2 Girls 1 Podcast

Grace Helbig was cutting tape in her 2006 video editing class when the professor asked everyone to create accounts on a new website called "YouTube." That's where Grace found vloggers, jump cuts, and an emerging alt comedy scene. She became obsessed (in a good way) and immediately got to work. What began as comedic vlogs and absurd sketches with her improv pals blossomed into a 20 year career of making the Internet laugh. But it wasn't without pitfalls. Grace joins Matt to discuss how she's reinvented herself online many times, the deep sense of community she found within the "second wave" of YouTubers, memories from early VidCons, her battle with breast cancer and how it informed her new standup tour, and why being an Internet face can make you question your true identity. Plus: Your questions for Grace, and a harrowing round of YouTube history trivia. Follow and subscribe to Grace's work: https://youtube.com/itsgrace https://www.instagram.com/gracehelbig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Video journalists Joss Fong and Adam Cole are rarely satisfied with the results of scientific inquiry. As self-proclaimed "earnest nerds," they are compelled to unpack the process — to learn HOW experts know the things they know. After more than a decade as science communicators at Vox and NPR, they launched their own home on YouTube called Howtown. Their videos on how to measure animal sentience, how we really know the circumference of the Earth, and how hot sauces get so ... hot ... have captivated millions of curious viewers — even those who may not be fluent in evidence-based science journalism. This week, Adam and Joss sit down with Matt to discuss their leap from established media to independent creators, the meticulous quality of their work, and the curiosity that compels them to create, even when the economics of the Internet felt grim. Stop what you're doing and subscribe to Howtown: https://www.youtube.com/@Howtown/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Will Bulsiewicz went to school for 14 years to become a gastroenterologist. He loved working with patients, and developed a fascination for emerging research about the gut microbiome -- trillions of bacteria that live in our intestines and digest fruits and veggies. As a young doctor, he realized that public perception of the gut microbiome was lacking. When he gave a talk about colon microbes at his hospital, the intimate event became a standing-room only fire code violation. That's when he knew the world was hungry for more information, and the Internet was calling. Appearing on some of the world's most popular and respected health podcasts, Dr. B rocketed from a practicing clinician to a leading advocate for gut health -- especially on Instagram. While he could treat a handful of patients in private practice, he was helping millions as a science communicator online. When working 9-5, writing books, creating content, appearing on podcasts, and being a dad became too much, he made the tough decision to leave clinical work behind and become a full-time influencer. This week on INFLUENCE, Dr. Bulsiewicz sits down with Matt to discuss the fascinating microscopic creatures in our colons that we can't live without, why our modern diets starve them of essential nutrients, the advice his wife gave him that changed the course of his career, what to look for when parsing medical information online, and some disgusting trivia about cow intestines. Follow Dr. B on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguthealthmd/ Learn more about his books here: https://theplantfedgut.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

This week on INFLUENCE, the double-edged sword of YouTube's ContentID systems, and the explosion of AI-generated ads and voices which have no shame in cloning content creators for profit. Plus: Some changes to the Patreon so you can get more for less! Links discussed in this episode: How to subscribe to a private Patreon RSS feed: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041347732-How-to-use-your-audio-RSS Why YouTube apologized for age-gating Balatro videos: https://www.theverge.com/news/645257/youtube-balatro-univeristy-videos-age-gated-localthunk POV: You Got Deepfaked: https://news.thepublishpress.com/p/pov-you-got-deepfaked This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Like many of us, Zoë Ligon worked a retail job after college. But in her case, it was a sex toy shop, where she would have fascinating interactions with customers. Talking sex with random strangers changed her perspective on sex education, and she began writing about her own experiences on Tumblr – back when Tumblr was still a safe haven for NSFW content. Her blogging became paid gigs, which lead to a social media following, and one of her posts in particular catapulted her to worldwide attention. These days, she's a sex “edutainer” across many platforms, anchored by more than 260,000 followers on Instagram. She's leveraged this online following to launch an online sex toy store called Spectrum Boutique. She's also branched out to online sex work via OnlyFans, brand partnerships, and consulting. This week, the self-proclaimed “Dildo Duchess” joins Matt to discuss how she built her empire. Zoë explains why normalizing kinks and sexual wellness on social media is so important, and why meaningful sex education is so difficult on modern social platforms. She also shares the origin of her book, “Carnal Knowledge,” and the family tragedy that became the catalyst for her business. Follow Zoë: https://www.instagram.com/thongria/ Check out Spectrum Boutique: https://spectrumboutique.com/ Read her book, “Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn't Get In School:” https://spectrumboutique.com/products/carnal-knowledge-sex-education-you-didnt-get-in-school Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

