the dystopian "NPC" TikTok trend is melting o...

In medieval southern France, a woman stood up during a religious debate and challenged the men who claimed the authority to speak for God. A Catholic cleric told her to return to her spinning, because theology was no business of hers. Her identity was Esclarmonde de Foix, and she ...  Show more

A spiritual teacher dies, her community has to continue without her, and centuries later the written record can no longer tell us exactly how her teachings moved from one generation to the next. What, if anything, survives?This is Part 6 of my multi-part series with Anne Baring, ...  Show more

Just when you thought the internet couldn't possibly become more like an episode of Black Mirror, Ben is here to introduce you to some chilling TikTok Live money making schemes. Creators are becoming more and more like NPCs and TikTok's payouts are becoming more and more dystopia ...  Show more

Non-Player Characters have come out to play! NPCs are infiltrating the airwaves, and the girls are interested in the overlap between the social media phenomenon and the transactional action that has origins in the cam space. Level up your kink with a review of a "Free Guy" parody ...  Show more

E38: Some TikTok Live streamers, like Pinkydoll, are making tens of thousands of dollars a month streaming themselves reacting to monetary gifts with canned responses, like a video game NPC. The TikTok NPC trend gives a lot to learn. It shows just how big the market is and how mu ...  Show more

Earlier this year, TikTok livestreamers began mimicking lifeless "nonplayable characters," or NPCs, by repeating motions and phrases like in a video game. Then, people started paying them to keep doing it. Like the show? Help us out! Donate at https://wbur.org/podpower. Credits: ...  Show more