Panic World

This is a rerun from February this year, when 17 states in the US had banned PornHub. The tally now stands at 21, and both Mike Johnson and the Supreme Court don't seem fussed to stop there. Have a listen, especially if you haven't already, before we come back with new episodes next Wednesday, September 3. --- As of this recording, 17 states don’t have access to PornHub. You might assume that’s because of very normal people like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson needing to monitor his son’s masturbation habits, but was it conservatives’ fault? Or… was it well-meaning liberals? Junlper joins us to discuss who is behind this new and extreme porn ban, and its implications beyond those states and across the country. Our guest Junlper works for The Onion and cohosts the podcast Western Kabuki. You can follow her at ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/junlper.beer⁠ on Bluesky or ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@junikcl⁠ on YouTube. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at:⁠ https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld⁠. Links "Nick Kristof and the Holy War on PornHub" by Melissa Gira Grant: ⁠https://newrepublic.com/article/160488/nick-kristof-holy-war-pornhub⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, everyone! We're out this week, but we wanted to share an episode of How Is This Better? featuring our very own, Ryan Broderick. The episode covers the evolution of everyone's favorite: Mark Zuckerberg. We'll be back next week with an all new Panic World, but for now – make sure you follow/subscribe to How Is This Better? wherever you get your podcasts!Subscribe to How Is This Better? on: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We made it nearly a year without having to cover Epstein, but with Trump and his allies consistently committing own-goals and bringing him up, the day has come. Today we’re talking about the Epstein files and what appears to be Trump’s most consequential weakness so far. Josie Duffy Rice joins us to talk about how and why Epstein became so central to the MAGA movement, and whether this could be the thing that finally cracks Trump’s base. Our guest Josie Duffy Rice is a journalist, writer, and law school graduate whose work you can follow on her website or @jduffyrice on Bluesky and Instagram.  Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If a fandom exists long enough in isolation, does it inevitably become toxic or at least, very strange? This is the main question we’ll be exploring today, through a story that begins in 1989. That’s the year that Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers premiered. More importantly, it’s when the world was introduced to a sweet little mouse girl, Gadget Hackwrench. Gadget became quite popular on a certain part of the internet, and PJ Vogt joins us once again to learn about the Cult of Gadget, and the weird wild world of “Rangerphiles.” Our guest PJ Vogt is the host of Search Engine. He has previously come on Panic World to talk about whether teens were really gorging themselves on Tide Pods, and you can listen to that episode here. Check out Search Engine here or wherever you get your podcasts! Notes Interested in seeing how Ryan & PJ react to Gadget "art"? Or perhaps what Grant's producer cage looks like? Panic World is now posting video episodes to YouTube! Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan and Grant discuss that American Eagle ad and why everyone is arguing about Sydney Sweeney's "good jeans." Want to hear the rest of their conversation, and enjoy other cool stuff like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eating disorder content has been a problem on the internet since as early as 2001, but it accelerated with the advent of social media. Today we’re examining why it’s become more prevalent than perhaps at any other time. EJ Dickson, a writer who investigated the #SkinnyTok community for The Cut, joins us to talk about the introduction of eating disorder content in the mainstream internet, its causes and characters. Our guest EJ Dickson is a senior writer at The Cut. You can check out her investigative piece on Liv Schmidt and #SkinnyTok here, and follow her work everywhere @ejdickson. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Often, like in the case of the Momo Challenge, when parents freak out about a thing online, it’s probably not really a thing. But, today we are talking about one panic that is real — “764,” the comm-network that is gamifying committing crimes and abuse. Joining us is Marcus Parks of The Last Podcast on the Left, to dive into this conspiracy that’s more than a theory. Our guest Marcus Parks is a host of The Last Podcast on the Left, which is currently doing a miniseries on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Check it out on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! We have a related bonus episode of our Patreon this week, where our producer Grant Irving sat down with expert on extremist ideologies and groups, Dr. Marc-André Argentino. Learn more about the history of cults and networks like 764 by joining our Patreon for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the creepiest thing you’ve ever seen on the internet? For many people, it was Slenderman. This particularly lithe fellow started off as kind of a fun, spooky thing, and then of course got out of hand and caused a panic both on- and offline. We’re joined by Kaelyn Moore of Heart Starts Pounding to talk about his role taking creepypasta mainstream, and how Slenderman is still lurking in our cultural consciousness over 16 years since making his first appearance on Something Awful. Our guest Kaelyn