We split the party! While Perry is searching for answers to all the inexplicable weird things happening lately, Mason is searching for Digby. Meanwhile, Digby is out to find his place in the world as an artificially-intelligent raccoon - and he just so happens to catch a ride with Andrew Peck. Perry finds something strange in a pre-recorded interview with Andrea Kitta, and as the crew goes their separate ways... it seems that everything is converging on a single familiar location.

This episode’s guests are: Dr. Andrea Kitta and Dr. Andrew Peck.

On this episode, Perry got to speak with Dr. Kristina Downs. This was a fun one. We talk about conspiracies at the Dallas zoo, the power of memes and satire accounts, meme warfare, and tons of fun with urban legends.

Perry & Mason catch-up and talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2 episode 6.

After the procedure revealed that Digby's implant is essentially running an artificial intelligence, Digby falls into an existential crisis about whether or not he is actually a sapient being. Mason is worried because the podcast is falling behind on production, and Digby is not helping. He and Perry decide to try and kill two birds with one stone by interviewing experts on artificial intelligence. They learn about how the technology works, the intersection of AI and folklore, and they ask John Laudun directly how they could prove that Digby is not an AI.

This episode’s guests are: Lev Gorelov and John Laudun.

On this episode, Perry & Mason sit down with Dr. Jeana Jorgensen. We touch on several key themes in this interview… everything from the multidisciplinary nature of Folklore Studies, to the value of studying folklore, the dark side of folklore… how it can be weaponized, and a whole lot more.

Perry & Mason catch-up and talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2 episode 5.

Digby is fully lost in a conspiracy rabbit hole. Perry dreams of an earlier interview he did with Mick West about how people get wrapped-up in conspiracies which shakes loose the memory of an underground 'deprogramming' center. The gang trick Digby into a road trip to the deprogramming center by telling him that the location is actually the enemy's secret headquarters.

This episode’s guests are: Mick West, Benjamin Radford, and Brent Lee.

On this episode, Perry & Mason speak with Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman from the Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic. You’ll hear early on that we were interviewing them primarily as part of our “Why is Old Tech Creepy” episode from last season… so we touched on themes of The Gothic, nostalgia, and things like that… but we didn’t stop there. Sara and Brittney run a school for Folklore studies and they love to share their wisdom and passion for all things folklore and fantastic.

So we couldn’t help ourselves, we jumped into questions around folklore-basics, terminology, transmission, social issues, and how studying folklore enriches our lives.

Perry & Mason catch-up and talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2 episode 4.

After MEMExpo, the crew reconvenes to find Digby in a state of absolute chaos. He has absorbed every conspiracy he could find, and linked it all back to a pipeline starting with tainted Halloween candy. In an effort to convince Digby that he is being ridiculous, Perry and Mason decide to do some research...

This episode’s guests are: Joel Best, professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware and Elizabeth (Libby) Tucker, distinguished service professor of English at Binghamton University.

This is part two of our interview with Dr. Lynne McNeill. If you’ve not yet listened to part 1, you can find it here… but that’s not really necessary to appreciate today’s discussion.

In this episode, Lynne shares her thoughts about the value of studying folklore academically, how digital platforms influence the types of folklore created on them, the concept of Poe's Law, examples of digital legend tripping, her favorite urban legends, and more… This is an action packed episode that you won't want to miss.

Perry & Mason catch-up and talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2 episode 3.

With MEMExpo looming tomorrow, the Digital Folklore gang pulls an all-nighter trying to piece together a presentation. They speak with Dr. Cassandra Pfeifer about identity and online communities, as well as the effect of algorithmic content curation on our sense of identity. Then, they call up Lauren Shippen and Cherokee McAnelly from the Dashboard Diaries podcast to talk about Tumblr's uniqueness as a platform, and Goncharov - the greatest mob movie never made. Plus, loads of easter eggs from the internet era of the early aughts!

Today's guest is Dr. Lynne McNeill. Lynne McNeill’s name is nearly synonymous with the study of Digital Folklore. Her work and her voice has been instrumental in helping people understand that our online world is just an extension of our lives… and it’s not only a place where folklore can arise… but thrive at a speed and scale previously unimaginable.

This interview ran for over 2 hours in length, so we’re breaking it up into two parts. This is part one. In it, Lynne shares her thoughts on the intersection of AI and Folklore, conspiracy theories, the interesting paradox of studying folklore academically, and more…

Perry & Mason catch-up and talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore.

With MEMExpo looming tomorrow, the Digital Folklore gang pulls an all-nighter trying to piece together a presentation. They speak with Dr. Cassandra Pfeifer about identity and online communities, as well as the effect of algorithmic content curation on our sense of identity. Then, they call up Lauren Shippen and Cherokee McAnelly from the Dashboard Diaries podcast to talk about Tumblr's uniqueness as a platform, and Goncharov - the greatest mob movie never made. Plus, loads of easter eggs from the internet era of the early aughts!

On this episode, Perry & Mason sit down with Paul Prater. Paul is a multifaceted guy – a lawyer, a musician, a mentalist and bizarre entertainer, an author… oh… and he collects ghost stories and leads haunted tours.

Perry & Mason talk shop about the process of making Digital Folklore Season 2.

The Folkswagen sails off a cliff. Perry can explain, but it's going to take a while. Perhaps... a whole season. It all starts when the crew decides to visit other creators who specialize in making media about folklore studies. First, they visit Mark Norman - who lives behind a grocery store, inside a bizarre apartment complex shaped like a wizard's tower. After chatting about how Mark has managed to run his podcast for over eight years, the crew heads a few floors down in the tower. They encounter Daisy Ahlstone, one of the creators of Folkwise - a folklore-centric livestream show on Twitch. Daisy teaches Perry and Mason about inclusive research practices, and loads more

Today’s guest is Chelsey Weber-Smith. Chelsey is the creator and host of American Hysteria, a show that probes the depths of our collective anxieties, our shared stories, our cultural myths and legends, and even those mass panics that occasionally sweep through the nation. Chelsey peels back the layers of our society to expose its underbelly, revealing the impact of the stories we tell ourselves.