The Computer Room

Katherine and Gio discuss “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke,” a novella by Eric LaRocca about a complex BDSM relationship between two women that unfolds through emails, forum posts, and instant messages in 2000. They talk about what it meant to “log on” in 2000, lesbian media, and whether online relationships are uniquely suited to BDSM dynamics. Gio also reveal

“The most un-American thing you can do is reject fame.”In a recorded phone call, Katherine and Laura Albert, the writer best known for JT Leroy, explore the fuzzy boundaries of truth and fiction in our digital era. They discuss the telephone as a medium, catfishing, imagination, and lying as a form of storytelling. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with

Katherine talks to a brony Zoomer about being online, mediated friendships, the fantastical world of My Little Pony, and the revival that the fandom is experiencing right now. Buy your Mare Fair tickets here, read the infamous MLP fan fic “The Lunar Rebellion” here, and watch the first four seasons of MLP here. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with othe

Kickstarter and Metalabel cofounder Yancey Strickler walks in on Gio and Katherine gossiping. Together, they talk about the meaning of gossip, the Internet as a source of power, and what happens when everything moves from main to the group chat.Check out Metalabel.Read Yancey's writing:The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet The Post-Individual This is a public episode. If you’d l

Lauren and Grady are Chicago’s hottest couple. Katherine and Grady talk about playing a role that’s not yourself but based on yourself, their appearance on Help! I'm In a Secret Relationship, where all the weirdos have gone on the Internet, if those chamoy pickles were worth it, and his relationship with Lauren. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with oth

This week, Gio and I are joined by Benjamin Studebaker, a writer, political theorist, leftist, and former co-host of the infamous podcast “What’s Left?” to discuss the Millennial Left.One question I wish we had asked, and I invite our audience to leave their thoughts about, is whether there is/was a meaningful difference between the Millennial Left and the Tumblr Left. Was th

What exactly was the alt-right? A digital subculture? A political movement? An umbrella term encompassing several contradictory movements? What did the press get wrong? Katherine and Gio sit down with Scott Greer and attempt to demystify What Happened eight years ago… BTW, if you’re reading this, and you know who you are, YOU WILL come on this show and talk to us about the #Gam

Katherine sat down with cyberethnographer and artist Ruby Justice Thelot and discussed the role of imagination in computer-mediated communication, paracosms, building durable relationships with AI, and more. * Ruby's book, A Cyberarcheology of Checkpoints * Ruby's Twitter* Ruby's blog * A really cool video Ruby made, Why Aliens Love America This is a public episode. If you’d like

Katherine and Gio discuss the Cut's Andrew Huberman profile, what does and doesn't count as "being political," emo kids, and which up-and-coming public intellectuals they want to model themselves after. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit default.blog/subscribe

I spoke to 23-year-old reality shifter Maddie about her experiences traveling to other timelines. You may have heard of reality shifting before—probably through the lens of the now-familiar genre of ”this dangerous TikTok trend is endangering your kids” clickbait. ‘Reality shifting’ is, simply put, when people shift their consciousness to another timeline—an alternate r