INFLUENCE

Hey friends! I'm bringing an important conversation over from my other feed, as this story has huge ramifications for protected speech, the LGBTQ+ community, and how powerful companies can change what's allowed on the Internet. While certainly alarming, this conversation (and what has transpired since) has made me hopeful. - Original Show Notes from July 25, 2025 - Hundreds of NSFW games were removed from Steam last week after Valve quietly changed some policies around adult content. But journalists realized it was actually the payment processors — Visa and Mastercard — who refused to complete transactions around certain kinds of porn. Digging deeper, it was revealed that a small Australian conservative activism group was taking a victory lap around Steam's porn purge, all in the name of "protecting children" from "harmful content." And they are targeting Itch.io next, which has already de-indexed many adult games. So how did a tiny group of pearl-clutchers convince two multi-national banking conglomerates to censor the world's largest video game marketplace? Games journalist Ana Valens attempted to answer this with two reported articles on Vice's gaming site Waypoint. But those articles were taken down by Vice's corporate owners, prompting Ana (and many of her colleagues) to immediately quit. This week, Ana joins Matt to discuss this legally and ethically complex issue, why banks can now decide what art we're allowed to see on the Internet, the pressing threat for the LGBTQ+ community, and what we can (actually) do about it. If this conversation inspired you to take action, please discuss it in our Discord, check out the links below, and follow Ana's work: Both archived articles: https://archive.ph/USxe6 + https://archive.ph/x5cGQ https://yellat.money/ Follow Ana on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/acvalens.net Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August 2005, YouTube was a 6-month-old beta test, the iPhone was still years away, putting music on your iPod required a cable, and MuggleNet was *the* destination for news and conversation about Harry Potter. The books and movies were still coming out, and online fandom was taking shape in novel ways. One of which was a “podcast” — it’s like a radio show, but you download it from the Internet and listen on your computer, burn it to a CD for the car, or dare we say load it onto your portable music player. Very few existed, but the excitement for them among niche communities was palpable. At the suggestion of a MuggleNet staffer/volunteer, MuggleCast was born. The show began as news segments about the books and movies: casting, release dates, trailers, and more. But its extremely likeable and relatable hosts (some of whom were teenagers at the time) quickly built a thriving fan community unto themselves. The show became a forum for granular, chapter-by-chapter literary criticism of the books, and lively discussion of their wider cultural impact. MuggleCast is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, making it one of the longest-running podcasts ever (mere months behind the medium’s earliest adopters like Leo Laporte and “This Week In Tech). Eric and Micah, two of MuggleCast’s four current hosts, join Matt to discuss their entry into the HP fandom, podcast production in the days of dial-up, that time Steve Jobs mentioned the show on stage, their commitment to inclusivity, reckoning with JK Rowling’s transphobic views, and why we need the anti-fascist themes of Harry Potter (and other fantasy fiction) more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm taking the week off, but hope you'll check out my new improv comedy podcast for kids and families! Listen to the first episode here, share it with the kids in your life, and subscribe wherever you get your favorite podcasts: https://www.talesfromthecloudsea.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laina Morris was 20 years old when she entered a Justin Bieber fan contest in 2012. She uploaded a video of herself to YouTube singing a creepy parody song. She didn't win the concert tickets, but when she woke up the next morning, she had won a very different prize. Reddit, a website she had never heard of, got a hold of the video and turned her into the poster child for obsessive, co-dependent relationships. "Overly Attached Girlfriend" was born, and Laina became one of the most recognizable memes on the Internet. Rather than fight her unexpected memehood, Laina leaned ALL the way in, and rode the wave into an online comedy career. Her hilarious vlogs and sketches often featured OAG, while others branched into broader concepts with her signature awkwardness. At just 21 years old, she was making a living as a full-time YouTuber. But in 2019, at the height of her fame, she broke up with YouTube forever... Or did she? This week, Laina joins Matt to discuss how "being in on the joke" created a positive relationship with memehood, her favorite comedy collaborations, getting recognized in public by people who aren't quite sure how they know you, and the mental health challenges that prompted her to leave a massive audience behind. Follow Laina for shorter videos these days: https://www.instagram.com/laina/ https://www.tiktok.com/@laina622 This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When