-Original Show Notes from May 20, 2022- Stuart Duncan is the dad of an autistic son, and he's also autistic himself. So when he learned that autistic Minecraft players were being bullied on popular servers, he set out to create a safe and inclusive virtual space for the autism community. The moment he announced it, parents lined up in droves, hoping their kids could join. Today, the server has 15,000 members, and Stuart has quit his job as a software developer to manage, moderate, and customize the server for kids (and their families) who communicate and play their own way. Stuart joins us to discuss the origins of Autcraft, why he still relies on the Java Edition of Minecraft to serve his community, and the power of safe, custom virtual worlds for neurodiverse players. If you're as moved as we are by Stuart's story, you can support Autcraft on Patreon to keep "The Best Place on the Internet" going for years to come: https://www.patreon.com/autcraft https://www.autcraft.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A peer reviewed study from the University of British Columbia analyzed the most popular ADHD-related videos on TikTok and found that very few of them contain information that aligns with medical diagnostics. Even more interesting, people who consume this kind of content perceive the diagnosis to be far more widespread - and symptoms far more intense - than in reality. Social media is warping our sense of reality and self?! Inconceivable! Plus: New bi-partisan legislation aims to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The 1996 law shields websites from litigation if their users upload harmful content. This protection is integral to how the modern Web functions, and erasing it could lead to over-moderation and fear-based censorship. While harmful user content is always a concern, the true problem with social media is not that the content exists, but its weaponization by tech companies in the name of profit. In this case, Congress is fixing the wrong problem, and the consequences could damage online speech for years to come. A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0319335&_bhlid=eba84bf6525fc0863f3276ea4a45eb0891dac351 TikTok is full of ADHD advice — just don't trust it for a diagnosis: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5336303/adhd-symptoms-adult-tiktok Lawmakers are trying to repeal Section 230 again: https://www.theverge.com/news/634189/section-230-repeal-graham-durbin This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Here's an idea: Around 2012, YouTube was undergoing a profound transformation from a novelty economy to a loyalty platform. This was largely driven by vlog culture, but another format was emerging: The video essay. But would Internet audiences (notorious for their ShOrT aTeNtIoN sPaNs!!!) watch longform, Socratic discussion of math, democracy, quantum mechanics, and Pokémon? Turns out: Yes. Through the power of public broadcasting, an extremely innovative YouTube show emerged called PBS Idea Channel. It was produced by a talented team of writers, researchers and producers, and its host – Mike Rugnetta – became the face of Internet curiosity during its 5 year and 400 video run. Today, you can't swing Schrödinger's dead cat without hitting a video essay with millions of views. Their popularity can be traced back to Mike and his colleagues, who in-turn credit the vloggers and comedians who inspired them in the early days of Web video. Mike joins Matt to discuss this rare time for Internet creativity, what it was like to build a large and intellectually curious community on YouTube, why he returned to his first love of audio design, how modern social media makes us so passive, and why he's thrilled that his many ongoing podcasts don't pay the bills. Connect with Mike: https://rugnetta.com/ Mike's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikerugnetta/ Subscribe to Mike's excellent podcasts: Reasonably Sound: https://reasonablysound.com/ RIP Corp: https://ripcorp.biz/ Never Post: https://www.neverpo.st/ Fun City: https://funcity.ventures/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Elizabeth Booker Houston got a law degree and a master's in public health, with a focus on pandemic policy. Too bad that wasn't very useful OH WAIT During the Covid lockdowns, she became fascinated by the health misinformation perpetuated by Trump's first administration and weaponized by social media. So she took to TikTok (as you do) to share her public health expertise and make fun of anti-vaxxers. Elizabeth's combo of rapid-fire facts, myth debunks, and brutal punchlines drew a huge audience. And these days, she makes as much money from Instagram as she does from policy law. Elizabeth joins Matt to discuss her lo-fi content style, unpacking extremely complex topics for tiny attention spans. interviewing members of Congress, that time the Kamala Harris campaign winked back, her own political aspirations, cussing about politics for a living, and her fierce determination to call out Trump 2.0's legal bullshit. Follow Elizabeth's work: https://www.instagram.com/bookersquared/ https://linktr.ee/Bookersquared This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Hi friends! Excited to share this interview from my *other* show, Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat, where we cover video games and their communities. This one is about the extraordinary legacy of "Minesweeper," which changed the Internet in more ways than you might think. Enjoy! -Original show notes from March 24, 2023- Get the full episode here (or in your favorite pod app): https://haveenteredthechat.com/episodes/100-minesweeper-kyle-orland-diablo-4 When "Minesweeper" and "Solitaire" were first bundled with Microsoft's Windows operating system in the early '90s, they introduced millions of people to PC gaming, many of whom had never used a mouse before. "Minesweeper" in particular became a favorite addiction of many Microsoft programmers, including Bill Gates. Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor at Ars Technica, has written an upcoming book about the legacy of the grey, tiled Roguelike that paved the way for a more robust ecosystem of PC games and eventually the Xbox brand we know today. The ubiquity of these casual pack-in games rivaled the scale of current "Candy Crush" obsessions, and also caused moral panic among business and political leaders, who decried office workers frittering away their productivity on addictive games. Kyle dives into the curious exploits that competitive Minesweepers discovered when they were finally connected to the Internet, and how Microsoft missed its chance for "Solitaire" to become the "Fortnite" of the Windows Store. He also shares stories from his early days curating a Super Mario Bros. fan site when he was 15, interviewing Shigeru Miyamoto, and why "Bubble Bobble" desperately needs a 3D reboot. Plus, we absolve Colette's guilt about giving Blizzard money for the "Diablo IV" beta and why a new Tactics + Roguelite + RPG + Tower Defense + Diabloish game has got its hooks in Matt. Pre-order Kyle's book "Minesweeper" from Boss Fight Books: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/minesweeper-by-kyle-orland Or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Minesweeper-31-Boss-Fight-Books/dp/B0BRSKKLGV/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your Reddit feeds seem different lately, you're not alone. Massive "default" subreddits like r/pics — once home to heartwarming photos, hilarious memes, and stunning landscapes — have become a hotbed of anti-Trump and anti-fascist activism. Users there are sharing photos from recent public protests, which you may not have seen on the news, but are tens of thousands strong across every U.S. state. The sea change in political activism is largely attributed to a grassroots affiliation of civil and human rights organizations now called 50501: 50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Movement. And on February 5 (Presidents Day), they rallied everywhere in the U.S. to proclaim "No Kings Day" in response to Donald Trump and Elon Musk's executive overreach, racist rhetoric, and apparent Nazi salute. This week, longtime activist Gloriann Sahay joins Matt to discuss how political protest is taking shape in a time that feels very disempowering. They discuss the Internet's role in political organizing, the goals and outcomes of "radical non-violence," and what we all can do right now to support the movement. Learn more at: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ Check out Glo's activist site: https://pol-rev.com/ Keep tabs on the 50501 movement via Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/50501/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

True Crime Case Files had 150 videos and millions of views, but not a single true story was real. Also, are we finally seeing real protests thanks to Reddit? https://www.404media.co/a-true-crime-documentary-series-has-millions-of-views-the-murders-are-all-ai-generated/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/politics/trump-musk-protests-50501-presidents-day.html This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Social media platforms have become the “default” for most of the world's 5.5 billion Internet users, which means everything we see and post online is controlled by billionaires and squeezed for maximum profit – shredding democracy, mental health, and human rights in the process. But what if it didn't have to be this way? In fact, the Web wasn't this way until very recently. So how did we get here? And how can we claw it back? The bad news is it will take a LOT of work, investment, and convincing. The good news is, we already know how to do it - and it's way easier than you think. This week, activist and public interest technologist Mallory Knodel joins Matt to discuss a huge initiative to reinvent social media and rescue online discourse from billionaire control. Mallory is the executive director and founder of the Social Web Foundation, a non-profit working to build sustainable and fair social network infrastructure. She's also a custodian of Free Our Feeds, a coalition proposing new standards and protocols that would make social media open, inter-operable, and free from billionaire control. In layman's terms: Imagine if friends on Bluesky could subscribe to your Instagram Reels. Imagine if you decided to leave YouTube and take all your videos with you to Mastodon. Imagine a social media ecosystem where everyone can talk, free from sensationalist algorithms and constant surveillance. It's not only possible, but happening now, via federated networks like ActivityPub and AT Protocol. But as Mallory explains, getting your friends to ditch TikTok for Bluesky is a “hearts and minds” battle that's just getting started. Mallory and Matt discuss why all of our public discourse has moved onto “private property,” the importance of data portability, the burden of “switching costs,” and why now is the time to free our feeds from the billionaire class. Plus, some Amish trivia and your questions and voicemails. Learn more about Free Our Feeds: https://freeourfeeds.com/ The Social Web Foundation: https://socialwebfoundation.org/ And subscribe to Mallory's newsletter, Internet Exchange: https://internet.exchangepoint.tech/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

