The Content Mines

What is Cottagecore? Is it just a simple trend on TikTok and Instagram about getting back to a simpler life — one that involves a cottage? Or is it some weird new way internet fascists are radicalizing teens? Or is it both? Luke and Ryan try their best to get to the bottom of this extremely important online mystery. Along they way, though, they get pretty sidetracked by Taylor Swift's new album an...

Luke and Ryan dig into the cringey, but beautiful legacy of peak Tumblr. They explore that one fateful weekend in Chicago when a bunch of grifters convinced Tumblr cosplayers to invade an unsuspecting hotel in Chicago to attend the ill-fated DashCon. They also look at what Luke refers to as the beginning of the "era of mass-produced viral content." Can anyone break the internet anymore? Or is it j...

There's a lot of words in that title that are probably confusing and I refusing to explain any of them. This week we have Alex Hern, UK technology editor for the Guardian, and he's going to try to explain why the name of the UK's biggest political scandal of the coronavirus age is stuck in Twitter's porn filter. WARNING: This episode contains repeated use of the word "cum" and also discussion of b...

This week is a real good! Forget last week. This is prime time. We've got Ikran Dahir, reporter for BuzzFeed News, talking about a mysterious countdown the K-Pop group BTS is doing on Twitter and we've got Abby Ohlheiser, internet culture reporter for the MIT Technology Review, talking about how she can't stop watching real-time YouTube reenacts of famous shipwrecks. This is a public episode. If y...

This week it's just Ryan and Luke! We wanted to catch up on a few things we've been putting off for a few weeks. We dissect how Robert Pattinson eats, have a bunch of needless arguments about the differences between Americans and British people, and then finish the episode by ranting about Buffy The Vampire Slayer . All in all, a pretty good week. This is a public episode. If you would like to dis...

New week, new nonsense. We've got author Dan Dalton on the show and he's very excited to talk to us about an RPG he's been playing that he claims is almost as good as being able to go outside and experience normal life. Also, Verge reporter Julia Alexander is back to break down how the movie Trolls: World Tour has changed movie history forever.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discu...

This week we're taking it easy. Back to basics. Focusing on what makes this show work, you know? We have Brian Feldman, internet culture reporter and writer of the Bnet newsletter, and he decided all he wanted to talk about was some weird meme he found on Facebook. WARNING: This episode contains a lot of Marvel movies talk. We swear, once it's out of our system, we probably won't do it again. This...

This week is very special. We have Julia Furlan, who currently is working on podcasts for Vox Media, and Katie Notopoulos, senior reporter for BuzzFeed News. They once worked on a podcast with Ryan called Internet Explorer. So if you liked that podcast, you'll probably sorta kinda like this one too. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

Welp! Here we're back. This week we have Andrew Gauthier, the former Director of Digital Content for Kamala Harris, talking about how the internet helped him awaken a love for hunting for mushrooms, Ellie Hall, senior reporter for BuzzFeed News, talking about the drama going on inside subreddits dedicated to tracking unstable mothers-in-law, and Bijan Stephen, Twitch and livestreaming reporter for...

Look, if you keep listening, we're just gonna keep making these. This week we have Cates Holderness, senior Brand Marketing Strategist at Tumblr, on to talk about making bread, Kalhan Rosenblatt, reporter for NBC News, to talk about feral Lady Gaga stans, Kassy Cho, freelance journalist, on to talk about why quarantine is especially hard for Geminis, and Julia Alexander, reporter for The Verge, ab...

Well, here's another one of these, I guess. This week we have Gene Park, Washington Post reporter on video games and gaming culture, who explains why Animal Crossing is actually good. Ryan and Luke investigate why the users of Reddit's r/SnakeDiet are drinking their own piss, Luke shares his thoughts as a British person about Netflix's Tiger King , and Luke also explains why everyone in the UK is...

Are you still listening to this? We have three very special guests this week. Hussein Kesvani, UK and Europe editor of MEL Magazine, talks about how the users from Reddit's r/WallStreetBets is having an emotional breakdown, Casey Newton, Silicon Valley Editor for The Verge, talks about porn bombing Zoom hangouts, and Julia Alexander, Reporter for The Verge, talks about why she hates Animal Crossin...

Alright, here goes nothing. Luke and I talk about the fan fiction masterpiece Fallout: Equestria, the fact Premier League soccer has ended, and why everyone's talking about the band Alien Ant Farm again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecontentmines.com