Close All Tabs

When Twitch streamer Denims made a reaction video about Ethan Klein's nearly two-hour takedown video of Hasan Piker, she wasn’t expecting to be sued for copyright infringement. She employed a commonly-used method of streaming the original video and interjecting with reactions, commentary and analysis. But Klein, who was once seen as a champion of fair use after he won a similar lawsuit in 2017, sued Denims and other content creators anyway. Morgan talks to Denims and journalist Kat Tenbarge about what made these cases different and how reaction content across the internet could change based on how the courts ultimately rule.

Guests:

Denims, political Twitch streamer

Kat Tenbarge, independent journalist, Spitfire News

Further Reading/Listening:

A Political Reckoning for Twitch? | KQED — Close All Tabs, KQED

Ethan Klein's War on Women — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News

Ethan Klein Doesn’t Deserve My Apology — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News

A YouTuber kicks up a stink over a flatulent “reaction” video — staff, The Economist

What's Up With Copyright Lately?: Summer Breeze Edition — Aaron Moss, Copyright Lately

Should YouTube introduce revenue-sharing for reaction content? — James Hale, Tubefilter

'Reactgate': Twitch streamer xQc and 'H3 Podcast' host Ethan Klein debate whether 'reaction videos' are 'stolen content' — Katie Mather, Yahoo News

How h3h3's Ethan Klein Might Change YouTube Forever — Melissa Chan, Time Magazine

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

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Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
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We’ve got guests in the feed all August — a new series from KQED called Dream Machines! Today Morgan talks to co-hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan about this podcast project that looks at AI — how it works, what it means, and how it feels to be living right in the epicenter of it all: San Francisco. More episodes will be dropping in the feed, every Monday in August.

Guests:

Alexis Madrigal, co-host of KQED’s Forum, author of The Pacific Circuit, and former senior editor at The Atlantic, covering technology.

Robin Sloan, author of New York Times bestseller Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, along with the novels Sourdough and Moonbound.
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It starts with aspirational lifestyle content about “embracing your femininity,” but ends with alt-right ideology and conspiracy theories about reproductive care. This is the pink pill pipeline — one of the primary ways young women are radicalized online today. Seemingly innocuous content about dating advice, wellness tips, and pop culture leads to increasingly conservative and extremist talking points about how birth control is causing the fertility crisis or how women don’t need to vote. It’s all wrapped up in a glossy veneer of feminine empowerment. Reporter Kylie Cheung joins to discuss how seemingly apolitical content online is shifting the cultural narrative around reproductive rights through coordinated misinformation campaigns, and how to spot pink pill content for what it is.

Guest:

Kylie Cheung, staff reporter at Abortion, Every Day

Further Reading/Listening:

How Celebrity Smear Campaigns are Inspiring Attacks on Birth Control — Kylie Cheung, Abortion, Every Day

Far right coming for women’s autonomy; birth control on chopping block — Cassie Miller, Southern Poverty Law Center

We Need to Talk About the Pink-Pill Pipeline — Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Every Day

I Caught a Secret Right-Wing Influence Operation Running In My Feed — Emily Amick, Emily In Your Phone

The Long Campaign to Turn Birth Control Into the New Abortion — Katharine Mieszkowski, Reveal

Inside Anti-Abortion Groups’ Campaign to Sell Women on Unreliable Birth Control “Alternatives” — Kiera Butler, Mother Jones

Trump Is Going After Birth Control. Here’s Why. — Mary Ziegler, Politico

The Trump Administration Is Overhauling Birth Control Access for the Pronatalist Movement — Jessica Washington, The Intercept

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
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Anthrocon, the largest gathering of furries in the world, just celebrated its 20th anniversary in July — so we’re re-airing one of our favorite episodes yet.

Furries are a community often known for wearing full-body animal suits at conventions — but the characters they inhabit, called “fursonas,” are much more than costumes. They’re deeply personal expressions of identity and creativity.

So when someone in the furry fandom dies, how does the community say goodbye? In some cases, they take to VR. Since 2020, a furry named Changa Husky has been running the Furry Family Ofrenda, a virtual memorial space inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos. It’s a place where furries gather to remember and celebrate the people — and fursonas — who have passed. In this episode, Morgan steps into that virtual world to explore what it means for a community to grieve both a person and the character they brought to life.

Guests:

Changa Husky, furry Vtuber and video producer

Patch O’Furr, founder and writer, Dogpatch Press

Further Reading/Listening:

Who runs the internet? Furries — Dylan Reeve, The Spinoff

Remembering Mark Merlino (1952-2024), a founder and soul of furry fandom — Patch O’Furr, Dogpatch Press

The Fandom: A Furry Documentary — Ash Coyote, YouTube

Never Ending Song - Doggo Edition — Changa Husky, YouTube

Visit the Furry Family Ofrenda

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

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Editor’s Note: In this episode, we refer to some individuals only by their “fursona” names. We’ve chosen to use these names because members of the furry community are frequently subject to harassment, bullying, and doxxing, and many participants use online handles to maintain their safety and privacy.

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.

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What are the chances that the internet could go down forever? How bad for humanity would it be if it did? And what would a shift back to the before-times look like? These are the kinds of questions “doom reporter” Ben Bradford tries to answer in his new podcast, Are We Doomed? Morgan and Ben discuss the scenarios that might lead to a long-term internet outage — from severed undersea cables to a massive solar storm. And they tackle the most pressing question of all: will influencers survive the internet apocalypse?

Guest:

Ben Bradford, journalist and host of Are We Doomed?

Further Reading/Listening:

Are We Doomed? — Ben Bradford, Are We Doomed?

We Try and Kill the Internet — Ben Bradford, Are We Doomed?

Amazon Explains How Its AWS Outage Took Down the Web – Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman, WIRED

The AWS Outage Bricked People’s $2,700 Smartbeds – Matthew Gault, 404 Media

Complex Structure Supported by a Tiny Part – Know Your Meme

A Stealth Attack Came Close to Compromising the World’s Computers – The Economist

Read the Transcript here

Email us at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠

Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was produced by Ana De Almeida Amara and Chris Egusa. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief.
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