people post online, they usual declare their opinions. And in social media echo chambers, those opinions tend to be validated. But the subreddit r/ChangeMyView *might* be the only place on the Internet where people come in good faith to have their opinions challenged — and perhaps even changed. Topics range from movie fandom to food preferences to history to some of the most challenging ethical and political discussions of our time: abortion, global conflict, mental health, and of course our current U.S. leadership. Someone posts their view, and commenters present their challenge. If the original poster is swayed — even slightly — they award a "!Delta" for the change. The result is a bastion of civil discussion about emotional and challenging topics, and the community of 4 million subscribers is held together by precise rules and moderation. But in April, the University of Zurich conducted a social experiment on the subreddit shook the community to its core, and begs the question: Can AI be weaponized to change the views of millions on the Internet? And if so, how can we study that problem ethically? This week, Logan MacGregor, a moderator of r/ChangeMyView, joins Matt to discuss what makes this community so special, and how it responded to this shocking experiment that violated its core tenets. Read more about the response to the AI experiments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1k8b2hj/meta_unauthorized_experiment_on_cmv_involving/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grace Helbig was cutting tape in her 2006 video editing class when the professor asked everyone to create accounts on a new website called "YouTube." That's where Grace found vloggers, jump cuts, and an emerging alt comedy scene. She became obsessed (in a good way) and immediately got to work. What began as comedic vlogs and absurd sketches with her improv pals blossomed into a 20 year career of making the Internet laugh. But it wasn't without pitfalls. Grace joins Matt to discuss how she's reinvented herself online many times, the deep sense of community she found within the "second wave" of YouTubers, memories from early VidCons, her battle with breast cancer and how it informed her new standup tour, and why being an Internet face can make you question your true identity. Plus: Your questions for Grace, and a harrowing round of YouTube history trivia. Follow and subscribe to Grace's work: https://youtube.com/itsgrace https://www.instagram.com/gracehelbig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Video journalists Joss Fong and Adam Cole are rarely satisfied with the results of scientific inquiry. As self-proclaimed "earnest nerds," they are compelled to unpack the process — to learn HOW experts know the things they know. After more than a decade as science communicators at Vox and NPR, they launched their own home on YouTube called Howtown. Their videos on how to measure animal sentience, how we really know the circumference of the Earth, and how hot sauces get so ... hot ... have captivated millions of curious viewers — even those who may not be fluent in evidence-based science journalism. This week, Adam and Joss sit down with Matt to discuss their leap from established media to independent creators, the meticulous quality of their work, and the curiosity that compels them to create, even when the economics of the Internet fell grim. Stop what you're doing and subscribe to Howtown: https://www.youtube.com/@Howtown/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Bulsiewicz went to school for 14 years to become a gastroenterologist. He loved working with patients, and developed a fascination for emerging research about the gut microbiome -- trillions of bacteria that live in our intestines and digest fruits and veggies. As a young doctor, he realized that public perception of the gut microbiome was lacking. When he gave a talk about colon microbes at his hospital, the intimate event became a standing-room only fire code violation. That's when he knew the world was hungry for more information, and the Internet was calling. Appearing on some of the world's most popular and respected health podcasts, Dr. B rocketed from a practicing clinician to a leading advocate for gut health -- especially on Instagram. While he could treat a handful of patients in private practice, he was helping millions as a science communicator online. When working 9-5, writing books, creating content, appearing on podcasts, and being a dad became too much, he made the tough decision to leave clinical work behind and become a full-time influencer. This week on INFLUENCE, Dr. Bulsiewicz sits down with Matt to discuss the fascinating microscopic creatures in our colons that we can't live without, why our modern diets starve them of essential nutrients, the advice his wife gave him that changed the course of his career, what to look for when parsing medical information online, and some disgusting trivia about cow intestines. Follow Dr. B on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguthealthmd/ Learn more about his books here: https://theplantfedgut.com/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on INFLUENCE, the double-edged sword of YouTube's ContentID systems, and the explosion of AI-generated ads and