Wow If True

We're teaming up with Dr. Claire Aubin of our sibling show, This Guy Sucked, to talk about something that is not a guy, but does suck: the internet! It's easy to say that the internet sucks, but what makes it suck, how did it get this way, and how can we fix it? Using Cory Doctrow's new book "Enshittification" as a guide, we talk it out.Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The news cycle of 2025 has somehow once again broken us so severely that we have simply just opted out and decided to talk about Silksong, a game that people waited so long for that they created a whole new genre of shitposting. Also, Undertale and Pokopia, the forthcoming game that makes us confront everything we've ever known about Ditto.If you were hoping that we were going to talk about The News, check out the new episode of Close All Tabs! This is #notsponsored! But we are #sponsored by Isabel's book which you can pre-order now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you have to verify your government ID to listen to this podcast? We hope not, but in some parts of the world, this is becoming a reality. We're talking about why age verification laws are becoming more popular in the U.S. and U.K., and how the pursuit of children's online safety -- when legislated irresponsibly -- can just create new problems of surveillance and censorship.Also, Isabel went to the Hugos. She lost. She gave George R.R. Martin his own high school yearbook to sign. It was weird. We talk about that here, too.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're chatting with Kaila Yu, author of "Fetishized," about her experience growing up online in the 90s and 00s and reckoning with her relationship to Asian fetishization. Yu started as an "import model" and pin-up girl who appeared in "Playboy" and the "Fast and Furious" franchise, then became a MySpace star and lead of the all Asian-American punk band Nylon Pink, and now, she's a writer and content creator studying the portrayal of Asian women in the media.Links"Fetishized" by Kaila YuKaila's Instagram & TikTokFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We spent last episode taking to AI chatbots. What if we, two humans, simply chatted with each other while speaking in NPR voices? Don't worry, the NPR voices don't last long.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda sacrifice the sanctity of their souls and talk to Ani, the very horny anime waifu that is now part of Elon Musk's Grok app. But don't worry, we balance it out by telling you a weirdly wholesome story about Tony Hawk.[This episode is NSFW; if you do not want to hear an AI panda talk about burning down schools, you also might wanna skip this one]SourcesAmanda's article about Ani and Bad Rudy Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda talk about two very different kinds of AI grift. In one, a man pretends to be real social media for the (probably) AI band "The Velvet Sundown." In another, Soham Parekh simply gets employed by every single AI startup at once. SourcesThe Velvet Sundown: https://medium.com/@andrew.frelon/i-am-andrew-frelon-the-guy-running-the-fake-velvet-sundown-twitter-fcab2b7e471bSoham: https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/03/everyone-in-tech-has-an-opinion-about-soham-parekh/Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda throw out their other plans and instead talk about the subreddit “myboyfriendisAI” which is about, you guessed it, AI boyfriends and other types of digital partners. We also discuss Meta’s not-amazing practices and the LLM paper doing the rounds on the AI hater part of the internet, with Iz’s human partner weighing in. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You had questions. We have answers. We tell you about: the most "white lady" email we have sent; our screen time; fears of unexpected wet; life hacks for 29-year-olds specifically; Amanda's undying love for HBO Girls; cursed food content; political memes and earnestness; is there any good use of AI; and, unfortunately, not the 1944 US-Mexico Water Treaty.Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We explore all the ways that various AIs are going weird—sycophantic, white genocide focused, blackmailing its users, and not trusting Chargers fans. Also, we talk way too much about Sam Altman's olive oil choices, the Hugos, and Isabel talks for fifteen minutes about trying to get the internet installed. Which, hey, this is a podcast about the internet. And that includes calling Verizon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New pope! But why has this thousands-of-years-old process of choosing a new pope been... weirdly online? We're talking about that Vatican's bad OPSEC, the Pope's Twitter, the chimney livestream, and PopeCrave. Yes, we did find out later that the Pope is a White Sox fan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We chat with Dr. Claire Aubin, academic, American Nazi expert, and host of "This Guy Sucked," and mostly we just talk about the experience of being on social media as a public intellectual, and also, that one time Amanda worked for a fake professor. If you've ever wondered about academia beef, or how a person could work for a fake professor, this is the episode for youSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bitches love endurance.Think Twitch stream marathons. Think the 3-week livestream of moose migration happening at the time of this episode's publication. Think the first ever viral MrBeast video in which he simply counts to 100,000. From the Barkley Marathons to Cory Booker's day-long Senate speech, this is the episode in which we discover that people on the internet really like when people do stuff, but for a long time.SourcesJasmin Paris documentaryCory Booker’s Oura ring statsMoose Migration!!!!!!!Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda and Isabel popcorn all over the place and talk about: Adding Jeffrey Goldberg to signal chats (and other chats!), Shinzo Abe memes, The Daily Routine (banana involved?), and the Ghiblification of All Things. Also, Isabel doesn’t know how to pronounce Charlemagne. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda tells Iz about Claude Plays Pokemon, where an AI wearing the skin of a beloved communal experience simply fails to make it out of Mt. Moon. Then Iz inflicts JD Vance memes on Amanda, explaining another sort of beloved communal experience: making JD Vance edits. Also—brodernism!SourcesAmanda's article on Claude plays PokémonBrodernism!An all time bad post :(Midroll linksThis Guy SuckedCrampedFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Silicon Valley bros are not okay, and neither are their indeterminate number of genetic offspring. We discuss why the rightwing tech elite are obsessed with having babies, and more importantly, how can we possibly move forward with our lives now that we have [spoilers] learned about a new Elon baby live on air?Sources“The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of ‘Blues’”Amanda’s “Uber with Guns” articleAshley St. Clair sues Elon Musk for custodyGrimes’ custody struggles with Elon Musk“Why the Left Should Embrace Pronatalism”“A fired federal worker grapples with her vote for Trump”Bryan Johnson is, well, yeahFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.comAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everyone cites a statistic about how men don't read, but no one knows where that statistic comes from -- so, we did our own very sound scientific study and talked to some men we know about reading. Saunas are involved. Wow if True except every time you ask a man if they read the room gets one degree hotter because we are in a sauna.  Thanks to Eric Silver, Sam Rizer, David Newtown, and an amorphous disembodied chorus of Isabel's high school friends ("myst cult") in a sauna for participating. Sources: The viral panic around men's reading habits, fact-checked: https://www.vox.com/culture/392971/men-reading-fiction-statistics-fact-checked Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.com About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re out here talking about romantasy and lawsuits related to romantasy. No, not the omegaverse one. OK, a little bit the omegaverse one. Also, asking the age of question: do men read. (Also, a note for the sharp-eared listeners, we don't talk about public domain day despite promising it - next ep!) Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: wowiftruepod@gmail.com About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We travel back in time to the day after Thanksgiving, a calmer and more peaceful era. Just kidding, we're here talking about the naked knife fight, a reference everyone will only understand in 2026. Amanda reads 98% of Isabel's book, Isabel opines on the neccessity of conventions for publishing, and we talk way too long about pottery and hot ass. Also: fish hats, now trending in orca populations near you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's 2025, and we're flipping it turnways by bringing on the people who shape this podcast into something listenable. AKA, Amanda's in Florida and Isabel's talking with Allison and David about: Walmart Birkins, the ethics of smells (and of going viral for the smellthics), whether Tenet was a good movie, and the correct number of times to read the Odyssey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.