By day, Jason Kingsley is the CEO of Rebellion, an independent video game developer that's been cranking out hits since the '90s. But in 2017, he noticed a shift in the media landscape. YouTube - once a bastion of cat videos and reaction vlogs - was emerging as a destination for longform educational content. Jason's obsession with medieval history, background in raising horses, and love of fantasy role-playing games compelled him to start Modern History TV, a channel with rigorous and delightful video essays about life in medieval Europe. But instead of talking into a webcam and cutting in b-roll, Jason actually suits up in real armor, dusts off the jousting lance, and tastes the food that graced the hearths of medieval peasants His channel has grown to nearly 1 million subscribers, and his wildly popular videos about weapons, taverns, and guilds reach far more. His work has informed countless writers, dungeon masters, and plain ol' curious minds. Jason joins Matt to discuss why insignificant things become important through the lens of history, his focus on the lives of regular medieval people, YouTube Learning vs. Book Learning, his favorite videos, curfews for pigs, and that time he chatted with King Charles about jousting. Subscribe to Modern History TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernKnight/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

This week U.S. tech companies lost nearly $1 trillion in "value" after a Chinese startup called DeepSeek released its R1 large language model, which was reportedly developed for WAY less than Silicon Valley is pouring into the AI bubble. And while it is fun to laugh at tech billionaires losing money, DeepSeek's innovation (if real) could change the model for AI deployment - allowing LLMs to run on local machines (like your home computer) rather than in massive data centers owned by 3 companies. I also share some details about upcoming guests, and ...maybe fascism is bad??? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adopting a rescue animal is a noble pursuit, but dogs who live in a stressful, chaotic shelter may not put their best paw forward when potential owners come to visit. That's where fostering comes in. It's the often-overlooked step between rescue and adoption, and it can be transformative for many dogs. Even while young and broke in New York City, Isabel Klee took up this calling, and it changed her life forever. Today, she educates her enormous online audience about the foster process through heartwarming videos of the pups that come in and out of her life. And while it's not always glamorous, Isabel dispels the myth that aggressive or traumatized dogs can't be rehabilitated. Often, it just takes a few calm days, lots of love, and a little ham(!) to get a sad or injured dog frolicking again. Her big “foster fail” of course, is that she loved one of her guests so much, she had to keep him. Simon (now of @‌SimonSits fame) was the key that unlocked Isabel's solo social media career. Isabel joins Matt to discuss her work as an animal welfare advocate, why her videos are unique in a sea of cute Internet doggos, the surprising lessons she's learned from fostering dogs in NYC, the messages she gets from families who are inspired to foster, and the complicated emotional baggage around the shelter system. Follow Isabel's work: https://www.instagram.com/simonsits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Arndt ignored all the advice for new podcasters. Instead of focusing on a specific topic, he made a show about literally everything he could think of: history, geography, quantum physics, games, technology, and more. Instead of pacing out episodes weekly or monthly, he decided to publish every single day. 1,600 episodes later, his show “Everything Everywhere” has a community of 1.5 million monthly listeners. This success story leaves out that Gary is uniquely (and perhaps exclusively?) qualified to make this specific show. He's been working on the Internet since the dawn of the World Wide Web, and his success during the first dot-com boom allowed him to travel the world as a self-taught photographer. He's visited more than 200 countries and every U.S. state. He's won major photography awards and had a wildly popular travel blog long before social media was a thing. That is until ALL travel ceased in March 2020. Knowing he needed to reinvent himself (again), he started the podcast. Slowly but surely, Gary's daily “mini audiobooks” cut through the algorithmic noise where everything else is hyper-targeted to your existing interests. Gary sits down with Matt to discuss his world travels, the power podcasts (and other RSS-powered media) have that social media never will, why he DOESN'T want you to follow him on Instagram, his process for producing a show every single day, and the lessons from the dot-com implosion of the early 2000s that feel so ominous for the modern social Web. Subscribe to the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast wherever you listen: https://everything-everywhere.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

