Episode 171: Adrian Chen

Adrian Chen is a freelance journalist who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Wired. His latest article is "Unfollow," about a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

“Twitter and social media get such a bad rep for being full of hate and trolls. And, you know, a lot of the stories I’ve written have probably bolstered that stereotype. I think a lot of people have a lot of anxiety and ambivalence about social media even though they love it—they’re on it all the time—and they’re kind of thinking of it as a vice, as something they should be ashamed of, as bad. But this is a very clear win. It's not some abstract thing you could never measure. No, it’s like, [social media] really did cause her to leave the church.”

Thanks to MailChimp, Casper, Squarespace, Mack Weldon, and Howl.fm for sponsoring this week's episode.

Show Notes:
@AdrianChen
Longform Podcast #13: Adrian Chen
Chen on Longform
[5:00] "Unfollow" (The New Yorker • Nov 2015)
[24:00] "The Agency" (The New York Times Magazine • June 2015)
[37:00] "Don't Be a Stranger" (The New Inquiry • Feb 2013)
[37:00] "The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics And Beheadings Out Of Your Facebook Feed" (Wired • Oct 2014)
[42:00] "The Troll Hunters" (MIT Technology Review• Dec 2014)
[48:00] Vote for your favorite articles of the year in Longform's Best of 2015 Readers' Poll
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adrian Chen is a freelance journalist who has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Wired. His latest article is "Unfollow," about a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

“Twitter and social media get such a bad rep for being full of hate and trolls. And, you know, a lot of the stories I’ve written have probably bolstered that stereotype. I think a lot of people have a lot of anxiety and ambivalence about social media even though they love it—they’re on it all the time—and they’re kind of thinking of it as a vice, as something they should be ashamed of, as bad. But this is a very clear win. It's not some abstract thing you could never measure. No, it’s like, [social media] really did cause her to leave the church.”

Thanks to MailChimp, Casper, Squarespace, Mack Weldon, and Howl.fm for sponsoring this week's episode.

Show Notes:
@AdrianChen
Longform Podcast #13: Adrian Chen
Chen on Longform
[5:00] "Unfollow" (The New Yorker • Nov 2015)
[24:00] "The Agency" (The New York Times Magazine • June 2015)
[37:00] "Don't Be a Stranger" (The New Inquiry • Feb 2013)
[37:00] "The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics And Beheadings Out Of Your Facebook Feed" (Wired • Oct 2014)
[42:00] "The Troll Hunters" (MIT Technology Review• Dec 2014)
[48:00] Vote for your favorite articles of the year in Longform's Best of 2015 Readers' Poll

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices