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by WBUR
Untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL. Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson & Amory Sivertson.
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- 2 days ago33 min
Keeping the Lights on at a Video Game Cafe in Southern Yemen
Mo lives in Aden, an ancient city in southern Yemen. Built on a volcanic crater, it has castles and beaches set against mountains. It's beautiful. Like the rest of the country, it is also in the midst of an ongoing civil war. This summer, protests broke out over living conditions and basic services in the city -- like electricity, which can be shut off for 18 hours at a time. But despite these conditions, for the last five years, Mo has been fighting for a persistent dream of his –– a video game internet cafe for his neighborhood. This week on Endless Thread Ben and Amory tell the story of how Mo, against all odds, has kept the lights on (quite literally) at his gaming cafe thanks to his persistence, and the help of internet strangers across the world. This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.
- 1 weeks ago28 min
Ear rumblers assemble!
Ben can make a roaring, rumbling sound with his ears that no one else can hear. He never thought much about it — whether only he could do this, or whether everyone could do this — until he discovered a subreddit called Ear Rumblers Assemble: a whole community devoted to the mysterious and understudied ability to voluntarily tense one of the miniscule muscles in our ears. We go into Ben's ear with Dr. Anand Devaiah, and raise questions about how everyone experiences the world differently and the enduring mysteries of the human body. Show notes: r/earrumblersassemble (Reddit) Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation (KFF Health News) This episode was produced by Grace Tatter and edited by Dave Shaw. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.
- 2 weeks ago24 min
Encore: Owl pursuits
This episode was originally published on March 10, 2023. In 2022, freshmen at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill got a new neighbor: an owl. What wasn't clear was whether the owl was trying to befriend them, or catch them. Sometimes the owl seemed to be chasing students. Other times, it seemed to come in peace. A popular campus Instagram account reported that a woman had actually raised the owl herself. After she was spotted feeding it, the owl sightings stopped, much to the disappointment of students who'd come to consider it as a sort of mascot. Where had the owl come from, and where did it go? Endless Thread host Ben Brock Johnson and producer Grace Tatter talk about how the owl gained online campus fame, and get a surprise update from the person who knows the owl best. Show notes "Animal Instincts" (Criminal) "The Real Killer in The Staircase Might Be … an Owl?" (Vulture) "Column: Hinton hears a hoot — the Class of 2026 vs. the HoJo Owl" (The Daily Tar Heel) Instagram post of owl chasing student Kaleigh Wilhite (UNC Chicks) Instagram post of owl confrontation at a basketball court (UNC Chicks) Instagram post with other campus owl sightings (UNC Chicks) Instagram post of Barb with the owl (UNC Quirks) Reddit post on r/wellthatsucks about an owl attack "An owl twice attacked a Washington woman. A biologist says it's becoming more common" (NPR) This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.
- 3 weeks ago25 min
Emily Kwong takes us to science camp
Grab your telescopes because this week on Endless Thread Ben and NPR Short Wave host Emily Kwong take us down two science-related internet wormholes. First, Emily introduces us to the intergalactic world of astronaut fan fiction, starring the crew of the 2026 Artemis II moon mission. Then, Ben takes us through the r/Science discourse on a new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) study mapping an ancient Amazonian civilization. Show notes: Short Wave (NPR) Between change and upgrade (Artemis II fan fiction, Wattpad) Scientists Uncover Hundreds of Hidden Structures Beneath The Amazon (r/Science) This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.
- Aug 21, 202628 min
'Turn Bluetooth off, or we're turning around.'
The 190 passengers of a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey to Palma de Mallorca, Spain had settled into their seats for their overnight flight when the captain gave an announcement: everyone had to turn off their Bluetooth devices — or he was going to turn around the plane. This confounded passengers, because Bluetooth is safe for airplanes. It stays enabled when devices are on airplane mode. United even encourages using Bluetooth headphones to connect to in-flight entertainment. What was going on? The flight crew couldn't say. So the passengers took to...where else? Reddit. Show notes: UA flight - 'turn bluetooth off or we're turning around' (Reddit) This episode was reported and produced by Grace Tatter, and co-hosted by Grace Tatter, Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson. It was edited by Dave Shaw. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski and Paul Vaitkus.
- Aug 14, 202644 min
Fruit of the Loom: Horn of Lies
The brand Fruit of the Loom is almost ubiquitous in the world of underwear and casual ware. You have likely seen its logo, if not on your own body, on store racks or at least in ads. Now, in your minds eye, picture it. What do you see? For years, countless people have been taking to the internet to share their memory of the Fruit of the Loom logo. A lot of them have the same memory – a basket, rather, a cornucopia of fruit. But they're all wrong. At least, Fruit of the Loom claims that is has never had a cornucopia in its logo and there is little concrete evidence to suggest that the brand is lying. So what could be behind this collective misremembering? This week on Endless Thread, Ben and Amory embark on a quest for answers: Is the Fruit of the Loom cornucopia simply an example of the Mandela Effect (a pervasive mass-misremembering of a fact or event), or has someone pulled the woolen underwear over our eyes? Show notes: Has the 'Fruit of the Loom' Logo Ever Contained a Cornucopia? (Snopes) Black T-Shirt logo (Reddit) Alan's Reddit post This content was originally created for audio. An auto-generated transcript is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Heads up that some elements (i.e. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text.
- Aug 7, 202629 min
The internet is a perpetual stew
This week on Endless Thread it's a producer takeover with Grace Tatter and Kalyani Saxena serving up some delicious online stories. First, Kalyani digs into why the internet is so hungry for perpetual stews (a stew that is simmered and added on to in perpetuity). Then, Grace dishes on a listener conundrum about whether salty Reddit posts are worse for us than sweet ones. Show notes: ZAQ_Makes' Stewtheus (TikTok) Want to try perpetual stew? Some tips for avoiding foodborne illness (NPR) r/GirlDinnerDiaries (Reddit) Does Venting Your Feelings Actually Help? (Greater Good Magazine) Endless Thread Subreddit This episode was produced by Frannie Monahan and co-hosted by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was edited by Dave Shaw. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.
- Jul 31, 202624 min
Teach us how to Dougie
Long before TikTok dances, there was the Dougie. In 2010, Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie” went worldwide, and for the decade-plus since, people have been trying to learn the viral moves. More than 15 years later, a Korean TikTok creator went viral for doing the Dougie… badly. He claimed to be learning how to do the Dougie day-by-day – but his moves were so stiff and awkward, viewers from around the world – including Endless Thread producer Kalyani Saxena — were suspicious. Was @JBStarMax faking being bad at the Dougie? Kalyani presents her investigation to Ben and Amory. Show notes: “Day 1 of learning to do the Dougie until I can do it smoothly” (@JBStarMax on TikTok) Breakdancing (@JBStarMax on TikTok) Know Your L.A. Hip-Hop Dances: The Controversial Origin Story of The Dougie (LA Weekly) Ben does the crabwalk, and Amory does the worm (WBUR) This episode was produced by Grace Tatter and co-hosted by Kalyani Saxena, Ben Brock Johnson, and Amory Sivertson. It was edited by Dave Shaw. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.
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About Endless Thread
Untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL. Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson & Amory Sivertson.
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