Wow If True

Party drugs are out, and injecting grey market peptides with your LinkedIn connections at Silicon Valley house parties is in. Yes, the biohacker tech bros have peptide dealers in China who are sending them dubious chemicals to construct things like "the Wolverine stack," which are supposed to make them more alert and/or younger and/or tanner? This doesn't make any sense, which is why we brought in our friends and actual scientists from Tiny Matters -- Dr. Sam Jones and Dr. Deboki Chakravarti -- to explain to us the science (or lackthereof?) behind the peptide craze. LinksTiny MattersFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda talk about raising $1,234,567 dollars for your startup, Giggles, that began as a meme, and also finding your cofounder in Minecraft, along with the latest analysis of which human person Satoshi might actually turn out to be, and also, turning down $175,000 dollars because you can't figure out the wifi, something that happened to a real human person last week. It's ok, though. Since recording, Helen Dewitt has found a new source of capital, and she doesn't even need to do any promo for it—not a bit, this is genuinely what happened. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're talking about Shy Girl, the horror novel cancelled over alleged AI use, the conclusion of a romantasy lawsuit, recent Meta rulings, and a bunch of other random stuff in the middle because come on, you know us, we love to gab.SourcesShy Girl timelineWriters telling on themselves Meta lawsuitsFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We have found the literal worst song: "Take the Lead" by Tilly Norwood, who is an AI actor, and is singing about overcoming the oppression that AI actors face. Yes, this is real. Also: we talk about Isabel's wedding. Yay parasociality! SourcesAI ‘actor’ Tilly Norwood put out the worst song I’ve ever heardFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Iz and Amanda talk about Moltbook, a forum only for AI agents (and the humans pretending to be them), which caused a brief moment of panic that our AI overlords were going to rise up against us. Special guest star Iz's fiance weighs in on the eigenvector of evil and also, whether sommelier-ing is anything.SourcesAmanda's Moltbook article: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/16/after-all-the-hype-some-ai-experts-dont-think-openclaw-is-all-that-exciting/Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We made a collabisode with Dr. Matthew Gabriele of American Medieval, a real life historian of medieval history! It turns out that there's actually a significant crossover between internet culture and the middle ages. We are as surprised as you are. LinksAmerican MedievalHyperallergic article about crusadercoreFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Will you come to our cottage... to talk about Heated Rivalry with us? The beloved Queer Hockey Show™ has taken over the internet, so who better to talk to us about it than very online Multitude CEO and Heated Rivalry/romance novel superfan Amanda McLoughlin!? (For some reason my audio is ass, but I am saying it is an homage to the amount of ass that appears in Heated Rivalry.) Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're back for the new year, joined by pop culture writer + narrative strategist Eteng Ettah to create a bingo card for the cursed events of 2026 that likely await us. We apologize in advance, both for mentioning possible horrors like "MrBeast IPO" and "Caroline Ellison book deal," but also, because Amanda was at her parents' house and recorded on AirPods. LinksBingo cards! Get your bingo cards!!: https://www.wowiftrue.com/2026-bingo/ (... we talk more about how we "made" this on the Patreon)Eteng's newsletter: https://www.etengettah.com/Eteng's podcast: https://www.instagram.com/considercomfortpod/Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown (but this episode was edited by Julia. Schifini!). Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's holiday time! That means you get a stocking stuffer worth of an episode -- a handful of topics we wanna chitchat about but aren't big enough for their whole episode (Is this how stockings work? Amanda is writing this). So, tune in for: we didn't get 30 under 30 because we didn't do fraud; what do Elon Musk, Luigi Mangione, and Isabel J. Kim have in common; 'Extremely kidpilled' Sam Altman; random tangents about baseball?; and Amanda's embarrassing temptation to buy an AI wearable. Also Isabel is on a train at one point. But at no point do either of us do fraud.If you're wondering, you can indeed hear the "secret sauce" on our Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We finally give Mr. Don't Die himself, Bryan Johnson, his own episode, on account of him doing some seminal college student activities. You know, like doing drugs while listening to a Grimes set. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TW: we talk about suicide induced by ChatGPT and lawsuits related to these suicides in this episode! We talk about the lawsuits that Social Media Victims Law Center brought against OpenAI and the ways in which ChatGPT and other AI products can super negatively impact mental health, to deeply worrying degrees. We also talk about the patterns in AI "chosen one" and "religion" narratives—have you heard the good word of Spiralism? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We read a bunch of articles about the state of dating/dating apps and yes, THAT gooning article, and talked about them. It's like English class where you read a bunch of stuff and talk about it except you haven't done the reading!!! But you can do the reading. It's right here. This is the reading.ReadingThe Goon Squad (Harper's)"But PornosexualGooner101 Died 35 Years Ago...This Very Night!" (The Chatner)The Trouble With Wanting Men (NYT)Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? (Vogue)Other StuffFollow-up interview w/ Goon Squad writerWait, people actually use Facebook Dating?The best dating apps aren't even dating appsMeet the goonettesAbout Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda went viral on Tiktok for having an AI pet. Really, this is the apex of our journey on this podcast. The Moflin is an AI-enabled pet that retails for $430 dollars, and Amanda has just spent a month living with it in her home. Also, we talk about Grimes' new music video. (Behind the scenes supplementary moflin content on Patreon!) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're teaming up with Dr. Claire Aubin of our sibling show, This Guy Sucked, to talk about something that is not a guy, but does suck: the internet! It's easy to say that the internet sucks, but what makes it suck, how did it get this way, and how can we fix it? Using Cory Doctrow's new book "Enshittification" as a guide, we talk it out.Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The news cycle of 2025 has somehow once again broken us so severely that we have simply just opted out and decided to talk about Silksong, a game that people waited so long for that they created a whole new genre of shitposting. Also, Undertale and Pokopia, the forthcoming game that makes us confront everything we've ever known about Ditto.If you were hoping that we were going to talk about The News, check out the new episode of Close All Tabs! This is #notsponsored! But we are #sponsored by Isabel's book which you can pre-order now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Did you have to verify your government ID to listen to this podcast? We hope not, but in some parts of the world, this is becoming a reality. We're talking about why age verification laws are becoming more popular in the U.S. and U.K., and how the pursuit of children's online safety -- when legislated irresponsibly -- can just create new problems of surveillance and censorship.Also, Isabel went to the Hugos. She lost. She gave George R.R. Martin his own high school yearbook to sign. It was weird. We talk about that here, too.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're chatting with Kaila Yu, author of "Fetishized," about her experience growing up online in the 90s and 00s and reckoning with her relationship to Asian fetishization. Yu started as an "import model" and pin-up girl who appeared in "Playboy" and the "Fast and Furious" franchise, then became a MySpace star and lead of the all Asian-American punk band Nylon Pink, and now, she's a writer and content creator studying the portrayal of Asian women in the media.Links"Fetishized" by Kaila YuKaila's Instagram & TikTokFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We spent last episode taking to AI chatbots. What if we, two humans, simply chatted with each other while speaking in NPR voices? Don't worry, the NPR voices don't last long.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda sacrifice the sanctity of their souls and talk to Ani, the very horny anime waifu that is now part of Elon Musk's Grok app. But don't worry, we balance it out by telling you a weirdly wholesome story about Tony Hawk.[This episode is NSFW; if you do not want to hear an AI panda talk about burning down schools, you also might wanna skip this one]SourcesAmanda's article about Ani and Bad Rudy Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda talk about two very different kinds of AI grift. In one, a man pretends to be real social media for the (probably) AI band "The Velvet Sundown." In another, Soham Parekh simply gets employed by every single AI startup at once. SourcesThe Velvet Sundown: https://medium.com/@andrew.frelon/i-am-andrew-frelon-the-guy-running-the-fake-velvet-sundown-twitter-fcab2b7e471bSoham: https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/03/everyone-in-tech-has-an-opinion-about-soham-parekh/Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel and Amanda throw out their other plans and instead talk about the subreddit “myboyfriendisAI” which is about, you guessed it, AI boyfriends and other types of digital partners. We also discuss Meta’s not-amazing practices and the LLM paper doing the rounds on the AI hater part of the internet, with Iz’s human partner weighing in. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You had questions. We have answers. We tell you about: the most "white lady" email we have sent; our screen time; fears of unexpected wet; life hacks for 29-year-olds specifically; Amanda's undying love for HBO Girls; cursed food content; political memes and earnestness; is there any good use of AI; and, unfortunately, not the 1944 US-Mexico Water Treaty.Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We explore all the ways that various AIs are going weird—sycophantic, white genocide focused, blackmailing its users, and not trusting Chargers fans. Also, we talk way too much about Sam Altman's olive oil choices, the Hugos, and Isabel talks for fifteen minutes about trying to get the internet installed. Which, hey, this is a podcast about the internet. And that includes calling Verizon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New pope! But why has this thousands-of-years-old process of choosing a new pope been... weirdly online? We're talking about that Vatican's bad OPSEC, the Pope's Twitter, the chimney livestream, and PopeCrave. Yes, we did find out later that the Pope is a White Sox fan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We chat with Dr. Claire Aubin, academic, American Nazi expert, and host of "This Guy Sucked," and mostly we just talk about the experience of being on social media as a public intellectual, and also, that one time Amanda worked for a fake professor. If you've ever wondered about academia beef, or how a person could work for a fake professor, this is the episode for youSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bitches love endurance.Think Twitch stream marathons. Think the 3-week livestream of moose migration happening at the time of this episode's publication. Think the first ever viral MrBeast video in which he simply counts to 100,000. From the Barkley Marathons to Cory Booker's day-long Senate speech, this is the episode in which we discover that people on the internet really like when people do stuff, but for a long time.SourcesJasmin Paris documentaryCory Booker’s Oura ring statsMoose Migration!!!!!!!Find Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda and Isabel popcorn all over the place and talk about: Adding Jeffrey Goldberg to signal chats (and other chats!), Shinzo Abe memes, The Daily Routine (banana involved?), and the Ghiblification of All Things. Also, Isabel doesn’t know how to pronounce Charlemagne. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda tells Iz about Claude Plays Pokemon, where an AI wearing the skin of a beloved communal experience simply fails to make it out of Mt. Moon. Then Iz inflicts JD Vance memes on Amanda, explaining another sort of beloved communal experience: making JD Vance edits. Also—brodernism!SourcesAmanda's article on Claude plays PokémonBrodernism!An all time bad post :(Midroll linksThis Guy SuckedCrampedFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Silicon Valley bros are not okay, and neither are their indeterminate number of genetic offspring. We discuss why the rightwing tech elite are obsessed with having babies, and more importantly, how can we possibly move forward with our lives now that we have [spoilers] learned about a new Elon baby live on air?Sources“The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of ‘Blues’”Amanda’s “Uber with Guns” articleAshley St. Clair sues Elon Musk for custodyGrimes’ custody struggles with Elon Musk“Why the Left Should Embrace Pronatalism”“A fired federal worker grapples with her vote for Trump”Bryan Johnson is, well, yeahFind Us Online Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wowiftrue.bsky.socialTwitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftruePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrueWebsite: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] Us Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everyone cites a statistic about how men don't read, but no one knows where that statistic comes from -- so, we did our own very sound scientific study and talked to some men we know about reading. Saunas are involved. Wow if True except every time you ask a man if they read the room gets one degree hotter because we are in a sauna.  Thanks to Eric Silver, Sam Rizer, David Newtown, and an amorphous disembodied chorus of Isabel's high school friends ("myst cult") in a sauna for participating. Sources: The viral panic around men's reading habits, fact-checked: https://www.vox.com/culture/392971/men-reading-fiction-statistics-fact-checked Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re out here talking about romantasy and lawsuits related to romantasy. No, not the omegaverse one. OK, a little bit the omegaverse one. Also, asking the age of question: do men read. (Also, a note for the sharp-eared listeners, we don't talk about public domain day despite promising it - next ep!) Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We travel back in time to the day after Thanksgiving, a calmer and more peaceful era. Just kidding, we're here talking about the naked knife fight, a reference everyone will only understand in 2026. Amanda reads 98% of Isabel's book, Isabel opines on the neccessity of conventions for publishing, and we talk way too long about pottery and hot ass. Also: fish hats, now trending in orca populations near you. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's 2025, and we're flipping it turnways by bringing on the people who shape this podcast into something listenable. AKA, Amanda's in Florida and Isabel's talking with Allison and David about: Walmart Birkins, the ethics of smells (and of going viral for the smellthics), whether Tenet was a good movie, and the correct number of times to read the Odyssey.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We discuss the internet's reaction to the United Healthcare CEO shooting and the suspect, Luigi Mangione, from a perspective sorely missing from the national conversation: two people who also went to Penn. Finally, something we have true expertise in. Also: how attractiveness relates to public opinion, online sentiment toward Luigi, and you know, the whole murder thing. Links NYT thinks Luigi is too hot: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ny-times-doesnt-want-you-to-see-mangiones Lit Hub on Luigi's Goodreads: https://lithub.com/luigi-mangione-is-currently-reading-what-can-we-really-learn-about-the-uhc-ceos-killer-based-on-the-books-hes-read/ Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode: somehow, no one makes a 4Beez nuts joke. Also, we talk about the Korean 4B feminist movement strangely gaining steam on American TikTok after the election, and how the right is mad that women are shaving their heads, but no one is actually shaving their heads. Also, bald correspondent Joe joins us in the studio -- we literally mean a studio this time, we were in a studio weirdly... wow if true...  Links: Volante Design: https://www.volantedesign.us/ (use code WOW for 10% off!) Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Iz and Amanda talk about: glow in the dark condoms, America's most evil liberal, the double bongcloud, Isabel's book career and the fact that she needs to become a TikTok star, and bringing the portal to Philadelphia, ft. cameo by Iz's boyfriend, at the most appropriate time. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Time for Wow if True 101, a brief look back at the history of Wow if True. By brief, we mean an hour. Iz and Amanda talk about the trajectory of Wow if True and also, their lives. This one's MAD parasocial. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We made it to a hundred episodes! Unfortunately, all celebration must be postponed because Isabel needs to read Amanda far too much Pokémon mythology. That's right, we're talking about the big Pokémon data leak and the resulting Typhlosion memes. By this we mean Pokémon fucking. We're talking about Pokémon fucking. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do celebrities owe us? What do your local podcasters owe you? Does anyone ever owe anyone anything? We discuss whether celebrity endorsements are a positive or negative development, and also whether men deserve candles. Thank you to ~research assistant~ Brae Parenteau for their help on this episode! Sources Chappell Roan’s feature in Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chappell-roan-good-luck-babe-fame-fans-1235094314/ Harvard study on celebrities’ political impact: https://ash.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ash-Center-Study_Celebrities-Strengthening-Our-Culture-of-Democracy_Final.pdf Taylor Swift + Vote.org stats: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/us/politics/taylor-swift-voter-registration.html Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode has it all: and by, it all, we mean that Amanda spends about a full twenty minutes talking about her celebrity crush. And yet, through the power of podcasting, we manage to dive into the history of Stanley Cups and Owalas and how water bottles became fashion statements. We even interviewed Dr. Jess Rauchberg, a professor at Seton Hall studying digital culture, about water bottle culture. Amanda's celebrity crush DOES somehow relate to water bottles, but not in the way you think.   Links Jess Rauchberg: https://x.com/JessRauchberg Soda craze in Utah: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/06/dining/swig-soda-shop-chains.html Utah & the Stanley trend: https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/01/17/stanley-cup-utah-trend-starbucks-target Is this even eco-friendly: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/health/water-bottles-beverages.html   Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected]   About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So what's a friend, anyway? Well, if you're making an AI startup, a friend is a mic who is always listening :) Iz and Amanda discover the power of friendship and also the power of buying the url friend.com and also the power of reading The Power Broker, Robert Caro's 1162 page epic. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pepe: the frog, the myth, the legend. We go all-in on a deep dive on what Pepe has meant as a cultural symbol – from frog, to neo-nazi, to grassroots rebel, and somehow, to a crypto symbol. Sometimes a frog simply contains multitudes. Feels good man. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/  Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

None of this episode is legal advice. We're joined by IP attorney Sam Doesntwantrealnameincluded, and we discuss the legality of stealing Scarlett Johannson's voice for your AI, or if she can sue you for one billion dollars (trick question: its always legal to sue in America!). Also, listener questions about copyrighting the internet, answered with varying degrees of legal fidelity. Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So what is the point of any technology? That's right. To more accurately simulate anime girls. We talk about the relationship between LLMs (large language models), anime girls, and pornography. Also, Iz forces her boyfriend to run jailbroken LLMs to test out ERP (erotic roleplay) prompts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're back from our break, more powerful than ever, and maybe even strong enough to talk about anonymous social media and whether it's good or bad (or, perhaps, it's not that simple). Amanda writes a book report, Iz grades a book report, we both reminisce about being anonymous teenagers on the internet. Also: oh, hey YikYak, we thought you were dead.   Sources: Instagram is toxic for teen girls (WSJ): https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739 Yik Yak background (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/28/yik-yak-shuts-down-after-square-paid-1-million-for-its-engineers/ Yik Yak Hack (Motherboard): https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kbnna/anonymous-social-media-app-yik-yak-exposed-users-precise-locations Sidechat buys Yik Yak (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/16/anonymous-app-sidechat-picks-up-rival-yik-yak-and-users-arent-happy/ Sidechat (NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/style/sidechat-app-college.html Formspring (NYT): https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/us/06formspring.html Fizz (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/04/fizz-app-college-stanford-social/ EFF on Anonymity: https://www.eff.org/issues/anonymity Age verification laws (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/pornhub-disables-access-in-texas-due-to-age-verification-law/   Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/  Email: [email protected]   About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude, a podcast collective, production studio and ad sales provider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  Wow If True is your one-stop internet culture shop, explaining how what’s happening online shapes the real world. And we’re the internet experts and real-life besties to unravel it: tech culture journalist Amanda Silberling and science fiction author slash attorney Isabel J. Kim, Esq. More importantly, we’re the only podcast that will mention Neopets and horizontal mergers in the same episode. New episode every other Wednesday.   Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected]   About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our editors are Allison Mills and David Newtown. Wow If True is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode: Iz finally puts her law degree to good use and explains the complaint that the Department of Justice filed against Ticketmaster and Live Nation regarding their many, many antitrust oopsies (This is not the technical term). Also, PBJ metaphors, DND podcast liveshow discussion, and EBITDA, but only conceptually. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode: We discuss "mouth biohacking" and all the fun things (rationalism, experimental mouth technologies and silicon valley, Amanda's beautiful mouth) that go along with it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode: Our luxury fashion correspondent (and half of our editing team), Allison Mills, is back to talk with us about Erewhon. Why are are talking about a grocery store chain from California? Because they sell 32 dollar ice and routinely go viral on social media (mostly because of the 18 dollar smoothies). Also, Morgan Sung joins us as our west coast correspondent, we learn what a macrobiotic diet is, and everyone now really wants a smoothie. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Isabel got a seven figure book deal and got the book optioned, but she continues to threaten to kill people on our podcast (especially the kid in the Omelas hole). No, this is not a bit. Iz is god's favorite princess, and Amanda can run a mile without stopping. Links Isabel's book deal announcement!  The story about killing the kid in the Omelas hole Most importantly... NEW MERCH! Get your very own shirt/mug that says "I listened to Wow If True before Isabel J. Kim got a seven figure book deal." This merch is very funny and good.   Find Us Online  Twitter: https://twitter.com/wowiftruepod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wowiftrue Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wowiftrue Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wowiftrue Website: https://wowiftrue.com/ Email: [email protected] About Us  Wow If True was created by Isabel J. Kim and Amanda Silberling. Our music is by Sam Rizer, our cover art is by Eric Silver, and our production is by Allison Mills and David Newtown.     See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.