That's a Cult?
12 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 87 ratingsThe internet is unrecognisable when you remove talking to strangers from it. It feels suddenly less useful. You probably don't know most of the people you follow on Twitter, but you might have discussed each other's mental health. You're never going to meet everyone you upvote on Reddit, but you've shared in their best moments and eavesdropped on their worst.
Thanks to this ability to connect with people, we don’t have to physically isolate ourselves to be part of a community anymore. The internet means we can expose ourselves to ideas that would have usually never entered our lives.
This podcast is about groups of people on the internet and why they connect with each other. It’s about forums, niche conversations, moderators, and new languages. It’s also about how these groups could sometimes, even just a little bit, be compared to cults.
All episodes written and edited by: Helen McCarthy (@helenlmccarthy)
Music by: Antti Luode (http://anttismusic.blogspot.co.uk)
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Ep 12 - Wedding Shaming
December 02, 2019 18:11 - 1 hour - 134 MBWedding shaming is our new favourite internet-based hobby. On two huge Facebook groups, tens of thousands of people regularly insult, laugh at, and argue about dodgy cakes, ill-fitting dresses, and themed engagement shoots. Their content frequently goes viral, whether they want it to or not. Why are people really in these groups, and how harmful can stranger shaming be? Helen finds out. Thanks to my contributors: Jenn & Steven Van Elk - https://jennifervanelk.com/ Dr Cagle - https://twitte...
Ep 11 - Workism
July 28, 2019 18:26 - 1 hour - 112 MBThe big work question used to be "Do you live to work, or work to live?" Now, it's "Can you ever work hard enough?" In February 2019, Atlantic staff writer Derek Thompson wrote a viral article about workism - that "work has morphed into a religious identity—promising transcendence and community, but failing to deliver." How widespread and cult-like has this become? Helen speaks to a workplace wellness expert, those trying to define success, and a 'workism reformist', to find out. You can r...
Ep 10 - Law of Attraction
May 20, 2019 18:57 - 55 minutes - 104 MBSpeak it into existence. Stay positive. Create the life you want. The Law of Attraction might sound straightforward, but it's anything but. We've all heard of The Secret, but the Law of Attraction remains a bit of a cosmic mystery to most. Helen hears the diverse perspectives of people who use it, and finds out if we need to understand it to believe in it at all. Thanks to all the anonymous contributors. Ginny Gane - ginnygane.com Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy twitter.com/helenl...
Ep 9 - Influencers
March 10, 2019 20:05 - 47 minutes - 89.3 MBThe social media influencer industry has exploded so much, we can't scroll through our timelines without bumping into them. We've gone from seeing them as a relatively harmless novelty, to criticising and regulating them, in just a few years. Are they misunderstood artists and curators, or too busy flogging their diet products to care about anything other than the numbers? #spon #ad Thanks to my contributors: Eadaoin Fitzmaurice - instagram.com/bandeadd Cameron Phillips - instagram.com/ca...
Ep 8 - Motivational speaking
November 29, 2018 09:39 - 49 minutes - 93.6 MBIf there's something missing in your life, or you're struggling to achieve your goals, you could always spend a lot of money on a very loud motivational seminar. That should get you going. The motivation industry is huge, but like the diet industry, it sells a big dream. What do the motivational junkies who've tried it all actually think? And can we really trust the industry's leading speakers to give us what we need? Thanks to my contributors: Kevin Durham - kevindurham.co.uk Samuel Leeds...
Ep 7 - Pick-up artists
August 30, 2018 09:32 - 46 minutes - 87.7 MBWhat do women want? According to pick-up, they want someone dominant and assertive who’ll come up to them in the street and ask for their number outright. Pick-up clearly has a flawed methodology. That hasn’t stopped some ‘gurus’ making a fortune out of it, and attracting hundreds of thousands of followers. Does evolutionary science really support their brash advice? And do the coaches actually think they’re doing men some good? Thanks to my contributors: Kezia Noble (https://www.kezia-n...
Ep 6 - Fandoms
July 07, 2018 19:20 - 47 minutes - 88.1 MBStar Wars. Sherlock. Supernatural. Their fans are many and - even if you don’t realise it - powerful. In episode 6, Helen finds out how a BBC TV show can inspire an online witch hunt, what’s really going on with all this Star Wars drama, and why fanfiction should never be underestimated. Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy twitter.com/helenlmccarthy Music by: Antti Luode www.anttismusic.blogspot.co.uk All sources used (so you can do your own reading and research): https://thatsacult.tum...
Ep 5 - Anti & Pro Vaccination
May 18, 2018 17:36 - 39 minutes - 74.3 MBAnti-vaxxers are some of the most hated people on the internet - depending on who you talk to. They don't like vaccinations, and they're pretty adamant about it. Pro-vaxxers don't like anti-vaxxers, and they're pretty adamant about it too. Are pro-vaxxers always the 'good guys', peddling sound science and common sense? Or do both sides of this polarised argument have much more in common than they realise? Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy twitter.com/helenlmccarthy Music by: Antti Luod...
Ep 4 - Clean eating
March 23, 2018 09:43 - 38 minutes - 72.4 MBBEFORE YOU LISTEN: Clean eating, diets, food restriction, and eating disorders are mentioned throughout. Please don’t listen to this episode if you find these topics difficult. It’s got 36 million mentions on Instagram, and it’s got us cutting out dairy and gluten as if they’re poisonous. Clean eating has been fighting off the criticism it regularly receives and prevailing for the most part. What are people really trying to ‘cleanse’ from? Is it possible to follow a clean eating diet witho...
Ep 3 - NoFap
February 04, 2018 16:39 - 38 minutes - 72.1 MBThere's a group of (mainly) men on the internet who try and go for as long as possible without masturbating or watching porn. It's called NoFap, and for many, it's a form of profound self-improvement. Are they deluded and too quick to self-diagnose? Or more progressive than the rest of us? This episode obviously features conversations about some fairly x-rated topics, so don't listen if that's not your thing. Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy www.twitter.com/helenlmccarthy Music by: ...
Ep 2 - MLM Schemes
December 27, 2017 17:40 - 52 minutes - 97.4 MBScroll through your Facebook timeline and you're sure to find them - people you vaguely know, promising an easy income from home. All you have to do is join their team and sell these "amazing products". Is MLM always a scam and the recruiters master manipulators? Helen looks for the grey area in direct selling and network marketing. Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy www.twitter.com/helenlmccarthy Music by: Antti Luode www.anttismusic.blogspot.co.uk Episode sources (so you can do your ...
Ep 1 - Childfree
December 27, 2017 17:12 - 41 minutes - 77.7 MBSome people just don't want kids, and often find they're questioned, mistrusted, or even hated for it. The childfree subreddit has become a digital home for 142,000 of them. Can the internet be a place of respite for people being pestered by their broody parents? Or are they longing for a childfree, separatist world that isolates and misunderstands parents? Written and edited by: Helen McCarthy www.twitter.com/helenlmccarthy Music by: Antti Luode www.anttismusic.blogspot.co.uk Episode sou...