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WBUR

Untold histories, unsolved mysteries, and other jaw-dropping stories online and IRL. Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson & Amory Sivertson.

Endless Thread

What's your favorite color? If you ask the algorithm, the answer is probably beige. The internet loves neutrals. Aesthetic coffee shop videos feature white walls and minimalist decor. Influencers film from houses decked out with all the beige fixings. When you shop online, you'll be presented with products in a wide range of bland colors — from eggshell, to taupe, to... slightly darker taupe.

So where did all the color go?

Hayley DeRoche, a librarian and writer known as SadBeige on Tiktok, has been watching this unfold for a while. Hosts Ben and Amory talk with Hayley about the internet's love affair with beige and discuss her new book “Dress Your Baby In Sage and Taupe: A Handbook for the Sad Beige Parent.” 

Show notes:

 SadBeige • (TikTok)

 The tyranny of the algorithm: why every coffee shop looks the same • (The Guardian)

 You read that white: Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year is 'Cloud Dancer • ' (NPR)

Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena, and co-hosted by Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson. It was edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Marquis Neal.

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A Beige New World

When you think of rapper Afroman, chances are his early 2000s hit song "Because I Got High" is already playing in your mind. More than two decades later, his music has once again broken containment. Host Ben Brock Johnson and Producer Grace Tatter dig into how Afroman turned a police raid and defamation trial into another moment of internet virality.

Show notes:

 Afroman surveillance footage • (Instagram)

 "These lemon poundcake shirts are going fast !!!" • (Instagram)

 Cop Says Afroman's False 'Pedophile' Claim Caused Him To Quit Sheriff's Office • (YouTube)

Credits: This episode was produced by Grace Tatter and Kalyani Saxena, and co-hosted by Grace Tatter and Ben Brock Johnson. It was edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Marquis Neal.

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How Afroman turned lemons into lemon pound cake

In this throwback from the Endless Thread archives, hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson revisit an episode from 2024.

In 2022, a TikTok creator who identifies herself as "Kala" began digging. What followed was an increasingly viral series of TikToks chronicling the efforts of Kala, who some on the internet dubbed "Tunnel Girl," as she excavated and constructed a tunnel system under her suburban home. Her more than half-million followers watched and weighed in with support, suggestions and, at times, concern. That is, until a stop-work order halted the project in its tracks.

Two years later, we have some updates on the story.

This episode was originally published on February 02, 2024. It was produced by Katelyn Harrop and co-hosted by Katelyn Harrop, Ben Brock Johnson, and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.

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Rewind: Digging Deep with TikTok's "tunnel girl"

Warning: This episode contains multitudes! Hosts Ben and Amory explore how viral clips of DOGE staffers' video depositions found a new life online after a judge temporarily ordered them removed. They also dabble in a Reddit thought exercise with a potentially dubious origin

Show notes:

 DOGE staffer who flagged grants for 'DEI' struggles to define the term • (The Independent)

 LPT: I started pretending my life is a TV show and it made me more productive • (Reddit)

Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. It was edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Marquis Neal.

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Beautiful, Terrible Internet

Maybe you can't judge books by their covers. But can you judge people by their books? Reddit's bookshelf detectives say yes. Producer Kalyani Saxena guides hosts Ben and Amory through the stacks and offers a picture of her own bookshelf to the Reddit detectives as tribute.

 r/BookshelvesDetective • (Reddit)

 Started seeing this guy. What does it say about him??
 • (r/BookshelvesDetective)
What do my wife's bookshelves say about her? • (r/BookshelvesDetective)

 What’s his bookshelf say about him? • (r/BookshelvesDetective)

 Snoop our bookshelves! • (r/EndlessThread)

This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Kalyani Saxena, Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Marquis Neal.

***

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Sexy spines or literary red flags?

A woman sitting blissfully on a vibrating laundromat dryer. A faked pregnancy test to dump a bad boyfriend. In 2019, the internet was abuzz about bizarre ads for a mobile game called Lily's Garden. The ads were only about 15 seconds each, but they evoked a whole universe of drama amongst a cast of zany characters that inspired countless YouTube videos and copious internet chatter.

The thing is... the story in the ads had almost nothing to do with the story in the game. In this episode of Endless Thread: creative differences, the wilderness of mobile games, and where the Lily's Garden game-world and the ad-world diverged.

Show notes:

 Lily's Garden on the App Store
 Lily's Garden on Google Play
 • "
I hate Lily's Garden and her teeth • " (PewDiePie, YouTube)

 How Tactile Games made marketing and diversity core to Lily’s Garden’s $500 million success • (Pocket Gamer)

This episode was produced and written by Grace Tatter, co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus. Special thanks to our 2025 Bloomberg Arts Intern Cendy Charles. 

***

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Digging Up Lily's Garden

Note: This episode describes sexual situations that are non-consensual.

Sharing a photo of yourself online has always carried some risk. But things got a lot scarier this year when users began using Grok, X's generative AI chatbot to create sexualized deepfakes of women and children. Iona Fyfe, Scottish folk singer and activist, was one of the people who had an image altered and manipulated by Grok. Hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson talk to her about her experience.

****
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What it's like to be undressed by Grok without your consent

Some rare folks are born with the perfect music taste. But most of us have to look elsewhere for a tune that sparks a shoulder shimmy or two. Hosts Ben and Amory spend some time jamming to obscure music from Reddit. They also explore how a TikTok original became Dr. Pepper's catchy new jingle. 

And "baby, it's good and nice."

Show notes:

 I wasn't sure on this one at first, but you can't beat the messaging • . (Reddit)

 Boko Yout [9-2-5] • (Reddit)

 Molly • by Ecca Vandal

 Theme Song for Dr. Pepper: Let's Collaborate! • (TikTok)

 Dr. Pepper's Viral Jingle Moment Has Everyone Pitching Songs to Brands • (Atlanta Black Star)

 Beautiful and unique music. Hope someone an share details about her and the music • (Reddit)

 everyday_naturalist 
 christycoysh

Obscure music is good and nice!

Melania, a documentary about the first lady, has a 10 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but a 90 percent score from audience members, an unusual discrepancy that raises the question, how did Rotten Tomatoes get those scores anyway?

Show notes:

 • The 'Melania' movie audience: Older white women (
NPR • )

 • Melania’s Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru (
The Daily Beast • )

 • You Can Thank 'Rush Hour' for Rotten Tomatoes (
Vice • )

 • Rotten Tomatoes Owner Says ‘Melania’ 99% Audience Score Is Not ‘Bot Manipulation’: ‘Reviews Are Verified… Users Bought a Ticket to the Film’ (
Variety • )

Credits: This episode was produced by Kalyani Saxena and Grace Tatter. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Kalyani Saxena, and edited by Meg Cramer. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

Fresh, stale, or politics? The Melania doc's Rotten Tomatoes score, explained

In this OG throwback from the Endless Thread archives, hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson revisit a classic episode from their first year of production in 2018.

Originally produced during the show's early partnership with Reddit, "Love in Transition" explores the most powerful emotion in the universe in all its forms, shapes, and sizes. This might just be your perfect weekend listen, celebrating a timeless story about affection and the many ways we experience love today.

Rewind: Love In Transition

We kick off this year’s series of spooky stories in the lead-up to Halloween with tales about a frightening curse and a memorable first date.

Snacktime: Endless Dread

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