A Bleak 'What If:' Is The US Headed Towards A Second Civil War?
With increasing political divide and heightened civil unrest in the United States, many fear that it will culminate in a second civil war. We explore the likelihood of that scenario and hear from someone who thinks America is already in the midst of collapse.
‘Endless Dread’ Returns With Spooky Stories From Reddit
In the spirit of Halloween, the Endless Thread team shares spooky stories from Reddit, including the origins of a classic horror movie SFX, the creepy world of r/backrooms, and the mystery surrounding three photos found on someone’s phone.
Bonding or Brainwashing? How A Girls Trip To The Mountains — And QAnon — Tore One Family Apart
Randi-Lynn thought she was going on a relaxing family vacation to the mountains. Just a few days later, she was hiding in a bathroom and frantically posting on Reddit, asking for help. The headline of her post? "I think I was brought on a girls trip to be brainwashed."
Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, Endless Thread, a podcast from WBUR and Reddit, delves into Reddit’s vast communities to explore some of the most compelling stories the Internet has to offer, including revelations about our shared experience and powerful, personal stories. Also, cat videos. This is a show for Reddit connoisseurs, skeptics, and even the uninitiated.
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How One QAnon Believer Escaped The ‘Grand Unified Theory Of All Conspiracy Theories’
For nearly two years, a Redditor named Jitarth Jadeja got deep into QAnon, the Far Right conspiracy theory founded on the idea that President Trump is secretly waging war against a satanic cabal of pedophiles who control the world. “I was kind of an addict… All I could talk about...
Learning To Appreciate Arachnids With Reddit's "Spiderbro" Community
Spiders... even the word is unsettling for some of us. But the r/spiderbro community on Reddit is a place where you just might gain a new appreciation for arachnids -- from the petite and unassuming, to the big and hairy.
Unsent Letters: An Online Community Filled With Surprising And Moving Correspondence
The unsent letter. We all have one, half-composed in our heads or fully-formed as an email draft. If you’re really poetic, it might be on a piece of paper, yellowing in a drawer. Whatever form these letters take, they go unsent because they might be better left unsent... or because...
Someone's Got To Do It: Endless Thread's Ode To Odd Jobs
Do people say, "That's a thing??," when you tell them what you do for a living? Then you probably have an odd job. This week, Endless Thread tips its hat to you as we discuss the odd jobs of Redditors.
Tight Squeeze: The Claustrophobia-Inducing World Of Caving Yields Epic Rewards
You might not think about caves in the same breath as you do the deep ocean or outer space, but you probably should. There are approximately 70,000 caves in the United States alone, but the vast majority are inaccessible to the public. That means rare, delicate ecosystems have developed for...
The Good, The Bad, The Pun-derful: Exploring Reddit's 'Dad Jokes' Community
The spotlight is on r/DadJokes, home to the most pun-derful, cheesy-but-lovable comedic material the internet has to offer. Starring the experts: Ben & Amory's dads!
Angel's Glow: From Civil War Folklore To Winning Science Fair Project
There's a Civil War legend that dates back to April of 1862, in the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh. Supposedly, when night fell on thousands of wounded soldiers stranded on the battlefield, something strange happened. Some of their wounds started to glow. Stranger still, those with glowing wounds seemed...
Reddit Roundup: A Literary Misstep And A Communal Plant Experiment
The Endless Thread team shares some of the most memorable Reddit posts of late, from a famous author accidentally plagiarizing a beloved video game to Jeff the zebra plant.
Ghost Town: Cerro Gordo, A Once Booming Silver Mining Town, Gets Another Chance
In the summer of 2018, Brent Underwood got a text in the middle of the night from a friend saying, "Look at this ghost town for sale!" Within a month, Brent had purchased Cerro Gordo, California, an abandoned silver mining town, with the help of friends and investors. He wants...
A Reddit Smorgasbord: Harry Potter, Billie Eilish and 'Soup Tubes'
The Endless Thread team shares some of the most memorable Reddit posts of late, from a "magical" parenting decision to a very bizarre business idea.