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PODCAST

Panic World

A weekly podcast, hosted by Ryan Broderick, about how the internet warps our minds, our culture, and eventually reality.

technology

All Episodes

67:32

The internet sucks, and Congress might make it worse

Panic World ·

2026/04/01

The law Section 230 is maybe the invisible force that governs everything in our lives. With a California court ruling against Meta, what are we to do? How responsible should social media companies be for the content posted on them? Brian Reed joins us to discuss Section 230 and its implications, both past and present.Our guest Brian Reed is the host of Question Everything. Check it out anywhere you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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73:15

Cicada 3301: The internet puzzle that might’ve been a...

Panic World ·

2026/03/25

In 2012, a strange message appeared on 4chan: “We are looking for highly intelligent individuals….” What followed became one of the internet’s most mysterious puzzles: Cicada 3301.Players uncovered hidden codes, real-world locations, encrypted files, and even phone numbers across the globe. Some believed it was a secret society. Others thought it was a CIA recruitment tool. Maybe the Illuminati. Or at least, very organized teens. So what was Cicada 3301 really? And could something like this even

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61:44

Boomer brain rot started long before Facebook

Panic World ·

2026/03/18

Why did boomers “go crazy” — and was the internet actually to blame?Ryan is joined by Sam Seder to trace the long history of boomer radicalization, from the Fairness Doctrine and Rush Limbaugh to Fox News, 9/11, Alex Jones, and the algorithmic media ecosystem that followed. Together they argue that the internet didn’t create boomer brain rot so much as supercharge a worldview that had already been built by decades of grievance-driven mass media. Our guest Sam Seder hosts The Majority Report,

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27:07

BONUS: The Oscars snubbed "The Secret Agent"

Panic World ·

2026/03/16

Ryan & Grant convene their movie club to discuss The Secret Agent, one of — or maybe the — best film(s) of 2025, and what it says about where we're at as a society. Want to hear the rest of this conversation? And get even more extra content, like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord? Sign up for a membership at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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67:26

The people who think every celebrity is secretly trans

Panic World ·

2026/03/11

Today we’re talking about the moral panic around “transvestigation,” an online “game” where people try to identify who is or isn’t trans. Particularly popular in right-wing corners of the internet, transvestigating is a subculture of people — with no background in biology at all — who analyze photos, facial features, and body proportions to “prove” their claims, that basically every celebrity is secretly trans.Kitty Kimz and Jeff from Free Country USA join us once again to trace the surprising

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80:46

How Epstein weaponized the internet

Panic World ·

2026/03/04

Did Jeffrey Epstein destroy the internet? Ryan posits his theory, after not going totally insane (we think) reading through hundreds of Epstein files: Epstein was the Forrest Gump of the 21st century and there’s pretty much no major event this century that he didn’t have some sort of weird interaction with. Marcus Parks of Last Podcast on the Left joins us to indulge these conspiracies — and throw in a few more.Our guest Marcus Parks is the co-host of Last Podcast on the Left. Check them out

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61:42

Gen Z vs. Millennials

Panic World ·

2026/02/25

What’s cool and what’s cringe, and which generation gets to decide? Today we’re talking about Gen Z, formerly known as “iGen,” and its relationship with millennials (and vice versa). Expert on all things internet, Hank Green, joins us this week to talk about the tried-and-true tradition of generations ragging on each other. Get ready for a lot of talk about gooning, looksmaxxing, mogging, and 6-7 (we still can’t totally get to the bottom of that last one).Our guest Hank Green can be found pretty

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62:24

How being straight became gay

Panic World ·

2026/02/18

When did liking women, as a straight man, become gay? Today, we posit that the “logical” endpoint of being in the manosphere is that eventually being so hateful toward women dictates that liking them, having sex with them, or getting married to them, is actually gay. Podcaster, activist, and pornstar Siri Dahl joins us to discuss… that.Our guest Siri Dahl’s work can be found at https://siridahl.com/. Her podcast First Thirst can be found wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can also follow her

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68:15

Are we all going to end up in AI relationships?

