ICYMI

Candice Lim is joined by dating culture researcher Lakshmi Rengarajan and culture writer Kate Lindsay to discuss the past, present and future of dating apps. Online dating has been around since the days of dial-up. But apps like Tinder disrupted the market and changed the way we’ve dated for the past decade. Recently, there’s been several trends emerging, from Gen-Z  abandoning the apps  to baby b...

On today’s show, Rachelle makes her triumphant return. She’s joined by A.W. Ohlheiser, a senior technology reporter and editor at Vox, who recently wrote about the  complicated lives and deaths of TikTok’s illness influencers . As Ohlheiser wrote, “These stories — whether held in an archive of personal letters, a widely discussed lecture, or on the For You pages of millions — are all shaped by the...

Candice Lim is joined by culture critic and reporter Cyrena Touros to break down the battle between Universal Music Group and TikTok. On February 1, UMG started pulling their artists’ music from TikTok after their licensing contract expired. This meant creators weren’t able to interact with music from artists like Taylor Swift, Drake and Olivia Rodrigo. UMG claims this drastic move was necessary t...

Candice Lim is joined by Julian Sewell ( @juliansewell ), the creator of TikTok’s most famously snubbed actress: Paloma Diamond. In March 2023, Sewell posted a  TikTok  parodying the behavior of nominated actors at the Academy Awards. Posted days before the actual ceremony, the video gained millions of views immediately and made Paloma the protagonist of Sewell’s faux universe. Since then, Sewell...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate writer Nadira Goffe to break down the latest developments surrounding Nicki Minaj’s beef with rapper Megan Thee Stallion. On January 26, Megan Thee Stallion released “Hiss,” which takes aim at several unnamed parties. Fellow rapper Minaj took offense to certain lyrics, leading her to post about Megan for 72 hours on social media and ultimately, release a diss track t...

Candice Lim is joined by Anisa Khalifa, a podcast producer and host of The Broadside from WUNC. They dissect the phenomenon surrounding video essays, which are not exactly new to YouTube, but finding a captivated audience in Gen-Z and millennial culture. From deep dives into  The Hobbit  to retellings of  Greek mythology , the ability to analyze pop culture, cite sources and listen to spoken essay...

Candice Lim talks to Mychal Threets ( @​​mychal3ts ), a Bay Area librarian by day and beloved TikTok creator by night. In December 2023, Threets was the target of a negative tweet that called his TikToks weird. But in a shocking twist, the internet ran to Threet’s defense, praising his work and platform as a librarian. Threets joins the conversation to talk about his reaction to that moment, his n...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate staff writer Luke Winkie for a mailbag episode. They dive into listener questions about hot topics such as Stanley cups, Josh wine and the two tunnels dumbfounding the internet. Do you have an internet query, trend or phenomenon you just can’t wrap your head around? Let us help! Send your internet conundrums to  icymi@slate.com  and we just might read your email on a...

Candice Lim is joined by Milly Tamarez and Alise Morales, the co-hosts of  Go Touch Grass  — a new podcast that dives into the online gossip and niche drama you’ve missed this week. They dive into their internet diaries, which include Heather Gay memes, West Elm Caleb conspiracy theories and what happens when AI bots cheat on each other. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Ros...

Candice Lim is joined by Vox culture reporter Aja Romano to explain the rapid  social media rise  of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. On December 28, 2023, Blanchard was released from prison after serving eight years following the brutal murder of her mother. Almost immediately, Blanchard became a social media celebrity who currently has more than 8 million followers on Instagram and 9 million followers on T...

Candice Lim is joined by Wailin Wong, co-host of NPR’s  The Indicator from Planet Money . They dissect the drama and mayhem surrounding Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise — a nine-month trip that TikTokkers on land and sea that we can’t stop talking about. The cruise is scheduled to visit more than 60 countries over 274 nights, but since it left Miami in December, passengers have been uploadi...

Candice Lim is joined by culture journalist  Cat Sposato  to trace the rise of this year’s most promising pop act, Tate McRae. McRae gained national attention as a 12-year-old dancer on  So You Think You Can Dance.  While pursuing a legitimate dance career, she posted an original song on YouTube that led RCA Records to bet on her as the next big pop star. After two albums, certain people on the in...

Candice Lim is joined by Slate senior editor Rebecca Onion to talk about their love of romance novels. The romance genre grew rapidly this past year, becoming the fastest-growing category of fiction and generating over $1.4 billion in sales revenue. Partly thanks to Goodreads and BookTok, romance novels are getting into the hands of younger, more outspoken and vocal readers. But recent scandals, i...

On this episode, The Outward hosts break down the million dollar takeover ad on X for Prager University’s documentary  Detrans: The Dangers of Gender Affirming Care .  NBC reporter Jo Yurcaba  joins Bryan, Christina, and Jules to tackle the misdirections and anti-trans agenda of the documentary and take a look at the transphobic shifts on the social media platform. Email us at: outwardpodcast@slat...

In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit  The Oregon Trail  released another simulation-style game to school districts across the country.  Freedom!  took kids on a journey along the Underground Railroad, becoming the first American software program to use slavery as its subject matter. Less than four months later, it was pulled from the market. In this episode, we...

From Goodreads scandals to relationship prompt Twitter, the internet has been rife with trends to get mad about. On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Vox’s Alex Abad-Santos and journalist Sylvia Obell to audit everything they lived through online in 2023, discussing the good, the bad and the truly unhinged. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and R...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by Kristen Meinzer ( Daily Fail ,  How to be Fine )  and Tre’vell Anderson ( FANTI ,  What A Day )  to recap the year in celebrity breakups. Lately, it feels like everyone in Hollywood is breaking up, but have there really been that many more celebrity splits than usual? Was  Scandoval  really proof that love is dead or have we been placing celebrity coupl...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe to conclude their list of the top internet moments of the year. In their  previous episode , Rachelle and Candice memorialized Elon-held Twitter, the most famous submersible online and reunions that shouldn’t air live. But no moment superseded the viral drama, cultural legacy and aquatic meme-ifcat...

On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim announce their top internet moments of the year. Is it the  MirandaSings  controversy? The  Shein influencer factory  tour? The internet boyfriend wars of  Al Pacino vs. Robert De Niro ? They bring their picks and ruminate on the year of Elon Musk and  OceanGate . This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by journalists  Bomani Jones  and  Tamerra Griffin  to cover the biggest moments of sports that happened online this year. From basketball stateside to women’s soccer abroad, the internet has a way of picking up the little moments you don’t see in a stadium and making major waves about them. It’s the reason why an athlete’s behavior in one singular moment...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by culture journalist  Cat Sposato  to run down this year in concerts, from the Renaissance alien to the perils of standing room only. They get into the value of concert films, how internet standom translates to venue fandom and why pop stars have become the target of flying objects. This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice...

On today’s episode, Candice Lim is joined by NPR producer  J.C. Howard  to walk through his personal experience of buying a car. The heyday of Toyotathon and Happy Honda Days are being replaced by car reviewers who have become influencers (and dealers) for major brands. From CarTok to CarTube, vloggers like  EverydayChris  and  Gjeebs  are not only upending the dealership model, but also creating...

On today’s show, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim are joined by writer, producer and former video blogger  Franchescha Ramsey  to discuss the return of Colleen Ballinger. Ramsey was last  on the show earlier this year , decoding the firestorm that engulfed Ballinger, better known as her alter ego MirandaSings. After a four-month hiatus and a now-infamous  ukelele “apology” video,  Ballinger has re...

On today’s episode brought to us by Slate’s  The Waves , we’re digging into the Bravo network. From  Below Deck  to Selling Sunset to  Vanderpump Rules , the Bravo TV network is a reality television behemoth that has made millions on the backs of its female cast members. But is it actually good for women? ICYMI founding host  Rachelle Hampton  and culture writer  Shamira Ibrahim  discuss the curre...

Today, Rachelle and Candice celebrate ICYMI’s third annual Friendsgiving episode. They’re joined by  Weight For It   host Ronald Young Jr. and ICYMI producer Daisy Rosario to run down the internet moments that made them laugh out loud this year. They cover viral moments such as the adventures of George Santos, gamer thirst traps and little girls singing iconic jingles. This podcast is produced by...