2 Girls 1 Podcast

Perfect moms and unicorns have one thing in common: They don't exist. That mantra has brought together a huge community of women who are sick of the judgmental bickering that plagues typical "mommy groups" on social platforms like Facebook. Alli and Jen speak with Maria Hunt, the founder of Unicorn Moms, about her inspiration for starting a completely new kind of online support community for mothers. Spoiler alert: It involves a lot of drinking. Hunt explains the rules of her invite-only...

The true crime explosion ignited by podcasts like Serial and Netflix series Making a Murderer has spawned a massive ecosystem of murdery content. One of the biggest and most passionate fandoms on the Internet today centers on two funny women and their obsession with real murder headlines, both new and historical. Their podcast, My Favorite Murder, has 19 million monthly downloads by conservative estimates. And the enormous community that gathers around it (whose members refer to...

There's no shortage of dating horror stories on social media. But dating in your later years — after a divorce, death, or other major life change — can be especially daunting. And while apps and services can take the friction out of finding a match, they can also be incredibly overwhelming, and often don't cater to those 60 and older. That's where Peggy Wolman steps in. She's a professional matchmaker with a focus on helping people find love later in life. She and her husband Richard work...

Adult content in video games is nothing new. Big budget franchises like Mass Effect and The Witcher series are noted for their character romances and sexy scenes. But in those games, sex is not the main attraction. It’s about gameplay and story. On the other side of the coin, Steam is awash in adult games featuring anime-inspired characters in various sexual situations. The gameplay is presumably nothing to write home about, but merely a vehicle for porn. Enter: Subverse. This...

David Murray is known to millions of fans as "The 8-Bit Guy." His YouTube channel covers the gamut of computers, consumer electronics, and gaming consoles from the golden age of pixel art and command line operating systems: the '70s, '80s, and early '90s. His detailed tear-downs, restorations, and explanations of vintage technology have drawn a huge community of enthusiasts — and not just the stereotypical "middle aged geek." People of all ages and backgrounds flock to Murray's convention...

Bird watching probably conjures images of an old, retired guy sporting binoculars behind his country home. But Jason Ward is rapidly dispelling that stereotype. He's been an avid birder since his childhood growing up in The Bronx, NY, and has brought his passion to social media. His #TrickyBirdID Twitter threads challenge people to snap photos of unknown neighborhood birds so the global community of birders can identify them. His enthusiasm led him to make the popular webseries Birds of...

Death is a difficult topic no matter how you slice it, but cultivating a healthier outlook on end-of-life issues can have profound effects on families when they encounter loss. That's the mission of Death Cafe. It's a self-described "social franchise" — a set of ideals that can be replicated in small groups around the world. It's not a support group, but a way to get people talking about death in a productive manner. After all, it's a social and personal issue that everyone will face at some...

In an age where nearly all information is a Google or Wiki search away, it's easy to forget that real, first-hand experiences of what the world used to be like are right in our own families and communities. That's the mission of the subreddit r/AskOldPeople. It's a place for members of one generation to get perspective from those who came before. The result has been some deep conversations about politics, personal finance, technology, and the timeless personal wisdom you just can't get from...

Nextdoor is the social network that connects people based on neighborhoods, rather than friend networks or common interests. Getting to know your IRL neighbors sure seems like a good idea. But at times, it combines the two worst things about social media: relative anonymity and real-world consequences. The platform is home to countless petty squabbles and strange behavior that reveal the absurdity of modern life, and the insanity of the people who live two houses down. The most ridiculous...

There's a box of treasure worth millions somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and a global online (and IRL) community is devoted to the search. The treasure was hidden by Forrest Fenn, a collector of antiquities and nature lover, who — after cancer threatened his life in the '80s — decided to have some fun with the wealth he'd accumulated. He wrote a poem full of cryptic, geographic clues that are now a worldwide obsession. And while Fenn says seekers have gotten close, no one has uncovered the...

