Best PJ Vogt Podcasts (2025)

1
Is my favorite new TV show this year a ripoff? 50:13

Play Pause

19h ago50:13

50:13

The makers of the medical drama The Pitt have been sued. The allegation: that the show is an unauthorized copy of ER. This week, investigative reporter Nicholas Kulish walks us through the ensuing drama, reads us the possibly damning private emails, and finally helps us decide where inspiration ends and theft begins. Is ‘The Pitt’ Really an ‘ER’ Sp…

1
The Future of Late Night TV, Jimmy Kimmel, and The First Amendment 26:53

2d ago26:53

26:53

When’s the last time you stayed up to watch a late night TV monologue? Months? Years? Decades? I’m not sure, either. But I stayed up Tuesday night to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s return. James Poniewozik, who covers TV for the New York Times, just caught up with it the next day on YouTube. Which underscores one of the odder parts of the Trump v. Kimmel fig…

1
BONUS: How Eddington and Weapons hold a mirror up to our Panic World 39:55

10h ago39:55

39:55

Two of 2025’s biggest movie releases so far, Eddington (basically Panic World: The Movie) and Weapons, are not the same genre but they both offer interesting looks into the state of our society today. Grant joins Ryan to talk about the thematic links between them and examine the question: how do you cover moral panics, mass hysteria, and the intern…

1
The Obituary 56:23

5d ago56:23

56:23

Not long after Alex’s wife Whitney dies, he looks at her obituary and discovers something strange. A sect of people online has hijacked her story and turned it into a disturbing conspiracy theory. Check out the place Whitney worked, Project: Onward, a non-profit studio for artists with disabilities. (They have very cool & reasonably priced art for …

1
I tried Zuckerberg's $800 Ray-Bans. Are they the future? With Alex Heath 45:00

9d ago45:00

45:00

A year ago I got try a pair of $10,000 computer goggles from Meta. The tech was super-impressive, but you couldn’t buy them them. You still can’t. Now Mark Zuckerberg is trying a similar idea. But this time around the the tech is scaled-down, lighter and way cheaper: the new version costs $800, and you’ll be able to buy them in a couple days. Why w…

1
The no fap movement and why the boys aren't all right 1:16:47

7d ago1:16:47

1:16:47

If you’ve spent any amount of time online in November, unfortunately you’ve heard of “No Fap,” a movement started over a decade ago by a subsection of very aggressive men who’ve created a pseudo-religion around the concept that all problems can be solved if you simply stop masturbating. Jeff & Kitty of the Free Country USA podcast join us to talk a…

1
How TBPN Made a Tech News Splash 39:10

9d ago39:10

39:10

John Coogan knows what you’re thinking: the world does not need another tech podcast. And the world does not need another podcast featuring two dudes talking. Yet Coogan and Jordi Hays have started another tech podcast, featuring the two of them talking and… it’s a hit. In the span of a year, TBPN has become the place where tech execs go to chop up…

1
Charlie Kirk was killed by a meme 1:10:40

12d ago1:10:40

1:10:40

Ryan & Grant talk about the fallout from Charlie Kirk's killing, including what we know about the suspect in custody and what this means for current political climate in the US. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy COURIER

1
Introducing "Origin Stories" 5:13

12d ago5:13

5:13

Have you ever wondered how your favorite movie or book—or podcast, TV series, documentary, or article—got made? Origin Stories has you covered. Each week, veteran journalist Matthew Shaer talks to a different writer or director about the creation of a work close to their own hearts. Nothing is off the table: not the frustrations and the joys, not t…

1
Patch’s AI Experiment: Thousands of Newsletters, Zero Humans 39:07

16d ago39:07

39:07

Everyone agrees that the decline/disapperance of local news is a big problem. No one agrees about the best way to solve it. So let’s check in on a new AI push from Patch, the people who have been trying to do local news, online, at scale, for more than two decades. Last spring, Patch CEO Warren St. John announced that he was running local newslette…

1
You might be listening to AI music 58:01

14d ago58:01

58:01

The band The Velvet Sundown broke through the music charts with millions of streams in months after coming from nowhere — and being an entirely AI band. Is it an existential threat to the health of the music industry and the internet when you can’t even tell if the “song of the summer” was sung by an actual human, or a robot? Music critic Anthony F…

