Endless Thread
WBUR
Radio: WBUR 90.9 FM
Categories: Technology
Listen to the last episode:
In 2017, Rhett Barker and his friends needed a way to stay in touch after graduating college. They were ecology majors, and meme groups were in vogue, so they created Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends on Facebook. It began as a place to share silly nature-centered memes. The jokes were comically esoteric: about, say, the scientific name of a rare wild feline or the bites of Brazilian wandering spiders. You needed to know the science to laugh. In spite of this — or because of it — the group attracted hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world. Now the group is a sprawling ecosystem of memelords with a “relentlessly optimistic” take on the natural world. Rhett decided to put the group’s popularity to good use. The results were overwhelming. Endless Thread examines the psychology of conservation online and how people are using hope, fear, and humor to repair the planet. ===== Credits: This episode was written and produced by Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Matt Reed. The hosts are Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell. P.S. Thanks to Derek for the rad story rec!
Previous episodes
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358 - Green Memes Fri, 19 Apr 2024
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357 - RIP Lil Miquela Fri, 12 Apr 2024
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356 - Nerd Fight Fri, 05 Apr 2024
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355 - Shaq Time: Is Shaq OK? Fri, 29 Mar 2024
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354 - The Music Man, Part 2 Fri, 22 Mar 2024
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353 - The Music Man, Part 1 Fri, 15 Mar 2024
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352 - Endless Thread introduces "Beyond All Repair", Amory Sivertson's new podcast Fri, 08 Mar 2024
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351 - Encore: Getting home Fri, 01 Mar 2024
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350 - Endless Thread: The Musical Fri, 23 Feb 2024
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349 - Dinner and a (Slide) Show Fri, 16 Feb 2024
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348 - Recess Therapy's Julian Shapiro-Barnum is skeptical of kids becoming social media stars Fri, 09 Feb 2024
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347 - Half a million eyes are on TikTok's "tunnel girl" Fri, 02 Feb 2024
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346 - The schism at the end of the tunnel Fri, 26 Jan 2024
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345 - Encore: The Faker Wed, 24 Jan 2024
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344 - Where's the Beef? Fri, 19 Jan 2024
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343 - The Minnesota Timberwolves score NBA fandom in Brazil, but there's a kink Fri, 12 Jan 2024
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342 - This episode is a sign from the universe Fri, 05 Jan 2024
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341 - Encore: Today You, Tomorrow Me Fri, 29 Dec 2023
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340 - Introducing Click Here: "Israel, Gaza and all the light you cannot see" Wed, 27 Dec 2023
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339 - Encore: Niall Needs a Friend Fri, 22 Dec 2023
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338 - This song wants you to stick out your what!? Fri, 15 Dec 2023
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337 - What Is That?! Fri, 08 Dec 2023
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336 - "Extremely Online" with Taylor Lorenz Tue, 05 Dec 2023
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335 - NPC Streams! So Good! Mmm, So Good! Fri, 01 Dec 2023
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334 - The Vault (from the vault) Fri, 24 Nov 2023
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333 - Women are from Venus, men are from... the Roman Empire? Fri, 17 Nov 2023
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332 - The Grand Can-Spiracy Fri, 10 Nov 2023
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331 - Introducing ICYMI: "How a Substack Revived the Dracula Fandom" Fri, 03 Nov 2023
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330 - Endless Dread: Campfire Chills Fri, 27 Oct 2023
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329 - Episodes We Love: Listener beware… it’s ‘Goosebumps The Musical’ Wed, 25 Oct 2023
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328 - Freaky Furby Friday Fri, 20 Oct 2023
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327 - The Spider Web Fri, 13 Oct 2023
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326 - Introducing 'The Gun Machine' Ep. 1: The U.S. gun industry's surprising origin story Mon, 09 Oct 2023
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325 - Find A Grave: Social Media Icon Fri, 06 Oct 2023
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324 - Dune Boy Fri, 29 Sep 2023
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323 - The online legacy of 'To Catch a Predator' Fri, 22 Sep 2023
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322 - Lofi Girl Fri, 15 Sep 2023
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321 - Meet the Gen Zs archiving the Muzak of the Twin Towers Fri, 08 Sep 2023
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320 - Artist: Known Fri, 01 Sep 2023
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319 - PARKS! Pt. 4: Death Sea Fri, 25 Aug 2023
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318 - PARKS! Pt. 3: Close Encounters with Mato Tipila Fri, 18 Aug 2023
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317 - PARKS! Pt. 2: Slime Mind Fri, 11 Aug 2023
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316 - PARKS! Pt. 1: Social media gone 'wild' Fri, 04 Aug 2023
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315 - Best of Summer: MEMES: Scumbag Steve Fri, 28 Jul 2023
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314 - Best of Summer: Goblins, Toenails, and Beach Rap Wed, 26 Jul 2023
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313 - Best of Summer: The Loudest Sound Mon, 24 Jul 2023
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312 - Best of Summer: The 100-million-year origin story of laughter and humor Mon, 17 Jul 2023
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311 - Best of Summer: What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows. Fri, 14 Jul 2023
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310 - Best of Summer: Swimming Hole - The man, the myth, the leap Fri, 07 Jul 2023
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309 - Pup Play Fri, 30 Jun 2023