INFLUENCE

Can you believe we've been podcasting for a CENTURY? Thanks for sticking with us on this journey of discovery and Internet magic. Here's a look back at our favorite moments.Your comments, calls, suggestions, emails, and tweets mean the world to us, so please keep them coming.See you in the next 100 years!Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anyone in a long distance relationship will tell you how hard it can be. And dating or marrying across countries comes with a huge list of expenses and immigration headaches. While people from different countries meet and fall in love all the time, why would anyone seek out a relationship with these complications from the start?The "mail order bride" concept has been around for centuries, and the modern equivalent are dating apps that facilitate specific international relationships: ColumbianCupid, JamaicanDating, ChinaLoveCupid.  There's even a hit reality TV show called 90 Day Fiancé that has brought these apps into the zeitgeist. But as journalist Paul Schrodt discovered, while people sign up for these apps under a variety of circumstances, there is a prevailing theme: white American men of means connecting with attractive women from economically disadvantaged countries.So, are these apps about fetishizing ethnicity and forming transnational relationships? Or is there something deeper to be gleaned from the successful marriages born of international dating apps? Alli and Jen talk to Schrodt about his experience using the apps and connecting with single men and women from around the globe.Read Schrodt's piece in GQ here: https://www.gq.com/story/90-day-fiance-international-dating-appsSupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a new episode format we like to call: ASK YOU ANYTHING, where we ask Internet-famous people awkward questions in a sad attempt to embarrass them for your entertainment! (Don't worry, we'll have a regular episode for you next week.)This week we're joined by Gibi ASMR, a YouTuber and Internet content creator who specializes in ASMR — autonomous sensory meridian response.  Millions of people watch Gibi's videos and use the sounds of her voice and various materials to relax and feel those "tingles" on the back of their neck. Gibi was a 2G1P guest back on episode 10, and has since grown her channel to more than 2 million subscribers. She is among the most popular ASMRtists on the Internet.So, can we make her blush by prying into her Google search history?Follow and subscribe to Gibi ASMR:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE6acMV3m35znLcf0JGNn7QTwitter: https://twitter.com/GibiOfficialTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/gggibiSupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 300,000 volunteers are standing by right now, 24/7, ready to listen if you need to talk to about depression, anxiety, self-harm, or just need to vent about a rough day. Texting with a listener who cares has meaningful therapeutic value, according to 7 Cups, a crowdsourced platform for mental health.But how are these listeners trained, and how should these anonymous conversations about serious topics be moderated? The Internet is full of trolls, after all. And can anonymous texting ever replace face-to-face psychotherapy? Alli and Jen talk with Laura Small, director of community development, about the vision for 7 Cups as a global mental health community for those who may not have access to professionals.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's plenty of sexy fan art for any movie, show, or game imaginable, thanks to Rule 34. But there's something about Sonic the Hedgehog that lends the character to very specific and often extreme fetish art, in limitless quantities. Why Sonic? Writer and weird Internet excavator  K. Thor Jensen walks Alli and Jen through the invention of the Internet's favorite blue speed demon, and the unique way he was positioned by his creators that set him up as a conduit for porn of all stripes.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's become clear that nearly all information you come across on Facebook (or any social media for that matter) should be consumed with skepticism. But there's something about the trouble of organizing a physical event and inviting real people to a real place, that seems beyond the realm of forgery. Turns out, it's the hottest new form of online/IRL trolling. And Facebook users fall for it hook, line, and sinker. When photographer and artist Eric Pickersgill discovered that folks were tricking users into showing up for fake Limp Bizkit concerts, he had to go to the IRL scene of the prank. There he found confused business owners and a bizarre confluence of meme culture and disappointed fans. Alli and Jen talk to Pickersgill about his photography project entitled No Show, and why we continue to be duped by online information when it comes to us in news feed form.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom has been to the Super Bowl multiple times. He goes on free cruises yearly, has ridden on the Daytona 500 track at 200 miles per hour, traveled with the U.S. soccer team, and devoted a room of his house to store all the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and big screen TVs he's won over the years. That's because he enters more than 100 sweepstakes every single day, and thanks to a constant supply of free gift cards, he rarely pays for gas, cable, or his cell phone out of pocket. But he's not a wizard or a scammer. He's a Sweeper, and he's built a community of like-minded folks who share sweepstakes knowledge from around the country to beat the odds and get free stuff.Alli and Jen get his tips on how to win, and learn about his journey from free fries at Burger King in the '80s to running a sweeper newsletter at iwincontests.com.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Macrophilia is a surprisingly popular fetish involving sexual fantasies about giants — specifically, giant women. Being at the mercy of giants, or being coddled or crushed by them are staples of the community, but size change motifs also are common. Stories and media about giants (like the 1958 horror B-movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) or size change (1989's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) have become touch points for the macrophilia community, though many have also taken to making their own media and pornography using visual effects.Alli and Jen talk with Pete, the webmaster of Giantess City, one of the largest online content and community hubs for macrophiles.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perfect moms and unicorns have one thing in common: They don't exist. That mantra has brought together a huge community of women who are sick of the judgmental bickering that plagues typical "mommy groups" on social platforms like Facebook. Alli and Jen speak with Maria Hunt, the founder of Unicorn Moms, about her inspiration for starting a completely new kind of online support community for mothers. Spoiler alert: It involves a lot of drinking. Hunt explains the rules of her invite-only group (which is 34,000 strong), and how it's become a worldwide support system for women struggling to live up to the unrealistic standards of motherhood imposed online.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The true crime explosion ignited by podcasts like Serial and Netflix series Making a Murderer has spawned a massive ecosystem of murdery content. One of the biggest and most passionate fandoms on the Internet today centers on two funny women and their obsession with real murder headlines, both new and historical. Their podcast, My Favorite Murder, has 19 million monthly downloads by conservative estimates. And the enormous community that gathers around it (whose members refer to themselves as "Murderinos") has a storied past full of in-fighting, fractured Facebook groups, merch gone wrong, and subreddit drama. Alli and Jen talk with u/TinaBelcher4Prez, the moderator of r/MyFavoriteMurder, the un-official (but largest) subreddit for fans of the show. She explains the broad appeal of the hosts, the grizzly subject matter, and its fascinating connection to mental health awareness. She also explains the fandom's many factions and controversies which have made listening to the show a roller coaster ride in recent years.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices