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)