Panic World
A weekly podcast, hosted by Ryan Broderick, about how the internet warps our minds, our culture, and eventually reality.
Episodes
July 30, 2025 • 69 mins
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,...
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July 23, 2025 • 67 mins
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 year...
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July 16, 2025 • 64 mins
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...
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July 9, 2025 • 55 mins
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 c...
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July 2, 2025 • 7 mins
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!
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June 25, 2025 • 51 mins
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 r...
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June 18, 2025 • 60 mins
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...
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June 11, 2025 • 63 mins
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? A...
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June 4, 2025 • 53 mins
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 jo...
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May 21, 2025 • 62 mins
America’s not doing so hot right now. Kanye West, on the other hand, hasn’t been well for quite some time. Akilah Hughes joins us again to discuss the idea that Kanye has always been a mirror for the American zeitgeist. What is about him, and about us, that makes that theory true? And, are we — both Kanye and the United States — totally doomed, or can we get better?
Our guest Akilah Hughes is a writer, comedian, and reporter. You c...
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May 14, 2025 • 38 mins
Ryan wrote about using ChatGPT for therapy, and a lot of responses to that announcement involved calling him an idiot. This week, he sits down with Grant to talk about what he learned over experimenting with AI therapy for a few months, and a broader chat about the birth of the AI world — and how it’s pretty much involved in everything already (in good and bad, and mostly bad, ways). Dr. ChatGPT will see you now.
Want to hear the ...
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May 7, 2025 • 62 mins
Last time we had Charlie Warzel on, it was to determine whether the insurrection had been a political success. Now, 100+ days into Trump 2.0, he joins us again to answer some simple questions: Should we be worrying about the survival of American democracy now? And also, with the fallout from tariffs revealing the first cracks in Trump’s base, is this whole thing good for anyone? Plus, are we ready for Dave Portnoy 2028?
Our guest C...
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April 30, 2025 • 58 mins
In the past decade, true crime has gone from a niche and somewhat disparaged genre to one of entertainment’s most prolific. What is it about true crime that’s made it become such a huge part of popular culture? Through the lens of the mysterious disappearance (and reappearance) of Hannah Kobayashi, journalist Jennifer Swann joins us to talk about how missing persons’ cases take on lives on their own online.
Our guest Jennifer Swann...
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April 23, 2025 • 56 mins
Today, we’re telling a story of human ingenuity. Except, in a dumb way. It’s one of the craziest things that has happened in a long time — which is really saying something — when some bro on 4chan ended up in a Taliban prison. Arturo Castro joins us to talk about a British guy named Miles Rutledge.
Our guest Arturo Castro is an actor and currently hosts Greatest Escapes, a podcast where Arturo is joined by friends to learn the stor...
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April 16, 2025 • 62 mins
On March 13, 2025, Netflix released Adolescence, and ever since, parents have been learning that Andrew Tate is bad. What are we to do? Ryan talks to Grant about how the problems we have on the internet now are not dramatically new, it’s just that everyone has the internet in their pocket all the time — and, to borrow a 2010s phrase, the solution to that might surprise you.
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April 9, 2025 • 59 mins
Today we’re talking about a panic that’s been simmering for a while but has, in the past couple of years, become a full-blown panic. And that’s the technological Cold War that the US is waging with China. (Okay, and now also the tariff war, but that’s with pretty much everyone.) Are the Chinese really so radically different from us, or — at least when we’re browsing the net — are we the same? Tianyu Fang joins us to compare Chinese...
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April 2, 2025 • 39 mins
Today, we’re doing something a little different. Grant asks Ryan to step back from being host, and instead to step in as a social worker for people who fall for conspiracy theories. The person in question is Grant’s friend’s dad, who read a recent “report” saying that the Holocaust “actually wasn’t as bad as they say,” and it’s tearing his family apart. We’ll get into what causes people — especially our Boomer family members — to f...
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March 26, 2025 • 65 mins
Are we in the post-MeToo era? In this episode, we’re reconciling with not only how society at large has adapted to its rise and fall, but also how Hollywood and social media have adapted as well. Spitfire News’s Kat Tenbarge joins us to discuss that — and just who it is that killed #MeToo.
Our guest Kat Tenbarge is an independent journalist, and publisher, editor, and creator of Spitfire News. Subscribe to Spitfire News at https://...
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March 19, 2025 • 58 mins
Every four years America suffers through a national election, with its own distinct collection of far-right freaks. Yet against the trend, in 2024 many of the youngest voters started finding them appealing. So who or what turned Gen Z fascist? Felix Biederman of Chapo Trap House joins us to discuss the main players in the right-wing (mano)sphere, and whether this ecosystem of new guys will keep our nation’s youth in their thrall.
O...
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March 12, 2025 • 60 mins
Right now, you might be thinking someone, somewhere, is on the internet doing something for money that’s really awful. That’s probably true, and has been in the past. Although, plenty of times it’s not — take Bonsai Kittens — but what about Red Rooms, where you can supposedly pay for assassinations or watch live torture? Today journalist Carl Miller joins us to talk about the dark web. What’s actually on there, how people use it, a...
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