Panic World

By Garbage MediaSociety & Culture News Technology

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Typical duration
66 min
per episode

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Panic World episodes

October 21 How Bronies won the internet
In 2010, Hasbro launched a new generation of My Little Pony toys, and debuted a nice little television show to accompany it. It was called My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and over a million people tuned into its premiere. Although perhaps not the kind of people Hasbro big wigs expected.
No, instead, the “Brony” was born — guys who might have seemed kind of innocent in the beginning (although even that is debatable), but Bronies grew into an unstoppable force of fully grown men looking “respectfully” at a bunch of cute, big-eyed, flamboyantly colored, personified horses that were designed for kids.
PJ Vogt joins us once again, despite knowing what he signed up for, to learn more about this subculture built around elaborate lore, conventions, tasteful art, “clopping,” tulpas, a certain interesting project involving a jar — and how Bronies have impacted broader internet culture.
Our guest PJ Vogt hosts the podcast Search Engine. Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just $6.66 a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

Credits
- Host: Ryan Broderick
- Producer: Grant Irving
- Production Coordinator: Josh Fjelstad
- Researcher: Adam Bumas

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1 hr 9 min
October 14 When the internet convinces you you're being followed
Have you ever been gang stalked? Or gang stalked someone?
Hopefully not. But if you don’t even know what that is, today we’re talking about a weird little thing called “gang stalking.” That’s when TIs (“targeted individuals”) believe they’re being followed by… someone. Or a group of unknown people who seek to ruin the TI’s life through constant surveillance and harassment. Who are the people who think they’re being gang stalked, and why?
Carson Pace of the Callous Daoboys joins us to talk about his fascination with the gang stalking community and its history. We’re going way back to 1995, with its origins on the “Mind Control Forum,” to “Gang Stalking World,” and up till today’s modern incarnations like r/gangstalking — and obviously its connections to QAnon, Pizzagate, and Epstein.
Our guest and TI, Carson Pace, can be found on X, the everything app @Carsondaoboys or on Instagram @carsonfromdaoboys. You can also find Callous Daoboys everywhere you listen to banging music — or if you’re in Europe, they’re kicking off a tour in November.
Speaking of tours, catch Garbage Day LIVE in Brooklyn on October 27th at Baby’s All Right: https://wl.eventim.us/event/garbage-day/705215?afflky=BabysAllRightBrooklyn&utm_source=www.garbaged
And in Washington, DC on November 18th at Pubkey: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/garbage-day-live-presents-garbage-250-tickets-2003076360315
Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just $6.66 a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.
Sponsors
If you’re struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15-minute call to get started at nocd.com/PANIC
Credits
- Host: Ryan Broderick
- Producer: Grant Irving
- Production Coordinator: Josh Fjelstad
- Researcher: Adam Bumas

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1 hr 10 min
October 07 Why are we addicted to disgusting food videos
Why are food videos so popular online? And why are the most viral ones also the grossest?
Today we’re looking back at the history of food videos, from Food Wishes to the hands-only top-down video style pioneered by Tasty to making cereal in a toilet bowl pioneered by TikTok.
Petey USA, a creator and musician who’s had a lot of really weird bad stuff to eat while on tour, joins us to about food video culture online — and why we don’t care if it’s good, bad, or absolutely horrifying — we’re gonna gobble that slop right up.
Our guest is musician Petey USA, whose work you can find at https://www.peteyswebsite.com/, anywhere you listen to music, or check out his TikTok @peteyusa. You can also catch him live Nov 27 + 28 @ The Empty Bottle in Chicago and December 18 at The Independent in San Francisco.
He released oooo, a new 8-song project, back in August.
Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just $6.66 a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.
Sponsors
If you’re struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15-minute call to get started at ⁠nocd.com/PANIC⁠

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1 hr 6 min
October 03 BONUS PREVIEW: "Primetime" gets it
Sit down and take a seat with Ryan & Grant. They discuss the recent release of Primetime as a follow-up to this week’s episode.
Want to hear the rest of this conversation? Or ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for 6.66 bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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11 min
September 30 Why "To Catch A Predator" videos feel so gross
To Catch A Predator launched in 2004 and was immediately a massive hit, but despite its long-lasting cultural impact — highlighted by last week’s release of Primetime — it only ran for one season and twenty episodes. The show ended after an assistant District Attorney in Texas died by suicide. Is it ethically worse? Is this justice? Why does it feel so gross?
Today we’re joined by Free Country USA to look at the legacy of the show and the trend of content creators trying to bust predators on their own.
Follow Free Country USA @freecountryusa on YouTube, Instagram, and everywhere else you listen and watch pods.
Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just five bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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1 hr 6 min
September 23 The original looksmaxxer who created our hell world
Who created the strongman hellscape that we’re currently living in?
Today, we’re talking about the original looksmaxxer, Zyzz. He got his start online in 2006 with a popular World of Warcraft streaming account, whose earnings he used to join a gym, because he’d “always been obsessed with bodybuilding.”
By 2010, he had amassed a huge following among outrageously jacked guys online. He finally figured out how to make money off this — by hawking supplements and other products — but then he passed away in 2011. However, by then he had laid the blueprint that the chads of the future would all follow. What happens next, is the world we live in now.
Noah K of Crimes New Roman joins us to talk about the chads of the past, like Bloat Lord, Derb, and FPS Russia, and how these leading musclemen resulted in the big boys of the present, like Androgenic, Clavicular, and Zeta — and how they’ve managed to create a hell world of body dysmorphia for the nation’s young men.
Our guest Noah K can be found on YouTube @CrimesNewRoman and you can also see their shitposts (their words) at https://bsky.app/profile/crimesnewroman.bsky.social.
Note: This episode was recorded prior to Clavicular’s rape allegations.

Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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1 hr 13 min
September 16 We're going independent
A little over a year ago, we had a big announcement — that we were adding video to the podcast with our partner Courier. Just as we go into the third year of exploring how the internet warps our minds, our culture, and eventually reality, we’ve got some more big news for you, which we’re really excited about.
Speaking of, want to support the new Panic World… world? And get ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and some new wacky stuff we’re gonna be experimenting with? Sign up for a membership at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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11 min
September 10 Charlie Kirk didn't matter
Happy (?) Kirkiversary. One year ago today, Charlie Kirk was killed by someone the right-wing wasn’t able to effectively use for fearmongering. Ryan & Grant look back at what Kirk’s legacy is now — the martyr he wasn’t able to become, and the guy who’s instead trapped in memes and shitposts forever.
Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just five bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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30 min
August 26 BONUS PREVIEW: Is social media actually "dead" now?
Will we ever get another new platform to communicate with on the internet?
Today, we’re talking about the various eras of social media platforms — from Myspace to Facebook, Twitter to Instagram, and Vine to TikTok — and their biggest moments in culture, like Fred, Shit My Dad Says, Wendy’s Twitter, and Kombucha Girl. Some have stood the test of time so far, but mostly, we’re all beholden to platforms that have so much power and money now that they can control where we post and how we do it.
Musician Connor Musarra joins us to help Ryan define when a social media platform’s dominance begins, when it wanes, and when we might just get something new.
Our guest Connor Musarra is a musician and self-described “nonstop poster” whose work you can find everywhere @connormusarra.
Want to hear the rest of our conversation? And more Panic World content, like ad-free episodes, bonuses & exclusives, and access to our members-only Discord? Sign up for a membership for just five bucks a month at https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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22 min
July 22 The sicko who invented prediction markets
Where did prediction markets come from, and why are they more popular than ever?
Charlie Warzel joins the pod once again to discuss the proliferation of these strange companies like Kalshi and Polymarket that allow you to bet on nearly anything — monetizing the good, and mostly bad things.
We go into the early 2000s background of these platforms, led by Robin Hanson, an economist and self-described “Jungian ENTP” who originally got involved with prediction markets through his “Policy Analysis Market” as a means to anticipate political instability and terrorist attacks; how they are used now; and whether we’re headed into Hanson’s desired “futarchy.”

Our guest Charlie Warzel writes the Galaxy Brain newsletter and podcast. Subscribe to the newsletter here and check out the podcast here or wherever you listen.

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1 hr 13 min