

Never Post
Charts & Leisure
A podcast about and for the internet, hosted by Mike Rugnetta
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 19, 2024 • 46min
The Sound Files of Summer
An episode-long staff round-table about music library management with special guest Meghal Janardan. –
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–Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure

Jun 14, 2024 • 1h 2min
Mailbag, Episodes 7-10
We respond to you!–LINKS!
Angelmamii7 in Limerance
Burnt toast about burnt toast HEADPHONE USERS BEWARE
–
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–Moss’ EmailHi Never Post!My name is Moss (she/her) and I am trans.Your recent segment on before and after pics got me thinking about the particular variety of before and afters that are shared online in the trans community. I think that this became a lot more visible to me after being witness to the early chaos of unconstrained trans horniness and wild openness in the early formation of Bluesky last year, which is a whole fascinating bit of platform ecosystem history, especially seeing how much Bluesky has leveled out into something much more "presentable" and twitter-like now that it's operating at scale—but I digress.On sites like Twitter and Bluesky (and surely elsewhere...) there is an established trend of trans beings (queer beings) sharing before and after pictures of themselves. These are occasioned by trans holidays, like Transgender Day of Visibility, by personal events like transition anniversaries, and by quote chains of such pics (not to mention special occasions of steps taken towards transition). I think it's important to mention these not only as a queer phenomenon, but as something that illuminates how before and afters work for everyone in a variety of situations (as is the case with many things related to transness—it's not [only] about being trans: it's about living more freely). The trans case highlights a few aspects that I want to explore here:1) The pics, by virtue of being in a trans discourse, would seem to point to something deeper about how life is structured—an identity, a gender—rather than merely an aspect of life—weight, appearance, dwelling, &c.—not of course that identity and gender are not merely aspects of life nor that what seem to be mere aspects are not structuring, but thinking about the weight these are given culturally. What does it mean to see one photo and then another and think, and be encouraged to think by the poster, to see the second as more in line with their gender, as "more woman," "more animal," "more thing," "more man," "more..."? But perhaps above all "MORE THEMSELF." I think we can reasonably be quite ambivalent about this: as your segment points out, the after of the before and after is actually a changing state, and that perhaps it's harmful to over-fix (and that it might fix norms that should be taken as fluid and contextual), but, on the other hand, the fixing function of the before and after photo may be precisely the point for the trans poster—a trans performance to reinforce self. We might further ask, what is visible and what is invisible about transition—does the before and after pic over-reinforce the visible (and how does it then interact with the endless discourse of "passing")? There is also of course a great potential for rupture with norms with queer people—the after often completely rejects standard norms (but then is it rejection or creation...? and so on and so on and so on).2) The before pic is possibly quite contentious for trans beings, when it is understood to be a pre-transition pic (and not say, both before and after being after the start of transition). This is because

Jun 5, 2024 • 50min
Who Hires the Hiring Bots?
Hilke Schellmann, an Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, discusses how AI is reshaping the job market and the unique challenges job seekers now face, including algorithmic bias and privacy concerns. Jamie Loftus, a comedian and writer, shares insights from her podcast 'Sixteenth Minute of Fame,' diving into the bizarre phenomenon of fleeting internet fame and its psychological ramifications. Together, they explore the surreal nature of modern hiring and the societal impacts of online notoriety, all while keeping the conversation engaging and entertaining.

May 22, 2024 • 56min
Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places
Georgia digs deep into the enshittification of dating apps, and pays dearly as a result. Mike talks to Aftermath co-founder Luke Plunkett about recent, massive changes to Google’s Page Rank algorithm, and the risk of reconfiguring entire industries to pander to search traffic. And also: An AI Voice Clone of Mike is set to *maximum chaos*. Show Notes:Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/–
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–Intro Links
Belle Delphine earned over $90K selling jars of her bathwater in 2019. PayPal only released her money this week – Katie Notopulous, Business Insider
Slack has been using data from your chats to train its machine learning models – Will Shanklin, Engadget
It’s the End of Google Search As We Know It – Lauren Goode, WIRED
Uber and Lyft agree to deal with state lawmakers on minimum pay rates for drivers – Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer
IGN Entertainment acquires Eurogamer, GI, VG247, Rock Paper Shotgun and more – Christopher Dring, gameindustry.biz
IGN buys Eurogamer, VG247, and Rock Paper Shotgun – layoffs have already started – Game Central, Metro.co.uk
Never Post at XOXO 2024
12 Best Podcasts of 2024 (So Far) – Lauren Passell, Lifehacker
Mike on Blocked Party
–Dating Apps (derogatory)
Dating Apps: The Uncertainty of Marketised Love
https://www.tiktok.com/@officialbrept/video/7028325781537393925?_t=8lrDLmaKbTa&_r=1
https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahgraser/video/7117094997484309806?_r=1&_t=8ly4uYqQrPD
https://www.tiktok.com/@harmonythread/video/7262952885158235435?_t=8lwOVY3O0LP&_r=1
https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahgraser/video/7125991346489314603?_t=8lwOSDK1l3H&_r=1

May 11, 2024 • 59min
Everyone is a Journalish
The second and final installment of our two part collab with Slate’s ICYMI! Mike talks with mis- and disinformation researcher Joan Donovan about the line between gossip and conspiracy; then ICYMI’s Candice and Rachelle join us to talk about what it feels like swimming in the wide open sea of monocultural event discourse. Also: C-SPAN’s earliest internet memories!Special thanks to Candice, Rachelle, Se’era, Daisy and the whole ICYMI team! Please listen to them on slate.com and wherever you get your podcasts.–Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail
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Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com
See what interstitials we need submissions for
–Everyone is a Journalish
Find Joan at her website
and at publicinterestinter.net
–Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. vertigo of too many nuancesdon’t drown in their rapiditychoose the nuances you loveand settle down with themExcerpt of #45 - butter colored slacks and rubber rum balls by Wayne KoestenbaumNever Post is a production of Charts & Leisure

May 8, 2024 • 51min
ICYMI x NP: How Kate Middleton's Disappearance Redefined Monoculture
This week, we got TWO episodes coming at you - one today and one on Saturday. Both are a collaboration with the incredible team at the Slate Podcast ICYMI.In today's episode, the first of our collaboration, Mike guests on ICYMI, where they break down one of 2024’s biggest internet stories and ask: what's the recipe for a rare monocultural event?It's been more than a month since Kate Middleton announced she'd started preventative chemotherapy treatments following a cancer diagnosis. Which means it's also been just over a month since conspiracy theories about the princess ran rampant across the internet. As an increasingly algorithmic internet silos us further into our own little content niches, all-consuming events like Kate Middleton's disappearance are fewer and far between. So what does it take, in 2024, to capture the internet's attention and create these rare monocultural moments?ICYMI is produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.---To get ahold of the Never Post team:- Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail- Drop us a voice memo via airtable- Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com- See what interstitials we need submissions forNever Post's producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show's host is Mike Rugnetta.Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure

Apr 26, 2024 • 55min
Car Tok
Senior producer Hans Buetow investigates the transit vacuum that’ll result when Uber and Lyft leave the Twin Cities; Mike looks at how the car has become a default setting for vertical, short form video. Also: PLANES, TRAINS… BIKES–
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–Intro Links
The House just voted on a potential TikTok ban (again). Now what? – CNN
Biden signs a bill that could ban TikTok — after the 2024 election – NBC News
Steve Mnuchin seeks AI partner to rebuild TikTok’s algorithm in takeover bid: sources – NY Post
Google blocks California news in response to bill that would force tech giant to pay – NPR
When Facebook bans the news – Matt Pearce
Nvidia drops 10% as investors see risk in Big Tech shares – FT
Super Micro And Nvidia Stock Woes Could Mean Trouble For Generative AI – Forbes
AuthorJMac Tweet
Mike on The Eurowhat Podcast
If You Love Podcasts, Dump Spotify – Alex Sujong Laughlin, Defector
–Twin Cities Transit Vacuum
Minnesota Reformer Uber Archives
Max Nesterak is on Twitter
–The American Car
Garlic Naan And Butter Chicken Fountain?! – Tiktok
David After Dentist – YouTube
Taco Reacts – Tiktok
The American Room – Paul Ford, Medium
It is NOT My day – Tiktok
forget a rage room, ima just rent out my car so y’all can scream in it – Evelyn, Tiktok
Shanin Blake – Tiktok
Dear single parents ~ when I was 18 I got pregnant with my daughter and her dad went to prison right a

Apr 24, 2024 • 41min
Interlude: Important Emails, Extended Cut
😷--❤️🔥 Become a member at https://neverpo.st☎️ Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail🗣️ Drop us a voice note via airtable📧 Email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com--Never Post's producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show's host is Mike Rugnetta. It’s easier to read the mind of a fox than to guess what a man’s about to say when he returns from the woods head full of roots veins more like branches shoes in one hand feet blistered and none of this necessarily an indication of how the feet feel what miles uphill and back have done to the soles and to the small bones that propel a manExcerpt of Rest Before You SleepBy Dionisio D. MartínezNever Post is a production of Charts & Leisure.

Apr 17, 2024 • 54min
Mailbag, Episodes 4-6
We respond to your comments!--☎️ Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail🗣️ Drop us a voice note via airtable📧 Email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com🌐 Leave a comment at neverpo.st--Never Post's producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show's host is Mike Rugnetta. Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure.

Apr 10, 2024 • 55min
Switched on Post
Contributing Producer Marie Kilaru discusses the emotional impacts of making and seeing Before and After posts; Charlie Harding of Switched on Pop joins Jason to talk about what pop-musical acts have sounded like the internet. Also: Georgia reads Franny Choi’s “Unrequited Lovesong for the Panopticon”Join us on Twitch, Friday, April 12th @ 2pm ET to chat about audio production!–
Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail
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Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com
–Intro Links
Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge – Reuters
When Facebook fails, local media matters even more for our planet’s future – Kansas Reflector
We can slay giants – Handbasket
FCC to vote to restore net neutrality rules, reversing Trump – Reuters
LinkedIn plans to add gaming to its platform – Techcrunch
Mike’s Twitch
Mike on the Alarmist!
–Before and After Photos
Find Marie at her website and on X.
Mark Gaetano is on IG and YT
Special thanks to Hannah Meacock-Ross for editorial support–What (Pop Music) Does the Internet Sound Like?You should listen to Switched on Pop generally, but also here’s the interview they did with 100 gecs.–Unrequited Love Song for the Panopticon was used with permission –Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our contributing producer this episode is Marie Kilaru. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. After the accident we hadthe phrase after the accident.Also this: before the accident.We had a drawer markedbefore and after, and afterand before happeningswe'd add atrocities andincidents and the wildasters someone beforeand after keeps leaving.After By Andre