Social Sleuth

The psychedelic renaissance has a PR problem, or rather, it has a capitalism problem. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Jamie Brownlee and Kevin Walby, authors of Psychedelic Capitalism, for a critical look at how big money is reshaping, and arguably distorting, the psychedelic space.Jamie and Kevin unpack the corporate takeover of psychedelics: the push for medicalization, the erasure of Indigenous and countercultural roots, and how power, inequality, and surveillance are baked into what's being sold as a healing revolution. They make the case that this boom isn't primarily about expanding access or consciousness, it’s about market capture.A sharp, necessary episode for anyone following the psychedelic space, drug policy reform, or the broader question of what happens when wellness becomes an industry.Topics: psychedelic capitalism, psychedelic renaissance, drug policy, medicalization, Big Pharma, corporate wellness, surveillance and medicine, psychedelics and power, MDMA therapy, psilocybin, ketamine, drug reform This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Data isn't just something that gets collected about us, it’s something we can use. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we're joined by two of the four authors of Mobilizing Data for Justice: A Guide to Activism in the Digital Age, Chris Hurl and Kevin Walby, for a conversation about how social movements are using data, digital tools, and techniques like visceralization to fight for justice and build collective power.Chris and Kevin each bring distinct perspectives from their work within social movements, and together they make the case for why understanding the digital context isn't optional for organizers, it’s essential. The book, published with Between the Lines, is both a practical toolbox and an archive of activist knowledge, built to outlast the rapidly shifting digital landscape.Also: this is Social Sleuth's first two-guest episode. More voices, more expertise. Turns out more is more.Topics: digital activism, social movements, data justice, surveillance and activism, collective action, political organizing, digital tools for advocacy, open data, data visualization, social justice This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Online extremism didn't emerge from nowhere, and it isn't staying in its lane. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we talk with Dr. Edwin Hodge, adjunct professor in Sociology at the University of Victoria, about how once-underground networks have gone global, the realities of moderating online spaces, and the lasting influence of conspiracy theories like QAnon.Edwin breaks down Gamergate as a key turning point, the moment internet culture and political organizing collided in ways we're still living with. We also get into the strange and troubling symbiosis between the rise of Christian Nationalism and Trad Wife content online: what it reveals, why it resonates, and what it means for the shape of digital politics.A clear-eyed, unsettling, and genuinely important conversation about where online extremism comes from, and where it's going.Topics: online extremism, conspiracy theories, QAnon, Gamergate, Christian nationalism, trad wife, radicalization, online moderation, far right internet, digital politics, sociology of the internet This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Rhetoric isn't just a political tool, it’s the infrastructure of everything we read, share, and believe online. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Dr. Loren Gaudet, Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria, whose research spans the rhetoric of health and medicine, science, and technology.We explore how meaning gets made in digital spaces: how health and wellness content gets framed, why so much of what we consume online is persuasion dressed as information, and what it looks like to apply rigorous rhetorical thinking to the chaos of the internet. Loren also walks us through her research on health awareness campaigns, and why preparedness rhetoric is worth paying closer attention to.If you've ever wondered why certain health claims spread and others don't, or why online discourse about science feels so broken, this episode offers a framework for making sense of it.Topics: rhetoric, health communication, digital literacy, science communication, online persuasion, health and wellness online, media and medicine, internet and belief, academic research This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

What does it actually take to walk away from corporate media and build something independent? In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Ryan Jespersen, host of Real Talk, to unpack his move from the institutional media world to independent podcasting, and what he's learned on the other side.We dig into cancel culture, not the reflexive discourse around it, but what it actually looks like up close and how Ryan navigates it. We also get into mental health advocacy: the unassuming but meaningful ways Ryan has made it a thread through his work, and why vulnerable dialogue isn't a liability but a feature.A candid, grounded conversation about media, authenticity, and what it takes to say the things worth saying.Topics: independent media, podcasting, cancel culture, mental health and media, media criticism, corporate vs independent media, authentic storytelling, online public discourse This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Not every conversation about internet culture has to be a warning. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we take a more reflective turn with Andy Sahlstrom, interactive technology engineer, inventor, and kinetic artist, who brings a genuinely personal lens to what the digital landscape does to us, and for us.We talk through Andy's evolving project Shampoooty, how nostalgia functions in an age of infinite content, and what it looks like to engage with technology creatively rather than passively. The conversation covers both the personal impact of digital life and the broader social textures it's reshaping.A warmer, more reflective episode, and a good reminder that the internet isn't only something that happens to us.Topics: nostalgia and the internet, digital culture, creative technology, interactive art, kinetic art, technology and identity, internet and personal experience, social media and memory This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

AI is inescapable online right now, the debates, the discourse, the grievances. But this episode of Social Sleuth takes a different angle: instead of tallying up critiques, we sit down with Eli James, an artist hesitant of generative AI, to explore the emotional and personal dimensions of what it actually means to make things.We get into the philosophical questions that tend to get flattened in the culture war around AI: what creativity means when a machine is involved, the ethical dilemmas that genuinely deserve attention, and how artists are navigating tools that are powerful, contested, and still deeply misunderstood.Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a sceptic, or somewhere in the complicated middle, this one is worth listening to with an open mind.Topics: generative AI, AI and art, artificial intelligence ethics, creative technology, digital art, AI tools, human creativity, future of AI, machine learning and culture This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

The climate crisis is everywhere online, in the campaigns, the greenwashing ads, the clicktivism invites. And yet something about the way we talk about it on the internet keeps us spinning. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we talk with Dr. William K. Carroll about ecocide: what it is, how fossil capitalism got us here, and why the systems driving the crisis can't be the ones to fix it.Bill recenters the conversation in a way that's clarifying rather than demoralizing, drawing on his book Refusing Ecocide: From Fossil Capitalism to a Livable World and his work co-directing the Corporate Mapping Project with Shannon Daub.If you've felt overwhelmed, frustrated, or numbed by climate content online, this episode is a reset. Structural thinking, clear analysis, and a genuine argument for why a livable world is still possible.Topics: ecocide, climate crisis, fossil capitalism, environmental justice, Big Oil accountability, climate activism, greenwashing, corporate power, sustainability, climate communication This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

We're in a strange moment with Big Tech. The pushback is growing, the frustration is real, but so is our own complicity. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Lina Maria Clevenger to navigate what can only be described as the next stage of digital bureaucracy.Lina helps unpack what techno intolerance actually looks like in practice: when resistance to technology becomes meaningful and when it becomes noise, what role our own habits play in the systems we want to critique, and how to hold complexity without collapsing into cynicism or uncritical acceptance.A grounded, nuanced conversation about digital movements, Big Tech accountability, and what it actually means to push back on the weird world wide web, without pretending it's simple.Topics: Big Tech, technology criticism, digital activism, techno intolerance, social media regulation, tech accountability, digital movements, internet culture, platform power This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Surveillance isn't something that happens to other people, it’s the background condition of digital life. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we return to the topic that started it all, with one of the academics who first got me thinking about it: Dr. Midori Ogasawara.Midori's work sits at the intersection of surveillance studies, digital culture, and power, and she doesn't soften the picture. We talk through some of her latest research, lay out the hard truths of living in a surveilled world, and, crucially, find the hope in it. Because there is hope. We just have to act.An essential listen for anyone interested in digital rights, privacy, surveillance capitalism, and what it means to be watched, all the time, by systems we rarely see.Topics: digital surveillance, surveillance capitalism, privacy rights, data collection, surveillance studies, big tech, digital rights, online tracking, social control This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

BookTok is one of the most powerful literary communities on the internet right now, and most people have no idea how it actually works. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we talk with Sydney, the creator behind Bloody Brilliant Books, who gives us a full inside look at the BookTok ecosystem on TikTok.We get into how short-form video is reshaping the publishing industry, the genuine benefits for both readers and authors, and the controversy and criticism simmering within the community. Sydney brings real passion and sharp insight to a corner of the internet that proves digital culture can still champion books, and independent voices.Whether you're a reader, a creator, or just curious about how communities form and evolve online, this episode has a lot to offer.Topics: BookTok, TikTok, book community, short-form video, publishing industry, online book clubs, digital culture, content creation, reading culture, social media trends This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

A different kind of Social Sleuth episode. In this one, we explore the internet the way most people actually experience it, not through research papers or academic frameworks, but through lived experience, parenting instincts, and a healthy amount of confusion.My mom joins the pod for a conversation that takes many side quests: growing up before the internet, surveillance, wellness culture online, the strange intimacy of social media, and what it means to raise kids in a world where the web is always on. It gets personal, it gets funny, and occasionally it gets surprisingly profound.A genuine, wide-ranging conversation about the internet as a human experience, not a tech product. With love, Kenny.Topics: internet and family, digital parenting, online wellness, social media and everyday life, surveillance culture, generational differences online, web culture This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Misinformation isn't new, but it's never been this fast, this personalized, or this hard to escape. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we talk with Matthew Facciani, a social scientist at the University of Notre Dame whose research focuses on information systems, media literacy, and how people interact with AI.Matthew brings a rare thing to this conversation: not just analysis of the problem, but actual solutions. We get into social identity complexity as a tool for reducing susceptibility to misinformation, why content warnings are largely 'too little too late', and how political polarization and media literacy are more connected than most people realize.If you've ever wondered why smart people believe false things, and what you can actually do about it, this one's for you.Topics: misinformation, disinformation, media literacy, fake news, social media, political polarization, AI and information, digital literacy, information systems This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

Memes as surveillance. Algorithms as gatekeepers. The internet as a place no one fully understands, including the people building it. In this episode of Social Sleuth, we sit down with Aidan Walker: writer, content creator, internet culture researcher, and someone who has literally published dissertations on memes.We go deep on how memes have evolved from punchlines into a form of cultural shorthand, and how they've quietly become a mechanism of digital surveillance. Aidan introduces the idea of grounding yourself when consuming the web (imagine a Victorian child on your shoulder, what would they think?) and why that kind of critical distance matters more than ever.We also get into algorithms, content funnels, and the things the web actively doesn't want to serve you. Essential listening for anyone trying to make sense of internet culture, digital media, and the future of online expression.Topics: memes, internet culture, digital surveillance, algorithms, social media, content creation, media literacy, online expression, meme research This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com

What does a meme actually mean, and who decides? In this inaugural episode of Social Sleuth, the internet culture podcast, we crack open the complexity of memes with Marnus: a long-time friend, self-proclaimed chronically online person, and fellow deep diver into the weird corners of the web.We dig into how memes function as language, as protest, as absurdism, and what it means that two people who grew up in the same city, attended the same university program, and scroll the same platforms can end up in completely different digital worlds. Spoiler: the algorithm has a lot to answer for.A fun, unfiltered, and genuinely curious conversation to kick off what Social Sleuth is all about: investigating the cultural impact of the things we share online.Topics: meme culture, internet humour, digital identity, online communities, social media algorithms, web culture, digital literacy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kennyc402.substack.com