ICYMI

Another day on the internet, another online challenge to laugh at. Even the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary is getting in on it. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison talk about the Abbott Elementary episode that so perfectly skewers all the adults posting their challenges online, the reemergence of the water cup challenge, and what’s really at the root of online challenge culture. Podcast production...

In February, Etsy emailed its sellers to announce that it would be taking a larger cut of their money, even while announcing in the same email that the company’s profits were up. A group of sellers reacted to this increase by starting a movement for sellers to strike on April 11-April 18, 2022. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison explain how we got to this standoff and what the strikers’ deman...

This Sunday, the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical took home a Grammy. But how was it allowed to compete in the first place? On the show today, Rachelle is joined by our producer, Daniel , to discuss why the Grammys have become so internet-focused , and how the Bridgerton musical sprang from TikTok. Then, Rachelle speaks with University of Colorado law professor Kristelia Garcia about the legal issues...

April Fool’s Day is every brand’s favorite holiday. Social media and PR teams get to make all the jokes their marketing department can come up with and face few repercussions. But it’s not all fun and games. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison talk about what nonsense the brands are up to this year, why we’re so easily taken in by internet hoaxes, and how skepticism can harden into something d...

On Sunday night, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars live broadcast after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. As soon as the internet figured out the slap wasn’t a bit, Twitter was deluged with takes. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle discourse about the discourse, discussing the neverending online take machine, how media narratives are shaped, and why we were all wonderi...

This week, Instagram announced the return of chronological feeds to the platform, allowing users to toggle between the standard algorithmic feed and two separate chronological ones. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle talk about these new changes, whether we really want newsfeeds with such a strict structure, and why, regardless of which way we go, we’re still at the will of the algorithm. Pod...

This past weekend, Rachel Zegler, known for playing Maria in the new remake of West Side Story , told a fan on Instagram that Disney wasn’t sending her to the Oscars. Her plan to watch the ceremony from home quickly changed, however, once the internet heard about it. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison break down the Oscars scandal’s online origins, and then they open up the mailbag. They answ...

The internet has birthed so many wild moments of hilarity over the years. During the second half of their South by Southwest show, Rachelle and Madison play a game to find out which piece of internet history is the greatest. With contestants like the man singing a gospel remix of the Golden Girls theme song, “Thank You For Being a Friend,” the Beto O’Rourke sex tweet, Julia Fox saying “uncut gems,...

ICYMI went to Austin this week and recorded a live show at South by Southwest. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison are joined by Bridget Todd , host of the podcast There Are No Girls on the Internet , to discuss the recent “womblands” drama , their favorite scams on the internet , and what it’s like covering the internet beat. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder. Need to set up your Slate...

The term “womblands” blew up on TikTok this past week, and the drama surrounding its origin is dense and confusing. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison venture deep into TikTok to explain why the story behind this funny term is darker than you may realize. It involves racism, sexism, and sexual assault allegations, and it yet another case of interpersonal drama taken too far by the TikTok commun...

Brian Johnson, aka the Liver King, has amassed millions of followers with his bizarre yet addictive workout and raw-meat-diet videos. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison comb through the king’s core tenets, his obsession with explosives, and of course his taste for liver with a side of maple syrup. Later in the show, science communicator Johnathan Jarry joins for a discussion of why we look t...

Nepotism is everywhere, and it’s always funny when a new generation realizes that. On today’s show, Madison is joined by Nichole Perkins to talk about the recent online conversation about nepotism babies that got started when people realized Lexi from Euphoria , played by Maude Apatow, is the daughter of two famous people. Madison and Nichole discuss the unending list of entertainment nepotism bab...

The metaverse wants to convince us it’s the future of retail, even for buying marijuana. On the show today, Madison is joined by Slate’s Shannon Palus to talk about Shannon’s recent journey into the metaverse to buy weed gummies . They discuss what it’s like to enter the metaverse, the mediocre graphics on display there, and if it really is the future of retail—or just a misguided lark from Big Te...

Millie Bobby Brown turned 18 last week, so of course those creepy “legal age” countdown clocks popped up as that day approached. On the show today, Madison is joined by Nichole Perkins to talk about the phenomenon of counting down to a celebrity’s 18th birthday, the history of their online and offline ickiness, and why girls of color always seem to be left out of this discussion. Podcast productio...

On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison open up the mailbag to answer all of the latest listener questions. They respond to inquiries about evil animatronics on TikTok, the latest food fetish content, why Tumblr is obsessed with Horse Plinko, and more. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder. Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/p...

Kanye West recently got into an online feud with his daughter, North West, his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison run through Kanye’s long history of fighting online, our changing understanding of him as his mental health struggles came to light, and how we should talk about celebrities whose private dramas play out so publicly. P...

On today’s show, Rachelle Hampton is joined by Allegra Frank to talk about two new pieces of scammer-tainment from Netflix: the documentary The Tinder Swindler , which chronicles a con man’s exploitation of the popular dating app, and the series Inventing Anna, starring Julia Garner as faux-heiress Anna Delvey. Rachelle and Allegra discuss how the internet was essential to both these stories and w...

TikTok doesn’t know you better than you know yourself, even if you think it does. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison talk about two different ways the app leads people down dangerous paths. First, they discuss the recent uptick in posts and advertisements focused on diagnosing mental and physical health issues, and how it’s so easy to convince yourself that you’re suffering from whatever mala...

Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers might not be the most expected pairing, until you look at their willingness to embrace conspiracy nonsense. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison and joined by Vulture’s Rachel Handler to discuss her recent piece, “ What Do Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley ‘Agree to Disagree’ About? ” They talk about the history of weird beliefs these two celebrities have, ho...

Last month, a Tennessee school board voted to ban Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus , from their eighth grade curriculum. This caused Maus to experience the "Streisand effect." On the show today, Rachelle and Madison explain the origins of the Streisand effect as an online phenomenon, how it helped Maus ’ recent sales skyrocket, and why this short-term publicity isn’t really...

Rihanna is having a baby, and Romance Twitter is furious. On today’s show, High Speed Downloads are back! Madison and Rachelle will zoom through all the important news about Rihanna’s baby bump reveal and Romance Twitter’s toxic reaction to an innocuous tweet. Then, they explain exactly what’s going on with podcast host Joe Rogan over at Spotify, and why it’s so difficult for platforms to part way...

In the past few weeks, Britney Spears has been posting all sorts of Notes App screenshots about how hurt she is by what her sister is saying on her press tour while promoting her new book Things I Should Have Said , by Jamie Lynn Spears. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle read the tweets, and the whole book, so you don’t have to. They talk about the origins of this fight, what’s caused it to...

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the hit song from Disney’s Encanto, is sitting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, and that’s all thanks to TikTok. On the show today, Madison and Rachelle talk about the songs from Encanto currently dominating the platform, and why people online seem to love to hate Lin-Manuel Miranda. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Correction: This po...

The name on every TikTokker’s lips is “West Elm Caleb,” a New York City twenty-something whose dating practices and history have come under major scrutiny, after women started posting videos about their negative experiences with him. Things quickly got out of control as more and more people got swept up in the gossipy drama. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle talk to some of the women who sh...

AOL Instant Messenger launched 25 years ago, but at the time nobody understood exactly how important it would be in shaping the way we all interact online. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison talk to AIM expert Caroline Moss about the early years of the platform, the playful shenanigans people got up to on there as teens, and how it led us to the world of always being online. Caroline hosts the...