In the season 3 finale, hosts reminisce with guest Izzy from Be Kind Rewind about Vine's cultural impact. They debate Vine's legacy, compare it to Quebec of social media, and share Izzy's experience working for the company. The discussion includes reflections on Vine stars transitioning to other platforms, challenges faced by Vine, and the evolution of short-form video platforms like TikTok.

When you think of “hard news”, a company that once published an article called “13 Potatoes That Look Like Channing Tatum” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yes, in this episode Hannah and Maia are tackling Buzzfeed - the millennial fluff aggregator that managed to be on the cutting edge of digital journalism for a bit there. And in the process, changed the way we consume news, and maybe even the societal flow of information altogether. Journalism is in crisis… and is Buzzfeed to blame? Listen for riveting discussions such as: the digital media gold rush and its inevitable demise; is Trump the attention economy personified? Is Justin Bieber one of the four horsemen of the news apocalypse? And… does Anna Wintour really have a f*ck ass bob?  SOURCES: Jill Abramson, “Why BuzzFeed and Vice Couldn’t Make News Work” Vanity Fair (2023). Domagoj Bebić, “Viral journalism: The rise of a new form” Medij. Istraž, vol. 22, (2016). David Elliot Berman, “The Spaces of Sensationalism: A Comparative Case Study of the New York Journal and BuzzFeed” International Journal of Communication, vol. 15 (2021). Ken Bensinger and Miriam Elder, “These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia” Buzzfeed News (2017). Kathryn Bowd, “Social media and news media: Building new publics or fragmenting audiences?” in Making Publics, Making Places, ed. Mary Griffiths and Kim Barbour, University of Adelaide Press (2016). Bob Franklin, “The Future of Journalism in an Age of Digital Media and Economic Uncertainty” Journalism Studies, vol. 15 (2014). Josh Gerstein, “BuzzFeed Deletes Post Critical of Dove, a BuzzFeed Advertiser” Politico (2021). David A. Graham, The Trouble With Publishing the Trump Dossier” The Atlantic (2017). John Herrman, “The News Went Viral: The media bet its future on Facebook. Did it learn from that mistake?” New York Mag (2023). Nathan J. Robinson, “The Collapse of BuzzFeed News Shows Why For-Profit Journalism is a Disaster” Current Affairs (2023). Rachel Sanders, “BuzzFeed Doesn’t Deserve Its Newsroom” The Nation (2022). Mia Sato, “The unbearable lightness of BuzzFeed” The Verge (2022). Alyson Shontell, “Inside Buzzfeed: The Story Of How Jonah Peretti Built The Web's Most Beloved New Media Brand” Buzzfeed Insider (2012). Ravi Somaiya, “BuzzFeed Restores 2 Posts Its Editor Deleted” The New York Times (2015). J.K Trotter, “BuzzFeed Deletes Post Critical of Dove, a BuzzFeed Advertiser” Gawker (2015).

For one brief, beautiful moment in history, the social media sleuths were right. When Britney Spears’ fans began to decode strange messaging in her quirky Instagram posts, it became clear that the formerly maligned popstar was living under the control of her abusive father by way of a particularly oppressive conservatorship. This resulted in a nation-wide movement to liberate Britney from her family and, by extension, the predatory industry that has exploited her for over two decades. But, well-intentioned as #FreeBritney was, did the movement have unintended consequences? Discussions include: the 2000s as the dark ages for popular culture, Vegas residencies as the death rattle for celebrity music careers, and the ongoing question of “agency” that seems to follows Britney Spears throughout her lifetime. Digressions include: Maia’s irrational fear of Babe the pig and a chat about the emojis that define us.  (NOTE: We refer in this episode to Cara Cunningham as Chris Crocker, which is her dead name.) Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic SOURCES: “Britney Spears conservatorship dispute”, Wikipedia. Natalie Finn, “Jamie Spears Squashes Britney Fansite” ENews (2009). The Associated Press, “Who is Sam Lutfi?” Los Angeles Times (2008). Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino, “Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare”  The New Yorker (2021). "Framing Britney Spears" documentary "Controlling Britney Spears" documentary Julia Jacobs, “‘Sorry Britney’: Media Is Criticized for Past Coverage, and Some Own Up”  The New York Times (2021). Toyin Owoseje, “Britney says she ‘cried for two weeks’ after ‘Framing Britney Spears’ documentary” CNN (2021). Sandra Song, “Inside #FreeBritney: A Stan Movement to Help Their Pop Savior” Paper Magazine (2021). Jeevan Ravindran, “‘You guys saved my life,’ Britney Spears tells #FreeBritney movement” CNN (2021). Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino, “How Britney Spears Got Free, and What Comes Next” The New Yorker (2021). Rebecca Jennings, “‘Where Is Britney Spears?’ After her conservatorship ended, some of her fandom latched on to a new theory: What if she had never been freed at all?” Vulture (2023). Caity Weaver, “When Britney Spears Posts on Instagram, a Thousand Conspiracies Flower” The New York Times (2019). EJ Dickson, “Matt Gaetz, QAnon Followers, and the GOP are Exploiting the #FreeBritney Movement” Rolling Stone (2021).  Morgan Sungm “On Tiktok, #FreeBritney conspiracy theories run deep.” Mashable (2021).  Britney's Gram podcast.

Cover this podcast in prayers, because in this highly-requested episode, Hannah and Maia discuss the most political event on the internet to date: Tati Westbrook’s public disowning of James Charles. In this clashing of beauty guru titans, 38-year-old Tati Westbrook disavowed her 19-year old friend and mentee, James Charles… over a bunch of hair vitamins. But hindsight reveals that Tati may not have been working alone, and that Bye Sister may never have been about vitamins all along. Tea and squabbles abound, this event may have brought an end to the beauty guru regime… for good! Digressions include: a reopening of the case on “grooming”, Hannah and Maia’s “would you, an alt man, date Kylie Jenner” poll, the horror of naming a fanbase, and Rehash’s declaration of war against another… very famous… podcast.  Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: ⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic SOURCES: Valeriya Safronova, “James Charles, From ‘CoverBoy’ to Canceled” The New York Times (2019). Jean Kelso Sandlin and Monica L. Gracyalny, “Fandom, forgiveness and future support: YouTube apologies as crisis communication” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 24 (1) (2020). Rachel Strugatz, "The Morphe Beauty Saga Isn’t Pretty” The New York Times (2022). Elizabeth Whitehead, “An Awkward Look at the Excessive Makeup Trend of the 2010s” Punkee (2022).

Has the sun set on the Me Too era? If you were following along with the Depp v. Heard defamation trial last April, it seems like it did. When Johnny Depp took Amber Heard to court for three vague quotes suggesting she had been abused by him, the world was in a frenzy. Has this hot, blonde, bisexual woman really been abused… or was it the easier answer? That she was an evil psychopath who pulled a Gone Girl on everyone’s favourite fictional pirate. In this episode, Hannah and Maia are finally ready to talk about this blight on cultural history. Discussions include: the popcorn consumption of televised celebrity court cases, TikTok’s true crime cottage industry, Johnny Depp’s hideous hats, and the societal Basic Instinct-ification of hot women. Will Amber Heard be redeemed as a maligned women when the fog clears in a few years, or did Depp v. Heard reverse Me Too for good?  Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: ⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic SOURCES Amber Heard, “I spoke up against sexual violence - and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.” (18/12/18), The Washington Post Simmone Shah, “What to Know About Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s Defamation Trial” (05/05/22), Time, Rajeev Syal, “Why did the Depp-Heard libel outcomes differ in the US and UK?” (02/06/22), The Guardian Anya Zoledziowski “Did Social MEdia Sway the Johnny Depp Jury?” (03/06/22), Vice, Nathan Buck, “The use of juries in defamation proceedings in America and Australia” (27/10/22), Kennedys Law Constance Grady, “Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and their $50 million defamation suit, explained” (03/11/22) Vox   Anya Zolediowski, “Why Does It Seem Like the Entire Internet is Team Johnny Depp?” (25/04/22) Antoinette Bueno “Amber Heard Alleges Johnny Depp Abused Her Throughout Relationship: ‘I Live in Fear That Johnny Will Return”, ET Online (27/05/16) Gene Maddaus, “Why Was Depp-Heard Trial Televised? Critics Call It ‘Single Worst Decision’ for Sexual Violence Victims”, (2022), Variety.   “Jury Sequestration”, US Legal.   Lillian Gissen “ Amber Heard is accused of COPYING Johnny Depp's courtroom outfits in a sartorial 'mind game' as spectators spot multiple similarities between their ensembles - and even their hairstyles - amid $100M defamation trial”, (2022), The Daily Mail   Alex Peters, “Milani Cosmetics faces backlash after wading into Depp V Heard trial”, (2022), Dazed, Alice McCool, Manasa Narayanan “The Daily Wire Spent Thousands of Dollars Promoting Anti-Amber Heard Propaganda” (2022), Vice David Mack, “A Juror Said They Didn't Believe Amber Heard's "Crocodile Tears" And That She Made Them Uncomfortable” (2022), Buzzfeed News. Daniela Avila, “Judge Strikes Down Marilyn Manson's Defamation Claims in Evan Rachel Wood Case” (2023), People Magazine Jennifer Peltz, “Kesha and producer Dr. Luke settle legal battle over rape, defamation claims” (2023), Global News.

Remember when everyone freaked the f*** out about that French movie on Netflix? No? Well everybody, let us introduce you to: Cuties. In this episode, Hannah and Maia discuss Maïmouna Doucouré’s quaint 2020 coming-of-age film and the all out moral panic that it spawned on the internet - which culminated in a real life obscenity lawsuit against Netflix. Discussions include: the thin line between depiction and endorsement, America’s many moral triggers and paradoxical attitude towards sex, the weaponizing of children as a political tool, the cultural consequences of Jeffrey Epstein, and Netflix… actually... defending… art?  Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: ⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic Sources: Caira Conner, “Watching the Outrage Over Cuties as a Survivor of P*dophilia” The Atlantic (2020). Maria Cramer, “Netflix Is Charged in Texas With Promoting Lewdness in ‘Cuties’” The New York Times (2020). Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Moral Panics: Culture, Politics, and Social Construction” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 20 (1994). Zack Sharf, “‘Cuties’ Director Speaks Out Amid Backlash Film Sexualizes Children, Netflix Stands by It” Indie Wire (2020). Alissa Wilkinson and Aja Romano, How Cuties, a French movie on Netflix, became part of America’s culture war” Vox (2020).

