When everyone online suddenly loves the same band, meme, creator, or viral moment… is that culture happening naturally, or is someone manufacturing it behind the scenes?

This week, Jenny and Greg Swan dive into the strange world of “clipping,” bot networks, manufactured virality, and the growing feeling that the internet is becoming less authentic by the day. From Justin Bieber at Coachella to TikTok trends, fake outrage, algorithmic feeds, and digital psyops, they unpack how modern “trend simulation” is shaping not just what we buy, but what we believe is popular in the first place.

If social media is increasingly driven by fake crowds and manipulated narratives, how do humans stay human online?

Plus: Noah Kahan discourse, why Jenny thinks “normals already assume the worst,” Greg’s accidental long-term digital psyop strategy for introducing new music, AI creativity competitions in New York, and the extremely wholesome cooking creators currently healing Jenny’s algorithm.

Teens are not using social media wrong. They’re just using it in ways that make adults feel ancient, confused, and mildly attacked. In this episode of The Cave Project, Jenny and Greg Swan unpack new data on teen social media habits, why parents keep side-eyeing Snapchat, TikTok, and group chats, and what adults can do besides trying to parent the algorithm. It’s a funny, honest conversation about trust, media literacy, teen communication, and staying close enough that your kids might actually come to you when the internet gets weird. Listen for a practical, not-panicked take on teens, tech, and parenting in the feed era.

We rewatched Her. Listened to Esther Perel do couples therapy with a chatbot. And had a fight about whether AI can love you back. Inside: the "flirty voice" debate, the mannequin reframe, and the question that would not leave us alone. Who is the robot?

Is the AI industry even talking to the rest of us? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan unpack The AI Doc, or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. It's a new documentary that puts the biggest names in AI in one room and asks: is this good or bad? Should we be having kids? And does anyone actually have a plan? From Sam Altman to Geoffrey Hinton to the doomers who think your children won't survive high school, the film swings between terror and hope like a pendulum. And so do we. This episode is for anyone trying to figure out where they land between doom and hope. The AI industry is having its conversation at 30,000 feet. We are having ours on the ground. Come sit with us.

In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan pull up their real Screen Time stats on mic, break down the American Academy of Pediatrics’ newest guidance, and watch the Toy Story 5 trailer to ask the obvious question: are we really doing “tech bad” again? We talk about why we don’t feel guilty, why we’ve never been a “no screens” family, and why restriction without relationship doesn’t teach kids how to live in the world they’re actually growing up in. This episode is for: parents who are tired of screen-time shame, anyone raising kids in a world built to capture attention, Toy Story adults who felt either very excited or personally attacked by that trailer, and people who want something more realistic than “just set limits.”

Are we absolutely sure that what we’re seeing is even real? In this episode, we dig into the increasingly blurry line between real and fake online—from AI-generated bunny videos to deepfakes of ourselves, and the billion-dollar platforms that are encouraging all of it. We explore how tech companies like Meta and OpenAI are normalizing synthetic content at scale and what that means for trust, identity, and the future of human connection. This isn’t a “look what AI can do” episode. It’s a conversation about what it’s already doing… to our feeds, our friendships, and our sense of reality.

Are we all just… not okay? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan unpack the emotional and digital overwhelm of the past few weeks — from political violence and algorithmic trauma to school shootings and the unbearable pressure to post through it all. This episode is for anyone feeling off, overwhelmed, or overexposed. The internet is a tool . Not a place you have to live. Take care of your brain. Then come back when you're ready.

Are we being mean to robots? Is it just internet snark or the start of something deeper and more dangerous? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan explore the sudden rise of “clanker” as an anti-robot slur. They dig into whether discrimination toward AI is harmless fun, a new moral frontier, or just a mirror reflecting how we treat anything with less power than us (including each other). Along the way they unpack science fiction, Star Wars lore, power dynamics, Ray Kurzweil’s predictions, and why your Roomba probably deserves a little more respect. This convo will have you rethinking how you talk to Alexa, your self-checkout kiosk, and maybe even your toaster. Because in the future, kindness might be the most human thing we’ve got.

