Tales from the Crypto | Part III: Crypto is for the children

In the final installment of our Tales from the Crypto series, Endless Thread producer Nora Saks and co-host Ben Brock Johnson talk to kids — and parents — who are...

Tales from the Crypto | Part II: How Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador

One year ago, El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender — the first nation in the world to do so. But how did Bitcoin make its way into this Latin American...

Tales from the Crypto | Part I: Ukraine's NFTs and the 'Fyre Fest' of cryptocurrency

In this first installment of our cryptocurrency mini-series, co-hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dive into a viral tweet about NFTs aiding Ukrainians with the war effort against Russia,...

NYC's Comedic Enigma in Sweatpants

Endless Thread producer Quincy Walters profiles IG Bum, a mischeivous online content creator who has achieved viral stardom. But who is IG Bum when the cameras stop rolling?

Swimming Hole: The man, the myth, the leap

Ben and Amory take to a secluded upstate New York swimming hole to uncover the story of one of its most legendary regular visitors.

Encore: Ghost Town

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,...

Spam and monkeys: Why rule-breaking isn’t always bad

You shouldn't do it. But then you do, and it turns out great. Two stories of rule-breaking's good side: A college senior prank emails to his entire school, and wild...

The 100-million-year origin story of laughter and humor

A circuitous search for meaning in an ancient Sumerian bar joke tips into the evolution of laughter and how comedy has shaped human development.

What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows.

A 4,000-year-old Sumerian proverb about a dog that walks into a tavern has left scholars and thousands of online commenters scratching their heads. The joke’s meaning has been lost, but...

Sex work, 'normal work,' and men — as told by Alyssa

When a Reddit post about constant “locker room talk” in a male-dominated office gained traction in the r/TwoXChromosomes subreddit, Ben and Amory invite the OP to talk about the story...

Eggs Tyrone and The United States Chemical Safety Board's YouTube Channel

Swedengate: An international social media meatball-slinging campaign... turned national reckoning

When a Redditor said he was expected to stay in his Swedish friend's bedroom while the friend ate dinner with his family, the internet exploded with hot takes. Is Sweden...

Encore: Tight Squeeze, the Claustrophobia-Inducing World Of Caving Yields Epic Rewards

There are approximately 70,000 caves in the United States alone, but the vast majority are inaccessible to the public. In this special encore episode from the archives, join the Endless...

‘Hope resides in connection’: Abortion access advocates on navigating a post-Roe world

In today’s episode, we hear from two moderators of Reddit's Auntie Network, as well as the executive directors of the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund in Virginia and the Kentucky Health...

Krakatau: The loudest sound in recorded history

Imagine if an explosion in California was so loud that it could be heard in New York City. This is the story of a real event that was just as...

Encore: Giddyup! Riding groups tap into long history of Black cowboys

In the summer of 2020, images of Black men and women riding horses at protests went viral. But the history of Black cowboys goes all the way back to the...

Lost in Translation: two tales of getting it wrong

From a seriously violent tale on Duolingo to a Reddit post about a life-changing mistake, we bring you two stories on the pitfalls of jumping to conclusions. (Grace Tatter, an...

Can you really get tics from TikTok?

When Ben hears a rumor about kids "catching" tics from watching too many TikTok videos, we set out to investigate. We hear from neurologists and TikTok influencers to get to...

Nurses on Reddit are fighting for a better health care system

With unprecedented hospital staff shortages, COVID-19 has upended the nursing profession. But the r/nursing subreddit offers an online life raft for many in the industry — a place where nurses...

How to stop online extremism from becoming offline violence

On Endless Thread, we talk about the blurring lines between our online and offline worlds. This week, we discuss the role online platforms played in the mass shooting on May...