Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) is a weekly show from Jamie Loftus that takes a closer look at the internet’s main characters – one part reported, one part interviews, and one part Jamie collapsing her permanently internet-damaged brain. Whether it’s an enduring meme or a dreaded Character of the Day distinction, it’s the kind of notoriety that often results in little money, unwarranted attention, and a confusing blurred line of consent. What do you do when you get more attention and judgement than any one person is built to handle? The Sixteenth Minute of Fame is the place where we figur...
Latest episodes
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2 min
Introducing: Natural Causes
Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr. James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agricult…
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3 min
Introducing: Away Days Podcast
Hi, Sixteenth Minute Fans! We want to share a new show, Away Days: Reporting from the Underbelly. About the show: Away Days Podcast is an episodic documentary series focused on unr…
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1 h 07
mailbag: your 'i was the main character' stories
Before we go on (brief! I promise!) hiatus and move to a seasonal format, Jamie takes a look at your submitted stories about being the main character -- from viral pets to grieving…
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1 h 07
badger badger mushroom (with jonti picking)
In my day, there were but three things middle schoolers cared about -- BADGERS, MUSHROOMS, AND SNAKES. This week, we look at the peak of Flash animation -- Jonti Picking, aka Mr. W…
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1 h 17
why the SEC ignored the hawk tuah scam feat. john reed stark
We all know that Haliey "Hawk Tuah" Welch was the face of a memecoin crypto scandal, and most know that the SEC excused it wholesale. What we don't fully know is why it was so easy…
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5 min
have you ever been the main character?
We're switching to a seasonal format on Sixteenth Minute in a few weeks, and to close the chapter on week-to-week main characters, we want to know -- have you ever been the main ch…
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54 min
the hawk tuah flop comeback
Let’s catch up with Haliey ‘Hawk Tuah’ Welch since the fallout of the crypto scam that undercut her sixteenth minute. While most didn’t stick around to see what happened, a lot abo…
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40 min
how tay zonday reunited with adam bahner
In our final installment of our Tay Zonday series, Jamie speaks with the one and only Adam "Tay" Bahner about how he navigated his viral fame, and how the internet has changed beyo…
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31 min
chocolate rain: a political awakening
In part two of our Tay Zonday series, Adam Bahner gets into his political awakening, and how it affected his relationship to his family, his creative work, and himself. Wanna get r…
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1 h 22
the world according to tay zonday
There are few internet videos more iconic than Tay Zonday’s ‘Chocolate Rain,’ but it took over a decade for the song to be recognized for the politically charged ballad it is. How…
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1 h 18
the smell doctor who was 'too woke': dr. ally louks
After eight long years of research, Dr. Ally Louks posted to Twitter about completing her Ph. D : "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose." The El…
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1 h 15
the horny duolingo bird lives: zaria parvez
Where do you go from pivoting your brand to nihilism? Horny, my friends. WILDLY horny. In our final installment of the Sentient Horny Brand series, Jamie speaks to the mind behind…
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1 h 06
why is my freezer steak tweeting nihilism: the steakumm saga
Picture this: it's 2020, you're clinging to sanity, and a frozen steak your mom used to eat after school called SteakUmm is now tweeting in the hopes of turning you into a socialis…
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1 h 14
the wendy's twitter roast master: amy brown
In part two of our 'Sentient Brands on Social Media' series, Jamie speaks to the GOAT of online joke writing -- the great Amy Brown, who defined the Wendy's brand on Twitter, then…
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1 h 09
the time the denny’s tumblr became an edgy teen
In part one of our ‘Sentient Brands on Social Media’ series, Jamie speaks with Serenity Discko, the original media writer behind the teenage edgelord Denny’s Tumblr account. But wo…
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36 min
the age of algospeak feat. the etymology nerd
This week, Jamie talks with Adam Aleksik aka The Etymology Nerd about how relying on algorithms to communicate is changing the way we talk and scream at each other, and the inevita…
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27 min
oh, by the way, f*** you: liam kyle sullivan and kelly, pt. 2
Jamie continues her conversation with Liam Kyle Sullivan, AKA Kelly of "Shoes" fame, Mrs. Cunningham of "Muffins" fame, and an actor and comedian workshopping a show about what it…
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1 h 09
ohmygod, shoes: liam kyle sullivan and KELLY
This episode rules. This episode does not suck! Jamie meets up with Liam Kyle Sullivan, one of YouTube's earliest stars with his character Kelly of "Shoes," "Muffins," and much mor…
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1 h 10
zoë roth the disaster girl: a lifetime of virality
When Zoë Roth was four years old, her dad snapped a photo of her in front of a neighborhood home being burned with its owners permission to clear the land -- and the rest is intern…
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1 h 20
the backrooms: a blurry photo that changed the internet
Our weirdest episode yet? Let's GO. This week, Jamie gets to the bottom of the backrooms, one of the most famous images on the internet -- posted to a horror-themed 4chan board in…