Never Post

Georgia talks with Matt Pearce – journalist, former president of Media Guild of the West, and senior policy advisor for Rebuild Local News – about the info environment on Tiktok around its 12 hour ban in the US. The team asks WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. Also: Computer Whiz!

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Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ for access to extended and bonus segments, and our side shows like “Slow Post”, “Posts from the Field” and “Never Watch”

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Intro Links
  • William McFarland Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Defrauding Investors And A Ticket Vendor Of Over $26 Million, justice.gov
  • EXCLUSIVE: Fyre Festival 2: Dates, location and how to get tickets, Today
  • Microsoft CEO Admits That AI Is Generating Basically No Value, Futurism
  • Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says,  Bloomberg
  • How Temu’s supply chain is changing, RetailBrew
  • Temu Overhauls Supply Chain on Tariffs, Risking Price Hikes, Bloomberg
  • UK users are losing a key Apple security feature, raising questions about the future of privacy, CNN
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Tiktok’s Leftovers Hours
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What Is Going On Here
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Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta.

The truth is, I’ve never cared for the National
Anthem. If you think about it, it’s not a good
song. Too high for most of us with “the rockets
red glare” and then there are the bombs.
(Always, always, there is war and bombs.)
Once, I sang it at homecoming and threw
even the tenacious high school band off key.
But the song didn’t mean anything, just a call
to the field, something to get through before
the pummeling of youth. And what of the stanzas
we never sing, the third that mentions “no refuge
could save the hireling and the slave”? Perhaps,
the truth is, every song of this country
has an unsung third stanza, something brutal
snaking underneath us as we blindly sing
the high notes with a beer sloshing in the stands
hoping our team wins.

Excerpt of A New National Anthem by Ada Limón

Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure
★ Support this podcast ★

Creators & Guests

Host
Mike Rugnetta
Host of Never Post. Creator of Fun City, Reasonably Sound, Idea Channel and other internet things.
Producer
Hans Buetow
Independent Senior Audio Producer. Formerly with Terrible, Thanks for Asking and The New York Times

What is Never Post?

A podcast about and for the internet, hosted by Mike Rugnetta

Mike Rugnetta:

Friends, hello, and welcome to Never Post, a podcast for and about the Internet. I'm your host, Mike Rugnetta. Just getting over a cold. This intro was written on Tuesday, 02/25/2025 at 03:07PM Eastern and we have a top notch show for you this week. First, Georgia talks with journalist, former president of the Media Guild of the West, and senior policy advisor for Rebuild Local News, Matt Pierce, about the information environment on TikTok before and after its twelve hour ban in The US at the start of this year.

Mike Rugnetta:

Then me, Hans, Georgia, and Jason bring the strangest, most vexing posts we could find to the group to ask what is going on here. But first, let's talk about a few of the things that have happened since the last time you heard from us. I have four news stories for you this week. Fyre Festival is back? The doomed island concert retreat made headlines in 2017 for its FEMA tent accommodations, apocalypse chic cheese sandwiches, problems with security, medical services, and the fact that every one of the 33 artists originally scheduled to appear pulled out.

Mike Rugnetta:

Fyre Festival's co organizer Billy Mc McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $26,000,000, roughly the amount of money he received from investors and ticket vendors. But then, hey, guess what? He is back on Instagram on the Today Show, hyping up the second go around after serving four years. The best part, due to his criminal record, he might not even be able to attend his own festival. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wonders, is AI really generating any value?

Mike Rugnetta:

In a podcast appearance, Nadella reflected on the claim that AI would be a world changing technology, and said for this to be the case, we'd want to see something approaching, quote, industrial revolution levels of productivity increase. The real benchmark is the world growing at 10%, Nadella said according to futurism.com. Suddenly, productivity goes up and the economy is growing at a faster rate. When that happens, we'll be fine as an industry. Is that happening though?

Mike Rugnetta:

No. Maybe this explains why Microsoft has canceled some of its AI data center leases. A potential lease pullback by Microsoft, Bloomberg reports, raises broader questions about whether the company, one of the front runners among big tech in AI, is growing cautious about the outlook for overall demand. Timu's supply chain is changing in response to the inconsistent trade regulations of the Trump admin. At the start of the month, the Trump admin suspended, among other regulations, a de minimis pass through, which allowed packages from China worth under 800 US dollars to bypass tariffs.

Mike Rugnetta:

This led to a momentary pause

Mike Rugnetta:

in the delivery of all packages from China and a momentary pause in the delivery of all packages from China and Hong Kong, which was then lifted when the admin reinstated the de minimis and said they'd work on a more complete set of regulations down the line. In response, Timu has started moving away from its direct from China model, where it managed everything from sales to logistics, and more towards an Amazon style model they're calling half custody, where they manage the marketplace and recommend Chinese manufacturers ship their tchotchkes to American warehouses who will then handle domestic distribution. And finally, Apple will be disabling advanced data protection for its iCloud services on accounts located in The UK. Are your iMessages still end to end encrypted? Yes.

Mike Rugnetta:

In the chat itself. But if they're backed up to iCloud, potentially not. Alongside other data types that can be stored like health data, photos, passwords, contacts, calendars, and so on. This change comes as the UK government has demanded a quote, backdoor to access user data in the famously surveillance heavy country. CNN writes, quote, UK users will now lose protection for those additional categories of data.

Mike Rugnetta:

Those who have not already enabled ADP are no longer able to do so, and Apple says it will soon provide guidance to existing users on how to disable the feature. Okay, folks. That is the news I have for you this week. Next up, you'll hear from Georgia talking to Matt Pierce about TikTok's leftovers hours, and then a lot of us asking what is going on here. But first, digging around his house recently, Hans found a manuscript of a story he wrote when he was 11 years old.

Mike Rugnetta:

In our interstitials this week, we hope you enjoy excerpts from Computer Whiz.

Hans Buetow:

Computer Whiz by Hans Buto, Christmas nineteen ninety. Samantha screamed, you beat it. You beat it. Yes. I suppose you did beat me, said a voice.

Hans Buetow:

Congratulations. Stop making up jokes, Joey, said Samantha. What? I didn't say a word, said Joey, very surprised. No.

Hans Buetow:

He didn't say a word, said the voice. Then who did? Asked Samantha, looking all around the room. Look up. Look down.

