Most of us know the internet isn't a particularly private place. Yet there's a certain feeling of anonymity that comes with sharing online — our words and stories mixed in with millions of others. It's easy to think no one is watching.

But your data isn't just vulnerable to prying eyes. It's for sale. And the government is buying it up to keep a closer eye on you — and all of us.

This week, hosts Amory and Ben take a chilling look at how our social media is used for surveillance with Dell Cameron, an investigative reporter with WIRED covering privacy and national security.

• ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team (WIRED)
• Homeland Security Wants Social Media Sites to Expose Anti-ICE Accounts (The New York Times)
• ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it (NPR)
• To reach Endless Thread on Signal: 646-456-9095

This episode was originally published on March 21, 2025.

There are moments that define each of our lives. Some we can predict: graduations, marriages, births, deaths. Others? Not so much.

And in the year 2025, when the stars aligned just so, you may have found that moment explode online.

That's what happened to 23-year-old Adrián Simancas. Last year in Feb. 2025, Adrián was paddling the Straight of Magellan, with his father Dell, when the unimaginable happened: a humpback whale emerged from the water and engulfed him in its open mouth — and his father captured it all on video. Almost immediately, the video went viral.

Simancas sat down with Endless Thread to discuss his whale tale, the deluge of attention that followed, and what he's learned from his intimate moment with nature.

Show notes:

• Video of Adrián's whale encounter. We originally saw it on the Reddit thread: r/ThatsInsane
• Adrián Simanca's Youtube channel
• Dell Simanca's Youtube channel
• Did a whale swallow a kayaker? The truth behind the viral video (NPR)

Sit back, relax and get cozy. As a matter of fact, why not put on your baggiest of clothes and burrow down in your snuggiest of blankets? This week on Endless Thread, Ben and Amory are comfy-maxxing. They'll discuss how the internet is delivering comfort right now, including a look at delicious foods from childhood and an intriguing tip on how to sleep better at night.

Show notes:

• Calling all dad's... Whats your easy go to dinners?! (Reddit)
• What’s your favorite comfort food from your culture? (Reddit)
• My weird but effective sleep trick: pretend I’m a medieval peasant (Reddit)
• Amory's favorite vegan mozzarella recipe by Miyoko Schinner

Once upon a dimly lit hallway, Ben and Amory stumbled onto a beloved brainchild of the internet: Backrooms. It began as a "creepypasta"— a horror story or concept that originates online and often becomes a meme — based on the idea of glitching into an inescapable prison of empty rooms. Back in 2020, Endless Thread discussed how this chilling kernel of internet lore migrated from 4chan to Reddit. Now, "Backrooms" is a major motion picture from A24.

Amory and Ben take a little field trip to the theater to see the film and discuss how the concept holds up in the hands of Hollywood.

Journalist Leon Neyfakh — known for the podcasts Slow Burn, Fiasco, and Backfired — wanted to know more about the massively popular and sprawling online ecosystem of OnlyFans. What are its nearly 400 million users really getting from it, and what can that tell all of us about relationships forged online? To find out, he teamed up with Gracie Canaan, a stand-up comedian and OnlyFans creator.

Ben and Amory sat down with them at the WBUR Festival to hear all about their new podcast for Audible, OnlyFantasy, in which they examine this bustling digital marketplace of sex and emotions, and try to understand the role it plays in the lives and relationships of the buyers and sellers.

Show notes: OnlyFantasy (Audible)

This conversation was produced by Amory Sivertson and Ben Brock Johnson. It was edited down by Grace Tatter. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

Jeremy Rellosa used to watch TV shows and movies from the '90s and revel in how the characters walked around untethered to a smartphone, with no expectations of constant connectivity. So he decided to run an experiment on himself: he'd live for at least two weeks without a smartphone. No Slack. No text messages. No Instagram or WhatsApp. If his friends, family, or boss wanted to reach him, they'd have to call him on his landline.

Sure, landlines were the norm just a couple of decades ago. But in our always-online world, how feasible is the landline life, really? Ben and Amory call Jeremy up to find out.

Show notes:

"I Turned Off My Phone for a Month and Used a Landline" (New York Magazine)

This episode was written and produced by Grace Tatter and edited by Meg Cramer and Dave Shaw. It was co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Paul Vaitkus.

Try reading this description as fast as you can: Ben and Amory zoom through two internet stories connected to speed running, including a look at a mysterious object on Reddit and an online trend directed at the Church of Scientology.

Show notes:

• Found in my son’s room (Reddit)
• Storming Scientology Buildings: TikTok Trend or Hate Crime? (The New York Times)
• What is a ‘Scientology speedrun’ and why is social media suddenly obsessed with it? (The Guardian)

Some Internet trends are temporary, but eggs are forever. Today, host Ben Brock Johnson serves up a story about a recipe that, according to the people of r/pickled, can't be beat, and producer Kalyani Saxena egg-splores online discourse around Korean mayak eggs, and why it matters which creators get credit for their popularity.

Show notes:

• "Been a few years now. Figured I’d share my recipe." (r/pickling)
• The eggs so addictive authorities want to change their name (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• How a South Korean comfort food went global (BBC)
• "Marinade recipe" (@courtneylcook's TikTok)
• "we've officially lost the plot (@beefyboiii's TikTok)
• @princess.paulai on Courtney Cook's mayak egg content (TikTok)