Discussion thread for episode 10!

Original release date 23 April 2014.

Episode 11 discussion on July 10th.

With the recent changes and the new moderation bringing some life back into this subreddit, I’ve found myself thinking about Hello Internet again. While it’s great to see the community active, the revival actually brought back a specific piece of unaddressed community history that has always left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wanted to honestly ask how other listeners process it.

A couple of years ago, I came across a leaked 2012 audio recording that periodically circulates here. It’s an intense workplace argument between two people who sound exactly like Brady and one of his early video editors (many in the past have claimed it is Stephen Slater from Deep Sky Videos). I want to be clear that I don't know for an absolute fact if it is them, as it has never been officially verified or addressed.

I also know the standard caveats to this tape: it’s over a decade old, it was recorded without consent, and it was heavily edited and spliced to completely cut out the editor's side of the conversation.

Even with all that context, and even acknowledging that people get angry in toxic workplace disputes, there are parts of that recording I just haven’t been able to shake. Specifically, hearing the person who sounds like Brady tell a colleague, "You're like some monkey," along with other deeply condescending personal jabs, felt so entirely disconnected from the public persona we know.

What bugs me the most is the total lack of context and the fact that no one ever addressed it. I understand the concept of the Streisand effect, speaking publicly about it might just bring unwanted mainstream attention to an obscure clip. But to me, using that as a reason for complete silence feels like an admission that the recording is true and actually happened. If it weren't real, or if it were wildly misrepresenting reality, it could have been cleared up as simply as saying, "No, this recording is not of me," or "This recording heavily lacks details and context." Instead, the complete silence is what makes it so hard to drop from my mind.

When I first heard it, the sub was largely abandoned. I dropped it because posting there felt pointless. There was no active moderation team to keep discussions civil, and it felt like throwing a heavy topic into a ghost town. Now that the community is actively moderated again, it feels like a safe and stable place to get a genuine temperature check. For those who know about the audio, how do you square it with the show? Are there perspectives on this other than just "it might be fake," "we lack the full context," or "people get mad"?

I’m not looking to start a toxic flame war, but as a fan of Grey who always struggled to connect with Brady after hearing that tape, I’m genuinely curious how the remaining community views it today.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who responded. I wanted to add a quick update based on the initial comments:

>First, a few people seem to think I feel "entitled" to a public response. I am sorry if my wording gave that impression, but I think people are confusing an internal observation with a demand for action. Saying that a situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth that I "cannot shake off" is a personal reflection on a creator's character. It is not me demanding that they log on and explain themselves to me. I completely realize these are public personas and real people with private lives. I am not asking for or expecting anything from them. I am simply pointing out that the defensive reflex to call me "entitled" feels like a way to dismiss my genuine discomfort without actually addressing the situation.

>Second, regarding the actual discussion, almost all of the upvoted comments so far have just repeated the exact points I mentioned in my original post. They rely on "it might be fake," "we lack context," or "everyone gets mad sometimes." The only really "new" perspective I have encountered is this accusation that I feel entitled, which again, is not the case.

>As I said before, I am not trying to fan a toxic flame war or stir up old drama just for the sake of it. The revival of this subreddit simply brought these thoughts back to the surface for me. It is entirely possible to understand why a public figure chooses silence, while still feeling iffy about the whole situation as a listener.

Found this comment that Grey liked on " LA is a Dementor in City Form"

https://preview.redd.it/18htkubw7nah1.png?width=668&format=png&auto=webp&s=5853d69427fc7333d6d15cb23fc13b185f1c15a3

I’ve got myself wondering about this because I’ve never really seen one of his students ever say anything about him.

Was listening to ep 26 and Brady talked a bit about his review "system". Just hit me how funny it would be if Myke interviews him in his next ep of Cortex

BIG emphasis on the Gaming Historian turning off his Patreon since he doesn’t feel right taking donations when he KNOWS he won’t be making any new content.

I still appreciate Brady at least giving us the updates he has in the past but RIP HI.

>HyperAnalyze: Over Thinking My Two Favorite Podcasts

>Much of my work involves tediously animating stick figures -- a time consuming, but mentally barren task. To keep my sanity during this process I listen to podcasts, a lot. Downcast, my podcasting app of choice, shows more than fifty subscriptions, all of which form an endless river of audio that has a prominent place in my life.

>I've been thinking about the shows I listen to and why after an announcement from Marco Arment, the host of Build and Analyze.

>Marco revealed on Twitter that Build and Analyze would end in a few episodes -- and I was incredibly disappointed. I felt compelled to send him a tweet saying that his podcast, along with Hypercritical by John Siracusa were my two favorites.

>Three hours later, Siracusa announced the end of his show, as well.

>I spent the evening disappointed. Mopey, even. Which, on reflection, felt ridiculous.

>I've seen podcasts come and go, even podcasts that previously held the title of favorite, without much reaction on my part. Why was I sad this time? Thinking it over, each podcast had discussed half of the answer to my question in their previous shows.

>Many podcasts, like RadioLab and 99% Invisible are, at their heart, well-produced radio shows. Old formats in a new medium.

>But Build and Analyze and Hypercritical were different and Marco said it himself in a recent episode: they're natural podcasts. They're what the medium is best at, people just talking without the overhead or overproducedness of radio.

>Both in both shows the respective hosts talk with Dan Benjamin about the things that interest them. (Dan hosts a number of podcasts at 5by5.) In Hypercritical Siracusa has a Steve-Jobs-like ability to explain the problems with things in an incredibly informative way. In Build and Analyze Marco is a thoughtful person, talking about what makes products good, family and business. And coffee.

>While the podcasts are ostensibly about their topics, they're really an ongoing conversation.

>Regular listening creates a (false) feeling of being part of a social group where people know each other: Mondays it's coffee with Marco and Dan, and then Fridays it's lunch with Siracusa and Dan. Sometimes Marco and Dan talk about Siracusa and sometimes Siracusa and Dan talk about Marco. I'm there too, a silent participant, doodling on my laptop, sipping my coffee, listening without anything to add -- content in the same way old friends can be.

>Repeat natural podcasts like these every week for months and the end result is my monkey mind feels like it knows Siracusa, Marco and Dan though my human mind knows better.

>As a person who's work has brought him some low-level of Internet fame, I understand it's weird -- and sometimes slightly creepy -- to be on the receiving end of that. But, nonetheless here I am, stuck with that same, irrational feeling of being sort-of friends with two people I don't actually know.

>Two people who just died.

>Not literally, of course.

>Siracusa described the other half of why I'm sad now in a podcast about when Steve Jobs had retired from Apple. Siracusa attempted to write an article about Steve Jobs but what he produced was an obituary, even though the man was still alive at the time. Why?

>Apple Keynotes were the only way people knew Steve Jobs. While Jobs had a personal life, it wasn't available to the public. So when Steve Jobs retired, it felt like he died because the part of his life that we got access to was over.

>And so it is with these podcasts for me: the part of Marco's and Siracusa's life that I got access to, their weekly conversations on interesting topics is retired.

>They're still alive and on twitter, both still write on the web and both may guest on Dan's new podcast, but their regular shows were a metronome in my unstructured work life: Marco started the week and Siracusa ended it.

>My human mind is thankful for all the hours of insight, humor and learning that they've given me over this past year, but my monkey mind will still be sad for a while about the loss of friends it never really had.

Looks like it falls to me this week to post.

 

original release date - April 16 2014

 

Discussion Thread for Episode 9

 

Episode 10 discussion on July 3