voices which have no shame in cloning content creators for profit. Plus: Some changes to the Patreon so you can get more for less! Links discussed in this episode: How to subscribe to a private Patreon RSS feed: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041347732-How-to-use-your-audio-RSS Why YouTube apologized for age-gating Balatro videos: https://www.theverge.com/news/645257/youtube-balatro-univeristy-videos-age-gated-localthunk POV: You Got Deepfaked: https://news.thepublishpress.com/p/pov-you-got-deepfaked This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many of us, Zoë Ligon worked a retail job after college. But in her case, it was a sex toy shop, where she would have fascinating interactions with customers. Talking sex with random strangers changed her perspective on sex education, and she began writing about her own experiences on Tumblr – back when Tumblr was still a safe haven for NSFW content. Her blogging became paid gigs, which lead to a social media following, and one of her posts in particular catapulted her to worldwide attention. These days, she’s a sex “edutainer” across many platforms, anchored by more than 260,000 followers on Instagram. She’s leveraged this online following to launch an online sex toy store called Spectrum Boutique. She’s also branched out to online sex work via OnlyFans, brand partnerships, and consulting. This week, the self-proclaimed “Dildo Duchess” joins Matt to discuss how she built her empire. Zoë explains why normalizing kinks and sexual wellness on social media is so important, and why meaningful sex education is so difficult on modern social platforms. She also shares the origin of her book, “Carnal Knowledge,” and the family tragedy that became the catalyst for her business. Follow Zoë: https://www.instagram.com/thongria/ Check out Spectrum Boutique: https://spectrumboutique.com/ Read her book, “Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn’t Get In School:” https://spectrumboutique.com/products/carnal-knowledge-sex-education-you-didnt-get-in-school Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

-Original Show Notes from May 20, 2022- Stuart Duncan is the dad of an autistic son, and he's also autistic himself. So when he learned that autistic Minecraft players were being bullied on popular servers, he set out to create a safe and inclusive virtual space for the autism community. The moment he announced it, parents lined up in droves, hoping their kids could join. Today, the server has 15,000 members, and Stuart has quit his job as a software developer to manage, moderate, and customize the server for kids (and their families) who communicate and play their own way. Stuart joins us to discuss the origins of Autcraft, why he still relies on the Java Edition of Minecraft to serve his community, and the power of safe, custom virtual worlds for neurodiverse players. If you're as moved as we are by Stuart's story, you can support Autcraft on Patreon to keep "The Best Place on the Internet" going for years to come: https://www.patreon.com/autcraft https://www.autcraft.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A peer reviewed study from the University of British Columbia analyzed the most popular ADHD-related videos on TikTok and found that very few of them contain information that aligns with medical diagnostics. Even more interesting, people who consume this kind of content perceive the diagnosis to be far more widespread - and symptoms far more intense - than in reality. Social media is warping our sense of reality and self?! Inconceivable! Plus: New bi-partisan legislation aims to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The 1996 law shields websites from litigation if their users upload harmful content. This protection is integral to how the modern Web functions, and erasing it could lead to over-moderation and fear-based censorship. While harmful user content is always a concern, the true problem with social media is not that the content exists, but its weaponization by tech companies in the name of profit. In this case, Congress is fixing the wrong problem, and the consequences could damage online speech for years to come. A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0319335&_bhlid=eba84bf6525fc0863f3276ea4a45eb0891dac351 TikTok is full of ADHD advice — just don't trust it for a diagnosis: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5336303/adhd-symptoms-adult-tiktok Lawmakers are trying to repeal Section 230 again: https://www.theverge.com/news/634189/section-230-repeal-graham-durbin This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s an idea: Around 2012, YouTube was undergoing a profound transformation from a novelty economy to a loyalty platform. This was largely driven by vlog culture, but another format was emerging: The video essay. But would Internet audiences (notorious for their ShOrT aTeNtIoN sPaNs!!!) watch longform, Socratic discussion of math, democracy, quantum mechanics, and Pokémon? Turns out: Yes. Through the power of public broadcasting, an extremely innovative YouTube show emerged called PBS Idea Channel. It was produced by a talented team of writers, researchers and producers, and its host – Mike Rugnetta – became the face of Internet curiosity during its 5 year and 400 video