You can spend hours carefully curating your algorithms on TikTok and YouTube, But there’s one place where the algorithm doesn’t seem to care about what you want to see: Instagram Reels. Business Insider’s Katie Notopoulos joins Taylor to dive deep into the strangest corners of IG Reels and unpack how the platform became such an unusual place online. Then, Taylor weighs in on the latest news, including Taylor Swift's stance on AI, right wing YouTubers getting paid millions by a Russian propaganda group, why Facebook keeps removing emergency fire alerts, and the new iPhone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk’s social media network X has been officially banned in Brazil. Taylor and internet culture reporter Ryan Broderick (Garbage Day) discuss Stan culture, the impact Brazil has on the internet as we know it, and the effects of suddenly losing tens of millions of voices online. Later, as another presidential debate nears, Taylor chats with tech reporter Viola Zhou (Rest of World) about the latest TikTok trend - creators holding political debates of their own, with real cash rewards from their audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've all long been familiar with the concept of a "song of the summer," but lately there's been a rush to declare "the summer" everything. Drink of the summer, drug of the summer, shoe of the summer, the list goes on. Casey Lewis joins Taylor to discuss the summer's emerging trends and why everything has been declared “of the summer.” Later, Taylor weighs in on the latest headlines, including Hasan Piker’s removal from the DNC, the new fridgescaping TikTok trend, what a Chick-fil-A streaming service could look like, and why everyone in DC is upset with food vlogger Keith Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Taylor is in Chicago along with hundreds of content creators for the Democratic National Convention. YouTube star Keith Edwards gives the scoop on the Democrats’ influencer strategy, what it’s like inside a creator yacht party and VIP meme lounge, and how the 2024 election has become one big battle for the internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Trump returned to X/Twitter/whatever you want to call it. Editor-in-Chief at the Verge, Nilay Patel, joins Taylor to discuss the long and rambling conversation between Trump and Elon Musk on Twitter spaces. They debate how influential X is in today’s political climate. Later, they explore the broader social media landscape, Kamala’s dicey use of a Dril tweet, the campaign’s broader digital strategy, and how TikTok and YouTube factor into the 2024 race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years now, MrBeast has been the king of the internet. The 26-year-old creator has the most subscribed to channel on YouTube, millions of young fans, and a new streaming deal with Amazon. But now, after a string of controversies, his empire might be crumbling. How did all of this happen, and what does a potential MrBeast downfall mean for the internet? Later, Taylor breaks down the latest headlines including why everyone is posting about a minion nailed to a cross, Kick streamer Adin Ross gives Trump a cyber truck and potentially violates election laws, the Google antitrust suit, and Tim Walz mania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The internet lost its mind last week when Taylor broke the news that Michael Bay might be turning Skibidi Toilet -- the bizarre animated YouTube short of a singing head in a toilet -- into a theatrical movie. Taylor talks to Adam Goodman, a Hollywood veteran who founded Invisible Narratives, the behind-the-scenes company responsible for much of Skibidi Toilet's ongoing success. Plus, in headlines: Kamala Harris supporters are hopping on Zoom like it's 2020, Google Docs is the hot new dating app, and a new AI wearable wants to be your new best friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Politics and social media were inextricable this week. Joe Biden announced his dropout via X and other social platforms — and after he endorsed Kamala Harris, the media rush to explain Brat memes began. Taylor talks to The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel about coconut memes, irony pilled posting, and the outcry of a generation frustrated by politics. Then, Taylor and Zach break down this week’s headlines, including a lifestyle influencer suing another lifestyle influencer for copying her aesthetic, a terrifying DHS robot dog, and Marc Andreessen’s hope that AI will save comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Minutes after a gunman attacked Donald Trump at a rally, conspiracy theories flourished on social media. Did Trump fake it? Was it a false flag? These are the latest additions to a growing collection of anti-Trump conspiracy theories referred to as "Blue Anon." Taylor Lorenz discusses the rise of conspiracies from anti Trump influencers with Mike Rothschild, author of "The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything." Plus, Taylor explains the alleged shooter's "Demolition Ranch" YouTuber T-shirt, and talks about the RNC influencers tasked with making the GOP look cool. (edited) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kick, a is home to some of the most reprehensible behavior on the internet. Creators have live-streamed themselves accosting people on the street, sexually harassing minors, even getting into hit-and-run car accidents. Taylor Lorenz talks to J. Aubrey, who documents some of the Internet’s worst people, about Kick’s race to the bottom.Plus, Taylor breaks down her recent reporting on influencers in politics. NATO and the State Department invited