logo
episode-header-image
Oct 17
29m 23s

Content Warning

Wnyc Studios
About this episode

Over the past five years TikTok has radically changed the online world. But trust us when we say, it’s not how you’d expect.

Today we continue our yearslong exploration of what you can and can’t post online. We look at how Facebook’s approach to free speech has evolved since Trump’s victory. How TikTok upended everything we see. And what all this means for the future of our political and digital lives.

Special thanks to Kate Klonick


EPISODE CREDITS: 

Reported by - Simon Adler
Produced by - Simon Adler

Original music from - Simon Adler

with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloome

Fact-checking by - Anna Pujol-Mazzini

Lateral Cuts:
The Trust Engineers
Facebook’s Supreme Court

Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.


Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Up next
Oct 24
What Up Holmes?
Love it or hate it, the freedom to say obnoxious and subversive things is the quintessence of what makes America America. But our say-almost-anything approach to free speech is actually relatively recent, and you can trace it back to one guy: a Supreme Court justice named Oliver ... Show More
35m 12s
Oct 10
Creation Story
Ella al-Shamahi is one part Charles Darwin, one part Indiana Jones. She braves war zones and pirate-infested waters to collect fossils from prehistoric caves, fossils that help us understand the origin of our species. Her recent hit BBC / PBS series Human follows her around the g ... Show More
34m 53s
Oct 3
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their f ... Show More
45m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Emotions vs Reason - The Trump vs Harris Decision on The Jesse Watters Show (The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad_708)
Many thanks to Jesse Watters for inviting me back on his show on Fox News. Here is the link to our chat from Jesse's X handle: https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1831859836801495310 _______________________________________ If you appreciate my work and would like to support it: ht ... Show More
6 m
Sep 19
Algorithmic Social Media Is Driving New Slang
From viral slang such as “skibidi” to the rise of so-called brain rot, linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic, aka the “Etymology Nerd,” and associate editor Allison Parshall, who covers the mind and brain, unpack how social media and algorithms are reshaping the way we commun ... Show More
26m 55s
Feb 2025
Why is Trump sharing an AI video of Gaza?
Donald Trump sparked a social media frenzy on Wednesday when he posted a video of Gaza generated by artificial intelligence on his site Truth Social. Marianna's been analysing Trump's social media strategy and how he attempts to influence what we see on our online feeds.Meanwhile ... Show More
28m 32s
Mar 2025
PRETTY CURIOUS | JVN Talks Weightloss Transformation Posts And Trust Issues
This week, we’re diving into what’s going on in your world, news that SLAYS, and the news that makes us go “Orrr Norr!” Plus! Thirsty and celebratory IG posts, hot takes on betrayals of trust, and stick around to the end for our Hot Bitch Of The Week! Follow us on Instagram @Curi ... Show More
32m 53s
Sep 2024
Why I Have Decided to Vote for Kamala Harris (The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad_709)
This clip was posted on September 8, 2024 on my YouTube channel as THE SAAD TRUTH_1721: https://youtu.be/9I1vyAYN7NU You might want to watch the clip in order to appreciate the glorious wig and hashtags. _______________________________________ If you appreciate my work and would ... Show More
6m 51s
Jan 2024
"Don't just believe what you read on my file": Re-authoring patient stories - Ep. 86
Welcome back to the Social Work Stories podcast. This is the first episode released for 2024, and boy-oh-boy do we have a doozy for you!! In this episode, you'll join Lis and Mim in hearing from an anonymous social worker using a practice innovation in an Emergency Department set ... Show More
57m 39s
Sep 16
Igniting curiosity with Sean The Science Kid
At just 10 years old, Sean The Science Kid is our youngest guest ever. Sean is an internet educator with a voracious appetite for learning and a contagious passion for sharing his knowledge. In this episode, Adam chats with Sean and his mother Eunice about the origins of Sean’s c ... Show More
34m 3s
Sep 29
Why TikTok matters
This week, Sean talks with Emily Baker-White, author of Every Screen on the Planet, about why TikTok feels uniquely addictive, how it turned social media into a push-not-pull entertainment feed, and what happens when human editors inside the company can override the algorithm. A ... Show More
1h 3m
Sep 2
Chris Best of Substack on the Future of Media
What if the future of media isn’t controlled by algorithms or legacy institutions—but by independent voices building directly with their audiences?In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Chris Best, cofounder and CEO of Substack, along with a16z general partners Katherine Bo ... Show More
46m 23s
Feb 2025
How Westminster goes viral (without Elon Musk)
For years, Westminster has been addicted to Twitter (now called X). Host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at how the site – and SW1's reliance on it – has changed since tech billionaire Elon Musk took over. Sascha talks to Charlie Peters, journalist at GB News, whose story about grooming ... Show More
46m 39s