I'M FROM THE INTERNET

We resume with Nathen losing Garfield and rebounding with Scooby-Doo. No, I didn't get this podcast mixed up with my AO3 account; We're entering the wonderful world of third party licensing! Winslow's recording got a little rough in the back half, we did our best to recover it but he still sounds a little robotic. Our first piece of show merch is out: ENEMY OF THE POD bumper stickers! https://www....

If you follow weird internet stories, you've probably heard of Garfield Eats. The improbable Garfield-themed Toronto pizzeria and its manic founder made headlines when the restaurant was founded and closed, but he's been up to some real mischief in the half decade since his restaurant closed its doors. In part one we're exploring the opening and closing of Garfield Eats, part two will document the...

Getting paid to annoy Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka on Twitter is fun. You know what's not fun? Embarrassing yourself in front of comedians you respect and look up to. Our first piece of show merch is out: ENEMY OF THE POD bumper stickers! https://www.winslowdumaine.com/stickers/enemy-of-the-pod-bumper-sticker Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI and more fun bonuses for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com...

Brand Twitter was one of the most obnoxious social media phenomenon of the 2010s. Our processed foods and novelty sanitary napkins wanted to be our friends, and since that was how Twitter made money we had no choice but to share space with them. In this two parter we're looking back at that era through one of its most outspoken participants: Nathan Allebach, the #relatable millennial voice behind...

A free game on Steam was still noteworthy in 2010, so bored kids throughout America are setting about making their own fun in Moonbase Alpha. But will the people who made it be able to capitalize on its unexpected success? Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIP...

In 2010, a free online game from NASA took the internet by storm. But before we get to the fun shenanigans, where did this game come from? Why was it made? And why is the Army credited on a NASA project aimed at children? Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPo...

We've got a fun art thing going on, let's just introduce a little bit of commerce to it... Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPodHitRECordDoc Submit episode concepts at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIpodIdeas, or contact the show directly at IFTIpod@gmail.com Create...

Remember that one young white dude that was in a ton of movies in the late 2000s and early 2010s? No, not Shia LaBeouf, think smarmier and more frictionless. That's right, Joseph Gordon-Levitt! He was cool in Inception and Looper was good, I wonder what he's been up to since then... Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's docu...

The Ouya is launching, now it just needs to find games and an audience before the crowdfunding dries up. This week we are joined by special guest and muckraking expert Frost of Rivia. Check out his videos and writing at https://linktr.ee/theotherfrost Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures)...

The OUYA is The Little Console That Couldn't. This tiny metal cube promised to democratize videogaming, to the tune of millions of dollars on Kickstarter. The revolution they promised never arrived, but we got a fun story out of the attempt. This week we are joined by special guest and muckraking expert Frost of Rivia. Check out his videos and writing at https://linktr.ee/theotherfrost Get over 50...

With Beanie Babies reaching their natural saturation point and new fads springing up, Ty Warner takes a dramatic swing at changing the entire brand. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPodBeanieBabiesDoc Submit episode concepts at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIpodId...

Beanie Babies are ascendant, reaching over a billion dollars in annual sales in just a few years. And the one of the people most responsible for their success, the creator of their website, is still being paid $12 an hour. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIP...

In the back half of the 1990s, polyethylene pellets could be more valuable than gold if you knew who to sell them to. Beanie Babies were not only a crash course on the perils of speculative assets, but one of the foundations of early e-commerce and online community building. In the first of three parts, we look at the history of the teddy bear and Ty Warner's early stabs at the plush market a...

Hi-ya! Karate kicking our way into the new millennium, we go back to the Something Awful forums once again. A poster named Scoots Magoo is making some jokes about Vin Diesel, and a man named Ian Spector is going to spend the next twenty years taking credit for them. Meanwhile, Chuck Norris uses his newfound youth fame to espouse some very old man talking points. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI...

Young earth creationist and sharia law paranoiac Chuck Norris died recently. To celebrate, we're looking back at his career and the mid-2000s internet meme that defined him to our generation. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPodChuckNorrisFactsDoc Submit ep...

We're caught up to the 21st century, and anti-pornography lawyer Jack Thompson is now anti-video game lawyer Jack Thompson. He's about to add another new title to his resume: game developer. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPodModestVideoGameProposal Submit...

For gamers of a certain age, the name Jack Thompson still provokes reflexive sneers. Despite being permanently disbarred almost 20 years ago, this former Florida lawyer still looms large when we look back and wonder why the gamers are Like That. We're going to be talking about the time the internet made Jack Thompson's dream game, but before we get there we have over a decade of litigation against...

https://www.winslowdumaine.com/tarot-prints-and-tapestries/the-restless After years of work, starting long before this podcast began, The Restless is complete and released! Winslow walks us through the making of and inspirations for his dark fantasy card game and its apocalyptic setting, as well as a sampling of some of the hundreds of cards contained within. Listen to Jay's guest spot on QAA (for...

One of the upsides of not having kids is not having to give a shit about childrens television. But back in the 2000s, a bunch of grown-ups got mad at Sesame Street for something they Children's Television Workshop didn't actually do because someone on the internet said it happened. Outrage is a sometimes food, and it's sometime! Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon...

Fredrick Brennan has created 8chan. You probably know the broad strokes of what happened next thanks to the work of many brave and talented journalists, but there's still some fun stories to be told in Fred's final years. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/IFTIPo...

Today would have been Fredrick Brennan's 32nd birthday. He died in his sleep last month, so here's Fred's partner to memorialize the 8chan founder who realized he was wrong, got out, and did what he could to take down the monster he helped create. His family wanted to keep the news private until now for personal reasons, so we recorded this a couple weeks after his death but are only releasing it...

Don't let your mistakes define you! Anyways, check out this entire movie I made to prove how not-owned I am. This was originally a bonus series we recorded in October of last year, the editing is a little looser than our usual. Get over 50 bonus episodes of IFTI for just $1 at https://www.patreon.com/IFTIpod You can review this episode's document with sources (and pictures) at https://tinyurl.com/...

It's 2016. You work at a Murphy Bed store. You have to go to an after-hours the party the owner is throwing for his business partner. And then she makes everyone watch her sing a four minute long story song in a racist accent. For you, this was just a bad evening. For Jennifer Murphy, this is going to be the rest of her life. This was originally a bonus series we recorded in October of last year,...

The internet is for everybody, even pretty people. That said, when you see a three-parter focused on 2003's Miss Oregon you know things are going to get weird. After an appearance on Donald Trump's 2000s reality show The Apprentice, professional pretty person Jennifer Murphy found her new calling as a professional fame hound. And with the 2000s reality boom on the way out, an exciting new frontier...

You don't have to be Jean Piaget or Lev Vygotsky to appreciate how amusingly off-kilter a child's view of the world can be. In 2009, an emerging independent cartoonist named Ethan Nicolle teamed up with his five year-old little brother to illustrate the wacky stories he would make up. The internet loved it, but Ethan's later projects turned out to be a little less universally-beloved. This week on...