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WBUR

Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson dig into the internet's vast and curious ecosystem of online communities to find untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL.

Endless Thread

Today, Stef Sanjati is a creator on YouTube with over half a million subscribers. Her content mostly focuses on her two greatest loves — makeup and gaming — often combining the two with her otherworldly video game-inspired beauty tutorials.

Growing up in small-town Ontario, though, Stef was a quiet, introverted kid who was bullied a lot. For one thing, she looked different from her peers. Having been born with a rare genetic condition called Waardenburg Syndrome, Stef has several distinct physical features, including wide-set blue eyes and a natural streak of white hair.

But there was something else that she didn’t quite have the words for back then – something she felt closest to while playing as her favorite avatar in World of Warcraft, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. That something else was that Stef is trans.

Choosing your player is a near-ubiquitous experience in gaming. Whether it's picking from a stock of ready-made options in Mario Kart or carefully calibrating a custom avatar in World of Warcraft, a gamer's choice of character has a huge impact on the gaming experience. But when a gamer is given the chance to choose, or even build, a brand new identity outside of the one they experience every day, the potential impact goes far beyond simple gameplay.

Credits
This episode was written and produced by Frannie Monahan and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix, sound design and music composition by Paul Vaitkus.

"Hidden Levels" is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread. The Managing Producer for Hidden Levels is Chris Berube. The series was created by Ben Brock Johnson. Series theme by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Series art by Aaron Nestor.

Hidden Levels: Choose Your Player (Side Quest)

For decades, the U.S. Army has been on edge about recruitment, hitting its goals for a few years, only to miss them again. As part of their strategy to combat recruiting concerns, the Army has turned its focus online: to the world of gaming and competitive eSports.

With nearly 80% of Americans between the ages of 13 and 28 playing video games weekly, the Army has identified this community as a vital demographic for potential recruits. The core goal of this outreach is to use gaming as an entry point, which is nothing new — the precedent was set decades ago.

With the end of the draft in 1973, the U.S. Army found itself faced with new recruitment challenges. Campaigns like the “Be All You Can Be” ads of the 80s were popular and led to short-term bumps in recruitment, but they didn’t last. The Army failed to meet its recruitment goals in 1998. It failed again in 1999. In response, a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel spearheaded the development of America's Army, a free-to-play first-person shooter launched in 2002.

The game was designed to offer a "virtual test drive" of Army life. Before the players could enter the full combat portion of the game, they were required to complete certain training modules covering topics like physical fitness and weapons use. The game was designed to reflect the Army’s values and structure. And despite the game’s promise to represent the true Army experience, the relatively limited depiction of gore and gruesome violence raised concern from some critics. Other critics, including anti-war activists and the ACLU, condemned the project for "gamifying war" and serving as propaganda that targeted impressionable youth by design.

America's Army became a significant cultural and recruiting success, accumulating over 1.5 million downloads in its first month and eventually earning the title of the "Most Downloaded War Video Game" from Guinness World Records with more than 42.5 million downloads.

After a two-decade run, the U.S. Army officially shuttered America's Army. The way Americans played video games had changed since the game launched in the early 2000s, and the Army began to pivot its approach to gaming to leverage the success of existing games and opportunities posed by the increasingly popular competitive eSports scene. Today, the Army eSports team competes in commercial titles like Rocket League, Call of Duty, and Valorant, continuing its outreach. This modern presence remains contentious — critics continue to question the ethics of military outreach in spaces that include children.

Credits:

This episode was produced by Katelyn Harrop and edited by Christopher Johnson. Mix, sound design and music composition by Paul Vaitkus. Additional mixing by Martín Gonzalez.

"Hidden Levels" is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread. The Managing Producer for Hidden Levels is Chris Berube. The series was created by Ben Brock Johnson. Series theme by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. Series art by Aaron Nestor.

Hidden Levels Ep. 3: This Game Wants YOU

In this second episode of Hidden Levels, Amory traces the history of the humble-yet-genius joystick — from early 20th century aviation, to 1970s video game consoles like the Atari 2600, to the Nintendo 64 thumbstick in the 1990s, to what some consider the joystick's greatest implementation: the dual-thumbstick controller.

This optimal interface has changed the game, and not just the video game. The modern dual-stick controller is now considered an MVP in the military, and in medicine.

Hidden Levels Ep. 2: Stick It to 'Em

Welcome to our all-new collaborative series, "Hidden Levels," in which we team up with 99% Invisible to explore how the world of video games has impacted the world beyond. We’ll dive deep into how games are made and designed, exploring everything from the history of the joystick to the faithful recreation of nature in digital spaces.

Whether you are a lifelong gamer or have never picked up a controller, "Hidden Levels" uncovers how games have quietly changed culture, technology, and the way we see the world...starting with a '90s arcade classic.

Developer Mark Turmell worked at Midway, which was known for iconic games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Mortal Kombat. His creation of NBA Jam in 1993 pushed the company in a new direction. It debuted at the height of the Chicago Bulls' dynasty, aiming to capture the energy of professional basketball in a high-octane, over-the-top format.

The game was a hit out of the gate, captivating players with its digitized graphics (with the heads of real NBA players) and fantasy gameplay where players could become "on fire."

At the heart of the NBA Jam gaming experience was the voice of its announcer, Tim Kitzrow. Turmell and the game's sound team had realized they needed a voice that could match the game's energy and cut through the din of an arcade, without the budget for a professional NBA commentator. So they turned to Kitzrow, an improv comedian and journeyman actor, who was initially hired by Midway for pinball voiceovers — it was just a fun side gig. He had no idea that his work on NBA Jam would make such a lasting impact on the industry.

