My guest on today’s episode is a writer whose work defies easy description. Is he a pop-cultural anthropologist, translating the bizarre customs of nascent tribes? An web archaeologist, spelunking the Great Arachnid’s mustier caves and grottos?
A Neo-Gonzo journalist?
A creepypasta Chef de Cuisine?
A twisted genetics experiment, designed by an evil African STEM genius who blew up the moon?
Well, yeah. He’s all that stuff, and more.
I have been a fan of
’s stack, , for as long as he’s been writing it. He’s eclectic essays are infused with a unique, witty voice that’s also hard to nail down (Is post-post-irony a thing?). But when YA dives, he dives deep, and holds his breath longer than any other primate in our ecosystem.For instance, his serialized exposés on the dark side of the children’s entertainment industry (e.g. “The Tale of Dirty Dan”, “Willy Wanker and the Great Glasgow Grift”, the freakish Brony phenomenon. and the strange saga of Mr. Beast) have been eye-opening in ways that surprised even a grizzled old alleycat like me. He has an eye for the sort of details and connections that elude many “internet journalists” and commentators. He’s also one funny sonofabitch, which helps to sand down some of the rougher edges. We need to laugh at the darkness, at least part of the time, or else we’ll get swallowed by it.
But YA’s investigations don’t stop at the edge of our increasingly mediated, virtualized world of social media influencers and Furry porn. Some don’t even stop at the edge of the Veil, but instead poke the flashlight into layers of reality that are more difficult to see and recount.
That’s a rough description of the terrain we explored on this episode of The Podcast was Never Found. Our conversation turned out to be wide-ranging, but these two Lake of Lerna articles will serve as a good primer for its launching point.
Join us for a little lakeside picnic, won’t you?
We brought enough bananas for everyone.
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