logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
26m 49s

The Internet Does Its Thing with Luigi M...

Wbur
About this episode

The shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson captured the internet's attention last week. Then, a suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, was arrested, and social media really went wild. Why, in a week of historic headlines from around the world, did this story captivate so many, so thoroughly?

Show notes:

Suspect in CEO’s Killing Had Discussed His Health Struggles on Reddit (The New York Times)

r/GetNoted (Reddit)

What Can We Learn From the C.E.O. Shooting Suspect’s Goodreads History? (The New York Times)

Credits: This episode was produced by Grace Tatter. Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus. It was hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson.

Up next
Jul 4
Episodes We Love: How to Fight a Shark
This episode originally aired on July 12, 2024. It has been updated to more clearly represent communication with Kayleigh Grant about a conversation with Kristian Parton. When Endless Thread producer Grace Tatter heard a friend assert that she could ward off a shark because of Ti ... Show More
37m 8s
Jun 27
Raiding the fridge with Condiment Claire
This week on Endless Thread, we're raiding our refrigerators and rating our favorite condiments with TikTok creator and author "Condiment Claire" Dinhut. We learn about the surprising history of some of our favorite flavor-enhancers, and Claire shares her secrets for using up the ... Show More
28m 2s
Jun 26
War and Pizza
In the hours leading up to Israel commencing its June missile strikes on Iran, X users were posting about pizza. Specifically, how pizza places around the United States Pentagon were experiencing an unusual spike in business. The Pentagon Pizza Index refers to a theory that dates ... Show More
30m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
The Luigi Mangione Story, Chapter One: A Murder in Manhattan
In the early hours of December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City as he walked toward the annual investor's meeting of his parent company, UnitedHealth Group. US law enforcement embarked on a massive manhunt. Several days after the murd ... Show More
41m 28s
Dec 2024
Luigi Mangione Was Radicalized By Pain
Robert traces the online history of alleged CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and arrives at a simple conclusion for why he did what he did. James' Links for Syria:  www.defendrojava.org www.freeburmarangers.org www.hevyasor.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
20m 55s
Jan 2025
The Luigi Mangione Story, Chapter Two: The Larger Context
As we record, Luigi Mangione is currently in police custody on suspicion of murdering former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In the second chapter of this ongoing investigation, Ben, Matt and Noel explore recent updates on the case, as well as the larger implications: What d ... Show More
1h 9m
Dec 2024
The Manhunt, the Manifesto and the Murder Charge
Last week, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed in Manhattan. A five-day search for the gunman ensued.On Monday, a 26-year-old suspect, Luigi Mangione, was arrested in Pennsylvania after an employee at a McDonald’s recognized him and called the police.Dionn ... Show More
22m 10s
Dec 2024
The Unabomber and his ongoing influence
This episode originally ran on Monday 19 June 2023. Theodore ‘Ted’ Kaczynski died at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, last year at the age of 81. Known as the Unabomber, Kaczynski waged a 17-year bombing campaign from an isolated shack in the Montana wilderness befor ... Show More
45m 4s
May 22
Murdered live on TikTok - Mexico’s femicide crisis
The world was shocked when a gunman shot and killed Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez while she livestreamed herself at a beauty salon. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government says it will investigate the murder as a possible case of femicide. Will it mark a turning point for a ... Show More
22m 27s
Dec 2024
The UnitedHealth CEO shooting
Gothamist’s Brittany Kriegstein explains who police just arrested. STAT News’s Bob Herman explains the anger resonating against UnitedHealthcare.This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patri ... Show More
27m 24s
Oct 2023
Farewell HANF, Hello Gadget Lab
Misinformation lives everywhere. False accounts of events, doctored photos, and purposely misleading news stories are quickly shared and passed around on social media, usually by well-meaning people who don’t know they’re sharing incorrect information. It's a big problem in the b ... Show More
42m 50s
Mar 2025
‘Signal gate’: How Trump officials’ chat on bombing Yemen hit Washington
When a Signal group chat involving top US officials discussing plans to bomb Yemen included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, it sparked a firestorm in Washington. Now, The Atlantic has published excerpts from the chat, including input from political figures such ... Show More
24m 37s
Jun 12
Why did Trump deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has become a military zone. As citywide protests erupted following ICE raids on local immigrant communities, United States President Donald Trump sent federal forces into the city for the first time in decades. How is this show of force turning immigration raids into ... Show More
22m 14s