Kitzrow modeled his energetic, flamboyant delivery on NBA announcer Marv Albert, infusing it with his own ad-libbed, short, and punchy catchphrases like "REJECTED!" and the game's most famous line, "Boomshakalaka!"—which was suggested by an artist and inspired by funk group Sly and the Family Stone. The game became a monumental hit, reportedly making $1 billion in quarters in its first year, with its catchphrases entering basketball vernacular.

***

Credits:
This episode of "Hidden Levels" was produced by James Parkinson, edited by Emmett FitzGerald, and mixed by Martín Gonzalez. Original music by Swan Real, Jamilah Sandoto, and Paul Vaitkus. Series theme by Swan Real and Paul Vaitkus. This story was adapted from James Parkinson’s podcast, Gameplay. 

The Managing Producer for "Hidden Levels" is Chris Berube. The series was created by Ben Brock Johnson. "Hidden Levels" is a production of 99% Invisible and WBUR's Endless Thread.

Hidden Levels Ep. 1: Mr. Boomshakalaka

Have you ever jumped on something as you're moving through the real world, and heard that Mario bouncy sound in your head? Or maybe seen someone acting like an NPC when they're a real person? Maybe you know that the first real "in-app" purchase was actually a weapons store in an arcade game version of Double Dragon 3.

Wherever you go in the real world, you can find signs of the influence of videogames. But you have to know where to look. That's why Endless Thread and 99% Invisible are launching a new limited series together called Hidden Levels.

Today Roman Mars and Ben Brock Johnson kick off the series with a little preview of what's coming.

Announcing 'Hidden Levels': how the videogame world has changed the world beyond videogames

You've heard of the "Freshman 15"... how about the "DOGE 15"? This is how some federal employees have referred to the stress associated with the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency back in January and the "restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force" that came with it, as announced in an email sent to nearly all federal employees with the subject line, "Fork in the Road."

Federal workers have found community in the FedNews subreddit: "A vital, independent hub for U.S. federal employees to navigate the bureaucracy, protect our careers, and support one another." r/FedNews is our hub for this episode. Back in April, Amory and Ben spoke with three of its members: one of whom is still a federal employee, another who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program, and another who was laid off along with thousands of other probationary employees, only to be offered his job back.

We hear their stories as the country faces another fork in the road: a government shutdown that the White House has said could result in further reductions in force — specifically of federal jobs that are "not consistent with the president's priorities."

Show notes:

 r/FedNews • (Reddit)

 • "
Fork in the Road • " email

 E's post • (Reddit)

 Jacob's post • (Reddit)

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.

A fork (still) in the road: Three members of r/fednews share their stories

Ben and Amory share stories about potential pettiness from Reddit. Ben shares a post from r/weddinshaming post about a bride who changed her wedding to a weekday in another state. Amory counters with a teacher who used AI to foil his student's cheating. Petty or just? You be the judge.

Credits: This episode was produced by Frannie Monahan. It was co-hosted by Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.

Bridezillas and quiz traps: Petty stories from Reddit

In 2020, Jenna Marbles — one of the most popular YouTube creators of all time —posted her last video. Five years later, her devoted fanbase still wonders: where is she, and is she okay? We investigate the mystery behind one of YouTube's biggest disappearances, and why people still care so much.

Show notes:

 r/JennaMarbles • (Reddit)

 The Best, Fakest, and Most Teary Influencer Apologies of 2020 • (Vulture)

 How to trick people into thinking you're good looking • (YouTube)

 An Authentic Guide to Meaningful Work 

This episode was written and produced by Grace Tatter, edited by Meg Cramer, and hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.

What happened to Jenna Marbles?

What is your relationship with the trash heap of digital history? Can you still connect your old hard drives? Still sifting through your old photos in the cloud? Do you ever low key snoop in the old electronics of other people, searching for treasure?

That's what Noah Simmons was doing a while back when he discovered something compelling in its simplicity: a homework assignment document, on an old laptop picked up at an estate sale. The title of the essay? "My Secret Place."

From there, the mystery of the author, and the meaning it had for so many people who got hit right in the feels by a nostalgic description of childhood, played out on TikTok. Like hundreds of thousands of people online, Team Endless Thread had to know more.

Credits: Co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, produced by Frannie Monahan, Edited by Meg Cramer, and sound designed by Emily Jankowski. The rest of our team is Managing Producer Paul Vaitkus, Dean Russell, and Grace Tatter.

Message in a laptop

As summer fades away, we bring you an encore episode about you shoreline companions and occasional bullies — gulls.

Gulls are not beloved creatures. Consult social media, where they are deemed relentless, dirty pests who steal our food and crowd our beaches. As one TikTok user puts it, "Seagulls are the worst animals to ever exist."

Such hatred overlooks truths about this intelligent, charismatic animal, and it is masking a big problem: While gulls may seem like they are everywhere, many species are dying.

Endless Thread goes on a journey to reconsider the seagull.

You can learn more and see photos of the gulls of Appledore here.

Credits: This episode was written and produced by Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. The hosts are Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. It was edited by managing producer, Samata Joshi.

Encore: The truth about seagulls, the internet's most hated bird

Kashif Hoda was getting onto a Southbound train at Harvard Square when a young man said he recognized him. The doors closed before he got a chance to ask the young man how, or who he was. A month later, the answer came in the form of a viral video.

Harvard students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardefyio modified Meta's smart glasses so that you can search someone's face quickly, almost without them knowing, and pull up personal internet flotsam that they might no longer remember even exists. Think: pictures and articles from decades ago. Addresses. Voting records.

Are we prepared for a future where this tool goes mainstream?

Show notes:

IXRAY (Google Doc)

Two Students Created Face Recognition Glasses. It Wasn’t Hard. (The New York Times)

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

Dox Glasses: Two Harvard students created an app turning smart glasses into on-the-go facial recognition

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