Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Labubus, lafufus, and Hello Kitty: How cuteness conquered the internet
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Labubus, lafufus, and Hello Kitty: How cuteness conquered the internet
While some people find Labubus terrifying, millions of others find their big eyes and furry features irresistibly adorable. Why? From Labubu dolls taking over TikTok, to emoji taking over our text messages, cuteness is all over the internet. Ben and Amory talk to Joshua Paul Dale, professor at Tokyo's Chuo University and the preeminent cuteness expert about how cute has conquered all.
A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that Despicable Me was a Disney movie. The episode has been updated to reflect that Despicable Me is a production of Illumination and Universal Pictures.
Show notes:
Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World (Profile Books)
The Cute Studies Project
This episode was produced by Grace Tatter, edited by Meg Cramer, and co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.
***
Survey alert: Tell us what you love about the show, what you want more of; what you could stand a little less of. And if you complete the survey, we'll send you an extra episode (what Ben's calling a "dashboard confessional") in January.
Take the survey here: wbur.org/endlessthreadsurvey
Thank you!
View all episodes
By WBUR
4.1
26162,616 ratings
While some people find Labubus terrifying, millions of others find their big eyes and furry features irresistibly adorable. Why? From Labubu dolls taking over TikTok, to emoji taking over our text messages, cuteness is all over the internet. Ben and Amory talk to Joshua Paul Dale, professor at Tokyo's Chuo University and the preeminent cuteness expert about how cute has conquered all.
A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that Despicable Me was a Disney movie. The episode has been updated to reflect that Despicable Me is a production of Illumination and Universal Pictures.
Show notes:
Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World (Profile Books)
The Cute Studies Project
This episode was produced by Grace Tatter, edited by Meg Cramer, and co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.
***
Survey alert: Tell us what you love about the show, what you want more of; what you could stand a little less of. And if you complete the survey, we'll send you an extra episode (what Ben's calling a "dashboard confessional") in January.
Take the survey here: wbur.org/endlessthreadsurvey
Thank you!
More shows like Endless Thread
View all
This American Life
90,903 Listeners
Radiolab
43,826 Listeners
99% Invisible
26,224 Listeners
Dear Sugars
5,642 Listeners
On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
3,986 Listeners
Outside/In
1,479 Listeners
Gastropod
3,661 Listeners
WBUR News
47 Listeners
Science Vs
12,225 Listeners
Heavyweight
17,729 Listeners
Sidedoor
2,229 Listeners
Twenty Thousand Hertz
4,184 Listeners
Circle Round
16,022 Listeners
Decoder Ring
2,103 Listeners
Last Seen
3,538 Listeners
Articles of Interest
3,572 Listeners
Anything For Selena
1,417 Listeners
Unexplainable
2,307 Listeners
Search Engine
4,574 Listeners
Beyond All Repair
3,130 Listeners
Jaws Island
223 Listeners
Panic World
305 Listeners
Hyperfixed
703 Listeners