There’s been a moral panic around video games basically since they first debuted. From too much sex to causing laziness and violence, just about the only thing society and the media have taken seriously about video games since their advent is that they are somehow seriously harmful. Chris Plante joins us today to talk about what causes people (aka parents) to freak out about video games’ influence, and how they actually impact us, both in good and bad ways.

Our guest Chris Plante is the co-founder of Polygon and current host of the Post Games podcast — all about how and why we love video games — which you can subscribe to here or wherever you listen to pods.

Want to hear Ryan and Chris’s extended conversation? Plus ad-free audio & video episodes, more bonuses and extended episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.

Show notes:

The secret plan to outlaw porn in the US

Your conspiracy families

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

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You may have heard Ryan and Grant mention the term “Kitchencels” a few times throughout this year. Or maybe several times. Or every other episode (second only to gooning). But what is r/Kitchencels, and why are we so obsessed with it?

In this special end-of-year bonus episode, Ryan and Grant break down what exactly makes r/Kitchencels so special. Together, they analyze what the subreddit’s existence means for internet culture as a whole, and how it could maybe, just possibly, lead to a cure for the male loneliness epidemic.  

KEEP LISTENING ! Sign up for a membership at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld and you'll get the rest of this episode, access to ad-free and bonus and extended episodes as well as access to the Garbage Day Discord.

Panic World now has SHIRTS! Ryan, and especially Grant, would love it if you would buy yourself one and maybe two more for friends and family: https://store.couriernewsroom.com/products/panic-world-tee

Subscribe to Panic World wherever you get your podcasts including here or on YouTube.

Panic World is a production of  COURIER.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Intro

02:30 What is r/Kitchencels?

05:30 BREAKING: Ryan doesn’t hate Grant

07:25 Using X: We gotta, gang

11:03 Kitchencels is a last bastion of internet insanity

19:45 SPOILERS FOR BUGONIA

22:25 Comparing today’s internet to yesterday’s

27:00 The endless churning of online culture

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2025 wasn’t exactly a “good” year, but how “bad” was it? Well, that depends on what you think is good or bad. We’ve reconvened the connoisseurs of the worst things on the internet together again to look back at the year and make a call. Katie Notopoulos joins Garbage Media’s Cates Holderness, Josh Fjelstad, and Ryan to inflict some really great stuff on an unsuspecting and out of control Grant. Has working on Panic World broken his brain enough that he’ll be unfazed by the internet’s “best” content of the year? Or is he just one of us sickos now?

Our guest Katie Notopoulos is a writer for Business Insider. Follow her everywhere online if you dare, @katienotopoulos.

You can check out the “listicle” version of the worst things on the internet here on the Garbage Day newsletter or watch the video version of the podcast here on YouTube.

Panic World now has SHIRTS! Ryan, and especially Grant, would love it if you would buy yourself one and maybe two more for friends and family: https://store.couriernewsroom.com/products/panic-world-tee

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Today, we’re examining the idea that the Republican Party and its co-option of extremist online culture like 4chan and Kiwi Farms — and all of their posters and lurkers alike — has turned into one of their key political weapons. June Sternbach and Josh Boerman of Ill Conceived join us to look back at one of the earliest and darkest examples of this, through the story of Chris Chan and the invention of “lolcows” (don’t worry, if you don’t know any of these names, we’ll catch you up… unfortunately).

Our guests are June Sternbach and Josh Boerman, who together host the new podcast covering natalism, Ill Conceived. Check it out at https://illconceivedpodcast.com/ or wherever you listen.

Follow June at https://bsky.app/profile/junlper.beer or follow her other podcast Kill the Computer: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/338-kill-the-computer-102075853/ 

Follow Josh at https://bsky.app/profile/bosh.worstpossible.world and his other podcast The Worst of All Possible Worlds: https://www.worstpossible.world/ 

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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.

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

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Even now our beloved host Ryan doesn’t know what he thinks about Russian interference in the 2016 election. So, he is joined by Garrett Graff, a journalist and author who continually re-examines the question: What is the truth behind the “Russia, Russia, Russia” scandal? How real and deep was their involvement in US politics in the past decade, and how important ultimately was it — or the idea of it?

Our guest is Garrett Graff, host of the Long Shadow podcast, previously a national security journalist while all of these Russian interference allegations began, and the ⁠author of several books⁠. Check out Long Shadow ⁠here⁠ or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Garrett’s other work at ⁠Doomsday Scenario⁠.

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

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.

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

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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 !

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.

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

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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!

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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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/.

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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