Billy helps a listener return to VMK, the online world where they remember “learning all the bad words.”


Want to support the show? Become a patron at https://patreon.com/underunderstood.
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882‬.


Show notes:

 Expedition Theme Park’s video about VMK (YouTube)
 Sam from Expedition Theme Park also has a new podcast called Expedition Enthused
 One Name, Two Games: Virtual Magic Kingdom (Pop History)
 Habbo Hotel promotional videos from the mid-2000s (YouTube)
  Isometric video game graphics (Wikipedia)
  Amazing video about eBoy directed/edited by our editor Ryan Manning (YouTube)
  Virtual Magic Kingdom (Fandom)
  VMK Values (Disney VMK via Internet Archive)
  Fans protest end of virtual Disney site in front of Disneyland (Orange County Register via Internet Archive
  Investigation into Habbo Hotel (Channel 4)
  Preserving Worlds (Means TV)
  MyVMK


What happened to Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom?

There are questions the internet just can't answer. But that doesn't mean we can't find them.

On each episode of Underunderstood, we find a question the internet can’t answer — maybe it’s a dead-end Wikipedia page, an abandoned Reddit thread, or an unanswered question on Twitter — and we fill in the gaps. It’s part chat show, part documentary, and almost always surprising.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

It's been a while! We have a quick update about our schedule, plus details about our first-ever LIVE SHOW!


Underunderstood Live
Tuesday August 1, 2023, 7pm
Caveat, NYC (21+)
Tickets (both live and virtual!) at Caveat's website

Update + LIVE show!

Hollywood is stockpiling scripts for full seasons of unreleased television shows. Are they throwing them out or saving them for a rainy day?

Want to support the show? Become a patron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/underunderstood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882‬.


Show notes:

 Why Are TV Writers So Miserable? (The New Yorker)
 Hollywood Writers Strike (Democracy Now!)
   Film and TV writers are striking (CNN)
  Writers strike focuses on whether AI could take jobs from screenwriters (CBS News)
  Writers On Set (George R. R. Martin’s Not A Blog)
  Alex O’Keefe (Linktree)
  The Bear (Hulu)
  2023 Writers Guild Award for Comedy Series (YouTube)
  Reed Hastings on Colbert (YouTube)
  Amazon? HBO? Netflix thinks its real competitor is… sleep (CNBC)
  We Watched It All | Netflix (YouTube)
  Writers Are Not Keeping Up (wgacontract2023.org)
  Reed Hastings on Building a Streaming Empire (YouTube)
  Hollywoodstrike.org
  wgacontract2023.org


Big Ideas Lost to Mini Rooms

Sometimes the truth is stranger than the hoax.


Want to support the show? Become a patron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/underunderstood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882‬.


Show notes:

 even if it's fake it's real (sippey.com)
 Street View Birth (Andy Wyeth)
  turning random internet drama into songs, part 2 (Twitter)
  Lubalin on TikTok 
  Meet The Musician Turning Random Internet Drama Into TikTok Bops (Buzzfeed News)


Even If It's Fake, It's Real

John revisits a wild pitch about a mysterious television performer.


Want to support the show? Become a patron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/underunderstood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882‬.


Show notes:

 The first special (YouTube)
 2002 thread on The Magic Cafe
  It's No Secret (Chicago Tribune, 1998)
  The unmasking (YouTube)
  The Masked Magician on Diagnosis Murder (YouTube)
  Virginia Magicians Sue Fox TV To Stop Revelation of Secrets (Washington Post, 1998)
  Street Magic Finally Revealed (YouTube)
  A trick from the fifth special (YouTube)


The Other Masked Magician

There’s a formula that dictates restaurant prices in New York City airports. Adrianne digs into what does — and doesn’t — add up.

Want to support the show? Become a patron at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/underunderstood⁠⁠⁠⁠
Have a mystery? Email hello@underunderstood.com or leave a voicemail at 212-994-4882‬.

Show notes:

 Cooper Lund's tweet
 Concessionaire Street Pricing Manual (PDF)
 The Cibo Express website
 Why Does a Plastic-Wrapped Turkey Sandwich Cost $15 at the Airport? (Hell Gate)




What happened to Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom?

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