Panic World

From shooting themselves up with boys’ blood to starting their own countries, “techno-optimism” has taken a decidedly dark turn. It turns out Silicon Valley is going through a midlife crisis — and while us peasants might address that with a motorcycle or a long vacation, the dudes in the PayPal Mafia are facing their mortality by inflicting pain on the rest of us. Taylor Lorenz joins the pod to dissect what’s caused so many billionaires to lose their minds, and the implications for humanity. Our guest Taylor Lorenz is a journalist. She hosts the podcast Power User, and writes about tech and online culture for her Substack, User Mag https://www.usermag.co/. You can follow her everywhere else @taylorlorenz. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude ⁠http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Donald Trump being brought back into the White House, we might only be seeing the beginning of another decade of QAnon. How did we get here? Our story today starts in 2016, when Wikileaks released tens of thousands of private emails from John Podesta. By the 2020 election, thanks to “Q” and the QAnon movement, conspiracy theories were front and center. While many originated from right-leaning people and platforms, by the 2024 election both sides now have their own conspiracies to make themselves feel better, or demonize the other team—and there’s so many they’ve become ambient noise. Travis View joins us to talk about the proliferation of conspiracy theories and how they've impacted the way we think and approach politics. Our guest Travis View is the host of QAA (QAnon Anonymous). Check out the podcast wherever you listen, and follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @travis_view or Bluesky @travisview.bsky.social. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude ⁠http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tide Pods were the king of the forbidden candies. The items that looked delicious despite being disgusting, or poisonous, if you actually bit into one. For a few months in 2018, it seemed like the biggest threat to American teenagers was the temptation to participate in the "Tide Pod Challenge," i.e., bite into the Gushers-like laundry pod on camera before calling poison control. Local news was all over the story, police were making videos warning teens of the dangers, an NFL star made a PSA. But, was this actually a real problem? Were teens across the country really this gullible? Was anyone actually being hurt or dying because they ate a Tide Pod? Our guest PJ Vogt is the host of Search Engine. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can follow him otherwise @PJVogt. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude ⁠http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blair Witch Project stands alone in the kind of panic it caused. No film before or since has quite hit the same fevered pitch, where many people actually thought it was real. What made it so magical? How did it come to be, and why did it freak us out like it did? David Sims joins us to talk urban legends, predecessors to The Blair Witch Project, and the found footage films that have since tried to recreate its culture-gripping moment since. Our guest David Sims is a culture writer at The Atlantic, and also hosts the podcast Blank Check. Follow his work @davidlsims and find @blankcheckpod wherever you listen to podcasts. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude ⁠http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caroline Calloway became internet famous for living a fantasy, at least that's how it appeared on Instagram. Then, she became infamous when the public turned on her. We talk with Caroline about the long history of the women and teenage girls this has happened to before, and what it's like for this generation's version of E Girls, the Simp Queen. Our guest Caroline Calloway is an author. You can buy her new book Elizabeth Wurtzel and Caroline Calloway's Guide to Life online at https://carolinecalloway.com/ or at your local bookseller, and you can and should follow her @carolinecalloway. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude ⁠http://multitude.productions⁠. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices