca, you have to watch Summer I Turn Pretty, And so she was over all the time and she would put it on and I'm like, Ashley, what is this? This is crazy I And then I just kept being caught up with the memes. But I couldn't sit down and like watch it because every time I would watch it, I would get frustrated because I was like, I hate that she's been called Belly. I

Why does she have such a tiny, tiny ring?

And then she went to Paris and was having her little like em of the Empoie movement and she met a hot guy.

Up.

I was like, yeah, girl, live your best Paris life. Don't know how you're living in that apartment very Emily in Paris Corps. Yeah, and then she was like, I'm still thinking about Conrad and It's.

Like, girl, you live in Paris. Were you thinking about him?

Man?

This is the first time her Majesty was having motherfuckers over to watch this shit at midnight. I was like, you got a kid, yeah, but.

Mile you got pulled in too, and then you started having problematic takes. The victor was like, I witnessed lose respect.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but losers again. This is the take again that I'm not talking about narratively. I'm talking about straight up who can get it okay? And this team Jeremiah for me, not Conrad. I'm sorry. I think Jeremiah is more beautiful than Conrad, and I think Conrad ha Conrad is a mess. If I had hair. If I had hair, I wouldn't be looking like that, but objectively, the.

Man in Paris was the hottest one, so why are we even thinking about these boys in the United States.

Thing. The thing that was getting me in trouble though, is people said that I narratively the character I think Jeremiah is better than this is. I was I was fighting people off in my own house when her Masi's friends are wait, oh you think, let me tell you about this. This is why this is wrong. I'm like, I'm just saying, yeah, I came over to h you did fight you, you did, but instead you just threw ship all over my car.

Yeah.

Well, because Miles, you and I had a very similar experience from you were telling me where your wife and my wife just had it on, right, and we're like, no, funk that I'm gonna.

Do, like.

Yeah with my teeth.

And then you go like what did she just say? It's like, yeah, oh you're into it. Now, why is she saying that? And then I'm like shut up, I need I need a listen.

And I was I was like, wait, why are you telling her that he loved her? Isn't she about to get married to the other one? Yeah?

This is a mess, Like this is a mess.

Yeah, it is stressed. I was like, I can't do that. It's just stupid.

It's just like one of those things. I think it feels like probably super deep when you're younger. And then I think what happened for like millennials was that it was like relatable, this kind of like mess or whatever. Not to say that, like this is a good show, but they were like, I like the themes that are in here a lot. Yeah, yeah, that's I got in the constant arguments, I'm like, this is not well written.

If I can give like a compliment to the show, because I think the show is completely not well written, It's just there's no actual issues other than people wanting to be shitty to each other.

Right.

Season one, I'm someone who likes putting seasonal things in the background, like there's always a Christmas movie playing or Halloween movie playing. Season one has really nice summer aesthetic. It's not that you're at the liquor store buying for the cool party, and that feels like if I just mute it, it's like aesthetically nice you know, e.

Free movie needs to do. Like yeah, we were just talking about how Eyes Wide Shut just like has like a layer of Christmas over it exactly, Like you're just like, yeah, that like adds so much, Like yeah, Diehard didn't need to be a Christmas movie, but it is. You know, like just make it summary, make it like, have a very coherent vibe. Do not change seasons in your movie. Do you hear me?

Time one place?

All right?

What about you? Jack?

All right? I mean I'm getting credible value. I feel like this is almost cheating. It's our number two story of the year, but it also belongs here, and it is the Coldplay kiss cam couple, Like that's this is like getting Jokic. This is like getting Jokic in the at the end of the NBA draft, Like, this is fucking this is the one. This one the viral story of the year, the viral moment of the year. I drafted Sam Bouie. Well you know that my grandfather drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan.

I know that.

When I said that, I didn't mean to imply that, but it is one of the most famous draft blunders.

Yeah, yeah, it's okay, it's okay.

No, we're over it.

As a family, We're totally over It's it's the great it was our less bloody Luigi Mangioni of the Year in that like, you know, we all got to take this motherfucker down, like a CEO of a fucking AI streaming company. There was a lesser version of this where there's the video of the guy stealing the kids, like a tennis player of the US Open gave his hat to a kid and a CEO just like reached in

For surveillance capitalism, yes exactly.

Like we don't need it. Yeah, they watch us and like time our bathroom breaks. Let's use AI to just like get some drone cameras that lock on them and just like follow their every move. The people are hungry for CEOs behaving badly and doing cancel bullshit. Let's go. This is this is what I request for twenty twenty six. All right, we're gonna take a quick break and then we're gonna come back and they're gonna explain the internet to me. We'll be right back act and quick speed

I believe that's correct.

I might have, but I just probably like skipped out of them too far. I didn't do a lot of like being on Instagram or TikTok with the sound on. You know, I don't know what the origin of the song like.

I think it came from an obviously British commercial basic accent. It's like looking forward to a jet to holiday and then it's like a bunch of like it's like aline commercial airline tickets. But the concept of the meme is that like something bad happens to you, and then they play the music and I don't remember why or how we got there, but it was a referential moment for people who had a rough moment and they play this over.

I don't know that.

So it's like a bad it's a bad moment from vacation and it's like welcome to you.

Let's say you were walking and then you like ate shit, and then it would be like, yeah, welcome to a jet two holiday and then okay.

So it's the holiday version of like when during the Olympics a couple of years ago when people were like, so I didn't make the team and then like showing themselves like eating shit, trying to do a dive or something like that. Guy all right, The question was posed, is dnse bean salad this year and women eating two cups of beans a day to fix all their problems? What is this trend? I don't know that.

I honestly thought this was twenty twenty four, to be honest, but the internet also if now what's time? But a dense bean salad is a new concept. I guess I've been making dense bean sales for a long time. But instead of making a salad with lettuce, you make it with beans, so you know, it's high in fiber.

People are sholving their so it's just bean salad. It's just being salad.

It is various four and then people just being like it marinates in the fridge all week to get the best flavor, and it's like, yeah, if you've been like meal prepping, like the rest of us who are poor forever, you would know this hard.

So it's the thing that's existed outside of this here. That's just like people are people are finding out about.

Yeah, yeah, they're trying all these different dens bean salad and there's now like different white girl. I do specify that it is white girls influencers making these dens bean salads, and I'm like.

They've been around forever.

Like I make this one that is like almost like a Greek salad, like Apasta salad, but I add like a shit to and that's, you know, my dens bean salad that I eat like at least once a month.

Okay, I have a follow up question real quick. Is that different?

Because there was a woman who brought I thought bean salad to a potluck and then no one ate it, and the internet was like that, no, we fuck with you.

You're cool.

You know that did happen.

But I think that was like a separate thing because I think it was like a potluck where it was like a Thanksgiving potluck, and it's like, why are you bringing.

That bean salad to a potluck? To a Thanksgiving potluck?

It's like, that's not that's not the vibe. People want mac and cheese, you know, they want yams. They don't want a dense bean salad.

You know that was not on my thing. That's for luncheah, that is a lunch thing. Yeah, bad because I think she was like crying and ship It's like.

Oh, you know, the repopularization of the dens bean sal came from that people being like, no, no, they're cool, which they can be cool, and maybe she just made a bad one and that happens everyone's going to hit.

I've been on being salads. Okay, guys, so nice to try the internet. One that I meant to draft at some point but didn't get drafted was the moment that Twitter made people's locations public and we found out like all of these Trump influencers are from Bangladesh.

I didn't know that.

Yeah, there is there is a day where like there's one called My favorite tweet was from Grease Menace, who retweeted this thing that said America First. That was their hand and the writing was thumbs up if you're a Trumper who loves God. And it's a blonde woman hugging her blonde baby in like the most Midwestern ass kitchen possible, and they tweeted laughed my ass off. This account is in Bangladesh.

So are they bots based in Banglades.

Yeah, it's just the whole Maga sphere is made up of bots other countries. Yeah, all right, any any others that people wanted to hit on the way out to Drydo.

It was a bad bunny year, bitches. Yeah, it was perto Rico. Everywhere we are out here.

He has sold out ten ten nights in a row at a stadium in Mexico City, sixty five thousand cedar ten nights in a.

Row resident and Puerto Rico sold out every day. It was crazy.

As somebody who went, it was a very cool year to be Puerto Rican. It was a very exciting year reperto Rican. But we're not gonna, you know, get our foot off your next in twenty six. We're still gonna be ousting.

Still come for I mean twenty six exactly. First of all, Puerto Rican Super Bowl that you're not allowed to play in the Super Bowl unless you're put Rican. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City I got a lot of ambient updates on that what happens this year, that this was like the year of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City because it's been around before, but this year just seemed

It just came back Salt Lake City. I think we're only like a handful of episodes in the season, maybe like four or five. So that's part of it that it just came back, but also that it is probably the best franchise right now, like all the other franchises have been quite boring, especially Beverly Hills.

Right now, if you're comparing Beverly Hills.

It's like just started to Salt Lake, because I think the three that are on right now active is Salt Lake, Beverly Hills, and Potomac is like rounding out their season. We're in the middle of Salt Lake and we're at the beginning of Beverly Hills, and it's just like from moment one, absolute drama. Like I think they started off season one with all the all the episodes are blurring

Meredith assaults, one of the main housewives got cheated on by her house husband and very publicly. Yeah, like these are godly people from Salt Lake City exactly.

And I think that's like part of the lore is that like, oh.

My god, these women drink coffee.

Yes, but I would say Secret Lives of Mormon Wives that one is crazier because it.

Well, they actually don't drink. I would say the Salt Lake City housewives do drink.

That has always been kind of the weird crux where it's like some of these women like Lisa are like devout Mormons but still drink. The Secret Lives of Momon wives, they don't drink. They are something did only like a couple of them, but like most of them are very sober. So you're like with Secret Lives and Moral Wives specifically, you're like, I can't believe these women are saying these things out loud fully sober.

You're like, oh, yeah, you're talking.

Having a reality show where the people on it don't drink is like trying to make a cake without flower. It's like, wait, what you think you can't do that?

Life of Mormon Wives is absolutely fucking nutty, like to just Jack to give you table steaks. One of the Mormon Wives lets her husband drink her pea because it tastes like pretty pebbles, and they said that out loud.

Oh yeah, that is weird. She get that checked out. That sounds like diabetes exactly.

That's what everyone saying.

I agree that that's weird.

Now, yeah, I mean they probably do have diabetes. I mean they drink, they drink so much soda and they put like flavory.

But I'm saying that is the level that they're willing to, Like the Mormon Wives are on like a different level that they're like willing to put anything and everything on their TV screen.

But Salt Lake, in terms of the Housewives universe, I think they just bring it. Every episode.

They bring intense drama, whereas like a lot of the other franchises right now, they're a little boring or like it's they taking like full season arcs to get through storylines, whereas like every episode of Salt Lake is like storyline after storyline after storyline.

New new new, just like boom boom boom.

Like Mary's son is back in prison for like his drug shit, and then she reopened her church. Bron Wan's dealing with her mom living with her and also being a nightmare and telling her that like it was her fault she got pregnant like at eighteen or whatever, and also her husband's cheating on her.

Sounds like a lot of their husbands are cheating on them.

Oh, they're always cheating. That's like kind of you know, table Stakes of Housewives.

I feel like it's like I feel like a lot of housewives join house lives so that they can start their divorces.

You know, it's like giving themselves a platform.

It's financial stability so that they can like leave these bad marriages. So bron Wins was like that was you know, everyone knew the writing was on the wall from the first season she joined last week or last season to

And you're like, girl, listen to how you talk. This is crazy. Oh my god.

And then the main character, like the most intriguing character from the history of the show, j Shaw, is getting out of prison. Just got out of prison, and it's it is honestly the most anticipate hated release from prison I can remember since Tupac. Like usually someone goes into prison and then when they get out, like by that time, you've kind of forgotten a little bit. But everybody's like waiting out there, like is she out yet?

Yeah, And like people think she's really gonna come back to Housewives, but Andy's been very, very firm that he's like, no funny business, she's not coming back. And I think it's interesting that he is so firm on this, considering there is so much other like bigotry and issues and racism within the Housewives that like this for him, this is the hill to die on. I find interesting, But I'm glad he's dying on it. I guess, like, out of all the things Rony is still a fucking nightmare.

Guy, those are all just people's like friends, all the all the executives, friends from New York.

Yeah, it like blew up so.

Bad that they like haven't brought it back. They were like, oh god, season two of the newcast was so diabolical, we don't even know what to do. And they just put a pause on Roney.

They're just yeah, thank you so much, Thank you guys so much for joining us. Becca. Where can people find you? Follow you all that good stuff.

You can find me and follow me at bex b ECCS, ramos on all platforms. But also, I have an exciting update as my weapondom comes to fruition. I am launching a podcast February third, Ray six. It's called Welcome to a Barrio and it is about Puerto Rican history, culture, really just bridging the community of those of us here

Yeah amazing, Uh superducer Bee. Where where can people find you? Or do you do you care for people to find you?

Well?

I okay, so I made like a work account now guys. Hey, yeah it's at a babe A y y y e I b e.

I yes, A y y y e I b e a babe And yeah.

Go listen and watch Bombing with Eric Andre and also go listen to General World jenneral World. Yeah, we've been all like working.

Yeah, dream team Victor, do you care to be found? Sure you can find me on Instagram Victor right four three eight right is spelled with a W and yeah. Check out General World as well as the Daily sit Geist, which you're already listening to. So that'd be great Daily's I can think I'm going to write that down. Doing what you're doing, Brian the editor. Where can people go?

You can find me on LinkedIn posing as an absolutely psychotic recruiter.

That's where they come from. That's right amazing. You can find me on Twitter Jack Underscore, O Brian, on Blue Sky Jack ob the number one, and on Instagram Jack Underscore. Oh underscore, Brian, I've made my account public. Uh, I don't know why we'll see to share TDZ clips and not have them only go to my aunts. All right, that's gonna do it for this year in Internet virality,

Bite by bite, The Daily Zeitgeist is executive produced by Catherine Law, co produced by Bee Wayang, co produced by Victor Wright

Co written by j M McNabb, and edited and engineered by Brian Jefferies.