When Sky Burkson was a kid, he had two obsessions: drawing and video games. He went on to pursue a career in set design, but his love of games never faded. And when life threw his family a curveball, he knew it was time to recombine his passions. These days, his painstaking recreations of video game architecture and environments delight thousands of fans around the world, including some of YouTube's biggest gaming influencers, who regularly commission new work. His sculptures, which are made mostly of paper, are incredibly detailed, impressionistic miniatures of our favorite moments from Super Mario 64, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, The Legend of Zelda, and more. They often take months to create, but Sky credits that slowness for their popularity among online fandoms. This week, Sky joins Matt to discuss how he documents virtual spaces, why 1:1 re-creation doesn't always work, the hidden details players can't see, the reason he dumped 3D modeling software for good-old-fashioned pencils, and how to take that ONE perfect shot for social media. Check out Sky's website: https://www.skyburkson.com/ Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyburkson/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Happy Nude Year, one and all! I'm still on holiday break, but wanted to check in with out about the YouTuber(s) who exposed the Honey browser extension (owned by PayPal) as a massive scam, my upcoming guests, and sharing an encore episode from my other show, Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat, about a small but mighty video game community that did the impossible, just in the nick of time! Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam, by MegaLag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4yL3YTwWk Original Show Notes from May 3, 2024 Since 2017, a small collective of "Super Mario Maker" enthusiasts have been trying to complete every single player-created level — a quest to truly "beat" a game with hundreds of thousands of uncleared stages. But when Nintendo announced that the servers for Wii U games would be taken offline in April 2024, the urgency reached new heights. Team 0% began to grow from its humble beginnings of about 500 members, to 15,000+ players, committed to identifying and clearing the remaining levels before they were lost to time. Playing the levels was only half the battle. Finding and cataloging the unbeaten stages using Nintendo's arcane databases was no simple task. But through some clever reverse-engineering and lots of spreadsheets, they had whittled it down to a handful of levels with just days until oblivion. What remained were some of the hardest, most obtuse Mario monstrosities ever created. And one level in particular could only be beaten by a robot — until... This week, we talk with MagicMason1000, a long time member of Team 0% who now manages the community's YouTube and social media. Mason walks us through the fascinating history of this monumental undertaking, the Team's massive popularity boom amid global headlines, what happens when Nintendo patches glitches in Mario Maker, the exciting (and then somewhat anti-climactic) final victory for the team, and the mysterious fate of all those levels now that the servers are gone. If you'd like to pitch in to beat every uncleared level of "Super Mario Maker 2," you can join the Team 0% Discord here: https://discord.gg/team0percent Check out the Team's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TeamZeroPercent And watch henryst's The History of Mario Maker's Last 100 Levels video, as discussed in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUqUUXDmk40 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1984, a German teenager recorded a moody new wave song from the radio. The mystery song, with crunchy guitars and English lyrics, was preserved on a cassette and forgotten. That is until 2007, when his sister discovered the tape, and began a 17-year quest to identify it. From Usenet groups, to music identification forums, a Discord server, a popular YouTuber, and a dedicated subreddit called r/TheMysteriousSong, thousands of Internet sleuths have been decoding clues and comparing notes for nearly two decades, in the hope that someone, SOMEWHERE would recognize the song. Finally, in November 2024, one Redditor found the final piece of the 17-year-long puzzle. "The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet" is now a passionate music fandom that has reunited the band after 40 years, and sparked media coverage around the world. This week on INFLUENCE, Brandon, a moderator from the subreddit r/TheMysteriousSong, and Hans-Reimer Sievers, the drummer from the band FEX, join Matt to discuss this epic musical quest, how the puzzle was solved, what the members of the band were doing all this time, their reunification and newfound fandom, and the strange "discomfort" of unidentified media in a world where everything is Google-able. Join the community: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/ Listen to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGf4liO-KQ The FEX Official YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FEXband-official This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Wikipedia continues to be a modern miracle. Unlike social media platforms — which are rife with misinformation and grift — Wikipedia's openness and non-profit status are key to its two+ decades of value and accuracy. But a new threat is looming. Generative AI now touches everything we read, watch, and listen to on the Web. And some Wiki editors have begun experimenting with it, with mixed results. Where do large language models fit into the pursuit of accurate, reliable knowledge, if at all? And what is the Wiki community doing about generative articles when they go horribly wrong? This week, the president of Wikimedia New York City Richard Knipel joins Matt to discuss WikiProject AI Cleanup, a volunteer effort to identify AI-generated content on Wikipedia and assess its value as community standards rapidly evolve. The solution to this challenge, as with most things, is way more complicated than we initially thought. Richard explains how AI tools have been used for years to make Wikipedia richer and more inclusive, why humans and bots make different kinds of mistakes, the standards for accuracy that both must aspire to, why hot-button Wikipedia articles about politicians and current events are often MORE accurate than niche topics, and how you can contribute knowledge to Wikipedia in small but powerful ways. Learn more about WikiProject AI Cleanup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_AI_Cleanup Connect with Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardknipel/ This show is supported on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karen Cassady had finally made it. She was working full time as a comedy performer and teacher, with weekly shows at Atlanta's top improv theater. Then March 2020 happened. She and her comedy cohorts tried to translate their shows to Twitch live streams, but the "lulz" in the chat just didn't cut it. Unemployed and painfully bored, she put on some wigs and began riffing other people's videos on TikTok. But it wasn't until she began improvising an original Rom Com (and playing every character) that her life completely changed. Today, Karen is beloved by millions for her over-the-top characters and extremely relatable social media sketches - most of which are improvised. The "strict teacher" and "cool mom" now reach a global audience, and brands want in. Karen joins Matt to discuss the trial and error that got her to the top of the For You Page, why online improv is finally having its moment, the fan messages that kept her going during the pandemic, why her video creation process never includes a script, and her involvement in one of the weirdest and most viral comedy videos in YouTube history. Follow Karen: https://www.tiktok.com/@karencassssss https://www.instagram.com/karendcasss This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Salutations, one and all! I'm taking this week off, but excited to share some episodes that are on the docket for the coming weeks, and a BRILLIANT piece of media theory that might explain what the world is going through at this political moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Lee was a passionate wedding photographer whose business was booming - that is, until, February 2020. Covid canceled her job and income, and to make matters worse, severe stomach pain was preventing her from eating (and pooping). When she finally got an appointment to see a doctor at the height of the pandemic, instead of offering scans or tests, he said it was "a blessing" that she hasn't eaten solid food in weeks, since she could stand to lose a few pounds. Distraught and in tears, she turned to TikTok to vent her frustration, then went to bed. She woke up to THOUSANDS of women in the comments, sharing similar stories dismissal and fat-shaming. They also urged her to get a colonoscopy ASAP. Turns out, a massive tumor was blocking her colon, and she immediately started treatment for Stage 3 cancer. Amanda's extraordinary story about our broken healthcare system and the power of women supporting each other on the Internet has garnered her a huge following on TikTok and Instagram, and media appearances on The Today Show and other outlets. She joins Matt to discuss how TikTok comments *literally* saved her life, fighting cancer with no income, her mom and friends who stood by her side, her innovative work with brands, and her new life's work as a patient advocate for women who need allies in the doctor's office. Follow Amanda: https://www.tiktok.com/@mandapaints https://www.instagram.com/mandapaints/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Mattel's movie tie-in dolls for "Wicked" are being recalled due to the greatest typo ever made. Bluesky adds 700,000 users in one week as Americans flee Twitter, and a new contender might be on track to surpass MrBeast as the most-subscribed YouTuber of all time. Plus: I'm now obsessed with finding the Reddit sleuths who solved one of the oldest musical mysteries on the Internet. This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

There was no Internet when Yaya Han first discovered manga and anime in the early '90s. Born in China, she fell in love with this media (which was mostly imported from Japan) at a young age. But when her family unexpectedly moved to Europe, she became an outsider overnight - culturally and linguistically. That is, until she discovered a German anime magazine and started submitting her artwork. That's where she found thousands of obsessed fans just like her. But it wasn't until she attended a U.S. anime convention in 1999 that her mind was blown by the power of cosplay - super fans who sewed elaborate costumes and dressed up as their favorite characters. Yaya's focus immediately shifted from drawing to fabrics, and she never looked back. Today, her stunning costumes from anime and video games are adored by millions online, and she appears regularly as a speaker and contest judge at fan conventions around the world. She's partnered with global brands to release cosplay fabrics, sewing patterns, and even her own sewing machine. Yaya joins Matt to share her inspiring immigrant story, why online fandom is so powerful, her creative process, building her business in the early days of social media, the difference between re-creation and inspiration, how anime (literally) saved her life, and how she deals with online haters. She also takes the trivia challenge about some cinematic costume history! Follow Yaya: https://www.instagram.com/yayahan/ Check out her website: https://www.yayahan.com/ And buy her book! https://www.amazon.com/Yaya-Hans-World-Cosplay-Costume/dp/1454932651/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Before becoming Patreon's Head of Online Community, Hayley Rosenblum was no stranger to fan funding. She had worked closely with musicians in their pivot away from record labels, and toward the Internet - where fandom reigns supreme. These days, she helps creators large and small by listening to their needs and communicating pain points back to the Patreon mothership. Many artist conversations have changed the platform, often in subtle and unexpected ways. But even when her work seems "invisible," she takes great pride in empowering creators to do what they do best: make more amazing stuff for the people who love it. This week, Hayley and Matt chat about her sage advice for starting a Patreon, the surprising ways educators use the platform, the "death of the follower," why she sometimes feels like an Internet "piñata," and that time Neil Young convinced her dad that she's pretty cool. If you're a Patreon creator, join their official Discord community! https://discord.com/invite/patreon This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Two very interesting announcements from the Adobe Max conference connect directly back to last week's conversation about digital rights attribution. The company is launching their AI image and video generation model called "Firefly," which has only been trained on licensed and public domain imagery. So: If tools like this could be vetted, would artists and regulators be comfortable with them? Links from this week's discussion: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/adobe-unveils-ai-video-generator-trained-on-licensed-content/ https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/16/24271338/adobe-sneaks-project-know-how-content-credentials https://www.theverge.com/c/24238422/podcast-etymology-term-history-tech-vergecast This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Nearly every meme, YouTube video, and yes, even this very podcast, contains copyrighted work that may or may not be ... "officially" obtained. With millions of hours of audio and video uploaded to the Web every day, how can we possibly protect the intellectual property rights of creators? In short, we can't. BUT, laws and court cases dating back to the '90s have dramatically changed our perceptions of what intellectual property can be in an age where remix culture is the lifeblood of the Internet. This week on INFLUENCE, Duke University law professor Jennifer Jenkins joins Matt to unpack the differences between copyright, trademark, patents, fair use, and why Creative Commons and the public domain are so vital for online creativity. We also dig in on the ContentID algorithms that "police" copyright on large social platforms, and what the hell to do about generative AI that synthesizes new content from billions of copyrighted works. Learn more about Jennifer's work here: https://law.duke.edu/fac/jenkins And subscribe to her Public Domain Day blog! https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

