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 years since making his first appearance on Something Awful.Our guest Kaelyn Moore hosts Hearts Starts Pounding, a show about folklore and other creepy stuff, which you can find anywhere you listen to podcasts or @heartstartspounding on all the socials.Want to hear (and see!) our extended conversation? And enjoy other nice things like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:04:20
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1:04:20
What happened to JK Rowling?
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 radicalization journey, and discuss how we’ve ended up with a bunch of British women who want to brand themselves as liberal, but are socially regressive in basically every way.Our guest Matt Bernstein can be found online @mattxiv. He hosts A Bit Fruity, out anywhere you listen to podcasts. You can also check out Ryan’s recent appearance on the show, in this episode about alpha males and loneliness (naturally).Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:01:44
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1:01:44
The plot to ruin the new Superman movie
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 can find him pretty much everywhere, or check out his collective works at http://mikeeagle.net/.Want the extended conversation — and a lot of other good stuff, like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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55:09
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55:09
Some big news in Panic World
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!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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7:19
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7:19
We are living in a casino
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 run the floor.Our guest Edward Ongweso, Jr. writes the Tech Bubble newsletter, and you can check out the piece we referenced, “Trapped in the Maw of A Stillborn God,” here. He also hosts This Machine Kills, which you can find wherever you listen to podcasts.Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions/ads.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.