Touching Grass

The New World
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Technology

In online culture, to tell someone to touch grass is an encouragement to get off their screen and get back in touch with reality. In this podcast, The New World's Gen Z-er Lucy Reade and Millennial James Ball try to explain what's happening on the internet to people with much healthier lives - and each other. Expect confusing discourse, culture wars and bizarre influencer scandals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Aug 18

    Dobby's grave and problematic internet boyfriends

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week Lucy Reade unpacks the latest discourse over Harry Potter fans, whilst James Ball tells us about the strange world of boyfriend simulator games. Harry Potter and Dobby’s grave links: https://x.com/kennixonette/status/2086887412433625294?s=20 https://x.com/search?q=from%3Agregthesorcerer%20dobby&src=typed_query https://www.tiktok.com/@arielleblack9/video/7627889810245504274?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7629351219308676630 Love and Deepspace links: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qpkgenf7XtJWJLCnWrW1VN6_AFR2bn22MBBzHcuOJTg/edit?usp=sharing  https://www.themarysue.com/love-and-deepspace-is-a-period-tracker-really-necessary-in-an-otome-game/  https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveAndDeepspace/comments/1uihl89/i_dont_think_valko_climbing_through_the_window_is/  https://x.com/ByteStix/status/2071599339068170662  https://www.polygon.com/love-and-deepspace-backlash-new-love-interest-valko-canceled/  https://www.gamesradar.com/games/rpg/im-boycotting-love-and-deepspace-for-killing-my-virtual-boyfriend-and-so-are-251-000-other-loyal-widows/  Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers OFFER: Subscribe to The New World for just £1 for your first month. https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/touchinggrass/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Dobby's grave and problematic internet boyfriends

  2. Aug 11

    The Sex Purge Movie, and catching predators

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week James Ball discusses the very silly film that the internet has dubbed The Sex Purge Movie, whilst Lucy Reade dives into the controversial world of To Catch a Predator.  One Night Only links: https://bsky.app/profile/dinfontay.com/post/3msdym6unbk2s  https://bsky.app/profile/annabower.bsky.social/post/3msfvhd36tk2r  https://bsky.app/profile/jessehawken.bsky.social/post/3msjm5cggzs2p  https://bsky.app/profile/thenumbers.bsky.social/post/3msld7r7pf22e  https://bsky.app/profile/discussingfilm.net/post/3msjtq2bbn225  https://bsky.app/profile/luxalptraum.com/post/3mshfk5akdc2w  https://bsky.app/profile/spavel.bsky.social/post/3mskwcskjvs22  https://bsky.app/profile/gregpak.net/post/3mskax4mdb22p  To Catch a Predator links: https://x.com/airbagg3d/status/2085467442491326737?s=20  https://x.com/TheJakeChristie/status/2085387796282249343?s=20 https://x.com/souljagoyteller/status/2085398957375582220?s=20 Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers OFFER: Subscribe to The New World for just £1 for your first month. https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/touchinggrass/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Sex Purge Movie, and catching predators

  3. Aug 4

    Panopticons and the fall of the Magaverse

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week Lucy Reade discusses the infamous ‘kissing lawyers’, our world of constant surveillance and trial by internet. Meanwhile, James Ball dives into how and why the influencers behind the ‘Magaverse’ are quietly losing their audiences. Kissing lawyers links: https://x.com/CasterNL/status/2080321741222518893?s=20 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZN8dPE8EJ/ https://nypost.com/2026/07/30/us-news/lawyer-caught-canoodling-in-central-park-stands-to-lose-millions-as-lucrative-job-offer-reneged/ https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/gen-z-age-gaps-relationships-dating-opinion-5HjdZZx_2/ Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers OFFER: Subscribe to The New World for just £1 for your first month. https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/touchinggrass/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Panopticons and the fall of the Magaverse

  4. Jul 28

    Deal or No Deal, and should men pay for everything?

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week James Ball emulates Noel Edmonds and takes us through how choosing between £50,000 or a 50% chance of a million is actually very political. Lucy Reade meanwhile unpacks High Value Womanhood, the new genre of girls demanding men pay for everything in relationships.    £50,000 v a million links: https://bsky.app/profile/zachrabiroff.com/post/3mrgdqigcrc27  https://bsky.app/profile/nicholasgrossman.bsky.social/post/3mrg6f4mtk22x  https://bsky.app/profile/jlray.bsky.social/post/3mrnf4jlza22g  https://bsky.app/profile/zachrabiroff.com/post/3mrgdqigcrc27 Gold digger links: https://x.com/aspenn_colorado/status/2079745872645284176 https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/dating-car-uber-ella-freimann-9p33hh2pl https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY9yJQAN6Os/?igsh=MXBnYjJ6amdxbzB0bA%3D%3D https://x.com/FindomCentral/status/2070476166113206508?s=20 Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers OFFER: Subscribe to The New World for just £1 for your first month. https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/touchinggrass/   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Deal or No Deal, and should men pay for everything?

  5. Jul 21

    The worst Odyssey reactions and the Washington Post’s very bad YouTube channel

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week Lucy Reade unpacks the very worst online reactions to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and James Ball introduces us to the Washington Post’s very bad YouTube channel. Odyssey posts: https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2079385765402833029?s=20 https://x.com/RealAlexJones/status/2018281925488631853?s=20 https://x.com/OliLondonTV/status/2077320379748790543?s=20 Make it Make Sense: https://www.youtube.com/@mimsshow  https://bsky.app/profile/bencollins.bsky.social/post/3mqx6j3d2gc2r  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuxVLumbP5U  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk9U88GJuSE  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slYGWyliHJ4  https://x.com/JeffBezos/status/1894757287052362088  https://x.com/davejorgenson/status/1478840095499247621?s=21  Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers Subscribe to The New World for just £5 for five weeks here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The worst Odyssey reactions and the Washington Post’s very bad YouTube channel

  6. Jul 14

    Minions, God and AI climate anxiety

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week James Ball manages to link the new Minions movie to questioning the meaning of God, and Lucy Reade discusses how climate anxiety around AI might be more of a moral panic than we think. Minions links: https://x.com/raissaverso/status/2052464875356532743 https://www.polygon.com/minions-questions-do-minions-reproduce-can-they-die-did-they-work-for-hitler/ https://x.com/EndymionYT/status/2072809128918213119 https://www.instagram.com/p/DalTgM2mPAK/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D  AI links: https://x.com/rayxkilli/status/2074958811874418989?s=20 https://x.com/metajiini_klen/status/1983676664354669054?s=20 https://www.tiktok.com/@zahra.earthh/video/7640892713721679117?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7629351219308676630 Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers Subscribe to The New World for just £5 for five weeks here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Minions, God and AI climate anxiety

  7. Jul 7

    Taylor Swift's wedding and the latest BookTok drama

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. This week Lucy Reade and James Ball talk about the highly controversial wedding of global megastar Taylor Swift, as well as the latest BookTok drama. Taylor Swift links: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-15956673/Taylor-Swift-tacky-wedding-Travis-Kelce-insiders-buffet-Alison-Boshoff.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=social-twitter_mailonline https://x.com/baaulp/status/2073588363668451332?s=46 https://x.com/kissmarrykill13/status/2073938886217134523?s=46 BookTok links: https://youtu.be/R0TMtY_xdgU?si=XsALiawu9A_rfFFZ&t=173  https://youtu.be/R0TMtY_xdgU?si=FyLQfxaXCsktWEbd&t=313  https://youtu.be/R0TMtY_xdgU?si=kFod1gnFkc4IagZ3&t=631  Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers Subscribe to The New World for just £5 for five weeks here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Taylor Swift's wedding and the latest BookTok drama

  8. Jun 30

    Chargebacks and time blindness

    Welcome to Touching Grass, where two extremely online people attempt to explain internet discourse to people sensible enough to spend their time offline. In this week’s episode, James Ball delves into the terrible TikTok advice on how to commit credit card fraud via chargeback, and Lucy Reade unpacks the internet discourse surrounding whether perpetual lateness is a moral failing or a disability. Chargeback links: https://www.tiktok.com/@carrington.fisk/video/7501457984606899502 https://www.tiktok.com/@scrunchieluxe/video/7605450123618962708  https://bsky.app/profile/sesmith.lol/post/3mp4ri524n52x  Lateness links: https://x.com/dilrhubarb/status/2069348621208948746?s=20 https://x.com/ShayWoulahan/status/2070019497809854697?s=20 https://x.com/privatebirb/status/2070179903786655762?s=20 https://x.com/Brien_Jackson/status/2070284553046884474?s=20 https://www.tiktok.com/@chaotic_philosopher/video/7255063782970445098?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Presented by James Ball and Lucy Reade Produced by Matt Withers Subscribe to The New World for just £5 for five weeks here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Chargebacks and time blindness
See All (15)

About

In online culture, to tell someone to touch grass is an encouragement to get off their screen and get back in touch with reality. In this podcast, The New World's Gen Z-er Lucy Reade and Millennial James Ball try to explain what's happening on the internet to people with much healthier lives - and each other. Expect confusing discourse, culture wars and bizarre influencer scandals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    The New World
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The New World
  • Show Website
    Touching Grass

You Might Also Like