When "Thorsten A. Integrity" created a trivia challenge for his co-workers in 1997, he never dreamed it would become the Internet's most exclusive knowledge battleground. The proprietor of LearnedLeague (whose *actual* name is Shayne Bushfield) built a thoughtful trivia tournament on defense mechanics and the honor system. And when it finally got online, his core group remained small for more than a decade. But as friends referred friends, the circle of vetted, honest players grew. And in the age where you can Google or ChatGPT nearly any answer, honor remains a cornerstone of the League's values. Today, tens of thousands of players (including some [REDACTED] celebrities!) compete in seasonal, head-to-head challenges, where knowing your opponent's track record is a huge part of the strategy. The community is so dedicated and insular that it has broken off into smaller sub-tournaments during the off-season. But you actually can't join LearnedLeargue ... unless someone on the inside invites you. What ran as a passion project for Shayne has turned into his full time job. He joins Matt to discuss the humble origins of the League, what makes for a great trivia question, the punishment for cheaters (spoiler: It's death), the value of knowledge in the age of the Internet, and why he has no reason to promote the League to new players. This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Jamie Baldanza has always been an animal lover. When the ad agency art director started posting her photos of local New Jersey horses online, the world took notice. Then, on a trip out to the American West, she brought back more than just stunning pics for the 'Gram. A life-changing passion for documenting and protecting wild horses took root. Since then, she's built a large online community of horse enthusiasts and conservation advocates who work to raise awareness around the plight of wild horses, whose existence is constantly threatened by land development in the region. Her work has culminated in the documentary film @WildLandsWildHorses which beautifully articulates the biology and ancestry of wild horses, and the conflict between ranchers, the U.S. government, and wildlife. The film is available on YouTube. Jamie (known online as @ThisMustangLife) sits down with Matt to discuss the family dynamics of wild herds, the epic challenge of tracking and photographing stallions, the terrible fate of horses rounded up for removal, why well-meaning horse advocates often go overboard on the Internet, and what it's like to build trust and companionship with these sentient creatures. Watch "Wild Lands Wild Horses" in its entirety on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lftvyrj4PY Follow Jamie on Instagram and TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/thismustanglife https://www.tiktok.com/@thismustanglife?lang=en This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

YouTube recently announced two new features. "Veo" will allow users to create AI-generated clips and backgrounds for Shorts. And "Hype" is a new way for fans to support small and medium-sized channels. The former seems like a bad but inevitable feature that will flood YouTube with synthetic, low-effort content. But the latter could be a major leap forward in audience-first content discovery. Hype gives all users 3 votes every week. When cast for small creators, they earn points (and potentially revenue) that puts them in a global leaderboard. It's a non-algorithmic, human-powered way to surface the platform's best content, and divert some of the attention economy away from YouTube's 1% of large creators who dominate the home page and suggested videos. Plus: The FTC notices that social media business models are horrible, and the MrBeast lawsuits have begun. Links referenced in this episode: https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/19/24249073/ftc-data-retention-privacy-report-facebook-meta-youtube-reddit https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/18/youtube-shorts-to-integrate-veo-google-ai-video-model/ https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/18/24247995/youtube-hype-creators https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/mrbeast-amazon-sued-beast-games-contestants-class-action-1236148181/ https://newsletter.tubefilter.com/p/roblox-youtube-add-yours-shopify This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Matt Hobbs was a working musician and the "house band" for an improv theater in Atlanta. Then the pandemic hit in 2020. With live performance on hold and life getting boring, he looked for musical inspiration at home. Luckily, his two adorable chihuahuas, Lenny and Mar-Pup, delivered. On a whim, he began writing short and ridiculous songs from the dogs' perspective and posting them on Instagram. The creative exercise got laughs from family, friends, and a small community of pet owners looking for fun at a dark time. In an effort to improve his skills, he wrote hundreds of these "Puppy Songs" while waiting to get back on stage. Then, TikTok happened. Puppy Songs exploded across the Internet, and Matt realized he was onto something. Some of his biggest hits, like "Cheese Tax," "Air Jail," and "Where the Heck Is Mom?" have been streamed nearly 100 million times across platforms. This week, Matt Hobbs joins Matt Silverman (2 Matts!) to talk about the craft of songwriting, what inspires him to make new videos, how social media is changing music, and turning Internet virality into a sustainable music career. PLUS: Ancient puppy trivia and an EXCLUSIVE announcement about Hobbs' upcoming project. Follow Puppy Songs: https://www.youtube.com/@UCp5Ytwj_TkbbfztidjFtXrw https://www.instagram.com/PuppySongs/ https://www.tiktok.com/@puppysongs This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

The Internet Archive, a non-profit repository for BILLIONS of pieces of media, has been lending digital books from its library since 2011 without a hitch. But in March 2020, they made one crucial mistake that now poses an existential threat to the online "Library of Alexandria." This week, The Internet Archive lost its appeal in a lawsuit brought by the 4 major publishing conglomerates. And while the publishers are *technically* right in their copyright infringement complaint, the consequences of the suit could be catastrophic for the Archive. Plus: Your responses to the blind gamers episode, and get ready for some Puppy Songs! Links referenced in this episode: What is Happening to the Internet Archive? (All Things Lost): https://youtu.be/bp2aowF0jUw The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case: https://www.wired.com/story/internet-archive-loses-hachette-books-case-appeal/ For more on the Internet Archive, check out our 2G1P episode with Jason Scott: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-archive-wayback-machine-and-discmaster/id1285444706?i=1000589825934 This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

