America’s not doing so hot right now. Kanye West, on the other hand, hasn’t been well for quite some time. Akilah Hughes joins us again to discuss the idea that Kanye has always been a mirror for the American zeitgeist. What is about him, and about us, that makes that theory true? And, are we — both Kanye and the United States — totally doomed, or can we get better?Our guest Akilah Hughes is a writer, comedian, and reporter. You can find her work at https://itsakilahobviously.com, and follow her @akilahobviously on YouTube and X, or on Instagram @akilahh. Stay tuned for her new podcast coming out this month, How Is This Better? from COURIER.Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions/ads.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Engineer: Rebecca Seidel- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:02:31
BONUS: AI therapy slop
Ryan wrote about using ChatGPT for therapy, and a lot of responses to that announcement involved calling him an idiot. This week, he sits down with Grant to talk about what he learned over experimenting with AI therapy for a few months, and a broader chat about the birth of the AI world — and how it’s pretty much involved in everything already (in good and bad, and mostly bad, ways). Dr. ChatGPT will see you now. Want to hear the rest of the conversation, plus ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for our Patreon for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Engineer: Rebecca Seidel- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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38:13
How long will Trump's base support him?
Last time we had Charlie Warzel on, it was to determine whether the insurrection had been a political success. Now, 100+ days into Trump 2.0, he joins us again to answer some simple questions: Should we be worrying about the survival of American democracy now? And also, with the fallout from tariffs revealing the first cracks in Trump’s base, is this whole thing good for anyone? Plus, are we ready for Dave Portnoy 2028?Our guest Charlie Warzel is a writer for The Atlantic and for his Substack, Galaxy Brain (https://warzel.substack.com/). You can follow him there or @cwarzel on X and Instagram, or @cwarzel.bsky.social.Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Engineer: Rebecca Seidel- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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1:02:11
The effects of true crime brain rot
In the past decade, true crime has gone from a niche and somewhat disparaged genre to one of entertainment’s most prolific. What is it about true crime that’s made it become such a huge part of popular culture? Through the lens of the mysterious disappearance (and reappearance) of Hannah Kobayashi, journalist Jennifer Swann joins us to talk about how missing persons’ cases take on lives on their own online.Our guest Jennifer Swann is a journalist and producer. She has a newsletter, Self Storage, https://jennswann.substack.com/ and produces the investigative true crime podcast My Friend Daisy, which you can find anywhere you listen to podcasts.Listen to the extended conversation on Panic World's Patreon — and enjoy ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord — for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Engineer: Rebecca Seidel- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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58:06
That time a 4chan user got thrown in a Taliban prison
Today, we’re telling a story of human ingenuity. Except, in a dumb way. It’s one of the craziest things that has happened in a long time — which is really saying something — when some bro on 4chan ended up in a Taliban prison. Arturo Castro joins us to talk about a British guy named Miles Rutledge.Our guest Arturo Castro is an actor and currently hosts Greatest Escapes, a podcast where Arturo is joined by friends to learn the stories behind other "great escapes" like today's episode. Check out Greatest Escapes here or wherever you listen to them!Want even more Panic World content? Like ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to the Garbage Day Discord? Sign up for just five bucks a month at: https://www.patreon.com/PanicWorld.SponsorsWant to sponsor Panic World? Ad sales & marketing support by Multitude, hit them up here: http://multitude.productions.Credits- Host: Ryan Broderick- Producer: Grant Irving- Engineer: Rebecca Seidel- Researcher: Adam Bumas- Business Manager: Josh FjelstadSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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