INFLUENCE

Procedural generation is no stranger to media like video games, but it's especially compelling (and creepy) in podcast form. Alli and Jen talk to PhD programmer James Ryan, the creator of Sheldon County, a generative podcast hosted by a synthetic voice that's different for every listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snopes.com has been debunking urban legends and internet rumors since the mid '90s. But in an age of unprecedented disinformation coming from the highest authorities and most ubiquitous online platforms, how does a professional fact checker stay relevant and sane? Alli and Jen talk to Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of Snopes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carpets for Airports is a website and community devoted to critiquing the largest art form ever devised -- the sprawling fabric underfoot when you're rushing to catch a flight. Do airport carpets have artistic and political meaning? Or are they merely functional? Alli and Jen talk to the "benevolent dictator" of the site, George Pendle, about which airport carpets stand the test of time. Learn mor...

Freelancing is on the rise, thanks in large part to technology. The modern internet allows people to work from anywhere, and access short-term gigs on the regular. Silicon Valley is saving us all from boring desk jobs, and traditional full-time employment is fading. Turns out, making a living as a contractor depends a lot on your socioeconomic background. Alli and Jen speak to Sarah Kessler, the a...

A terrifying number of people have told us they listen to 2G1P to learn English. Please. THIS IS NOT AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Memes can be as trivial as a waffle falling over or as powerful as a social movement. But defining them, tracking their origins, mutations, and meanings is a tough job. Fortunately, the brave souls at Know Your Meme have been at it for more than a decade so we can rest easy knowing Slender Man and Ugandan Knuckles will be preserved for future generations. Alli and Jen interview Brad Kim, editor-in...

From its humble beginnings on "Ask Reddit" to the day Obama dropped by, r/IAmA has been the place where anyone on the internet can talk directly to public figures, celebrities, and people with interesting jobs or experiences. Alli and Jen speak with the subreddit's top moderator Brian Lynch about the evolution of "Ask Me Anything," and some its craziest moments. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Is It Normal? is a website where people anonymously share their uncertain proclivities about behavior, feelings, sex, and more, so strangers can vote on them. But what started as an experimental message board in 2004 has become an existential question about the definition of normalcy on the internet. Alli and Jen interview Udi Falkson, the creator of isitnormal.com. Learn more about your ad choice...

Telephone party hotlines are a relic of pre-internet teenage shenanigans. But if you post a phone number on the web and ask a lovable grandma to record the outgoing voicemail ... lots of people will call it. And they'll leave strange messages. Alli and Jen interview the mysterious creator of Grandma Party Hotline, where prank calls meet coping with mortality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

If you believe 9/11 was an inside job, or that the cure for cancer is hidden by drug companies, it might be hard to broach these topics with a new date -- let alone reconcile these deep ideological differences with a long term partner. That's where Awake Dating comes in. It's a network for "truthers" and conspiracy theorists to find like-minded love. Alli and Jen interview its founder, Jarod Fiddo...

Thanks for your tweets, emails, and voicemails! We love hearing from you, and wanted to respond to a few of our favorite electronic mail messages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Young, attractive women dating older men with means is nothing new, but there is an online cottage industry that connects "Sugar Babies" with their prospective "Sugar Daddies." Alli and Jen interview "John," a man who's had ups and downs on sugar dating networks. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 L...

The fight for gender equality must never rest, but there's one important thing women have that men will never experience: the joy (and excruciating pain!) of childbirth. But there are thousands of men online who are hoping it will one day be possible. In the meantime, they're simulating baby bumps, labor pains, and drawing LOTS of fan art. Alli and Jen interview Justin Tobias, the admin of MPREG C...

Women are exposed to fashion media at an early age, for better or worse. But where should men turn to refine their style for a new job or a first date? Alli and Jen talk to Brad Webster, a moderator at r/MaleFashionAdvice, a place where men advise other men about putting together the right ensemble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're tired of swiping on looks and clever pickup lines, why not go a niche as possible? The Passions Network connects singles based on extremely focused interests, like driving trucks, The Walking Dead, SCUBA, and...herpes? Alli and Jen talk to Michael Carter about the evolution of online love, and how he grew his dating directory in the early days of Google search. Learn more about your ad c...

Age play (role playing as a child or baby) can be about comfort, re-connecting with your own childhood, or a fetish. Alli and Jen interview "Todd," the founder of Tykables, an online retailer and community that transformed the market and conversation around diapers and baby clothes made for adults. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are subreddits for all sorts of important issues and online communities. And then there's r/BirdsWithArms, where the Internet's most talented Photoshoppers replace bird wings with human arms just for the lulz. Jen and Alli interview Konstantine, one of the community's most talented and prolific bird 'shoppers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writing fanfic about your favorite fictional characters kissing goes back long before the internet. Alli and Jen interview Amanda Brennan, a meme librarian whose expertise in "shipping" (writing about fictional relationships) takes us back to the 1800s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The extreme makeup, fashion, and body modification of the Living Doll community is a sight to behold. Alli and Jen interview Vixie, who moderates numerous living doll forums where members swap pics and tricks on how to look as doe-eyed and plastic as humanly possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we spend more and more time inside digital worlds, documenting human behavior in virtual spaces has become an exciting new field of research. Alli and Jen talk to gaming archaeologist Andrew Reinhard about his expeditions inside the universe of No Man's Sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz studied data from Google, Pornhub, and other online platforms. He found that overt racism is alive and well in America, porn preferences are not what you'd expect, and many women are asking Google if their husbands are gay. Alli and Jen talk to Seth about the bizarre trends in his data analysis book Everybody Lies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...

Turns out attorneys are humans, too. Alli and Jen talk to Keith Lee, who created Lawyer Slack -- a private, lawyers-only chat room where attorneys can speak freely about ongoing cases, modern legal issues, ridiculous lawsuits, Game of Thrones, and cute doggos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Facebook group with 50,000 members is all about posting pictures of British breakfast food so people can curse at you. Alli and Jen get the scoop behind one of the most hilarious and bizarre Facebook communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the era of fake news, climate deniers, and anti-vaxxers, productive discussion about peer-reviewed science can be hard to come by on the internet. Fortunately, the subreddit r/science (with 17 million subscribers) has some ingenious ways to connect the curious masses with real scientists, root out trolls, and present controversial topics some readers might not be ready for. Alli and Jen get sci...

Most dating apps pair people based on looks or shared interests. Hater matches couples based on things they hate: Slow walkers, the Super Bowl, tall dudes at concerts. Does having a "hate" in common create a deeper connection? Alli and Jen interview the Creator of Hater Dater, Brendan Alper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices