6. A Dare Wrapped in a Joke Wrapped in a Void w/ Cy Canterel

I sit down with feral scholar and TikTok analyst Cy Canterel to explore one of the strangest and most opaque zones of contemporary politics: the swirling online subcultures where memes, irony, nihilism, and fragmented identity collide with rising fascism.

Cy brings a rare combination of systemic thinking, psychological insight, and lived experience as an autistic researcher who understands outsider culture from the inside. Together we trace how today’s meme-driven environments blur the lines between subculture and politics, and why attempts to “decode” online radicalization so often miss the mark. What looks like political ideology is often a shared subcultural language. What looks like a manifesto might actually be a dare, a joke, or an attempt to create meaning in the void.

We talk about the very ambiguous case of Tyler Robinson, alleged killer of Charlie Kirk, and why the bullet-casing engravings left behind point less toward a stable ideology and more toward the chaotic, dare-based dynamics of online subcultures. We also begin unpacking the emerging story of Graham Platner, and why he has become a Rorschach test for liberal and left anxieties.

Cy argues that online extremism is not distortion of human nature, but a predictable outcome of alienation, platform incentives, and a society that doesn’t give people — especially young men — stable roles, narratives, or futures. But she also insists the internet itself isn’t broken. The tools could be used for creativity, care, and community; they’ve simply been captured by the wrong incentives.

If you’re a parent, educator, caregiver, or anyone trying to understand what’s happening to young people online — and what can actually intervene in these dynamics — Cy’s insights are super helpful.

Cy's Website

Cy's Substack: Abstract Machines

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Chapters

• (00:00:00) - A Dare Wrapped in a Joke: The Memosphere
• (00:02:50) - Zoran Mandani Wins
• (00:11:17) - Cy Canterel on the Internet and Political Radicalization
• (00:18:35) - Autism and Internet Studies
• (00:24:14) - What Looks Like Politics Is Often a Subculture
• (00:35:29) - The Confused Politics of Far-Right Groups
• (00:40:37) - What do men become vulnerable to in isolation, particularly on the Internet
• (00:45:50) - Fascist Dad of the Week