Thomas Oscar is an Australian teenager who tried to make the most boring Facebook group possible - a group where members pretend to be corporate drones in a non-existent office. The Facts Karen Duffin is a producer at This American Life. You can find more stories by Karen Duffin at her website. Our theme song is by the mysterious Breakmaster Cylinder. Our ad music is by Build Buildings. Further Reading You can check out the Stackswell and Co. Facebook page here. Read a story about Stackswell and Co. from Fast Company here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alex and PJ chase down the strangest tips from our Weird Ads hotline, and at the bottom of the rabbit hole they find the Mother of All AdWords Scams. Futher Reading David Segal's story on locksmiths The Ringfinders website Form to give feedback on specific ads Google's statement on our episode: Our goal is to provide a great experience for the users, advertisers, and publishers that interact with our advertising products everyday. An important part of this work is listening to reactions—good, bad, and in-between—from our users about their experiences online. We appreciate this very much; it helps us make AdWords better. Bad ads are an industry-wide issue and we fight them with considerable fire-power: we’ve invested in best-in-class technology and built a global team of more than 1,000 googlers specifically dedicated to this effort. While this work has produced positive results—we disabled 780 million ads for violating our policies in 2015 alone—we understand this is an ongoing challenge for everyone and we’ll continue to battle it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Forty servers full of lost photos, a secret plan, and an unexpected rescue. Also, a Yes Yes No about a frog. Further Reading Hillary on Pepe Matt Furie (Pepe's creator) on Pepe Smugmug's statement on Picturelife Our Sponsors 99designs – Visit 99designs.com/reply to get a free $99 upgrade on your first design project. HPE - To learn more about how HPE can provide innovative and effective it solutions for your business go to HPE.com/gimlet. Wealthsimple – Investing made easy. Get your first $10,000 managed for free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Liz lost her camera in a cab, so she went to the New York City Taxi website to submit it to their lost and found database. At least, that's what she thought she did. Alex investigates and finds a big business behind the success of a suspicious little website. Further Reading If you lose something in a cab in New York City, Call 311, or go to this website. The Department of Consumer Affairs encourages anyone who feels they have been misled by yellowcabnyc.com to file a complaint with DCA online at nyc.gov/consumers or by calling 311. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Barry develops a small but very inconvenient health problem, which becomes so persistent and pernicious that it feels as if someone put a curse on him. Sruthi Pinnamaneni goes deep on a decades-long medical mystery. Lisa Sanders’ book, Every Patient Tells a Story. Lisa Sanders’ column, Diagnosis. Become a Gimlet Member to join our Q&A this Friday at 12PM EST! Listen to Reply All Executive Producer Tim Howard's latest release as Soltero! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, a story about people who start hearing voices in their heads. But, instead of trying to get rid of the voices, they try to make more. Reporter Laura Klivans has the story. Our Sponsors Mailchimp – Send better emails. Also visit Mailchimp’s new non-profit online store Freddieand.co. Fracture – Get 10% off, and don’t forget to mention Reply All in their one question survey. Squarespace – The easiest way to create a beautiful website, portfolio or online store. Use the offer code “REPLY” to get 10% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, a Yes Yes No about gorillas, conspiracy theories, and glitter. Further Reading See the original tweets on our Yes Yes No tumblr. Marina Joyce's YouTube Article on Marina Joyce Police tweeting about Marina Joyce Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices