#3.2 - The Internet and the Cult of Free Speech - with Fredrick Brennan

Explicit content warning

04/25/22 • 56 min

2 Listeners

Pod Only Knows

Fredrick Brennan is the creator of the anonymous image board site 8chan, and a former free speech absolutist.

His well-documented early adult life changed that, specifically after he moved to the Philippines after an entrepreneur named Jim Watkins offered Brennan the opportunity to turn the fledgling 8chan into a major platform. Jim and his son Ron would eventually exert more and more control over 8chan, and 8chan itself soon became home to the Q account, which began on 4chan and is widely considered, at least in its 8chan incarnation, to have been controlled and written by Ron.

Brennan would eventually flee the Philippines after Jim Watkins coerced officials to put a warrant out for his arrest for what’s called cyberlibel – essentially, the crime of lying about a person on the internet.

Since his return to the US, Brennan has become an outspoken critic of 8chan, QAnon in particular, and conspiracy theories in general. He has also spent much of his time pursuing another passion for which he has great talent – developing open-source fonts.

In light of the news that Elon Musk is trying to buy Twitter, John spoke to Brennan about the complicated issue of free speech on the internet, the cult-like devotion of many political extremists, especially on the right, to a kind of extremist form of free speech...and what would happen if Elon Musk bought Twitter.

Fredrick Brennan is the creator of the anonymous image board site 8chan, and a former free speech absolutist.

Previous Episode

#3.1 - The Truth Is Out There - with "Strange Arrivals" host Toby Ball

1 Recommendations

The modern UFO phenomenon - that of flying discs, gray aliens, middle of the night abductions, and international government conspiracies - has persisted in the background of American culture for more than 70 years. And many have attempted to shed light on the "reality" (or unreality) of it central claims.

And all of have failed.

But these stories and the real-time modern mythmaking they represent cannot be ignored, in part because they tell us so much more about the world we find ourselves living in than the whether or not we are alone in the cosmos.

This element of UFO lore is the basis of Toby Ball's terrific podcast Strange Arrivals, soon to enter its third season. John spoke to Toby about what shaped modern UFO lore, what claims of alien encounters tend to have in common, and, finally, whether The X-Files can more accurately be credited with shedding light on this cultural phenomenon or, rather, if it is responsible for fueling its worst impulses.

You can find Strange Arrivals here.

Toby Ball's website is www.tobyball.com

Next Episode

#3.3 - Leaving God with John Follis

John Follis is the director of the documentary film Leaving God, but he is probably not as well known as his most famous creation – the legendary Marble Collegiate Church ad campaign.

If you were ever on a subway in New York City in the first decade of the 2000s, there is almost no chance you are not familiar with his work.

But he created that campaign while in the midst of his own tumultuous spiritual journey, one that would ultimately lead him away from religion and God entirely and toward a new project – looking at the rise of the so-called Nones (those who identify as having no religious affiliation) and the hidden struggle of those, like him, who have awoken to atheism, including former pastors and ministers.

Leaving God addresses all of the above, and here Follis speaks to John about his life in and out of religion, that legendary ad campaign, and what compelled him to make a documentary.

You can watch John's film here: https://vimeo.com/208442766