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.

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Credits

- Host: Ryan Broderick

- Producer: Grant Irving

- Production Coordinator: Josh Fjelstad

- Researcher: Adam Bumas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices