Show Notes
Hey there! This week we’re trying something new here at Infinite Scroll with our first ever episode of the Infinite Scroll podcast. Please let me know if you love it, hate it, or are indifferent. My rough goal is to chat with interesting folks and learn more about what makes people behave they way they do. Today I’m sitting down with the author of the excellent Substack Cartoons Hate Her to talk about her history as one of the biggest trolls in Reddit history. She’s behind several viral (and fake) stories on Reddit like “Am I the A*****e for wanting to have an anime themed wedding?” and “Help! My boyfriend labels everything in our lives as Virgin or Chad”. We talk about why people post fake stories on the internet, what kind of stories reliably go viral, and what it says about us that we believe these stories anyways. This episode is going out to all free subscribers, but in the future I might paywall this kind of thing. I’m working it out as I go, you know? The blog is coming up on 200 paid subscribers, so thanks to all of you who subscribe to Infinite Scroll. If you’re looking to jump in, now is a great time! I deeply appreciate all of your support and god willing one day I’ll make this into a real job. Hey you! A paid subscription is the best way to support the blog! Succumb to peer pressure and do it today!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.infinitescroll.us
More from Infinite Scroll
This episode was originally recorded for my other gig, The New Liberal Podcast. But I thought it was thematically appropriate for Infinite Scroll as well, so I wanted to share here. In this episode of the sporadically-released Infinite Scroll podcast, I talk with Congressman Jake Auchincloss about his new bill, the Parents Over Platforms Act. For the most part, I am someone who has been skeptical of many past efforts to regulate child safety online. I think there are a number of ways those efforts could go very badly. But I’m also increasingly skeptical of the idea that we should simply do nothing. Congressman Auchincloss’s bill, at least to me, seems more nuanced and less likely to have negative repercussions when compared with other bills on child safety, and even if you don’t agree I hope you enjoy the conversation.
The 2025 Worst Tweets Bracket is out - you can head over to Twitter/X and vote now! My good friend Jeff Maurer hosted me on his podcast over at I Might Be Wrong. We chatted about our favorite terrible tweets of the year, why Twitter feels darker this year, and more. It’s a fun conversation with some truly insane takes, so have fun and go subscribe to Jeff!
Today’s post is a podcast originally recorded at a live event the Center for New Liberalism held with Francis Fukuyama during their New Liberal Action Summit in Washington DC. Frank and I discuss whether or not the internet is to blame for the global rise of populism, how worried we should be about right wing control of the media, and what role young liberals have to play in solving these problems.
I’ve always been fascinated by etymology, linguistics, and language in general. And I’m obviously fascinated by how social media is changing society. So the new book Algospeak by Adam Aleksic is directly up my alley, and I got to sit down with Adam to chat about his book for this episode of the Infinite Scroll podcast. If you want to see more podcasts like this, subscribe and never miss a post or podcast!
As a companion to this weekend’s post about Russia’s fascist youth movement, I interviewed professor Ian Garner, author of the book Z Generation and expert on Russian propaganda. This was originally recorded for my other gig as host of the New Liberal Podcast, but I think it’s absolutely worth sharing here at Infinite Scroll as well. We talk about how Putin has gained total control over Russia’s media, how the Russian state uses social media and influencers to win over young people, and why so many kids in Russia’s youngest generations whole heartedly support the war in Ukraine.