ILL EFFECTS Ben Litherland and Richard McCulloch

After a defence lawyer blamed the killing of a six-year-old on pro wrestling, the Parents Television Council went to war with the World Wrestling Federation.  Lifelong pro wrestling fan, Ben, talks Rich through this bad blood feud: in one corner “family values” and in the other corner the sex and violence of “attitude era” pro wrestling. We explore the increasingly fraught tactics used by both organizations, and, surprisingly, what the battle tells us about modern culture wars, the American right, and Donald Trump. Let’s get ready to rumblllleeee.

In 2020, a French indie movie called Cuties somehow found itself at the epicentre of the US culture wars. Outraged conservatives accused the filmmakers and Netflix of encouraging paedophilia and stoking the fires of global child sex trafficking trade. But were they right? Rich’s deep dive into the controversy takes Ben on a journey through “sexualisation,” twerking, Tucker Carlson’s gormless face, School of Rock, QAnon, and yes... even paedophilic robots.

From Death Race to Grand Theft Auto, driving games have long fuelled claims that players might be inspired to start mowing down pedestrians outside of the game. Starting with a story about a Toronto police officer linking a hit and run to a copy of Need for Speed found on the offender’s passenger seat, Ben talks Rich through the surprisingly longstanding history of links between video games and reckless driving. We encounter early arcade video games, clowns being run over at anti-car carnivals, and Adam West’s Batman doing British road safety videos. Crash! Bang! Wallop! What a podcast!

Before “deep focus” and “study beats” playlists came muzak—one of the most widespread (and widely hated) forms of music of the 20th Century. But does background music really have the power to improve worker productivity? To dictate our wine preferences? Or, God forbid, even affect how long we spend in our favourite brothel?!? Rich shows Ben that the genre’s history doesn’t always make for easy listening.

Ben takes Rich back to the landmark case study of a book that was accused of changing the world forever by containing descriptions of sex and swearwords. Join us for a 150-year history of obscenity laws, the power of literature to corrupt, swinging 60s, explicit fan fiction, and whether you’d want YOUR wife or servant reading this filth.

Can the YouTube algorithm really turn you into a Flat Earther, or some other kind of radical conspiracy theorist? Rich takes Ben on a journey through terrible poetry, evangelical newsletters and 9/11 Truther videos. It turns out the “filter bubble” is an idea that might need bursting.