Did an MIT paper really prove that ChatGPT is scrambling our brains? Or did 54 Boston adults + a flashy press push just scramble the headlines? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan tear into the now-viral “Your Brain on ChatGPT” study. Along the way they tackle moral panics, blue-book nostalgia, and why blaming tech is easier than changing how we teach, parent, and work.

What happens when Barbie gets a large-language-model brain? Jenny and Greg Swan crack open Mattel’s new deal with OpenAI and take you on a 50-year joyride through “smart” toys… from the Speak & Spell to Teddy Ruxpin to the Furby that the NSA literally banned. Then they unbox Gabo, a $99 GPT-powered plushie, and see if its kid-safe guardrails can survive three teenagers and Greg’s hacker heart. Spoiler: dying batteries used to be the creepy part: now it’s data, subscriptions, and whether your toddler’s teddy is secretly on 5G.

What if joy, whimsy, and surprise weren’t distractions—but design principles? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan sit down with educator, engineer, and deep sea explorer Dr. AnnMarie Thomas to talk about the power of play—and why we all need more of it.

AnnMarie has helped LEGO invent new tools for learning, collaborated with the band OK Go to create STEM curriculum, and taught college students how to build circuses to teach physics. She's also a recovering professor who walked away from tenure to rethink how we learn, create, and live.

Jenny and Greg Swan have been married five times… to each other. In this raw and funny episode, they unpack how tech, therapy, and shared calendars helped them redesign their relationship instead of ending it.

It’s not about making it work. It’s about making it work better.

Everyone says they’re busy. But what does that even mean anymore? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan dig into the cultural chaos of “The Busy Trap”—from calendar overload and contaminated time to why canceled plans are basically a love language. Inspired by Tim Kreider’s now 13-year-old viral essay, they ask: what if being busy isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to navigate—with intention? If you’ve ever answered “How are you?” with a sigh and a rundown of your to-do list, this one’s for you.

South by Southwest 2025 just wrapped, and this year wasn’t just about what’s next in tech—it was about how much of it we’re actually okay with. AI chatbots are getting really personal. Deepfake fraud is up 2137%. Social media is broken (again). And even the people building the future are freaking out.

This week, Jenny and Greg Swan put their living room (and their personal data) on the line in the name of science. Meet Telly—a free 55-inch TV that comes with a mandatory second screen running ads 24/7. The catch? If you unplug it, move it, or refuse to connect it to WiFi, you get charged $1,000. Welcome to the future, where even your TV is tracking you.

This episode, we’re tackling three big themes—tech, gifts, and the state of our brains in 2024. Buckle up (or turn on adaptive cruise control)!.

In this episode of The Cave Project, Jenny and Greg Swan dig into the AI dilemma in education: is it a powerful learning tool or just an easy way to cheat? As schools struggle with this digital shake-up, they explore how generative AI is rewriting the rules—from boosting homework help to sparking plagiarism concerns that could impact college dreams.

From TikTok bans to school cell phone policies, Jenny and Greg Swan break down the chaos and contradictions of raising kids in a tech-driven world—minus the overwrought reactions.

In this episode of The Cave Project, we sit down with stand-up comedian and creative director Matt Keck to chat about the human side behind viral social media phenomena. Known for his witty contributions to the Wendy's Twitter persona and his viral "I'm a Snake" video, Keck shares insights on leveraging humor and social media for global engagement from his home base in Kansas City. Join Jenny and Greg Swan as they explore how Keck's early adoption of platforms like Myspace shaped his career, the psychological impacts of social media fame, and the transition from viral moments to sustainable creative work.

Social media can both connect us and also push us apart. In this live recording of The Cave Project podcast, hosts Jenny and Greg Swan discuss the social media dilemma, its impact on our daily lives, and how we can reclaim our digital spaces with a human-centric approach. Special thanks to Social Media Breakfast for hosting and Skelly Video Productions for capturing audio and photos.