Hans Buetow:

Up. Left. There. Now do you see me? Asked the voice.

Hans Buetow:

Samantha looked puzzled. But I'm looking at the computer, she said. Precisely, said the computer. Then all three children were staring at the computer with open mouths. For that computer, Bobby's very own computer was talking.

Hans Buetow:

And at that very moment, the computer started to grow arms and legs right out of the monitor and a face began to appear on the screen. Hi. I'm X one fifty at your service. May I help you? There was a pause.

Hans Buetow:

Well, come on, speak up. I don't have all day. But but but, well, or, said the children. No buts. Where do you want to go?

Hans Buetow:

Well, we don't know what you're talking about, said Bobby. Oh, of course you don't, said x one fifty. I guess that means you're new at this.

Georgia Hampton:

When did you delete TikTok off your phone?

Matt Pearce:

So I deleted TikTok off my phone the day before Donald Trump became president.

Georgia Hampton:

That's Matt Pierce. He's a journalist and critic who covers US politics. He's also a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times, the former president of Media Guild of the West, and is now a senior policy advisor for Rebuild Local News. He is also very online and is a self described avid poster. I wanted to talk to Matt about the aftermath of the TikTok ban in The United States, partially because I knew he'd have some very smart things to say about it, but also because the reversal of the TikTok ban was sort of a tipping point for him.

Georgia Hampton:

As a reminder, TikTok shut down in The US on 01/18/2025 for about twelve hours. During that time, if you opened the app, you'd see this message.

TiktokVoice:

A law banning TikTok has been enacted in The US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok right now. We are fortunate that president Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.

Matt Pearce:

Donald Trump was trying to parachute in and say that TikTok was not gonna be banned under his administration. You know, he was gonna try to find a way to save it and also to make it an American company. And that's when TikTok decided to come back online, and it came back online with this message thanking Donald Trump for helping them.

TiktokVoice:

Welcome back. Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of president Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in The US.

Matt Pearce:

And that was the moment when I instantly deleted that shit.

Georgia Hampton:

I really, really

Georgia Hampton:

get that. To see TikTok so openly, so plainly sidle up to Donald Trump before he even had the presidential job back, I mean, to say it's spineless is perhaps too polite. I get why that would be a catalyst to just log off. I, however, stuck around. As of this recording, TikTok has come back to the App Store yesterday.

Georgia Hampton:

And since that has happened, have you peeked back in at all?

Matt Pearce:

I have not.

Georgia Hampton:

Well, allow me to fill you in a little

Georgia Hampton:

bit on What's going on?

Tiktok Clip:

And we're back with something smells fishy.

Tiktok Clip:

Are we all experiencing this right now? Like, I'm scrolling on TikTok and my whole for you page is just not right. Something is off.

Tiktok Clip:

Something's off. Something's weird. It feels icky. It feels gross. I wasn't expecting this.

Tiktok Clip:

I don't feel good about it.

Tiktok Clip:

No. Y'all ain't tripping. TikTok ain't even right since it came back.

Tiktok Clip:

Why is my for you pay so fucked up?

Tiktok Clip:

Is the algorithm the same? Is it changed?

Georgia Hampton:

I don't know if if it's just me because, like, maybe I'm just insane. But it feels like in Coraline when she's with the other mother. Like, it's similar to her actual mom, but you know that there's something going on. You know that there's something, like, not quite right. This was the reaction happening across my for you page for weeks after TikTok flickered back to life.

Georgia Hampton:

The general message was that before, everything was normal, but now, everything feels wrong. And what stuck out to me most is that almost none of these videos directly mentioned the message that TikTok posted congratulating Donald Trump for saving the day. It didn't seem to be about the suspicions that going forward, TikTok would be a Trump friendly app. If not in content, then at least as a business practice. Instead, people were preoccupied with that other mother feeling, the uncanny sense that something feels off, but that it wasn't clear what.

Georgia Hampton:

It was like everybody was sniffing around trying to find the source of a phantom gas leak. Some folks felt like their FYP wasn't showing videos about stuff they liked, while others reported that their videos or comments were being flagged as inappropriate at higher rates and for no discernible reason. Regardless of the supposed problem, it brought out this all hands on deck reaction that hung on vague ideas about things feeling bad as if the entire structure was wrong now. And these concerns were being talked about as proof of a new, very real threat and one that we ourselves were responsible for fixing.

Tiktok Clip:

Look, everybody. It is in fact true what everyone is saying. Go ahead and block both Facebook and Meta Quest on this app, and I promise you your FYP is gonna return back to norm.

Georgia Hampton:

You guys need to go block the Meta account on TikTok right now, you guys.

Tiktok Clip:

I blocked Meta on Facebook on TikTok, and my whole algorithm actually changed. Type in Facebook. Block the page. Type in Instagram. Block that page.

Georgia Hampton:

I gave this a shot, and it it literally changed my for you page instantly. It's worth saying that there's no proof that blocking Meta does anything to effectively change your FYP. And TikTok itself waved these concerns away, saying that by virtue of the app shutting down for a little bit, some features may take a while to get back to normal. But the panicked reactions remained. In those twelve hours, at least for me, it didn't feel like TikTok had secretly handed over my for you page to Meta or something.

Georgia Hampton:

It was more that everybody on my feed had, like, completely lost the plot. So I asked Matt, why do you think that happened?

Matt Pearce:

I have a couple of theories, and I have no idea if they're correct, but I feel like they're good ones. So first one being that TikTok was the good vibes app. The early days of it, you know, it it very affirmatively wanted to be a kind of happy emotions place. And, you know, the kind of early years, there's always lots of stuff like, oh, it's just, you know, like teenagers dancing in their bedrooms or whatever, which, you know, first of all, if you're an adult, like, that's a little weird, but it was what it was. But they they had played off of that emotion because you have to remember at that time, you know, the rise of TikTok in the late twenty tens was also the period of, like, the Facebook downfall and the downfall of Facebook as this, like, really political platform whose engagement was driven by powerful negative emotions and interactions.

Matt Pearce:

And so when TikTok arrives, it's a strong alternative to that.

Georgia Hampton:

TikTok promised a respite from the miseries that had started to gather on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter whose own users would refer to it as the quote unquote hell site. Like, you weren't going to watch a distant relative descend into QAnon on TikTok. You probably wouldn't even see someone you know on TikTok. What you got instead was a hyper intuned algorithm that endlessly spoon fed you stuff that you liked, tweaking the content in real time. Watch a few extra seconds of a video about polar bears and you're going to get a barrage of more videos about polar bears instantly.

Georgia Hampton:

And overwhelmingly, the videos given to you on TikTok are supposed to be things you enjoy. Other apps like Twitter and more recently Blue Sky are treated like spaces to receive breaking news. And TikTok may show video evidence of current events happening, but it's really not meant for news.

Matt Pearce:

TikTok is a casino, and I felt this very vividly when we had the wildfires break out in Los Angeles. And I was still on my TikTok habit. And so I crack open TikTok and realized that, like, this app does not care whether I live or die. It's not serving me information about, like, whether my apartment is in danger from the wildfires. I could see them from my window.

Matt Pearce:

Should I be evacuating? Like, that is not TikTok's concern.

Georgia Hampton:

The ideal user experience of TikTok, at least from the platform's perspective, is to just stay on it as long as possible, swiping like the digital equivalent of yanking the arm of the slot machine. And it's easier to stick around if the stuff you're watching is fun, or to put it more plainly, if the next video you watch might be fun. On TikTok, you're not encouraged to linger. Every video auto plays, and once it's over, you just swipe to the next thing. So, you might get a video of an apartment tour followed by a weird three d animation of an egg, followed by a girl crying in her car on part two out of seven about how her marriage fell apart.

Georgia Hampton:

And then, oh, now you're watching a video about a sinkhole in Japan, and, oh, now it's a clip of the new beluga whale at the Shedd Aquarium. None of the videos have anything to do with each other apart from the idea that maybe you might like watching them. There is zero narrative cohesion to any of the stuff you're seeing on TikTok.

Matt Pearce:

It doesn't present you with this linear view of reality. It hobbles the ability of news organizations and journalists to even build strong followings on its platform exactly because it has divorced its own users from time.

Georgia Hampton:

Do you think that breaking news, having more informational content is something people want on TikTok?

Matt Pearce:

Often, no.

Georgia Hampton:

Leading up to the ban and following it, a lot of people cited TikTok as a place to get news about stuff going on in the world. And TikTok can genuinely be a good place to get bite sized snippets of information, but the structure of the platform kneecaps the actual durability of any of the more newsy videos. It's difficult to really use TikTok as a reliable news source when the point of the platform is to show you as much random stuff as possible, completely divorced from a chronology you can follow. Like, a video from the California wildfires might show up on your for you page three weeks after the fact, and you can't control that. Ultimately, TikTok isn't really about the content you're watching.

Georgia Hampton:

It's about the swiping. It's about that nanosecond between videos where you get to feel excited about the prospect of what might be next. If you watch a funny video on TikTok, you wanna keep watching to get more funny videos. If you watch a depressing video, well, you better keep going so you can find a happy video to wash out that bad taste in your mouth. The videos themselves aren't especially memorable.

Georgia Hampton:

The experience of chasing those good vibes is the real prize. But, okay, so what happens when the Good Vibes app turns out to be big time bad vibes?

Matt Pearce:

I think when you have an app that was historically seen, quote unquote, as neutral, that makes explicit the reality that the Internet isn't neutral. The Internet is made up of people and technology that are located in political jurisdictions that have elections or, you know, coup d'etat or whatever, then are operated by governments that have their own opinions about how speech and markets are regulated. TikTok, for that one moment, brought the real world right into everybody's faces and said, hey, to stay in business, we are aligning ourselves with the incoming administration

Hans Buetow:

who is a

Matt Pearce:

guy that a lot of you don't like, and this is about us and not you.

Georgia Hampton:

The aftermath of the TikTok ban and that cheery little dialogue box congratulating Donald Trump was a major vibe killer. But the panic driven posting after the ban was revoked wasn't really about Trump directly. It almost felt like a refusal to read the writing on the wall, which said that TikTok was just like any other tech company. It's not a neutral place. It's a place that is more than willing to play ball with what is already shaping up to be an extremely repressive administration, one that has explicitly shown interest in privatizing essential parts of American life and denying the rights of marginalized communities.

Georgia Hampton:

So that whole idea of restoring your FYP or otherwise returning TikTok to the way it used to be, what was everyone trying to get back anyway? I think the answer to that has everything to do with why TikTok became popular. I, like a lot of people, first got into TikTok during lockdown. I had nothing else to do. I was paralyzed by terror and I couldn't leave my house.

Georgia Hampton:

And there was TikTok, my little window out into the world. Matt wrote about having a similar experience on his Substack where he said that TikTok,

Georgia Hampton:

Gradually became the thing that filled the silences

Georgia Hampton:

when it got dark outside. If I have twenty minutes I need to waste, I'll go on TikTok. If I wanna shut off my brain while I'm still watching something that feels vaguely enjoyable, I go on TikTok. It fills the dead air of my life. What does TikTok fill the silence with most?

Tiktok Clip:

Noise?

Tiktok Clip:

Listen. Sometimes,

Tiktok Clip:

the body abings. Other times,

TiktokVoice:

the body abings. Hey. I would like to kiss you on the mouth. And, and so what do you how do you feel it? What do you think about it?

TiktokVoice:

Fucking computers, you shit. It's not cool anymore. It's not fun. It's not fun to be

TiktokVoice:

on the fucking computer. It cares everything about it.

Matt Pearce:

The thing

Matt Pearce:

that these platforms do is that they, more efficiently than their predecessors, fill all those little nooks and crannies of unexplored and unsatisfied desire that we all have. They have found new and efficient ways to deliver the little stuff that all of us want, like pictures of extremely round birds. All of these guys, and they're basically all guys, are responding to the very real consumer demand for, like, utter bullshit nonsense.

Georgia Hampton:

Matt is more right about this than he may realize. In his extremely good book, On Bullshit, philosopher Harry G Frankfurt describes the concept as being quote, unconstrained by a concern with truth. Writing later that the bullshitter, quote, does not reject the authority of the truth as a liar does and opposes himself to it, he pays no attention to it at all. Utter bullshit nonsense is the product that TikTok offers the most. Videos that are maybe funny or entertaining or even informative, but not empowering in a way that is meant to last.

Georgia Hampton:

TikTok is full of bullshit, cute bullshit, interesting bullshit, weird bullshit. It's a veritable bullshit making factory. But in those weeks following the band's removal, the factory was on the fritz. And rather than recognize that we have always been inside an algorithm that is trying to keep our minds busy with an endless scroll of little disjointed things, A lot of people were searching for ways to get the factory up and running again, to return the FYP to what it used to be, churning out its more familiar stream of dookie nonsense. All of this panicking about how TikTok feels bad now wound up producing its own strain of bullshit.

Georgia Hampton:

Quoting from Frankfurt again, quote, bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus, the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic exceed his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. But that's just kind of how it is when you, me, and everyone else are using an app that is specifically good at producing a bullshit experience. Ultimately, we're still on the app, scrolling away. Is short social video just bullshitting?

Matt Pearce:

Yes. Yes. It's a thousand it's a % bullshitting. I mean, like, look, some some of it's good, but, like, my people, I am trying to break through to you. Hearing from someone, for fifteen seconds is equal to the experience of walking, like, beside somebody on a sidewalk who's shouting into a bullhorn, and you're not gonna see them the rest of the day.

Matt Pearce:

That is the level of social relationship that you're building.

Georgia Hampton:

TikTok has shown us what kind of app it is and who it's willing to work with in order to continue existing. So what do we do about that? How do we take this information and actually act on it in a tangible way?

Matt Pearce:

Fundamentally, I think, a lot of times your best option may just be to quit. I do think there is a point for every person in which, and it'll vary from person to person, it's always up to you and it's always your choice to recognize that moment when one of these companies is getting more out of the youth than you're getting out of it. And I think at that point, the only choice is to quit. I do think trying to bring back the element of human agency into these systems and trying to just bring the human beings back to them is, is the healthiest first step to trying to make, an environment where you don't hate yourself after opening your phone.

Georgia Hampton:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you again to Matt Pierce on his insight about TikTok, the ban, and, of course, bullshit. I'm still using TikTok, and honestly, I plan to keep using it for the foreseeable future, though, honestly, that might change. But I'm curious how you, if you're a TikTok user yourself, experienced the ban, its aftermath, and how it's maybe affected your relationship with the app.

Georgia Hampton:

Maybe it didn't. Maybe everything's the same. Either way, I wanna hear from you. All the links for how to reach us are in the show notes. FARM STREECH!

Hans Buetow:

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap. Ding dong. Yes? Yes. I'm here to, pick up the computer.

Hans Buetow:

Yes. Wait a minute. Here, I'll go and get it. Here it is for you. All nice and broken, and thank you.

Hans Buetow:

Goodbye. Well, thank you, sir. Oof. Thump. Ouch.

Hans Buetow:

Oh, ah. Oof. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Hans Buetow:

Clunk.

Matt Pearce:

Okay, Al. Take it away.

Hans Buetow:

Bye bye, baby.

Mike Rugnetta:

Friends, hello, and welcome to what is going on here? A segment wherein members of the Neverpost staff bring posts to the group about which they would like to ask, what is going on here? Could we all have done some Googling? Could we all have gone further down thread? Could we have cracked a book or gone to YouTube?

Mike Rugnetta:

Probably. But where is the fun in that?

Georgia Hampton:

Exactly.

Mike Rugnetta:

In the following segment, we share things we found online that made us want to know more and about which we thought the process of finding out more would be fun to do together. Joining us for this round in order of how raucous I think their entrance music would be if they were a professional wrestler, ascending, less raucous first

Georgia Hampton:

k.

Mike Rugnetta:

Are never post executive producer Jason Oberholtzer.

Jason Obertholtzer:

I would come in to the Goldberg variations.

Mike Rugnetta:

This is I knew it. I I was gonna say Steely Dan, but like

Jason Obertholtzer:

and Glenn Gould's version from the eighties. Yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

Oh, yes. So it's the humming in the background. Right?

Georgia Hampton:

Is that

Jason Obertholtzer:

the one?

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. Never post producer Georgia Hampton?

Georgia Hampton:

Wow. Okay. I feel like I'm lower than I thought I would be. Interesting.

Mike Rugnetta:

It's only because you cannot conceive of how loud Hans Buto, Never Hope's senior producer's entrance music, would be. Fair.

Georgia Hampton:

Fair. Fair enough. Fair enough. Perhaps mine would be more melodic.

Hans Buetow:

Yeah. I would be a lot less melodic, I think. Definitely in volume. If people aren't clutching their ears booing and shaking their heads, I I did my job wrong. And where do you fit, Mike McNamara hosting the show?

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. You know, actually, actually, I didn't even think. I think I'm probably gonna be between Georgia and Hoss.

Hans Buetow:

Wow. I get the top billing. Okay. Cool.

Georgia Hampton:

I mean, you were deep in the metal mines. I know this. Yeah.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Now I just wanna know what everyone's gimmick is, but this is this is an entirely different segment.

Mike Rugnetta:

Another segment. Maybe for maybe for members only. Yeah.

Hans Buetow:

Yeah. Hold on.

Georgia Hampton:

Call in and let us know

Jason Obertholtzer:

if What's your move set,

Hans Buetow:

bro? What's

Mike Rugnetta:

your signature?

Hans Buetow:

Baby face? Heel?

Georgia Hampton:

Heel, obviously.

Mike Rugnetta:

Alright. Let's find out what is going on here.

Matt Pearce:

Welcome to today's game.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Okay. I came across something scrolling through TikTok, that was so overwhelming to my senses and so only vaguely touching things that I understood happening that I wanted to bring it to you all and make you look at it as well. Who is the least deep in TikTok? I think this would be fun. Who has the least amount of hand

Mike Rugnetta:

Probably tons.

Georgia Hampton:

Hans. Okay. Cons.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Gaze upon what I have given to you. Media link number one.

Hans Buetow:

Wow. Alright. This is a TikTok. I recognize that much. There's a lot happening.

Hans Buetow:

Soft pink background, someone wearing a Barbie shirt maybe saluting or yelling. There's a kitten in a meadow in the foreground. Eye Winds is on it. There's bubble chats, looks like a streamer. I don't know.

Hans Buetow:

Let's hit play.

Mike Rugnetta:

The audio is also, like, just completely blown out.

Georgia Hampton:

To this audio.

Mike Rugnetta:

Go on.

Georgia Hampton:

Snipers come through. It is your

Hans Buetow:

Snipers come through.

Georgia Hampton:

Oh my god. Fantasy.

Georgia Hampton:

Monster.

Hans Buetow:

What? Okay. There's a cat. So someone has won something apparently. And that's end of guess.

Hans Buetow:

Okay.

Mike Rugnetta:

So I can add a little bit more to this, which is this is a TikTok live.

Georgia Hampton:

I was gonna say

Georgia Hampton:

this looks like a live.

Mike Rugnetta:

I there's like a progress bar or like a health bar in the Yeah. In the top or the middle. I don't recognize that. I've never seen that before. Okay.

Mike Rugnetta:

There are comments popping up that say, battle bar rules. Click the profile picture in the battle bar and gift to vote. Are the cute three d animals that are composited on top of the stream fighting?

Hans Buetow:

League a two top 50%. League, is this are these is this a team sport?

Mike Rugnetta:

What? Jason, you have done. Jason. Jason, this is great. Jason.

Mike Rugnetta:

This this is this is nonsense.

Jason Obertholtzer:

The amount of contextless words you guys are having to use. Wow. There is a group of girls. They are existing on screen to, like, short clips of music that I think is k pop music, and I think they are battling to perform the dance of the music better than the person next to them and are being rewarded with TikTok points, which correlate to money in some way by people sending them gifts of the type you would remember seeing, you know, the, yes yes yes and, galaxies and roses and whatever the equivalent is here, but, like, these gifts are massive and overtake the entire screen with animation when they are sent.

Mike Rugnetta:

This is, like, so perfectly futuristic media. Yes. Right? This is exactly what, like, a TV in a bar in a Paul Verhoeven movie is playing. Where it's like, it's clearly there's a competition of some kind.

Mike Rugnetta:

However, everything is like pink and and cute, and the screen is just completely covered in graphics and charts and readouts and animations and like

Georgia Hampton:

Yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

It's just and it's distorted and strange. It's it's perfect. They they nailed it.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Yeah. It is the kind of thing that makes me feel like I'm not enough. I should be able to take the fire hose of that first clip and just know all of it instantly to be the kind of human who's gonna survive the future.

Matt Pearce:

Round two.

Georgia Hampton:

I originally encountered this on TikTok with someone reacting to finding this. So, Mike, I want your reaction to

Mike Rugnetta:

this. Okeydoke. Okay. So this is a YouTube link, And the title is World War one Battle Ambiance, Distant Artillery. Oh my god.

Mike Rugnetta:

Then a bar.

Hans Buetow:

Woah.

Mike Rugnetta:

And then Sleep in the Trenches. I can I can I can imagine where this is going? And God, I hope what I'm imagining is

Hans Buetow:

true. No. It's an hour long. It

Jason Obertholtzer:

is an hour long.

Georgia Hampton:

Oh, this is

Mike Rugnetta:

I'm gonna hit play. This account is called Sound Delusion. They have 25,000 subscribers. Oh, there's bullets.

Georgia Hampton:

Well, Mike.

Mike Rugnetta:

Oh, my God. Okay.

Georgia Hampton:

She was so excited.

Mike Rugnetta:

My immediate reaction to this is was until the bullets. I kinda get it. No. Okay. So this video is It looks like it could have been made in Unreal or something like that.

Mike Rugnetta:

You're in a World War one looking trench. It looks video game ish. There's fire in the background. There's smoke. There's barbed wire.

Mike Rugnetta:

And, every once in a while, some like hot lead comes firing directly at you in such a way that, yeah, it looks like it's coming at you. So, I mean, yeah. This is a a sleep aid for the sounds of war. Yeah. Who's sleepy?

Mike Rugnetta:

The top comment is the fact that it works so well if you wanna go to sleep is wild a f.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Yeah. This is, like, somewhere more practical than I thought it would be. Like, I thought this would be a bunch of Saudi nerds being, like, thank you so much. I have, like, a quick turnaround on I have to do a World War one movie, and I'm taking this. And instead, it's people, like, good listen.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Thanks.

Georgia Hampton:

Like sincerely engaging with this.

Mike Rugnetta:

I find this weirdly relaxing.

Georgia Hampton:

Time for Betty. Bye. Yeah. God.

Georgia Hampton:

So, I mean, here So On

Mike Rugnetta:

the one hand, you crazy.

Georgia Hampton:

You crazy.

Mike Rugnetta:

On the other hand, like, there's from a from just like a purely sonic perspective, I I understand why this works. It is soothing. Like, it there's a lot of low end. It's not like constant in a way. Like, it's got a sort of rhythm to it.

Mike Rugnetta:

And I could imagine it, especially if you've got it on, like next to your bed or if you're wearing headphones or earbuds to fall asleep, you're not gonna hear anything else outside of this. It's gonna block out so much of the rest of the world. However, just like, sort of semiologically, this idea is insane.

Georgia Hampton:

Emotionally, morally, ethically even.

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. I'm gonna go ahead and see if all of this is war sounds, and it is. This is Yeah.

Georgia Hampton:

There's a

Georgia Hampton:

lot of

Mike Rugnetta:

this channel does. I take it back. The the ones that are that are the most prominently displayed upfront are the war ones, probably because that's what I've just watched and YouTube is trying to be helpful. Yeah. But we get, like, busy medieval market square, medieval winter market, relaxing jungle rain forest, but also creepy haunted house ambiance for sleep.

Mike Rugnetta:

Okay.

Georgia Hampton:

Now hold on. Yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

Dark intimate horror background. Send that over to me.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Yeah. But let's take a look at human behavior here. So they have released eight hours of sleep to the sounds of a prehistoric stream. That sounds nice. You know how many people viewed that?

Jason Obertholtzer:

535.

Georgia Hampton:

Oh.

Jason Obertholtzer:

You know how many people viewed World War two ambiance, rains, and sounds of distant artillery? 1,200,000. Oh my god. What is up with you people?

Georgia Hampton:

Hey, guys. Hey. Hey.

Mike Rugnetta:

Once once again, I ask, are men okay?

Jason Obertholtzer:

This is

Mike Rugnetta:

I mean, I'm Sleep tight. I respect it. I respect it.

Georgia Hampton:

I don't know if I do. I don't know, man.

Jason Obertholtzer:

You sick goes to sleep to anything.

Georgia Hampton:

That's fine.

Tiktok Clip:

That's right.

Mike Rugnetta:

So came across this on Instagram late one night, long after I should have been in bed. You know how it goes. Watched it, thought, And then went and watched additional videos by the same person hoping to get some context and got none. So I stopped. Jason.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Okay.

Mike Rugnetta:

Would love to hear your description about what's going on here.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Alright. So we've got an Instagram video, three signs you are an Arcturian starseed Yeah. With a little a little animated blue alien as a picture in the middle of the screen, and the person talking to us, who I take from the account name to be coach Monarch, who I would suggest is trying actively to look like an alien. Yeah. I think that's fair.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Right? I'm not being judgmental here.

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. Like, they're not they're not wearing makeup or anything, but

Jason Obertholtzer:

There's no hair on their head, which might be naturally occurring.

Hans Buetow:

No eyebrows.

Jason Obertholtzer:

No eyebrows, deeply blue eyes, bald, and kinda giving off an extraterrestrial NoHo Hank vibe. I'm gonna press play.

Tiktok Clip:

Here are three signs that you might be an Arcturian starseed. Arcturian starseeds are analytical thinkers who excel at finding creative solutions. Arcturians are known for their advanced technological awareness and futuristic mindset. And above all, Arcturian starseeds are natural healers and spiritual guides. So do any of these signs resonate with you?

Tiktok Clip:

If so, you could be an Arcturian starseed here to innovate, heal, and guide.

Jason Obertholtzer:

So at this point, I would like to know who isn't an Arcturian starseed. I would like

Mike Rugnetta:

to know what is an arcturian? What is it?

Georgia Hampton:

Oh, you don't know? Do you? No. No. No.

Jason Obertholtzer:

So I guess the first question is like, is this a thing larger than this account?

Georgia Hampton:

I'm on a website called centerofexcellence.com.

Mike Rugnetta:

Sounds reputable.

Georgia Hampton:

On a page called a guide to Arcturian starseeds.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Alright.

Mike Rugnetta:

Oh my god. I'm so excited.

Georgia Hampton:

Do you

Georgia Hampton:

exhibit unprecedented wisdom

Mike Rugnetta:

Yes.

Georgia Hampton:

Surprising leadership skills Uh-huh. And a keen mathematical brain?

Mike Rugnetta:

Well, yeah. If so

Jason Obertholtzer:

I'm out.

Georgia Hampton:

You could be an Arcturian starseed.

Jason Obertholtzer:

What what is it? I'm about to tell you. I'm about

Georgia Hampton:

to tell you.

Georgia Hampton:

The website crashed. No. Some in the new age movement believe that Arcturian starseeds are souls originating from the star system Arcturian, one of the brightest stars in the constellation of, oh, boy, Bootes? If

Mike Rugnetta:

it's hard to say, you know it's real.

Georgia Hampton:

Yep. It's b o o with

Georgia Hampton:

an umlaut, t e s.

Hans Buetow:

Sounds like AI.

Mike Rugnetta:

I was gonna I was gonna say this sounds like Scientology. Right? Isn't this Thetan's?

Georgia Hampton:

One of the top comments on the Instagram video you shared is is this Scientology?

Mike Rugnetta:

All of my top comments are, like, symptoms of overexposure to unemployment, which There are

Jason Obertholtzer:

some diabolical comments here. There are

Mike Rugnetta:

some There are also some extremely mean comments here.

Georgia Hampton:

Did you get to the one that says, she arc on my two e until I start seeing?

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. You gotta. You gotta. Listen. Okay.

Mike Rugnetta:

So, Jason, that probably answers your question. It answers a lot of my questions of, like, this is not coach Monarch's thing. Coach Monarch is a grifter or How dare you. Something else.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Are you telling me that the person offering me a CD of sleep protection is a grifter? And I've been sleeping unprotected for how many years?

Mike Rugnetta:

This is a thing that you wanna be because it means that you're like an intergalactic infinite wisdom from before time.

Georgia Hampton:

Yes. Yes. Got it. There's literally a section I'm looking at right now that says difficulty adapting to life

Georgia Hampton:

on earth. Relatable. So

Mike Rugnetta:

Arcturian stars.

Hans Buetow:

Arcturian stars.

Georgia Hampton:

Alien soul.

Mike Rugnetta:

Guys guys, I got some good news about all four of us.

Matt Pearce:

Incredible.

Hans Buetow:

Okay. I've got one. And can Jason, I would love for you to, tell us what we got here.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Oh, we've got a subreddit. This is rpoms, p 0 m e s. Subheading, the accessory fruit. Poms, apple pear, loquat quince, etcetera. News, information, and images.

Jason Obertholtzer:

And you have linked me to the hot Hot. Hot. Taxonomy of poems.

Mike Rugnetta:

So these are this is ordered by most popular.

Hans Buetow:

Hot. Most popular.

Mike Rugnetta:

Also, I just wanna point out this sub has been around since 01/22/2014.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Okay.

Georgia Hampton:

Okay.

Jason Obertholtzer:

A veteran sub with 246 members, two of which are online, which puts it in the top 38% of subreddits. Good for you, poems. Would you like me to read the top hottest post?

Hans Buetow:

Please.

Jason Obertholtzer:

My mind. My mind races with thoughts. A thousand voices singing in choir, each note a symphony of being. But one by one, they're dwindling, like stars fading at dawn, voices growing fainter, drowning in the depths of silence, until there remains but one, a choir of one, voice coarse, barely able to breathe, no one there to lift the solitary song. The choir stops.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Now there are none. The last voice lost, drowning in the void. No melody remains in this choir of none.

Mike Rugnetta:

Jason, beautiful.

Hans Buetow:

So this is that was posted twenty hours

Jason Obertholtzer:

ago. Okay.

Hans Buetow:

So this is an active subreddit. But I would what I would love for you to do is you don't have to read them all, but kind of scroll down on this and talk about the evolution of the post as we go back in time.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Yeah. The things I'm seeing at Hot appear to all be similar poetry, a similar size, a very similar character count.

Georgia Hampton:

Looking at one right now called Depression's Tight Grip.

Jason Obertholtzer:

K. Who I was before. Let there be silence. Inner conflict.

Hans Buetow:

There is, however, about four years ago, an incredibly bright line change.

Georgia Hampton:

Yes. I was gonna say I just got there.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Is. Right after the ocean and life advice, those two poems, four years ago.

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. Ready? Here we go.

Georgia Hampton:

Yep. Let's go first.

Mike Rugnetta:

Ten apple varieties once thought extinct rediscovered in Pacific Northwest 5 Years ago. Help. Is this aphids or mildew five years ago? Apples from perfect harvest rot on the ground as demand for cider slumps four years ago. New variety of apple discovered by Wiltshire Runner, 4 Years ago.

Mike Rugnetta:

Life advice, golden silences. The sweetest sound is silence. Oh, to be alone with your soul safe and sound away from the noise and destruction of the world. Oh, to be comfortable in your solitude and relish the power of independent thought four years ago.

Jason Obertholtzer:

And every poem since is a different user, I'm pretty sure. This is not one rogue acolyte, one rogue schismed branch of the palm tree.

Hans Buetow:

Yeah. So I can kinda tell what's happening. Right? Like, this was created for ten years ago, more than ten years ago. Palm is a botany term for a seeded, like, an apple, a pear like, somebody clearly created this as a place to talk about fruit.

Hans Buetow:

And it was used that way by a couple of people until four years ago, the misspelling of poem because it's the same letters, p o m e to p o e m, suddenly, this very emo poetry starts to appear at a regular cadence. Is the poetry real? What happened? What happened to the fruit people? What is going on here?

Mike Rugnetta:

What happened to the fruit people?

Georgia Hampton:

It did happen to the fruit people.

Hans Buetow:

Are the moderators the fruit people or the poem people? Who's who's in charge?

Jason Obertholtzer:

I also think this is all of the posts. Like, there's maybe 30 posts in its eleven year history and this is all of them.

Mike Rugnetta:

This is it. Some of the people who posted, this is the only thing that they've posted. But a lot of them have, like, what look like legitimate post histories with posts as recently as, like, a few months ago.

Georgia Hampton:

There's kind of and I

Georgia Hampton:

don't say this to be shady. There is kind of a, I am 13, and I wanna be a writer kind of experience happening here

Georgia Hampton:

Yeah.

Georgia Hampton:

That may also come with a how do you spell the word poem?

Jason Obertholtzer:

There's also a French person in here.

Georgia Hampton:

There's also French.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Where will be that, Georgia?

Georgia Hampton:

Well, sacre bleu.

Mike Rugnetta:

I also wonder phonetically, poems. Poems. Poems.

Hans Buetow:

Yeah. Poems. Poems. Poems. Poems.

Hans Buetow:

Poems. Poems. Poems.

Georgia Hampton:

Poems. Poems. Poems.

Hans Buetow:

Poems. Poems. Poems. Poems. Poems.

Hans Buetow:

This is a that's my new reader.

Mike Rugnetta:

So I could understand someone who is whose English is not their first language. Yep. Wanting to share some of their poems.

Georgia Hampton:

Yep.

Mike Rugnetta:

And being like, alright, where do I go? Probably are poems.

Hans Buetow:

And if you don't scroll down to Yeah. A few years ago, you just look at the top ones, you're like, yeah. There's other poems.

Mike Rugnetta:

I think, yeah. If you don't scroll down and you're 14, which I think Georgia is also right. Right? Yeah.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Interestingly, if you add another m in there to make it the French word for apples I'm looking out for you lost French citizen. That subreddit is banned. Oh, I see. So the French have nowhere to go to write poems without evidence? Talking about their poems.

Georgia Hampton:

Well, it's because it was unmoderated. So one lucky person, one brave intrepid soul has the chance to bring this back from the darkness.

Mike Rugnetta:

Banned due to being unmoderated. Interesting.

Georgia Hampton:

It got too wild in there. Apple madness.

Matt Pearce:

Great.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Steve Ali sent in this contender for a WIGO here. Mike, would you like to describe what you see? God, I would love to.

Mike Rugnetta:

Okay. This is a Instagram post. It is from the account k b a dot league. The caption says, pre season's here, and the excitement is palpable in the Kanto Basketball Association as we gear up for another thrilling season of basketball action. Join us in explaining the anticipation and preparation that defines the KBA pre season.

Mike Rugnetta:

The video is basketball Yes. Played by

Hans Buetow:

Yes.

Mike Rugnetta:

Avatars. This is, digital. This is a render. And they, I do not know who these characters are. Some of them are like, they're they're human shapes.

Mike Rugnetta:

Like, their bodies look like basketball players, but their heads are Pokemon?

Georgia Hampton:

Yeah.

Georgia Hampton:

Are they Pokemon?

Hans Buetow:

Yeah. Not all of them.

Jason Obertholtzer:

I understand. There's a Waluigi. There's a is that

Mike Rugnetta:

that is that a one on a hat? Waluigi is on the bench. Yeah. We got mister mime. We got Waluigi.

Mike Rugnetta:

We got slow poke. Yeah.

Georgia Hampton:

There's a Waluigi. It's a Jigglypuff,

Mike Rugnetta:

I believe.

Georgia Hampton:

Yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

I think that's one punch man. Yes. Mister Mime loves to free load

Georgia Hampton:

in the corner. Miss, I was all for this until I saw mister Mime. I don't like him. I like him. What

Georgia Hampton:

is this?

Mike Rugnetta:

Welcome to the official YouTube channel of the Kanto Basketball Association. Kanto being the island on which Pokemon takes place, I believe. Right? Or the Yeah. The the, continent?

Mike Rugnetta:

Is this like Blaze Ball, but for basketball and Pokemon? Can I play this game?

Jason Obertholtzer:

Right? So the more this league exists, the more I will be excited about it. So this could just be somebody had some software, and they are practicing how to do the animation things, and they stuck Pokemon heads on their NBA two k render or something and said, let's make a funny account. The context clues in the account leads me to believes there are people actually playing this league somewhere out there, whether entirely automated or steering their teams.

