We’re joined by No Such Thing for a crossover episode to (try to) get to the bottom of some of the most infamous conspiracies we (aka millennials) heard in middle school. We’re talking about the false rumors that Ciara was intersex, Marilyn Manson removed his own rib, and the whole panic around “jenkem” — and explore how these wild rumors even spread without the aid of social media.

You can find No Such Thing at https://www.nosuchthing.show/ or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

This episode is sponsored by Uncommon Goods. To get 15% off your next gift, go to https://www.uncommongoods.com/panicworld !

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Today we’re talking about the relationship between “influencers” and politics. The two have perhaps never been more entwined, but what is the difference? Is there one? Who were the original influencers in politics over the years? Both influencer and political candidate, Kat Abughazaleh, joins us again to talk about how her experience tangling with right-wing commenters online prepared her for running for office, and what it’s like trying to transfer internet popularity into political support.

If you want to support our guest Kat Abughazaleh’s run for Congress, learn more about her campaign at https://www.katforillinois.com/ or join her Discord at https://discord.com/invite/katforillinois.

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From Aziz Ansari to Adam22, especially since the proliferation of the internet and social media, there’s no shortage of people who have gotten canceled. But what is the state of cancel culture today? We’re joined by leading experts in the cancellation field, Cancel Me, Daddy hosts Katelyn Burns and Christine Grimaldi, to look back at some of the biggest moments in cancel culture, its presence in society now, and ask if we can use cancellations to actually create change.

Our guests are Katelyn Burns and Christine Grimaldi, hosts of Cancel Me, Daddy. For more conversations like this, check them out here or wherever you listen to podcasts!

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Politics has always been an ugly game, but with Trump’s return to the White House and the proliferation of AI, we’re a far cry from the days when wearing a beige suit caused controversy. Today, we’re talking about how Trump is using the federal government’s massive communications apparatus into a rage bait factory — from immigrants to trans people and the “Radical Left Democrats,” blaming anyone except billionaires, corporations, and bureaucratic sluggishness for all of the United States’s problems today. Congressman Maxwell Frost joins us to talk about our troll-in-chief and how to fight back against his flirtation with fascism.

You can follow Maxwell Frost on X and Instagram @RepMaxwellFrost or on TikTok @MaxwellFrostFL.

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From Goop to MAHA, health/wellness movements might just look like a grift, but each features a real critique of the healthcare industry or medical science at their core. Today we’re talking about wellness and how it connects to the spread of fascism across the globe. Bridget Todd and Heather Holdridge join us to talk about how these wellness trends take advantage of misinformation and exploit our fears, and ultimately can lead people down much darker, conspiratorial paths online.

Our guests are Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on the Internet — listen to it here or wherever you get your podcasts — and Heather Holdridge, Managing Director of Real Voices Media. Check out their work at https://realvoicesmedia.com/.

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Why is the right-wing media machine so massive and able to dominate digital media, while liberals and progressives struggle to keep up? Jon Favreau joins us to discuss the critical players and outlets in the early 2000s that led us to where US politics is today, along with looking back at what he’s learned from launching Pod Save America back in 2016.

Our guest Jon Favreau is the host of Pod Save America, Offline, The Wilderness, and others as co-founder of Crooked Media. You can find him on all those shows and pretty much everywhere else online!

Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for a membership at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

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Tomorrow, October 9th, is the last day to vote for Panic World in the 2025 Signal Awards! We're up for the Conversation Starter and Weird⁠ (complimentary) categories and it's listener's choice — so we need your votes to win.

Please take a moment to throw us a vote at https://vote.signalaward.com/ or directly at the links above. Will we get a trophy? Who knows! But there's at least a free dinner we'll get out of it.

Again, that's the ⁠Conversation Starter⁠ and⁠ Weird⁠⁠ categories, and tomorrow, Thursday, October 9 is the last day to get your votes in. Thank you, as always, for listening!

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Witches, curses, magic, and the internet overlap much more than you’d think — and not just because of the Etsy witch that cursed Charlie Kirk. The very online Peter Berkman and Luke Silas of the band Anamanaguchi join us to talk about the history of internet witches and witchcraft, and the spooky connections between the supernatural and digital worlds.

Our guests are members of Anamanaguchi, who you can catch on tour until October 17. Check out their latest album Anyway here and find their tour dates here! 

Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? TODAY is the last day to get your first month for just $0.50 by signing up for our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Enter “PANICYEAR” at checkout.

Panic World is also up for two listener’s choice Signal Awards — please vote for us in the ⁠Conversation Starter and ⁠Weird⁠ categories by October 9!

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(SPOILER ALERT!) Grant hosts Ryan on his podcast to share their thoughts on One Battle After Another and what it says about the current state of the US, dads, Gen X, and compare its political commentary to Eddington and Weapons.

Check out the whole conversation on our Patreon — as well as ad-free episodes, bonuses, and other exclusives — and get the first month for just $0.50 with code PANICYEAR at ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld⁠⁠.

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Like many things, there used to be a bipartisan consensus that in a disaster, you help as many people get through it as quickly and safely as possible. In the past 20+ years, though, we’ve seen a shift in how the right responds to climate catastrophes — including building out a robust selection of conspiracy theories from chemtrails to Flat Earth. Will Menaker from Chapo Trap House joins us to discuss right-wing conspiracy theories about the weather, the climate, and whether we’re living on a discworld.

Our guest is Will Menaker, host of Chapo Trap House. Their Movie Mindset series returns in October for spooky season, and you can also buy their new Year Zero comic book here: https://badegg.co/products/year-zero-1. 

Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? There’s still a week left to get your first month for just $0.50 by signing up for our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Enter “PANICYEAR” at checkout for 90% the first month.

And if you want to see this conversation on video, ⁠Panic World is now posting episodes to YouTube!

You can vote for us to win a Signal Award in the Conversation Starter category or Weird.

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