run. Today, you can’t swing Schrödinger's dead cat without hitting a video essay with millions of views. Their popularity can be traced back to Mike and his colleagues, who in-turn credit the vloggers and comedians who inspired them in the early days of Web video. Mike joins Matt to discuss this rare time for Internet creativity, what it was like to build a large and intellectually curious community on YouTube, why he returned to his first love of audio design, how modern social media makes us so passive, and why he’s thrilled that his many ongoing podcasts don’t pay the bills. Connect with Mike: https://rugnetta.com/ Mike’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikerugnetta/ Subscribe to Mike’s excellent podcasts: Reasonably Sound: https://reasonablysound.com/ RIP Corp: https://ripcorp.biz/ Never Post: https://www.neverpo.st/ Fun City: https://funcity.ventures/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizabeth Booker Houston got a law degree and a master's in public health, with a focus on pandemic policy. Too bad that wasn’t very useful OH WAIT During the Covid lockdowns, she became fascinated by the health misinformation perpetuated by Trump’s first administration and weaponized by social media. So she took to TikTok (as you do) to share her public health expertise and make fun of anti-vaxxers. Elizabeth’s combo of rapid-fire facts, myth debunks, and brutal punchlines drew a huge audience. And these days, she makes as much money from Instagram as she does from policy law. Elizabeth joins Matt to discuss her lo-fi content style, unpacking extremely complex topics for tiny attention spans. interviewing members of Congress, that time the Kamala Harris campaign winked back, her own political aspirations, cussing about politics for a living, and her fierce determination to call out Trump 2.0’s legal bullshit. Follow Elizabeth's work: https://www.instagram.com/bookersquared/ https://linktr.ee/Bookersquared This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi friends! Excited to share this interview from my *other* show, Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat, where we cover video games and their communities. This one is about the extraordinary legacy of "Minesweeper," which changed the Internet in more ways than you might think. Enjoy! -Original show notes from Marc 24, 2023- Get the full episode here (or in your favorite pod app): https://haveenteredthechat.com/episodes/100-minesweeper-kyle-orland-diablo-4 When "Minesweeper" and "Solitaire" were first bundled with Microsoft's Windows operating system in the early '90s, they introduced millions of people to PC gaming, many of whom had never used a mouse before. "Minesweeper" in particular became a favorite addiction of many Microsoft programmers, including Bill Gates. Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor at Ars Technica, has written an upcoming book about the legacy of the grey, tiled Roguelike that paved the way for a more robust ecosystem of PC games and eventually the Xbox brand we know today. The ubiquity of these casual pack-in games rivaled the scale of current "Candy Crush" obsessions, and also caused moral panic among business and political leaders, who decried office workers frittering away their productivity on addictive games. Kyle dives into the curious exploits that competitive Minesweepers discovered when they were finally connected to the Internet, and how Microsoft missed its chance for "Solitaire" to become the "Fortnite" of the Windows Store. He also shares stories from his early days curating a Super Mario Bros. fan site when he was 15, interviewing Shigeru Miyamoto, and why "Bubble Bobble" desperately needs a 3D reboot. Plus, we absolve Colette's guilt about giving Blizzard money for the "Diablo IV" beta and why a new Tactics + Roguelite + RPG + Tower Defense + Diabloish game has got its hooks in Matt. Pre-order Kyle's book "Minesweeper" from Boss Fight Books: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/minesweeper-by-kyle-orland Or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Minesweeper-31-Boss-Fight-Books/dp/B0BRSKKLGV/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your Reddit feeds seem different lately, you're not alone. Massive "default" subreddits like r/pics — once home to heartwarming photos, hilarious memes, and stunning landscapes — have become a hotbed of anti-Trump and anti-fascist activism. Users there are sharing photos from recent public protests, which you may not have seen on the news, but are tens of thousands strong across every U.S. state. The sea change in political activism is largely attributed to a grassroots affiliation of civil and human rights organizations now called 50501: 50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Movement. And on February 5 (Presidents Day), they rallied everywhere in the U.S. to proclaim "No Kings Day" in response to Donald Trump and Elon Musk's executive overreach, racist rhetoric, and apparent Nazi salute. This week, longtime activist Gloriann Sahay joins Matt to discuss how political protest is taking shape in a time that feels very disempowering. They discuss the Internet's role in political organizing, the goals and outcomes of "radical non-violence," and what we all can do right now to support the movement. Learn more