Georgia Hampton:

I mean, is this is this

Georgia Hampton:

just like a jail broke,

Georgia Hampton:

like, NBA all star video game that someone put, like, skins on?

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. It looks Probably. I'm watching one of the longer YouTube videos right now, and that's exactly what it looks like. It looks like a modded, basketball video game. And this video, it looks like the highlight reel from a game that was played, like the render is a little bit better, and the camera movement is a little bit nicer.

Mike Rugnetta:

So So it's like, sort of like, remember when they did, like, Red versus Blue? You know, it's like Machinima almost. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

Yeah. Yeah.

Georgia Hampton:

So the other thing that

Hans Buetow:

you have is underneath each other names, they have projected 18 points per game, 19 points per game, 17 points per game, as they go as they run through each of the characters, with a little bit about their stats, which makes me think that is there are they anticipating betting? Oh. Oh. Or fantasy leagues?

Mike Rugnetta:

I would also like to point out three things Yes. In this YouTube video. One, PaRappa the Rapper is here. Of course.

Hans Buetow:

Of course.

Mike Rugnetta:

Two, forty views, zero comments.

Georgia Hampton:

Oh.

Georgia Hampton:

What is there to say?

Mike Rugnetta:

Ground level.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Ground level.

Hans Buetow:

It's a new sport taking over the nation.

Mike Rugnetta:

Everyone get in here.

Georgia Hampton:

Also, it's worth saying that the basketball is a pokeball.

Hans Buetow:

Yes. It is very much worth saying. That is good news, everyone.

Mike Rugnetta:

Okay. I'm gonna just, I'm gonna come out and I'm gonna say it. This rules.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Yeah. Yeah. This is great. Hell, yeah.

Mike Rugnetta:

Stevie, good poll.

Jason Obertholtzer:

And if you're interested, Ground Floor.

Mike Rugnetta:

Ground Floor.

Georgia Hampton:

Yeah. This is it.

Jason Obertholtzer:

Get in here.

Georgia Hampton:

Get in here. We're already here. Where are you?

Mike Rugnetta:

We are 10% of the audience for this video before us.

Jason Obertholtzer:

And I got 10 stacks on Waluigi.

Georgia Hampton:

My favorite Pokemon.

Mike Rugnetta:

If you see something on the Internet and you think to yourself, what is going on here? And you want to hear us also also say, what is going on here? Please send it in and we may respond to it in a future mailbag episode or the next time we do a what is going on here segment. We also recorded, I think, twice as many of these as there are, in the public feed cut of this. So members, you can look forward to an extra beefy what is going on here member only cut behind the paywall.

Mike Rugnetta:

Good night, everyone.

Hans Buetow:

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and there in the van sat Samantha, Bobby, Joey, and the Griffin. It was a tight squeeze as you probably imagined. Well, until that is, the van stopped, the doors opened, and everybody fell to the ground with a loud thump. They were in the junkyard. All around them were millions of computers.

Hans Buetow:

The man who was in the back of the van got up and threw the computer into the pile of strange computers. But there was one problem. None of the children had seen where x one fifty had landed in the pile of computers. Oh, where is X 1 50? Asked Samantha.

Hans Buetow:

The who? Asked the man from the back of the van. X one fifty, our friend, explained Samantha. Duh, that's a good one, Missy. Har har har.

Hans Buetow:

Frank, I think she, means their, computer, said Al, the driver. Yeah. I knew all along she meant their computer. Do do you need help looking for it? Asked Al.

Hans Buetow:

Well, now that you've mentioned it, yes, please, answered Samantha courteously. So the search for X-one 50 began. First, everybody carried after computer after computer into the van. Then Frank started to plug the computers into the socket in the wall. The first one was a bit like this.

Hans Buetow:

Hello. My name is v w two three one nine seven eight four r t n l p eight nine five six f h h r four seven b x e e y n l four five five five five. May I help you? Frank quickly turned it off. The next one was like this.

Hans Buetow:

3 at your service. Not +1 50, sighed Samantha. The next one was like this. Hello there. 772459 at your service.

Hans Buetow:

Nope. The next one. X one 50 here. May I help you? Frank turned it off and let out a big yell.

Hans Buetow:

Now we can go home, said Joey. We can't go and just leave all of these computers. Answered Joey. Oh, could we? Could we please?

Hans Buetow:

Begged Samantha. Oh, I don't think mom and dad will mind 28 new computers and a new child in their house, answered Joey. Child in their house, answered Joey. Everybody in all of their excitement had forgotten about the boy. No, I don't think they would mind another child in the house, agreed Samantha.

Hans Buetow:

Then let's go, said Bobby. Yes, let's, agreed Samantha. So they all went home, the boy, Joey, Bobby, Samantha and to this day, they are all living together with 28 computers.

Mike Rugnetta:

That is the show we have for you this week. We're gonna be back here in the main feed on Wednesday, March 12. Neverpost is an independent staff owned podcast with no funding, no runway, and no production partners. That means everything we do, we can do only because of your support and imagine if we could do more. Our membership is $4 a month at neverpo.st, for which you get access to an ad free feed of the show, extended segments and interviews with guests, side shows, and more.

Mike Rugnetta:

It's a deal. It's a steal. And with it free comes the knowledge that you are supporting a group of hardworking, independent culture and technology critics who are not afraid to read you the short stories they wrote when they were adolescents. Never Poe dot ST. Four dollars a month.

Mike Rugnetta:

Please become a member. Never Post's producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton, and the mysterious Doctor First Name, Last Name. Our senior producer is Hans Buto. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. And the show's host, that's me, is Mike Rugnetta.

Mike Rugnetta:

The truth is, I've never cared for the national anthem. If you think about it, it's not a good song. Too high for most of us with the rocket's red glare. And then there are the bombs. Always, always there is war and bombs.

Mike Rugnetta:

Once, I sang it at homecoming and threw even the tenacious high school band off key. But the song didn't mean anything, just a call to the field, something to get through before the pummeling of youth. And what of the stanzas we never sing? The third that mentions no refuge could save the hireling and the slave. Perhaps the truth is every song of this country Excerpt of A New National Anthem by Ada Limon.

Mike Rugnetta:

Never Post is a production of Charts and Leisure.