content creators to this year’s summit in Washington, DC. And in Utah, the first full-time content creator is running for Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the past several years, influencer Lily Chapman has been plagued by a relentless community of women online. They congregated in a snark subreddit dedicated to mocking and criticizing her. Lily says they even contacted her friends and family, and attempted to kill her sponsorship deals. But Lily did something most influencers haven't been able to do: She fought back and won. Taylor Lorenz talks to Lily about how it all went down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An online smear campaign painted a top Stanford researcher as a censorship supervillain, whose goal was to silence free speech and delete 22 million tweets. Former Stanford Internet Observatory research manager Renée DiResta tells Taylor Lorenz what it's like to monitor disinformation about yourself -- and how rumors about her work that began on one conspiracy theorist's blog eventually spread into the halls of congress. Then, Taylor talks about her report on how Biden is struggling to garner the support of Gen Z influencers, the surgeon general’s campaign to put warning labels on social media, Logan Paul’s Donald Trump interview, and TikTok’s new AI-generated ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the past few months, the term “brain rot” has gone from essentially meaning chronically online, to a fully fledged meme and ironic slang language. Adam Aleksic aka “the Etymology Nerd” and Harvard linguistics graduate joins Taylor to break down how the language of the internet is evolving.  Later, Taylor dives into stories from the week including big announcements from Apple’s WWDC, the shadowy right-wing backers behind a Mr Beast video, BeReals big sale, and a new word to describe AI generated garbage.  Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The record-breaking Instagram account @world_record_egg has returned to publicly express its support for Palestine. Trump joins TikTok and immediately amasses millions of followers. Mr. Beast becomes the most subscribed to YouTube channel. Plus, Taylor Lorenz breaks down the 2022 deal TikTok offered the U.S. government, which included a “kill switch” to shut down the app. Later, Vox’s Rebecca Jennings joins Taylor to discuss crowdsourced surveillance and the ethics of filming strangers in public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet the powerful centimillionaire who dreams of a sovereign San Francisco where tech millionaires wear gray T-shirts to signal their allegiance and progressives are locked out. Balaji Srinivasan is one of the most infamous, yet lesser-known, figures in Silicon Valley. Journalist Gil Duran, who reports on tech fascism and billionaire extremism, joins Taylor to discuss Balaji’s ideas, background, and why you should take him seriously. Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you been on Facebook lately? It’s weird and overrun with bizarre, AI-generated, spammy clickbait. Jason Koebler, co-founder of 404 Media and host of The 404 Media Podcast joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss how this happened and who’s behind it all. Later, Taylor weighs in on Scarlett Johansson’s accusation that Open AI mimicked her voice, a new video game about influencers risking their lives for content, Belle Delphine’s bathwater, and a baby who’s hyped to go to the Four Seasons Orlando. Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, TikTok creators sue the US government over free speech, Bumble tells women to get busy, YouTube’s CEO wants creators to win Emmys, and Google’s new AI gives some bad advice. Later, Taylor Lorenz chats with Kate Lindsay, co-founder of the Embedded newsletter, about a new social media movement called “Blockout 2024.” The campaign encourages users to block celebrities who haven’t publicly condemned the attacks in Gaza. But is it working?  Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss the current state of audio and its creator economy. They discuss Spotify's impact and how close we are to achieving the decade-long dream of viral audio. Plus, Ashley takes us into the ridiculous world of fake podcast ads on TikTok and the rise of audiobooks and AI narrators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kanye West accused one of the most popular Twitch streamers, Kai Cenat, of being an “industry plant.” It perpetuated the idea that some internet celebrities became famous thanks to invisible forces pulling the strings. But in a business as fickle as online content creation, is an industry plant even possible? Taylor Lorenz asks Maxwell Mitcheson, a partner at Underscore Talent. Later, Taylor weighs in on Aaron Sorkin hinting at a possible follow-up to The Social Network, plans for a new tech utopia in San Francisco, Adam Mosseri’s big Instagram update, and Threads hitting 150 million active users. Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, President Biden signed a law banning TikTok, assuming it can't work out some long-shot deal to sell to a U.S. owner. TikTok of course is going to fight all this in court. Editor in Chief at The Verge, and host of the Decoder podcast, Nilay Patel joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss TikTok’s uncertain future. Later, YouTube star Marques Brownlee aka MKBHD stops by to discuss how one critical review turned him into the internet's main character, his favorite tech products of 2024, and where the tech landscape is headed. Full video of this episode will be available on Taylor's YouTube channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices