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There’s a concept that New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roost calls “machine drift.” When you find yourself thinking something — or listening to something, or watching something — not because you made the decision to do it, but because it was recommended by an algorithm. “Often, I have a hard time telling where the internet stops and my personality starts,” he wrote in April, in an announcement for his new podcast Rabbit Hole, which delves into the question: What is the internet doing to humanity? He starts by looking at the first social-media megastar, Pew Dee Pie, and works his way up through Q-Anon. This could have been a simple rundown, but this being the New York Times — and Roost being a thoughtful and curious guide — the listener comes away with a deeper understanding of the of the internet, not just how it’s polarizing our culture, but how individuals become radicalized. 

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