Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share MEMES, Part 3: Gotta make you understand
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
MEMES, Part 3: Gotta make you understand
Who gets credit for starting a meme? Usually... nobody -- they're made too quickly and organically. In the case of one of the most famous bait-and-switch memes of all time, the "Rick Roll," we may be looking at something experts call convergent evolution. Did the Rick Roll originate with a piece of code on the message board 4Chan, or with a prank call to a local sports show in Michigan? And why does the Rick Roll have such staying power? Is it codified in the DNA of the song itself?
We explore the meme’s origin, the history of the song, "Never Gonna Give You Up," and its impact on both internet users during COVID-19 and on the performer himself.
***
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
Who gets credit for starting a meme? Usually... nobody -- they're made too quickly and organically. In the case of one of the most famous bait-and-switch memes of all time, the "Rick Roll," we may be looking at something experts call convergent evolution. Did the Rick Roll originate with a piece of code on the message board 4Chan, or with a prank call to a local sports show in Michigan? And why does the Rick Roll have such staying power? Is it codified in the DNA of the song itself?
We explore the meme’s origin, the history of the song, "Never Gonna Give You Up," and its impact on both internet users during COVID-19 and on the performer himself.
***
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
90,931 Listeners
Radiolab
43,870 Listeners
99% Invisible
26,238 Listeners
Dear Sugars
5,640 Listeners
On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti
3,986 Listeners
Outside/In
1,479 Listeners
Gastropod
3,666 Listeners
WBUR News
47 Listeners
Science Vs
12,223 Listeners
Heavyweight
17,735 Listeners
Sidedoor
2,226 Listeners
Twenty Thousand Hertz
4,184 Listeners
Circle Round
16,025 Listeners
Decoder Ring
2,109 Listeners
Last Seen
3,541 Listeners
Articles of Interest
3,574 Listeners
Anything For Selena
1,417 Listeners
Unexplainable
2,319 Listeners
Search Engine
4,573 Listeners
Beyond All Repair
3,130 Listeners
Jaws Island
223 Listeners
Panic World
304 Listeners
Hyperfixed
702 Listeners