at: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ Check out Glo's activist site: https://pol-rev.com/ Keep tabs on the 50501 movement via Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/50501/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True Crime Case Files had 150 videos and millions of views, but not a single true story was real. Also, are we finally seeing real protests thanks to Reddit? https://www.404media.co/a-true-crime-documentary-series-has-millions-of-views-the-murders-are-all-ai-generated/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/politics/trump-musk-protests-50501-presidents-day.html This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social media platforms have become the “default” for most of the world’s 5.5 billion Internet users, which means everything we see and post online is controlled by billionaires and squeezed for maximum profit – shredding democracy, mental health, and human rights in the process. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? In fact, the Web wasn’t this way until very recently. So how did we get here? And how can we claw it back? The bad news is it will take a LOT of work, investment, and convincing. The good news is, we already know how to do it - and it’s way easier than you think. This week, activist and public interest technologist Mallory Knodel joins Matt to discuss a huge initiative to reinvent social media and rescue online discourse from billionaire control. Mallory is the executive director and founder of the Social Web Foundation, a non-profit working to build sustainable and fair social network infrastructure. She’s also a custodian of Free Our Feeds, a coalition proposing new standards and protocols that would make social media open, inter-operable, and free from billionaire control. In layman’s terms: Imagine if friends on Bluesky could subscribe to your Instagram Reels. Imagine if you decided to leave YouTube and take all your videos with you to Mastodon. Imagine a social media ecosystem where everyone can talk, free from sensationalist algorithms and constant surveillance. It’s not only possible, but happening now, via federated networks like ActivityPub and AT Protocol. But as Mallory explains, getting your friends to ditch TikTok for Bluesky is a “hearts and minds” battle that’s just getting started. Mallory and Matt discuss why all of our public discourse has moved onto “private property,” the importance of data portability, the burden of “switching costs,” and why now is the time to free our feeds from the billionaire class. Plus, some Amish trivia and your questions and voicemails. Learn more about Free Our Feeds: https://freeourfeeds.com/ The Social Web Foundation: https://socialwebfoundation.org/ And subscribe to Mallory’s newsletter, Internet Exchange: https://internet.exchangepoint.tech/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By day, Jason Kingsley is the CEO of Rebellion, an independent video game developer that’s been cranking out hits since the '90s. But in 2017, he noticed a shift in the media landscape. YouTube - once a bastion of cat videos and reaction vlogs - was emerging as a destination for longform educational content. Jason’s obsession with medieval history, background in raising horses, and love of fantasy role-playing games compelled him to start Modern History TV, a channel with rigorous and delightful video essays about life in medieval Europe. But instead of talking into a webcam and cutting in b-roll, Jason actually suits up in real armor, dusts off the jousting lance, and tastes the food that graced the hearths of medieval peasants His channel has grown to nearly 1 million subscribers, and his wildly popular videos about weapons, taverns, and guilds reach far more. His work has informed countless writers, dungeon masters, and plain ol' curious minds. Jason joins Matt to discuss why insignificant things become important through the lens of history, his focus on the lives of regular medieval people, YouTube Learning vs. Book Learning, his favorite videos, curfews for pigs, and that time he chatted with King Charles about jousting. Subscribe to Modern History TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernKnight/ This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Listen & subscribe wherever you get podcasts: 🍎 https://apple.co/44FeACS 🟢 https://spoti.fi/3UGQjrN ⏯ https://amzn.to/3wCdueF Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548 Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE) Follow me: 🦋 https://bsky.app/profile/mattsilverman.bsky.social 🧵 https://www.threads.net/@matt_silverman 📸 https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week U.S. tech companies lost nearly $1 trillion in "value" after a Chinese startup called DeepSeek released its R1 large language model, which was reportedly developed for WAY less than Silicon Valley is pouring into the AI bubble. And while it is fun to laugh at tech billionaires losing money, DeepSeek's innovation (if real) could change the model for AI deployment - allowing LLMs to run on local machines (like your home computer) rather than in massive data centers owned by 3 companies. I also share some details about upcoming guests, and ...maybe fascism is bad??? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices