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Channel • 10 Shows

Kids & Family

Kids & Family

Weekly series
Technology

Technology

Updated weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Series
News

News

Updated daily
News

News

Updated 1 day ago
Kids & Family

Kids & Family

Updated 8 hr ago
News

News

Updated daily

EPISODE 1

Selena and Me

Growing up along the US-Mexico border, Maria Garcia felt torn between her two identities as Mexican and American. But then, something changed her life. She discovered Selena Quintanilla—the Mexican-American pop icon who proved she didn’t have to choose. In the premiere episode of Anything for Selena, host Maria Garcia explores how Selena helped Maria find her own place in the world.

E1

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30 min
27 FEB

Obscure music is good and nice!

Some rare folks are born with the perfect music taste. But most of us have to look elsewhere for a tune that sparks a shoulder shimmy or two. Hosts Ben and Amory spend some time jamming to obscure music from Reddit. They also explore how a TikTok original became Dr. Pepper's catchy new jingle. And "baby, it's good and nice." Show notes: I wasn't sure on this one at first, but you can't beat the messaging. (Reddit) Boko Yout [9-2-5] (Reddit) Molly by Ecca Vandal Theme Song for Dr. Pepper: Let's Collaborate! (TikTok) Dr. Pepper's Viral Jingle Moment Has Everyone Pitching Songs to Brands (Atlanta Black Star) Beautiful and unique music. Hope someone an share details about her and the music (Reddit) everyday_naturalist christycoysh

27 Feb

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25 min
6 FEB

You're Wrong About the Satanic Panic

In the 1980s, a moral panic swept across America. Parents, prosecutors, and talk show hosts became convinced that devil worshippers were hiding in plain sight, abusing children at daycares, performing ritualistic sacrifices, and corrupting the innocent. Sarah Marshall of You're Wrong About has a new podcast about this period of Satanic Panic called The Devil You Know. She talks to Ben and Amory about the cultural forces that turned unfounded fears into a nationwide hysteria, and how would the Satanic Panic might have unfolded differently in today's age of social media. Credits: This episode was produced by Amory Sivertson with assistance from Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

6 Feb

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24 min
20 FEB

Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained

Melania, a documentary about the first lady, has a 10 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but a 90 percent score from audience members, an unusual discrepancy that raises the question, how did Rotten Tomatoes get those scores anyway? Show notes: The 'Melania' movie audience: Older white women (NPR) Melania’s Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru (The Daily Beast) You Can Thank 'Rush Hour' for Rotten Tomatoes (Vice) Rotten Tomatoes Owner Says ‘Melania’ 99% Audience Score Is Not ‘Bot Manipulation’: ‘Reviews Are Verified… Users Bought a Ticket to the Film’ (Variety) Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Kalyani Saxena, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

20 Feb

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25 min
SEASON 8, EPISODE 3

The Sea and the Sky

Recorded live at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR, this high-flying tale explains how the islands of the Philippines came to be. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here.

S8, E3

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19 min
02/02/2024

Half a million eyes are on TikTok's "tunnel girl"

In 2022, a TikTok creator who identifies herself as "Kala" began digging. What followed was an increasingly viral series of TikToks chronicling the efforts of Kala, who some on the internet dubbed "tunnel girl", as she excavated and constructed a tunnel system under her suburban home. Her more than half-million followers watched and weighed in with support, suggestions and at times, concern. That is, until a stop-work order halted the project in its tracks late last year. Producer Katelyn Harrop joins Endless Thread hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson to look at yet another tunneling phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm.

02/02/2024

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27 min
21/10/2022

Anti-fans, online hate, and Caroline Calloway

This week, we investigate the rise and fall of online influencer Caroline Calloway and the bigger question: Why do some people love to hate? ****** Credits: This episode was written and produced by Grace Tatter. Mixing and sound design by Emily Jankowski. Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson are the co-hosts.

21/10/2022

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46 min
SEASON 2, EPISODE 6

Episode 6: A Hole in the Silence

Spain has one of the highest number of forced disappearances in the world, second only to Cambodia. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, fascist troops killed tens of thousands of people and threw them into mass graves. For decades, few people knew this — and no one in Spain talked about it. But in the year 2000, a man in the middle of an identity crisis began digging into his family's past, searching for a grandfather who had gone missing in the war. What Emilio Silva discovered not only changed his own life - it inspired a social movement to recover Memoria Histórica, or historical memory, throughout Spain. In episode 6, audio producer and writer Isabel Cadenas Cañón (De eso no se habla) reveals the cultural transformation of a country through the personal transformation of one man.

S2, E6

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46 min
09/02/2024

Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars

The point of Julian Shapiro-Barnum's Recess Therapy, a video series where he interviews kids about life's bigger questions, was never to make the kids social media superstars. But that's exactly what happened when he posted a video that went mega-viral in the summer of 2022. Endless Thread host Ben Brock Johnson talks to Julian about making the internet a fun space for kids and adults, Julian's multi-parent upbringing, and the wisdom of children.

09/02/2024

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23 min
01/12/2023

NPC Streams! So Good! Mmm, So Good!

Earlier this year, TikTok livestreamers began mimicking lifeless "nonplayable characters," or NPCs, by repeating motions and phrases like in a video game. Then, people started paying them to keep doing it. Like the show? Help us out! Donate at https://wbur.org/podpower. Credits: This episode was produced by Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell. Mixing and sound design by Paul Vaitkus. Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson are the co-hosts. (Photo: TikTok/@ishowspeed/@natuecoco/@cherrycrushtv)

01/12/2023

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34 min

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