SightlessKombat is a video game streamer and reviewer, who also consults on some of the industry's biggest titles: "God of War," "Sea of Thieves," "Horizon: Forbidden West," and more. Yet he has never seen a single pixel. That's because he was born blind — completely without vision. But he was drawn to video games from a young age because ... well, they're awesome. So, how does he actually *play* them? The answer is, it depends. Game and Internet accessibility has come a long way since the '80s and '90s. But many in the blind community still rely on volunteers to mod screen readers into games. The process is tireless, collaborative, and very community driven. This week on INFLUENCE, Matt sits down with 3(!) guests to talk about video game accessibility. Aure is a German programmer who recently released a screen reading mod for the wildly popular deck-building poker-like "Balatro," allowing blind players to enjoy the game for the first time. SightlessKombat is the aforementioned streamer, game reviewer, and Accessible Gaming Officer at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK. And Ohylli is a legally blind accessibility advocate (and "Balatro" enthusiast!) based in Finland. They discuss the amazing tools that make wildly complex games like "Factorio" and "Stardew Valley" accessible to blind players, how 3D action games like "Sea of Thieves" and "Star Wars: Outlaws" are played without sight, and why studios that make games more accessible can reap unexpected profits. Follow Aure's modding work: https://github.com/Aurelius7309 Subscribe to SightlessKombat: https://linktr.ee/sightlesskombat Follow Ohylli: https://x.com/ohylli Special thanks to u/matrheine on Reddit This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

Most people can agree that protecting children from harmful online content — self-harm, disordered eating, gore, disinformation, extreme social pressure — is a good idea. Much of that falls on parents. But algorithms are disturbingly good at showing us extreme content we never searched, but can't look away from. Addiction (and thus more ads) is social media's business model. And keeping up with the Web wormholes that teenagers find themselves in is an impossible task, especially when these platforms are integral to their social lives. In response to the growing mental health crisis among teens (especially girls and young women), the U.S. Senate found bi-partisan support in two bills: COPPA 2.0 — which would expand the scope of 1998's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act to block data collection on minors aged 13-17 — and KOSA (The Kids Online Safety Act), which would turn OFF algorithmic recommendations and auto-play videos, and turn ON maximum privacy settings by default for kids. This seemed like a rare bi-partisan win. But as always, the truth is much more complicated. That's why we've called on Paul Singer to return for his 3rd appearance on the show to explain WTF is going on. Paul is a partner at the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren, where he specializes in consumer protection issues. Previously, he worked in the Texas Attorney General's office, with a particular focus on data protection. He even worked on the very first lawsuit brought through COPPA 1.0's enforcement back in 2000. He breaks down what's in these bills, why they have some good ideas, the fatal flaw that makes KOSA problematic (especially for marginalized communities), and what Congress (and courts) could do instead to protect all citizens from abusive tech platforms. Check out Paul's work here: https://www.kelleydrye.com/people/paul-l-singer And subscribe to his legal blog about these issues and much more: https://www.kelleydrye.com/viewpoints/blogs/ad-law-access This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

The flood of allegations around the world's most famous influencer range from petty YouTube drama to serious (and possibly illegal) safety issues. MrBeast is very popular in our household, but the raft of controversy makes us question whether our kids should keep enjoying their favorite YouTube channel. This week, I break down why The Beast is under fire, and how the controversy snowballed in recent months, leading to a parenting moral quandary. Plus: Fake and AI-generated product reviews are officially BANNED in the U.S. But can it be enforced? And details about some fantastic upcoming guests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a busy week here in my house, so while I'm lining up fresh interviews for you, please enjoy this feed drop from my other show, where we interviewed two wonderful video game speedrunners who race through one of the chillest games ever made: "Stardew Valley." - Originally published on January 13, 2023 - Where RUSHING into marriage is a good idea! Speed running Super Mario Bros. is a straightforward endeavor. Whoever saves the princess fastest gets the record. But what about open-ended sims, where you set your own goals? This week, we were so mesmerized by Stardew Valley speedrunners on GDQ that we had to invite them on the show. Lee (@atwentysomethingloser) and Lisa (@lichatton) are Stardew-obsessed Twitch streamers who have dissected the game to find the fastest ways to marry specific villagers, complete Community Center bundles, catch every fish, and other in-game milestones, often achieving these runs in mere hours. Their strategies involve animation canceling, min/maxing gifts, and a lot of sleep! Lee and Lisa share how they got into the wild world of speeding through one of the chillest games of all time, how it has increased their love for it, and share what else they play after thousands of hours of Stardew. Follow and subscribe to Lee and Lisa! https://www.twitch.tv/atwentysomethingloser https://www.twitch.tv/lichatton For more video game community conversations, subscribe to "Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat," wherever you get podcasts: https://haveenteredthechat.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You and everyone you love will die. There's no way around it. Yet we rarely talk or think about the topic until we have to. For the first time in human history, we are "living longer and dying slower." That's good news, but it also creates a cultural disassociation with the reality of death. But there's a growing movement - online and IRL - around death literacy. It advocates for ongoing conversation and education about this universal part of life. Just like exercise, finances, or playing piano, how can we be successful at something if we don't learn, practice, and grow? That's the mission of Bevival, an online community and resource devoted to changing the cultural conversation around death. It's the brainchild of Caren Martineau, an entrepreneur who suddenly realized she has more time behind her than ahead. Jade Adgate is a death midwife, who supports people with terminal diagnoses and the families left behind. She also empowers a large community on social media by sharing her work and insights to help grievers she can't reach in person. Together, they produce the Exit Interviews podcast, a regular conversation with leading authors and philosophers about how we can make meaning from "the final frontier." This week, Caren and Jade sit down with (a reluctant) Matt to discuss their calling around death literacy, their mission to engage the Internet on difficult topics, how death has become commercialized in the 20th and 21st centuries, and why that dehumanizes mortality. Connect with Caren at http://bevival.com Follow Jade on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.farewell.library Subscribe to the Exit Interviews podcast: https://www.bevival.com/books-podcast-death-literacy This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Watch & subscribe on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@InfluencePodcast Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

The surreal machinima "Skibidi Toilet" has been viewed 65 BILLION times across platforms, attracting the attention of Hollywood explosion enthusiast Michael Bay. The mega producer (Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean) has licensed the bizarre web series to make a feature length film or TV series. The Gen Alpha meme generator is more than just a flash in the pan - it has real narrative structure, and the Skibidiverse has been rapidly expanding over the last year. Even if your kids have never seen a Skibidi video, they are definitely talking about it on the playground. I break down whether toilet heads make any cultural or financial sense in a theater near you. Meanwhile, two extraordinary online child safety bills are making their way to the U.S. Senate with bi-partisan support. If passed, they would dramatically reduce the data collected on kids, and cut off the algorithmic content that is so damaging to their mental health. What would social media actually look like if we could make it safe for minors? And could these regulations help adults, too? Plus: Would you quit your job to be an influencer? 50% of adults would if they could. Many of those are already trying.  And YouTube's biggest stars are pissed that AI is learning from the captions on their videos. Where is the philosophical line between fair use and theft when it comes to large language models? And how will we protect creators who may soon be out-matched by "synthetic" video content? This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

When we report a spammer, a scammer, or online harassment, where does it go? Who decides what gets removed or banned? Bots can do some of the work, but when it comes to messy online emotions, we need human expertise for context and judgement. So who are these heroes? What do they see all day? And how does content moderation work on a global scale, where the ethics, laws, and cultures of different platforms are so subjective? This week on INFLUENCE, Alice Hunsberger breaks down this complicated world. She's the VP of Trust & Safety and Content Moderation at PartnerHero, a company that staffs some of our favorite social media apps with specialized teams that weed out bad actors to ensure everyone has a safe experience online. Alice explains why this crucial work is often unnoticed or deeply misunderstood by the public, why viewing humanity's worst behavior for a job is so punishing, the impossible tasks for regulators, and why she remains optimistic about the Internet despite the constant flow of harmful content. For more on the Trust & Safety industry, subscribe to Alice's newsletter and podcast: https://alicelinks.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Watch the show on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@influencepodcast Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

When Catie Osborn ( @Catieosaurus ) had a medical emergency, she thought she was losing her mind — perhaps experiencing early onset dementia. But after further evaluation, she got a much different diagnosis: ADHD. Suddenly, her entire life snapped into focus: Intense fixation and extreme boredom, difficulty maintaining friendships, the crushing burden of everyday tasks, and in her own words: "I didn't know how to People." She deeply educated herself about the spectrums of ADHD, autism, and their corollaries like anxiety and depression. Then, when she lost her job as a Renaissance fair director during COVID, she began educating the Internet about the struggles and triumphs of the neurodivergent. Her deeply personal videos on TikTok and Instagram caught fire. 3 million followers later, she now works full time as a speaker, author, podcaster, and social media advocate for neurodivergence and mental health. Specifically, she observed a unique connection between ADHD and intimacy. And when no one was talking about neurodivergent sex online, she became a unique advocate for that as well. This week, Catie and Matt talk about the rapid rise in ADHD awareness, its ongoing stigma and misrepresentation, the empowering (and sometimes life-saving) impact her content has on her audience, how to make a living as a science communicator, her unique brand of adult "spicy" content, table-top RPGs, answers to your questions and voicemails, and why getting doxed by online trolls brought her closer with her mom. Follow Catie and learn more about her work: https://catieosaurus.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@catieosaurus https://www.instagram.com/catieosaurus Start your own podcast with Zencastr's 14 day free trial: zencastr.com?via=mattsilverman This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts:

At the age of 7, Jacob Simon set out to become a world-class figure skater. He competed around the world and was training for the Olympics when a dislocated shoulder derailed his career. Devastated but not defeated, he made a conscious choice to focus on the positive. His other skills as a writer and artist came in handy when he started sharing short, personal videos on Instagram and TikTok about the climate crisis. But these were not about rising temps or dire warnings. All of Jacob's stories feature GOOD news about climate progress and hope for the future: animals bouncing back from extinction, governments passing green laws, renewable energy breakthroughs, and regular people making a huge impact on their communities. Turns out, the Internet was also exhausted from two decades of doom scrolling. Jacob's daily stories of progress have garnered him millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers, who rely on him to cut through the darkness of our media diet. This week on INFLUENCE, Jacob and Matt discuss his new life as a science communicator, why social media (and news media) bias toward "bad" news, the rigorous research he puts into every video, the stories that most-inspire his audience, the ingenious way he makes a living, and what we all can do to help the climate, even when it seems futile. This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Start your 14-day FREE trial of Zencastr here: zencastr.com?via=mattsilverman Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

I'm on vacation this week, but very happy to share this interview we did on another show, with Norman Caruso (The Gaming Historian) back in 2021. If you enjoy games as much as we do, check out "Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat," wherever you get podcasts: https://haveenteredthechat.com/ -- Original Show Notes from May 28, 2021 -- Norman Caruso, aka The Gaming Historian, has been meticulously documenting the history of video games (and their weird peripherals!) on YouTube since 2008. It took him 7 years before this passion project became a full-time job. More than 90 million views later, his channel is among the most rigorous and well-respected in the world of games journalism. Norman has covered topics as ubiquitous a Tetris and Super Mario Bros. 3, all the way down to failed tech like the Sega Mega Modem and an IRL fishing module for the Game Boy. We chat with Norman about how he got his start, why primary-source historical research takes so long, how he chooses topics, why it's OK to be wrong sometimes, and why you may never see a Pokémon video on his channel. Subscribe to The Gaming Historian on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnbvPS_rXp4PC21PG2k1UVg This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Mark Malkoff was in 8th grade, he wrote a letter to Phil Hartman, one of his comedy heroes on "Saturday Night Live." He assumed Hartman was too famous and busy to look at fan mail. Except, Hartman *did* respond with a heartfelt note. For Mark, this (and many other encounters) cemented a life-long obsession with comedy and late night TV — so much so that he moved to New York City and became an audience coordinator at "The Colbert Report" and "Late Night with David Letterman." He was touching the TV biz, but he wasn't writing or performing, and the grueling hours were catching up. That's when he turned to the Internet. Mark is known for his creative and wacky challenge videos (like living in IKEA for a week, or drinking something at every Starbucks in NYC). But his encyclopedic knowledge of late night TV began to shine when he started "The Carson Podcast," a 400 episode love letter to "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson," in which he interviewed many people involved in its production - from the guy who held the curtain for 20 years, to legends like Carol Burnett, Jimmy Buffett, Brooke Shields, Mel Brooks, and Michael J. Fox. Recently, Mark launched a new podcast called "Inside Late Night," which covers the generation of comedy that came after Carson — "Saturday Night Live," David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, "The Daily Show," and more. His candid and meticulous conversations with the writers and performers who've made us laugh for decades often unearth showbiz stories that have never been told before. Mark joins Matt to discuss why viral videos don't pay the bills, getting deep and personal with podcasts, the savvy way he gets into celebrity inboxes, being mistaken for Stephen Colbert, getting Lorne Michaels' autograph, and that time Adam Sandler gave him his phone number. Subscribe to "Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff" wherever you get podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-late-night-with-mark-malkoff/id1745253634 This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Johnston was living the dream. His band was signed to a major label. He was touring the world, playing for thousands of adoring fans, and making good money. But something was missing. He didn't know what, until a friend told him how happy he looked when he was teaching drums, rather than performing. That's when he figured out he has an "educator's soul." So he stepped back from the band and taught drums full time. It was exhausting, and this income potential was capped by the hours in the week. To make up for a lesson, he recorded a session and dumped it onto a fledgling website called "YouTube." That's where everything changed. Today, Mike's drum instruction videos reach millions of curious enthusiasts and dedicated musicians. He uses YouTube and his website to teach exponentially more people than he could possibly address with in-person lessons alone. Back in 2006/2007, he risked his entire career to build drum education the way *he* wished he could learn. The big unknown was whether others wanted it, too. (Narrator: They did.) This week, Matt sits down with Mike to discuss the fascinating evolution of online music lessons, where he gets his inspiration for new lessons, why he never watches other drum lesson videos, and why he's not afraid of AI taking his job. Check out Mike's Lessons to learn more: https://www.mikeslessons.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