Panic World ·

2026/02/11

From research to vibe coding to therapy to girlfriends and boyfriends, how are we using AI these days? Let’s do a check-in on one of those topics that inevitably fires everyone up: AI. One person who’s fired up about it is Dexter Thomas of Kill Switch, who joins us to get into the interesting relationships people are forming with AI — for better and (mostly) worse.Our guest is Dexter Thomas, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and host of Kill Switch. You can find Kill Switch wherever you get your

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10:49

BONUS: How Epstein broke the internet — and our lives

Panic World ·

2026/02/09

Ryan recounts everything he's learned from the Epstein files so far, and with Grant, begins connecting all the red threads. Turns out, there's basically no major event this century that Epstein didn't have some involvement in — from the Great Recession to Donald Trump's 2016 win.Want to hear the rest of the conversation, plus ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad

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68:49

lonelygirl15 and when lies could be fun

Panic World ·

2026/02/04

One of the first “internet things” that reached beyond a bunch of inevitably really cool people who hung out in chatrooms, was YouTube. Today, we’re going back in time to look back at a potential progenitor of our current era: lonelygirl15. Willa Paskin joins us from Decoder Ring to reminisce about the earliest vloggers and how they have continued to influence us across all other platforms, ever since the first video on YouTube hit a million views in 2005.Our guest Willa Paskin is a writer and the

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54:57

BONUS: Abolish ICE

Panic World ·

2026/01/30

Ryan and Grant discuss the latest in Minneapolis after ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti – the second Minnesota resident to be killed be ICE in a matter of weeks. This bonus is on the house! But if you want to support the show, sign up for a membership at: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld and you'll get access to more ad-free and bonus and extended episodes as well as access to the Garbage Day Discord. And grab a Panic World tee at:

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52:24

But, still, what about the Epstein files?

Panic World ·

2026/01/28

Where are the Epstein files? Representative Ro Khanna joins us to urge listeners why we need to keep asking that question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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61:39

The myth of the Antifa super soldier

Panic World ·

2026/01/21

We recorded this episode prior to the killing of Renee Good, but the resulting federal crackdown on the protests in Minneapolis has made this conversation even more relevant. That is, there's a need for an anti-fascism movement, especially under Trump 2.0, but where did the theory come from that it is an organized operation? Today, we’re joined by Ken Klippenstein to explore the myth of the “Antifa super soldier” and how worried we should be about the memorandum Trump released in September 2025,

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53:33

We were at ICE’s invasion in Minneapolis

Panic World ·

2026/01/14

After an ICE agent killed Renee Good, Ryan & Grant flew to Minneapolis to cover the resulting protests. This special episode documents their experience with protestors, law enforcement, ICE agents, right-wing YouTubers, and of course... some extreme cold.Show NotesGet 50% off Unlimited premium wireless starting at $15/month at — https://mintmobile.com/courierGet 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for 1 year at — https://factormeals.com/panic50offLearn more about your ad choices

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72:17

Why we always blame video games

Panic World ·

2026/01/07

There’s been a moral panic around video games basically since they first debuted. From too much sex to causing laziness and violence, just about the only thing society and the media have taken seriously about video games since their advent is that they are somehow seriously harmful. Chris Plante joins us today to talk about what causes people (aka parents) to freak out about video games’ influence, and how they actually impact us, both in good and bad ways.Our guest Chris Plante is the co-founder

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31:26

BONUS: Kitchencels solves the male loneliness crisis

Panic World ·

2025/12/31

You may have heard Ryan and Grant mention the term “Kitchencels” a few times throughout this year. Or maybe several times. Or every other episode (second only to gooning). But what is r/Kitchencels, and why are we so obsessed with it?In this special end-of-year bonus episode, Ryan and Grant break down what exactly makes r/Kitchencels so special. Together, they analyze what the subreddit’s existence means for internet culture as a whole, and how it could maybe, just possibly, lead to a cure for the

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80:54

The worst things on the internet this year

Panic World ·

2025/12/17

2026 wasn’t exactly a “good” year, but how “bad” was it? Well, that depends on what you think is good or bad. We’ve reconvened the connoisseurs of the worst things on the internet together again to look back at the year and make a call. Katie Notopoulos joins Garbage Media’s Cates Holderness, Josh Fjelstad, and Ryan to inflict some really great stuff at an unsuspecting and out of control Grant. Has working on Panic World broken his brain enough that he’ll be unfazed by the internet’s “best” content

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78:40

The age of the lolcow

Panic World ·

2025/12/10

Today, we’re examining the idea that the Republican Party and its co-option of extremist online culture like 4chan and Kiwi Farms — and all of their posters and lurkers alike — has turned into one of their key political weapons. June Sternbach and Josh Boerman of Ill Conceived join us to look back at one of the earliest and darkest examples of this, through the story of Chris Chan and the invention of “lolcows” (don’t worry, if you don’t know any of these names, we’ll catch you up…

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62:50

Did Russiagate matter?

Panic World ·

2025/12/03

Even now our beloved host Ryan doesn’t know what he thinks about Russian interference in the 2016 election. So, he is joined by Garrett Graff, a journalist and author who continually re-examines the question: What is the truth behind the “Russia, Russia, Russia” scandal? How real and deep was their involvement in US politics in the past decade, and how important ultimately was it — or the idea of it?Our guest is Garrett Graff, host of the Long Shadow podcast, previously a national security

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128 results

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