1
BONUS: The new age of terror 29:35

17d ago29:35

29:35

On Wednesday, June 27th there was a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, killing two kids and injuring a dozen more people. The shooter took her own life, and left behind two YouTube videos and a manifesto that were dogwhistles for both The Order of Nine Angles (O9A) and 764, the latter of which we've previously covered on the show. Ryan & Gr…

1
How does a rationalist make a baby? 50:50

19d ago50:50

50:50

A member of an unusual Bay Area community decides to try to have a baby in an unusual way – by putting out a very large prize for anyone who can help her find a mate. How the internet shaped one person’s decision-thinking. Support Search Engine! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-pol…

1
Oliver Darcy Thinks the Media Doesn’t Get It. So He Built Status 53:40

24d ago53:40

53:40

One thing about the internet is that it lets you build really, really fast. A little more than a year ago, Oliver Darcy was an unemployed former CNN media reporter. Today he’s the proprietor of Status, his must-read media newsletter. In our conversation, we spend a little bit of time talking through the mechanics of his two-man operation, and how h…

1
Mobile game ads: The worst online slop 1:06:14

24d ago1:06:14

1:06:14

They’re full of slime, weird crime, and seemingly a lot of fetish stuff. Today, we’re talking about the sloppiest of slop online these days, mobile game ads. An expert on the form, Chelsey Weber-Smith, joins us to talk about the history of the genre, from the earliest games like Evony to today’s prolific Lily’s Game, as well as what psychological t…

1
BONUS: The secret plan to outlaw porn in the US (is working) 1:12:47

28d ago1:12:47

1:12:47

This is a rerun from February this year, when 17 states in the US had banned PornHub. The tally now stands at 21, and both Mike Johnson and the Supreme Court don't seem fussed to stop there. Have a listen, especially if you haven't already, before we come back with new episodes next Wednesday, September 3. --- As of this recording, 17 states don’t …

1
Why Henry Blodget is Building Another Media Company 57:56

1M ago57:56

57:56

Henry Blodget can’t help himself. The Business Insider founder is starting another media business, knowing full well how difficult the industry can be. You can watch him build it in real time: Regenerator on Substack, and Solutions on TikTok, YouTube and everywhere you hear your favorite podcasts. Henry — who hired me to work at Business Insider in…

1
Does Mark Zuckerberg Care Anymore? (How Is This Better?) 27:36

1M ago27:36

27:36

Hi, everyone! We're out this week, but we wanted to share an episode of How Is This Better? featuring our very own, Ryan Broderick. The episode covers the evolution of everyone's favorite: Mark Zuckerberg. We'll be back next week with an all new Panic World, but for now – make sure you follow/subscribe to How Is This Better? wherever you get your p…

1
A Dubai Chocolate theory of the internet 42:14

1M ago42:14

42:14

Garbage Day's Ryan Broderick traces the rise of this goopy green chocolate, and explains how Chinese social media is beginning to tug on US culture in unexpected ways. Support Search Engine! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://pod…

1
ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro on streaming, the NFL and sports betting 48:14

1M ago48:14

48:14

The media industry has been waiting for ESPN to cut the cord for a decade. Now it’s finally happening: This week the sports TV giant will let you start streaming — without a cable TV subscription — for $30 a month. Why now? ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro is quite frank about it: Along with his boss — Disney CEO Bob Iger — he wanted to make as much money fr…

1
Is the ghost of Epstein breaking MAGA? 1:11:33

1M ago1:11:33

1:11:33

We made it nearly a year without having to cover Epstein, but with Trump and his allies consistently committing own-goals and bringing him up, the day has come. Today we’re talking about the Epstein files and what appears to be Trump’s most consequential weakness so far. Josie Duffy Rice joins us to talk about how and why Epstein became so central …

1
Are microplastics really a problem? 49:37

1M ago49:37

49:37

Our listener Louisa is very annoyed by her sister’s preoccupation with keeping her children away from microplastics. Louisa wonders: are people with microplastics anxiety kind of overdoing it? Search Engine investigates. Support Search Engine! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-polic…

1
Investigating a cult inspired by a cartoon mouse (w/ PJ Vogt) 1:11:36

1M ago1:11:36

1:11:36

If a fandom exists long enough in isolation, does it inevitably become toxic or at least, very strange? This is the main question we’ll be exploring today, through a story that begins in 1989. That’s the year that Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers premiered. More importantly, it’s when the world was introduced to a sweet little mouse girl, Gadget Hackwr…

