The faux speakeasy is popping up everywhere these days, but what made the original Prohibition saloon work?
TLDR - #33 – Unfollow A Man
A few weeks ago, writer Katie Notopoulos created a holiday called Unfollow a Man Day, wherein everyone (women and men) was encouraged to Unfollow a Man on social media. Men's rights activists were enraged, cable news was intrigued, and a lot of people felt quiet relief. This week PJ talks to Katie about her mission and her manifesto.
TLDR - #32 – An Imperfect Match
This week, dating site OK Cupid put up a blog post describing experiments it conducted on its users. In one experiment, the site told users who were bad matches for one another that they were actually good matches, and vice versa. Alex and PJ talk to OK Cupid President and co-founder Christian Rudder about the ubiquity of online user experimentation and his defense of potentially sending OK Cupid's users on bad dates.
Curious City - So, why did it take so long for it to be Mayor Jane Byrne’s turn?
It took decades for Chicago's first and only female mayor to land an official honor from City Council. Is there a reason it took so long?
Curious City - So, why did it take so long for it to be Mayor Jane Byrne’s turn?
It took decades for Chicago's first and only female mayor to land an official honor from City Council. Is there a reason it took so long?
TLDR - #31 – Race Swap
Whether you think the internet is a great or terrible place is partly a reflection of which parts of the internet you choose to visit. It's also a reflection of who you are, and how people online react to you. Mikki Kendall is a writer who deals with an extraordinary amount of trolling and vitriol online. Mikki is a black woman in real life, and she created an experiment to see how her online life would change if she were a white man.
the memory palace - Episode 62 (We’ve Forgotten James Powell)
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Thank you kindly.
The music pulled from "Blue Sands" by the Chico Hamilton Trio.
TLDR - #30 – The Russian Troll Army
Last month, documents surfaced that showed a company called the Internet Research Agency was paying people in Russia to go to an office and post pro-Kremlin comments all day. Alex talks to Buzzfeed's Max Seddon about why they do it, and how successful they actually are at swaying public opinion.
TLDR - #29 – Olivia Taters, Robot Teenager
Rob Dubbin accidentally built a teenage girl named Olivia Taters who lives on the internet. She may not always communicate in complete sentences, but she's convincing enough that teenagers actually converse with her. Also, she's very, very funny. PJ talks to Dubbin about how Olivia came into existence, and what she's been talking about lately.
the memory palace - Episode 61 (The Glowing Orbs)
If you enjoy this story, please tell a friend about The Memory Palace.
Thank you kindly.