For thousands of years, God has communicated with humanity via dusty tomes, prophets, and the occasional miracle. But it's 2019, and the Internet is way more efficient for reaching the flock. That's why God has spent the last few years amassing followers on Facebook and Twitter, and smiting hypocrites and blasphemers (aka trolls) with his digital wrath. And if you've noticed that He's a little less about fire and brimstone, and more about calling bullshit on modern religion, you're not...

When fantasy TV shows need an alien or elf to speak a fictional language, most writers make up a few foreign-sounding words to pad the script and move on. But that won't cut it when it comes to Game of Thrones, a show with details as deep as its fandom. So when George R. R. Martin and the show's producers needed to build complete, functional languages for Dothraki riders and Valyrian-speaking slavers, they turned to real-life linguist and "conlanger" David J. Peterson. He transformed a...

We don't always think of Internet memes as a force for serious social change. But the humor behind image macros and mashup content can be leveraged in the fight against toxic masculinity — with the right talent, of course. Julia Hava has amassed a huge following on Instagram (@binchcity) by turning sexist advertising into hilarious commentary on feminism and mental illness. Alli and Jen talk to Hava about the modern feminist conversation happening online, and how memes and humor play an...

A growing number of people believe that world governments and other shadow organizations are hiding the truth: that the Earth is not a globe, but a flat disc with a dome of stars above it. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, this "mother of all conspiracy theories" is flourishing on the Internet, giving rise to vast networks of YouTubers, podcasters, and social media communities that spread misinformation. This phenomenon led three filmmakers to ask: Why is this happening now,...

While it may feel like books face an existential crisis in the shadow of digital media, reading communities are alive and well in an unlikely social media sphere: Instagram. Showing off what you're reading with a fancy cup of coffee is only a small part of the #bookstagram trend. Insta has become a powerful tool for author discovery (especially for female writers of color), community, accountability, and marketing the wares of independent book stores. Alli and Jen talk with Tammy Gordon, who...

On the list of "Things The Internet Is Useful For," lulz rank pretty highly (second only to porn, of course). Online pranks are as old as the ARPANET itself. This April Fools' Day, 2G1P is celebrating internet jokesters by chatting with three developers who can turn your web browser (or a co-worker's, if you're sneaky enough) into a veritable fun house of chortles, guffaws, and confusion. Alli and Jen talk with Eric Bailey, Clayburn Griffin, and Steven Frank, about their devious Chrome...

Worldwide and obsessive fandom is nothing new, but it's usually reserved for pop stars, actors, YouTubers, and video games. It's rare for tech CEOs to command such loyalty, but Elon Musk's journey from sickly, bullied child, to stumbling entrepreneur, to rocket-launching world changer is a story that's impossible to ignore. Musk has engendered a global community of superfans who hang on his every word, and who will defend him at any cost. Alli and Jen chat with Paula Mellon, the creator of a...

When TV and radio brought the voices and images of public figures into our very homes, we began to feel kinship with people we've never actually met. But these one-sided "parasocial" relationships have kicked into overdrive with the advent of social media. Now we subscribe to the daily minutia of YouTubers and Instagram influencers under the guise that this format is more honest — more "real" — than the scripted world of mass media. The bonds we feel across the Internet can be powerful and...

As we become ever more physically entwined with our technology, and medicine extends our lives beyond anything our ancestors could imagine, we may not be too far away from implanting or genetically manipulating superhuman powers, or even escaping death entirely. If that sounds pretty cool and pretty terrifying at the same time, you're not alone. Alli and Jen talk transhumanist future shock with Dr. Natasha Vita-More, the executive director of Humanity+, an organization devoted to enhancing...

Some people are great at taking flattering selfies and writing witty Tinder taglines. Others, not so much. That's where Meredith Golden comes in. For a fee, she'll take over your profile, learn your voice, and optimize your flirting so you don't screw it up. Then she'll hand the reigns back to you for the IRL date. The system works, and Golden has the record to prove it. But what are the ethics of outsourcing your love life to a consultant? Jen and Alli go deep with Golden and get the skinny...