Remember when Kim Kardashian invented butts? Paper Magazine sure would like us to. When they released their scintillating cover issue of Kim K in a sequinned dress, balancing a champagne glass on her formidable silicone buttocks, Paper Mag declared: “Break the Internet Kim Kardashian” And break it she did. In this episode, Hannah and Maia trace Kim Kardashian’s transformation from trashy reality star to fashionista de jour. Since the Paper cover, and with the help of Kanye West, Kim’s body has become the subject of a twisted performance art. But it’s also generated controversy - creating unhealthy trends, grifting from the natural features of Black women, and now disappearing into what we everyone has deemed a “skinny renaissance”. Digression includes: Maia getting riled up about Timothée and Kylie’s fabled romantic union.  Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: ⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic SOURCES Joe Zee, “In Defense of Kim Kardashian and the Editors of Paper Magazine and Why This Cover Makes Sense” (12/11/14), Yahoo Jake Hall, “exploring the complicated relationship between jean-paul goude and grace jones”, (21/04/16) i-D David Hershkovits, “How Kim KArdashian broke the Internet with her butt” (17/12/14), The Guardian Blue Telusma “Kim Kardashian doesn’t realize she’s the butt of an old racial joke” (12/11/14), the grio Justin Parkinson, “The Significance of Sarah Baartman” (07/01/16), BBC Janell Hobson, “Remnants of Venus: Signifying Black Beauty and Sexuality” (2018), Women’s studies Quarterly, The Feminist Press Nolan Feeney, “Anna Wintour Implies Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are not ‘Deeply Tasteful’”. (19/11/14) Cleo Gould, “From silicone implants and fat transfers to bubble butts and a high mortality rate, we investigate whether the BBL is the most dangerous cosmetic surgery of all” (2019), Dazed Rachel Tashjian, “How Jennifer Lopez’s Versace Dress Created Google Images” (2019), GQ.  John Ortved, “Paper Magazine, The Oral History: ‘They Were Wide Open’ (2023), The New York Times Eric Wilson, “Kim Kardashian Inc.” (17/11/2010), The New York Times. Natasha Singer, “The democratization of plastic surgery” (2007), The New York Times, Harper Franklin “1810-1819” (18/08/2020) Fashion History Timeline, Fashion Institute of Technology. Grace O’Neill, “How Kimye Changed Fashion Forever”, Grazia Magazine. Rebecca Jennings, “The $5,000 quest for the perfect butt”, 2021, Vox. Cady Lang, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians Is Ending. But Their Exploitation of Black Women’s Aesthetics Continues”, (10/06/21), Time. Kylie Gilbert, “Backing Away from BBLs” (11/08/22), InStyle

Men used to go to war. Today they are keyboard militias, defending the sanctity of video games and the Gamer™ identity from hysterical women and their evil feminine wiles. ... If you didn't know about Gamergate before today, we're jealous. In this episode, Hannah and Maia provide an excruciatingly detailed breakdown of the 2014 mass harassment campaign which led to the abuse, threatening, and doxxing of countless figures in the game development, journalism, and academic industries. Was there really a feminist conspiracy against video games? Was it just a bunch of men feeling threatened by the fact that, surprise, games are fun for everyone? Or was it just faceless trolls throwing stink bombs all over social media? Listen for an illuminating interview with special guest Fūnk-é Joseph, who offers some much needed insights into just what the hell happened with Gamergate, and what the hell it did to ~the culture~.  Support the Patreon and get juicy bonus content!: https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast Intro and outro song by our talent friend Ian Mills: https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusic Sources: Shira Chess and Adrienne Shaw, “A Conspiracy of Fishes, or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (2015). Caitlin Dewey, “The only guide to Gamergate you will ever need to read” The Washington Post (2014). Zackary Jason, “Game of Fear” Boston Magazine (2015). Torill Elvira Mortensen, “Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate” Games and Culture, vol. 13 (8) (2016). Stephen Totilo, “A brief note about the continued discussion about Kotaku's approach to reporting.” (August 26, 2014).

Exciting, but not surprising. Caroline Calloway, self-proclaimed “scammer” and queen of name-searching, reached out to promote her book on the pod. In this special interview, Hannah and Maia discuss the long-awaited memoir, Scammer, with the author herself (who characteristically conducted the interview from her luxurious Floridian bed). Discussions include: the ethics of writing about other people’s traumas, undervaluing art made on social media, and the Dimes Square Image Rehabilitation Centre™. Digressions include: Tile Tequila and the nightmare that was being bi in the 2000s, coining the term “trad book”, and Caroline’s official inauguration as “schemer, not scammer.” 

Do androids dream of writing Succession? In the second part of this two-part special, Hannah and Maia discuss the 2023 Writers Strike - a hotly debated labour dispute between the Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Robots may not want to turn you into a paperclip (yet), but they do want to turn you into a gig worker. Creative industries were the last place we thought this would happen... until generative AI came about. Although, is generative AI really to blame, or is it the greedy f*ckers in too-big suits dictating the future of art? Listen for a comprehensive breakdown of the strike, a chat about the precedent it will set for our job market, and lastly a theatrical reading of an AI-generated screenplay about three people who are bored. We must ask - does it compute?