''Rabbit Hole'' is a podcast produced by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and hosted by Kevin Roose that discusses internet radicalization.

Background

Each episode is about 30 minutes in length and is hosted by Kevin Roose and Andy Mills. The show has a total of eight episodes. The production team included Andy Mills, Julia Longoria, Larissa Anderson, Sindhu Gnanasambandan, and Wendy Dorr. The podcast was released during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were quarantining and spending an increased amount of time on the internet. YouTube's content recommendation algorithm is designed to keep the user engaged as long as possible, which Roose calls the "rabbit hole effect". The podcast features interviews with a variety of people involved with YouTube and the "rabbit hole effect". For instance, in episode four Roose interviews

Susan Wojcicki Susan Diane Wojcicki ( ; July 5, 1968 – August 9, 2024) was an American business executive who was the chief executive officer of YouTube from 2014 to 2023. Her net worth was estimated at $765 million in 2022. Wojcicki worked in the te ...

—the CEO of YouTube. The podcast was created after multiple shootings that were tied to online radicalization such as the

Christchurch mosque shootings Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...

. The first three episodes of the show focus on Caleb Cain and how his YouTube search history shifted from politically moderate videos to far-right conspiracy theories. Cain started by watching video game commentary, then

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

, and then began watching further right figures like

Stefan Molyneux Stefan Basil Molyneux (; born September 24, 1966) is an Irish-born Canadian white nationalist podcaster and proponent of conspiracy theories, white supremacist, white supremacy, scientific racism, and the men's rights movement. He is the found ...

. ''Vanity Fair'' named the show one of the seven podcasts that defined the 2020s. Both ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'' and ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' included the show on their lists of the best podcasts of 2020.

References

External links

* {{The New York Times Audio podcasts 2020 podcast debuts 2020 podcast endings Interview podcasts Documentary podcasts American podcasts