Special Episode: ‘Fake Lore, Dark Memes’, with Joe Matheny

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This episode is part two of our interview with Joe Matheny. Part one, The Digital Underground, covered Joe's experiences running The Grey Lodge, an early, underground private torrent tracker used by millions of people per month. Part two covers Joe's groundbreaking ARG & literary work, Ong's Hat, and its place in early internet culture, before we veer off into a discussion about how the 'fakelore' methods Joe used in the development of that work connect to the meme wars of today and the increasing political importance of memes (e.g. Kek, the 'alt-right' appropriation of Pepe The Frog.) We also discuss the very improbable connection (it really is) between Joe and Jamie, and how Joe became a patron of the show himself; PLUS, the potential for Kodi addons as a distribution point for indie creators. A lockfile with all the links mentioned in this episode is coming up for Patrons. Enjoy!

Showrunner & Host Jamie King | Editor Riley Byrne Original Music David Triana | Web Production Eric Barch

Presented by TorrentFreak

Sponsored by Private Internet Access & Premiumize

Executive Producers: Mark Zapalac, Eric Barch.

For sponsorship enquiries, please email info@stealthisshow.com

The Digital Underground, with The Grey Lodge’s Joe Matheny

Podcast: Download | Torrent | Magnet

If you enjoy this episode, join us! Become a patron and get involved with the show. Check out our Patreon campaign.
The Grey Lodge was an underground private torrent tracker used by millions of people per month in their quest to uncover the esoteric, strange and the downright weird. In this episode we hear from Joe Matheny, one of the founders of the site, about how it kicked off in the very early days of BitTorrent, online culture in the early days of the Internet, proto-copyright trolls, how even weirdos eventually get pursued by the MPAA, and how the demise of indie trackers from Grey Lodge to What.CD mean a net loss for our culture. Coming soon: the second part of this interview, in which Joe discusses his work as an early creator of "this is not a game" ARG experiences and his well-known work Ong's Hat, The Incunabula Papers. We'll be making that available for supporters on the Patreon (and maybe more widely) in due course. In the meantime, if you're curious to take a look at some of Joe's work, he's been kind enough to give us a free pack including Ong's Hat and some samples from his ARG! Enjoy.

Showrunner & Host Jamie King | Editor Riley Byrne Original Music David Triana | Web Production Siraje Amarniss

Presented by TorrentFreak | Sponsored by Private Internet Access

Executive Producers: Mark Zapalac

For sponsorship enquiries, please email info@stealthisshow.com