Panic World is a podcast about how the internet warps our minds, our culture, and eventually reality.

Remember Slenderman, or that whole thing where teens were eating Tide Pods? Have you wondered what went wrong with Kanye West? Whether AI is going to take away his and other musicians’ jobs? Or perhaps you’ve ended up in some weird corner of the web and discovered that there’s a whole cult built around a cartoon mouse called Gadget. These sorts of internet phenomena lead to news segments, investigations, and lots of hysteria. But how do they start and what actually comes of them?

Each week Garbage Media founder and journalist Ryan Broderick and a prominent guest look back at these moments that started in the depths of the internet and crept their way up into the mainstream.Panic World is a podcast by COURIER. It is hosted by Ryan Broderick, produced and written by Grant Irving, with production support and coordination from Josh Fjelstad.You can watch or listen to Panic World on YouTube, Spotify, Apple — and any other platform you find them.

Since launching in September 2024, Panic World has frequently featured in the top charts for Tech on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Its stories have been highlighted on Lifehacker, The Verge, The Telegraph, and PBS News Hour. Panic World is the proud recipient of two 2025 Signal Awards for Conversation Starter and Weird (complimentary) categories.