“Fake news,” conspiracy theories, and click-bait are no stranger to all our Internet feeds. When we spot it, we may block an account or kindly refer a relative to a more reputable source. But what about the misinformation we can't even see? Specifically, content in other languages, created for online communities we can't possibly access? For the relatively small community of Vietnamese-speaking immigrants in the U.S., there are almost no reliable media outlets to serve news in their native language. And strange entities have sprouted up to fill the void, often mixing far-right conspiracies with legitimate news to create “information disorder,” a particularly insidious brand of propaganda. This week on INFLUENCE, investigative data journalist and journalism professor Lam Thuy Vo joins Matt to discuss the complexities of consuming a balanced news diet in the Vietnamese-American community. She has written numerous pieces for The Markup (a non-profit tech journalism site) about the “Languages of Misinformation,” and a mysterious YouTuber who produces a shocking amount of very dubious Vietnamese-language “news.” Who is she? Who is behind her channel? And what's the goal? Lam also profiles a heroic Vietnamese-American grandmother who took it upon herself to translate reputable news sources to combat the misinformation she was seeing in her community's social media bubbles. These forces paint a picture of a very complicated voting block that – if misinformed by the Internet – can significantly impact local and national elections. Their wide-ranging discussion goes deep on what it means to be media literate in a world of deepfakes, AI, and algorithms that care very little for languages that are not English. Read Lam's extraordinary work here: https://themarkup.org/languages-of-misinformation/2024/05/22/the-inside-story-of-the-youtube-influencer-who-peddles-misinformation-to-vietnamese-communities https://themarkup.org/people/lam-thuy-vo And follow her here: https://x.com/lamthuyvo This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

The early days of YouTube were for home movies, cat videos, and short vlogs. But in the summer of 2006, something emerged from Wisconsin that would change our perception of what Internet video was capable of. “Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager” tells the classic story of Darth Vader's younger brother, who commands a middle-management job at the local grocery store, rather than a Death Star. But “Chad” was more than just a hilarious Star Wars parody. It had the production values of a fully-fledged sitcom: Multiple actors and plot lines, costumes, sets, a musical score, sharp writing, and legit cinematography. The Internet — and YouTube corporate — took notice. Before “Like & Subscribe” was a thing, YouTube featured Chad Vader on its homepage, which reached millions of eyeballs and generated serious heat around the series. Fans began demanding new episodes, and YouTube realized the new potential of its platform. It was starting to shift from a novelty site, to a loyalty destination. Chad is the brainchild of Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan, improv comedians from Madison, Wisconsin, who had been making sketch comedy videos for public access TV and film festivals. After Chad Vader was canceled by Channel 101 and ignored by the Los Angeles establishment, they decided to check out this whole “YouTube thing.” The success of the series (and other emerging creators) prompted YouTube to roll out its advertising partner program. Yonda and Sloan's channel, Blame Society Films, became one of the first ever to monetize. Chad's popularity lead to brand partnerships, contract work, and collaborations. But despite its huge success and even an award from George Lucas himself, Hollywood never figured out how to translate a Star Wars parody sitcom to traditional TV. This week on INFLUENCE, Aaron and Matt chat with the Other Matt about their origin story, the evolution of their audience, the “lunacy” of Internet comments, why YouTube sketch comedy is dying out, voicing the REAL Darth Vader for TV and video games, and the long-running series their fans love and support today. Subscribe to Blame Society Films: https://www.youtube.com/@blamesocietyfilms Beer and Board Games: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL49WgzlbhrT0kCIoZQukx-xbwFjSQhYFQ Game Society Pimps: https://www.youtube.com/@GameSocietyPimps Junkyard Joust: https://www.youtube.com/@JunkyardJoust Welcome to the Basement: http://welcometothebasementshow.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

Chelsea Laufer went to a prestigious film school. She got a job in TV production, and then in animation. But it wasn't until she uploaded her *own* creations to the Internet that her life turned magical. Chelsea VFX makes inspired, short-form digital magic tricks where she disappears into hula hoops, takes a dip in her own cup of coffee, and changes the color of her sweater with a snap. Her visual effects skills rival Hollywood movies, and her flair for short-form surprises racked up millions of followers and (likely) 1 billion views. Her motto is, "If you can think of it, you can make it happen" — at least in the world of digital manipulation. But when her fans tell her she should work for Marvel or Disney, she has one huge reason she prefers to create for the Internet. This week, Chelsea shares her rules for magical short-form storytelling, why she's the worst person to watch a movie with, and the fascinating tale of her most-viewed video which went INCREDIBLY viral (500 million views!) for all the wrong reasons. Plus: Trivia is BACK! Follow Chelsea IMMEDIATELY:

When I was coming up in media and learning about online video around 2010-2011, Craig Benzine (known to the Internet as @wheezywaiter ) was a big inspiration. His videos were so absurd, so fast, and so funny. I felt like he was speaking to a new kind of audience. "YouTuber" was starting to become a job, and being ridiculous on the Internet could pay the rent. Loyal subscribers and conversations from the comments section were the gold standard. But as YouTube became more algorithmic, Craig's channel started to stagnate. His core audience was remained, but the growth had stopped. He felt completely stuck, for about 5 years. Then, in 2018, he made a radical change to his content that doubled his audience — from 500,000 to 1 million subs — in just a year. I'm thrilled to talk to Craig about making Internet videos for 16+ years(!), and what drove him to "make a movie every day." We discuss how YouTube editing became a unique artform, why getting 30 views and 1 comment from an online stranger was the best feeling in the world, the years he toiled in obscurity before the Internet finally took notice, and the re-invention of his channel. Plus: Your voicemail! Subscribe to WheezyWaiter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wheezywaiter/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me:

The mysterious Jack Rhysider talks to hackers, cyber criminals, bank robbers, crypto scammers, (real!) spies, CIA agents, and penetration testers. Because his job sends him to the darkest corners of the Internet, his true identity is not known. But that never stops him from sharing how his extraordinary podcast - Darknet Diaries - comes together. From the kernel of an idea, to sweeping stories full of twists and turns, his true crime episodes started with the InfoSec crowd, and quickly gained mass appeal. Jack joins Matt to discuss his obsession with security and privacy, his journey from IT to blogging to podcasting, how he learned from the world's best audio storytellers, the moment he knew people really loved his show, why he loves to make things that are not sustainable, and the possibility of a new podcast in the works. Check out Darknet Diaries (True stories from the dark side of the Internet): https://darknetdiaries.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Watch & subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfluencePodcast Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices