ICYMI

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...

Yellowjackets is a new series on Showtime about a team of high school girls who, while on a flight to a soccer game, crash in the Canadian wilderness. It follows their struggle for survival and how that experience shaped those who made it out of the woods alive. On today’s show, Madison and Rachelle sing their own personal Yellowjackets praises , explain why it’s the latest addition to the Puzzle...

Empaths and the great book exchange pyramid scheme are filling up our feeds again. On the show today, Rachelle and Madison explain why every few months, posts circulate about a book exchange that sounds too good to be true, and why empaths aren’t really a thing—unless you’re in a science fiction story. Plus, they play Wordle ! Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Need to set up y...

Elmo has been filling up the TikTok and Twitter feeds these past few weeks with his unique pronunciations and feud with a pet rock. On today’s episode, Rachelle and Madison try to chart the arc of this recent virality, and explain why Elmo is a member of the Black community. They also watched Hype House on Netflix so you don’t have to. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John. Need to...

Huge Ma, founder of the website TurboVax, a.k.a. “Vax Daddy,” is running for office, and Taylor Swift has claimed 2022 as her own. On the show today, Madison and Allegra talk about how branding queen Taylor Swift is feeling 2022, and then Madison interviews Huge about creating TurboVax, how his online experiences have informed his campaign, and which Taylor Swift track is the theme of his campaign...

From “woke bae” to “woke-a-cola,” the word  woke  has taken the internet and mainstream media by storm. But how many people who use the word actually know what it means? On today’s episode, Rachelle  and  Madison  (but, really, mostly Rachelle) explain the decades-old origins of the word, and how its meaning has evolved as it’s gone from being sung as a call to “stay woke” by the likes of Erykah B...

It’s the final episode of the year, and a chance to look back at all the ways the internet has gone wrong in 2021. On today’s show, Rachelle and Madison invite Tracy Clayton and Josh Gwynn , hosts of the podcast Back Issue , to join them as they discuss all the trends, memes, and moments of 2021 internet that have no place cropping back up in 2022. Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek...

Martha Stewart loves to tell people on Instagram about the products she likes, but these posts look suspiciously like ads. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle scroll through Martha’s feed to look at all the things she raves about, talk about why she might be breaking the rules, and discuss how the social media advertising guidelines are much more flexible than we realize. Podcast production b...

Neopets, a kid-friendly site from the early 2000s that let users raise digital pets and play games with them, has fallen far from its peak popularity. The nostalgic luster of it also seems to be fading, following the site’s recent failed attempt at Neopet NFTs—not to mention its years-old, mostly broken user interface. On today’s show, Madison and Allegra look back at the happier times of Neopia p...