1
A Busy - and Expensive - Summer for AI, with NYT's Mike Isaac 51:42

1M ago51:42

51:42

What makes a particular engineer worth $250 million to Mark Zuckerberg? What does Trump 2.0 mean — and not mean — to people building large language models? I didn’t know the answers to these questions either. So I got the New York Times’ Mike Isaac, who covers this stuff for a living, to walk me through some of the biggest questions in AI right now…

1
BONUS: Sydney Sweeney and rage bait 23:05

2M ago23:05

23:05

Ryan and Grant discuss that American Eagle ad and why everyone is arguing about Sydney Sweeney's "good jeans." Want to hear the rest of their conversation, and enjoy other cool stuff like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld. Learn more about your ad …

1
Why the Algorithm is Making Comedy Boom, Again 58:53

2M ago58:53

58:53

The last time I talked to Jesse David Fox about the comedy boom it was… March 5, 2020. Since then, some things have changed. But in other ways it’s just the same: comedy - or at least, some kinds of comedy - seems almost custom-built for our current technological and cultural moment, and it’s easier than ever to get this stuff on your devices whene…

1
Why eating disorder content is all over the internet 1:05:14

2M ago1:05:14

1:05:14

Eating disorder content has been a problem on the internet since as early as 2001, but it accelerated with the advent of social media. Today we’re examining why it’s become more prevalent than perhaps at any other time. EJ Dickson, a writer who investigated the #SkinnyTok community for The Cut, joins us to talk about the introduction of eating diso…

1
What is TV’s endgame? 47:28

2M ago47:28

47:28

A decade ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger freaked out the media industry by acknowledging something many of us saw coming — his previously unassailable TV business was starting to erode. But even with a 10-year warning, today’s moguls seem unable to cope with 2025’s reality: The pay TV business is permanently eroding, and there’s nothing in its place that’…

1
The cult using Minecraft to recruit 1:09:48

2M ago1:09:48

1:09:48

Often, like in the case of the Momo Challenge, when parents freak out about a thing online, it’s probably not really a thing. But, today we are talking about one panic that is real — “764,” the comm-network that is gamifying committing crimes and abuse. Joining us is Marcus Parks of The Last Podcast on the Left, to dive into this conspiracy that’s …

1
What does it feel like to believe in God? (classic) 1:07:59

2M ago1:07:59

1:07:59

This week, we try to understand an experience that 74% of Americans routinely report having. The first of many conversations (perhaps?). This one, an interview with Zvika Krieger. Comment on the episode Support the show! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your…

1
Why Trump is defunding NPR and PBS - and suing Rupert Murdoch 35:59

2M ago35:59

35:59

Reporting on the place you work is not fun. But it is an occupational hazard for media reporters — particularly for NPR’s David Folkenflik. That’s because National Public Radio — along with Public Broadcasting Service, its TV counterpart — is quite frequently the target of attacks from critics on the right, who would like the federal government to …

1
Why Slenderman became a moral panic 1:07:05

2M ago1:07:05

1:07:05

What is the creepiest thing you’ve ever seen on the internet? For many people, it was Slenderman. This particularly lithe fellow started off as kind of a fun, spooky thing, and then of course got out of hand and caused a panic both on- and offline. We’re joined by Kaelyn Moore of Heart Starts Pounding to talk about his role taking creepypasta mains…

1
The Cuddly Killer (classic) 54:16

2M ago54:16

54:16

A question that has launched a battle between bird-loving ecologists and ardent, cat-defending activists. What should we do about an invasive species beloved by many Americans -- cats? We hear from people on both sides of the war, and from one person who sits exactly in the middle. Comment on the episode Support the show! To learn more about listen…

1
Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum 47:38

2M ago47:38

47:38

Here's one way New York Times reporter Michael Grynbaum described Condé Nast to me in this week’s chat: “A real exporter of American cultural influence in the late 20th century.” And here’s another one: "A kind of enchanted land” but also a “lost world." And here’s one way I’d describe it: it’s hard to imagine in 2025, but just a few decades ago, m…

1
What happened to JK Rowling? 1:04:30

2M ago1:04:30

1:04:30

In April this year the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a “woman” excludes trans women. Then — apparently celebrating her years-long TERFdom — JK Rowling tweeted an image of herself on a yacht, smoking a cigar, and captioned it with “I love it when a plan comes together.” The question we’re looking at today is: was it Rowling who…