12 Podcasts That Explore The Weirder Corners Of The Internet

Image: Dazed/Dazed Podcast Art © Image: Podcast Record Art/ Dazed Image: Podcast Record Art/ Dazed

The internet is a place full of dark corners, deep rabbit holes, endless mazes, and wild themes. But with chaos comes storytelling gold: These 12 podcasts are used by communities like Reddit, Yelp, Twitter, and Tumblr to reach the other side of the digital world, with hosts acting as experts. Safety belt. Everything will be amazing.

Recorded

Dazed 's Logged On is a monthly series that explores everything related to internet culture, from memes to new trends, internet conspiracy theories and more. Host Gunseli Yalchinkaya delves into the micro and nano culture of sigma men, Deleuzian cats, techno-spirituality and psychology, inviting experts to help you understand what these words mean and how they are changing the world. In this first issue, we break down the meaning of the word "average" and present a great conversation about how the internet is flattening our culture.

there are no girls on the internet

The internet can be a dark and confusing place, especially if you belong to a marginalized community. It's ironic, because it's often these voices that shape Internet culture. In No Girls Online, Bridget Todd examines our experience of the Internet and examines how voices on the fringes have shaped the Internet since its inception. Now that Elon Musk has brought Twitter down to earth, we're all wondering where we'll end up next. What should we know about artificial intelligence? Does it work for us? The new season of TANGOTI's Real Future explores how today's women are planning for a better technological future and what you need to know to be ready for it.

AISIMI

Rachel Hampton and Candace Lim are online all the time, so it's not necessary. At ICYMI , they capture the digital issues and trends that everyone is talking about, the ones that are shaping our culture, and explain why. If you've ever felt left out in a conversation, this is one way to figure it out. Stay up to date with the latest fashion trends from TikTok, Twitter Blue, online concert ticket sales, West Elm Caleb and everything else that's happening in the digital zeitgeist. He leaves twice a week. Keep going and everything will be fine.

endless thread

Most Endless Thread stories start with something weird found on Reddit and then turn into stories about real people. Using stories, interviews and discussions, hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Emory Sivertson find the people involved in the stories and bring their themes to life. The show is full of mysteries and personal experiences that will give you a glimpse into the lives of people from all over the world both online and offline.

Dark web diaries

In The Dark Web Diaries, Jack Rysider uses real-life stories and interviews with experts, hackers, and cybercriminals to explore the world of cybersecurity, hacking, and online privacy. Each episode focuses on a particular case, trick, or event, providing deep insight into motives, methods, and consequences. Think data breaches, ransomware attacks, social engineering, espionage, and the underworld of the hacker community. The sound quality is fantastic, which is good if you're not very computer savvy. Jack's story will hook you.

magazine board

Remember Tumblr? Lauren Shippen, longtime Tumblr user and longtime Tumblr contributor Cherokee McEnally Do. The board discusses current topics, new ships, and predicts future fandoms. This is a fun and positive show from two people who found goodness on the internet. If you love Tumblr, you've found a place where you can feel completely visible. But even if this is a new world for you, you will have a lot of fun tapping into one of the richest and most unique cultural veins on the internet.

Your podcasts will sound better with a good pair of wireless headphones.

digital folklore

Digital Folklore is a mix of audio drama and documentary that explores how our online expressions and culture, from scary stories to cat memes, are contemporary folklore. Using a clever combination of immersive sound design, storytelling, voice-overs, interviews and written narration, Digital Folklore explores various manifestations of Internet culture through the lens of academic folklore. Hosts Perry and Mason play exaggerated versions of themselves, taking listeners on a journey into internet culture and often finding themselves in some pretty bizarre situations. The show creates a semi-fictional world and creates scenarios that serve as wrappers for interviews with real experts and the folklore concepts and facts they bring into the microphone.

The beach is too sandy, the water is too wet.

"The Beach Is Too Sandy, The Water Is Too Wet" is a comedy podcast from siblings Alex and Christine Slate, who dramatically read some of the funniest negative online reviews you'll ever hear. The dramatic music that plays in the background as you read really sets the tone. The episodes are divided into different business or travel destinations. It is endlessly interesting and really saves.

blocked party

There is a very funny story behind every failure on the Internet. That's why comedians Stefan Heck and John Cullen created Blocked Party , where they invite their hilarious friends to share stories of bizarre online misunderstandings and fights with celebrities, brands, and family members. Stefan and John have strong chemistry and their show is filled with funny moments. (And the name of the song from the Blocked Story segment will stick in your head for days.)

One click

Narrated by Elle Fanning, One Click is a true digital crime story that explores how a single click on the internet can change your life forever, in some cases helping you lose weight significantly. The first season focused on DNP, an explosive chemical left over from WW1 war factories now sold online as diet pills (with potentially fatal side effects). With journalist Jessica Vapnes, Fanning traces the history of the DNP and questions why (despite the danger) so many people turned to drugs, how the Internet helped them use them, and what this says about the health of our information society. It's hard, it's important to listen.

rabbit hole

The New York Times' Rabbit Hole explores how the Internet shapes people's beliefs, behaviors, and identities and can increasingly isolate them in an echo chamber of extreme ideologies. Host Kevin Roose will demonstrate through interviews, research and storytelling how YouTube's algorithms, social media influencers and online communities are fueling our polarization and radicalization. Kevin introduces us to people who have been severely affected by online content and follows them down their rabbit holes to shed light on the Internet's profound impact on society and draw attention to the dangers of uncontrolled online consumption.

seeker

If you were a Reply All fan, you may have followed PJ Vogt on his next project, Crypto Island , which explored the world of cryptocurrencies and the amazing human stories behind blockchain. Now he's using the feed for a new show , The Search Engine , where he explores questions he can't usually find online. (In a short episode, he talks about why zoo monkeys are sad.) It's kind of an anti-internet podcast, but it's taken from a speech by the king of internet culture, so I think you'll like it.

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