Trailer: Endless Thread Presents... MEMES!
On October 1st, Endless Thread is back. We're kicking things off with a deep exploration into something that has changed lives, politics, and the way we interact online and in real life: memes!
MEMES, Part 5: Big Man Tyrone
When Gordon Hurd fled Cameroon for the UK, he faced racism as he tried to support his family. He started his own video-making business and adopted another name: Big Man Tyrone. He became a viral meme and the leader of a fictional alt-right country. But where is the line between...
MEMES, Bonus: Zoë 'Disaster Girl' Roth
Zoë Roth was 4 years old when her dad took a photo of her smiling mischievously in front of a burning house. That photo would later spread like wildfire as the internet meme "Disaster Girl." We hear more about how the photo came to be, and who really started that...
Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dig into the internet's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities to find untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL.
More…
MEMES, Part 4: Woman yelling at a cat
The funny "Woman Yelling at a Cat" meme that made “Real Housewife” Taylor Armstrong internet famous in 2019 has bitter roots. In this episode, we tell a little-known origin story of a meme that might make you think twice about using it, and we explore why losing context is crucial,...
MEMES, Bonus: A billion Ricks
Last week, we explored the origin of the “Rick Roll,” a meme that evolved from Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Since the music video resurfaced in 2007, the internet has also never given up on Rick – it recently hit a billion views on YouTube. This bonus episode...
MEMES, Part 3: Gotta make you understand
Usually, nobody gets credit for starting a meme. But in the case of one of the most famous bait-and-switch memes of all time, the Rick Roll, we may be looking at something experts call convergent evolution. We explore the meme’s origin, the history of the song, and its impact on...
MEMES, Part 2: Scumbag Steve
Scumbag Steve spread across the internet like wildfire in 2011. But the full story of what happened to Blake Boston has never been told. In this episode, we go past the meme's origin story and learn about Blake’s struggles with PTSD and abuse — and how trauma has brought him...
MEMES, Part 1: Kilroy was here
We often think of memes as living solely online. But the image that's often considered to "the first meme" appeared around the globe during World War II. In the first episode of our meme series, we tell the story of "Kilroy Was Here" -- where came from, how it spread,...
We're Baaaaaaaaack! New Series From Endless Thread Launches October 1st
Endless Thread has been in the lab cooking up a brand new logo, mission, and batch of episodes with a big ol’ special reported series to kick off with: MEMES! The show relaunches October 1st and will be in your feed every week after that, diving down rabbit holes in...
'I Think He Fanned The Flames:' Fed-Up Reddit Moderators React To CEO's Stance On COVID-19 Misinformation
Misinformation and disinformation online about COVID-19 continues to have real-world consequences for the virus' spread. This week, moderators of popular Reddit communities wrote an open letter to the company calling upon administrators to take action against misinformation on the platform. We hear from moderators about the open letter and Reddit...
Snacktime: Suitcases of Cash And Bob Saget's Ghost
Gather round for this week’s Snacktime episode, where Ben tells iLab producer Nora Saks two stories about found money, a gambling ruse in a Belizean casino, and why Bob Saget would block himself on Twitter if he could.
Encore: What is Geedis? An Internet Mystery For The Ages... Gets Solved!
What is Geedis? Endless Thread revisits an episode from 2019 in which the team joined the internet's two-year-long quest to answer this question. The strange, furry character and his buddies in The Land of Ta had been a mystery of 80’s fantastical proportions, but the team went down the rabbit...
Internet Humor Meets A Massive Song Collection In 'Weird Spotify Playlists'
In this Snacktime, Amory introduces Ben to the fast-growing "Weird Spotify Playlists" Twitter account and subreddit, where song titles are way more important than the songs themselves.