Moore hosts Hearts Starts Pounding, a show about folklore and other creepy stuff, which you can find anywhere you listen to podcasts or @heartstartspounding on all the socials. Want to hear (and see!) our extended conversation? And enjoy other nice things like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April this year the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a “woman” excludes trans women. Then — apparently celebrating her years-long TERFdom — JK Rowling tweeted an image of herself on a yacht, smoking a cigar, and captioned it with “I love it when a plan comes together.” The question we’re looking at today is: was it Rowling who changed or was it the world that changed? Matt Bernstein joins us to trace Rowling’s radicalization journey, and discuss how we’ve ended up with a bunch of British women who want to brand themselves as liberal, but are socially regressive in basically every way. Our guest Matt Bernstein can be found online @mattxiv. He hosts A Bit Fruity, out anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can also check out Ryan’s recent appearance on the show, in this episode about alpha males and loneliness (naturally). Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When did fandom become so zealous? Today we’re looking back at the release of the “Snyder Cut” and the people who still think that Zack Snyder should make all of the DC movies. Open Mike Eagle joins us to talk about where the world of fandom in entertainment is and why we’re so desperate to root ourselves in pop culture that it can become like a religion. Our guest is rapper, comedian, podcaster, and streamer Open Mike Eagle. You can find him pretty much everywhere, or check out his collective works at http://mikeeagle.net/. Want the extended conversation — and a lot of other good stuff, like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got a (good) announcement about the future of the show. We'll be back with your regularly scheduled panic next week. Enjoy the Fourth! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First they came for our mobile apps, then they came for our videogames, and now, it seems pretty much every aspect of our lives is being re-oriented around gambling. Who are the players — inside and outside of tech — that have spent the past decade building out “Casino World”? Edward Ongweso, Jr. joins us to talk about why we should be panicking about a world where everything is gamified, and what’s in it for the people trying to run the floor. Our guest Edward Ongweso, Jr. writes the Tech Bubble newsletter, and you can check out the piece we referenced, “Trapped in the Maw of A Stillborn God,” here. He also hosts This Machine Kills, which you can find wherever you listen to podcasts. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Sponsors Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here:      http://multitude.productions/ads. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some urban legends are just for fun, like the “Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus,” while others are not. Today we’re investigating the claim that while busting drug dealers, police can accidentally “absorb”  fentanyl through their skin, causing them to suffer a whole bevy of health problems — starting with fainting. Years later, it’s still impacting legislation across the country and mostly wasting a bunch of money. Mangesh Hattikudur and Mary Phillips-Sandy from Part-Time Genius join us to explain how fentanyl actually works, and debunk this one. Check out Part-Time Genius wherever you get your podcasts, and follow them on Instagram @parttimegenius. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Sponsors Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here:      http://multitude.productions/ads. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Grant talked to his friend whose dad had become a Holocaust denier, we got a huge response from folks who had family members with other… interesting ideas. Today, we’re answering some of your questions. Like: what do you do when you have your own kids and had counted on your (now conspiracy-pilled) parents to help care for them? What about when you question your own reality due to those close to you losing touch with theirs? And how much of all this is untreated medical disorders versus mental disorder caused by media? Ryan & Grant discuss. Listeners, thank you for telling us your stories — we hope this helps you feel a bit less alone, because clearly, we’re all going through it. If you have specific questions or want to share concerns about something your friends or family members are talking about, we’d still love to hear from you. Email us at panicworldpod@gmail.com. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Sponsors Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions/ads. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re asking an important question: Who is really inspiring the “vibe” of Trump 2.0? No, it's not Elon Musk. We’re talking about President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Joining us is Ricardo Avelar, to explain how this club promoter, hustle bro, and LinkedIn influencer grew up to become a dictator whose playbook President Trump is now stealing from. Aside from being a massive blink-182 fan, our guest Ricardo Avelar is a journalist and political analyst. You can find him and his work on X/Twitter @docavelar. Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Sponsors Want to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions/ads. Credits - Host: Ryan Broderick - Producer: Grant Irving - Researcher: Adam Bumas - Business Manager: Josh Fjelstad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices