My Internet: Noah Kulwin
The Blowback co-host is currently immersed in the NBA, the Grateful Dead, and Angola.
Some weeks, we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Noah Kulwin, a writer, journalist, and co-host of the history podcast Blowback. Blowback’s most recent season, about the US and the rise of the Khmer Rouge, is out now; the show’s sixth season, the story of Angola, debuts later this year. Noah is watching Turkish veterinarians greet unhappy cats on Instagram, listening to podcasts about the approaching NBA playoffs and the world economy falling apart, and hunting for a news segment that aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 1989. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or post that made you laugh?
NOAH KULWIN: This one
EMBEDDED: Do you tweet? Why?
NOAH KULWIN: Yes. I think anyone who reads my tweets or knows me personally could probably guess the correct answer: I like the sound of my own voice and the affirmation of the crowd.
EMBEDDED: Do you post on Bluesky, Threads, or Substack’s Notes? Why?
NOAH KULWIN: No. There’s never really been anything else that has scratched the Twitter itch for me.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
NOAH KULWIN: Turkish veterinarians greeting unhappy cats.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
NOAH KULWIN: The ThinkingBasketball channel, and a lot of archival news stuff. A 1980 documentary about the CIA called “On Company Business.” The Grateful Dead playing “Jack Straw” at Radio City on Halloween night that same year.
EMBEDDED: Will you miss TikTok if it is eventually banned, and if so, what will you miss most about it?
NOAH KULWIN: I do not use TikTok, and while I recognize that much of what I consume on Twitter and elsewhere is downstream from TikTok, I don’t really care about it.
EMBEDDED: Is TikTok a national security threat if it remains under Chinese ownership?
NOAH KULWIN: No.
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
NOAH KULWIN: I read the three major American papers (NYT, WSJ and Washington Post) every day on my computer, and I check the Financial Times and Bloomberg home pages periodically. I get an enormous amount of news from Twitter, of course, but I regularly check out the remaining organs of the mainstream press.
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
NOAH KULWIN: I don’t really know how to answer this one. I follow a lot of people on Twitter (mostly buried by the algorithm, but still), and osmotically I absorb whatever they are talking about. I don’t think I have ever in my life thought consciously about “keeping up” with that.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last strong opinion you had about a story, topic, or controversy online?
NOAH KULWIN: I can’t choose between my children. I pretty much only have strong opinions.
EMBEDDED: What are your favorite newsletters?
NOAH KULWIN: The
EMBEDDED: How do you think Substack has changed media, if at all?
NOAH KULWIN: I don’t know if Substack itself changed media as much as it was one company among many that have successfully capitalized on the transition from corporate-employed media to self-employed media. I myself represent this shift. I used to work for outlets—Recode (RIP), VICE News (RIP x 2), The Outline (RIP x 3)—that are mostly defunct, and now I make money selling a history podcast directly to our listeners.
EMBEDDED: What’s one positive media trend? What’s one negative trend?
NOAH KULWIN: Positive: Individual people are getting way more skilled at making high-end products with very few resources, competitive with the stuff put out by very deep-pocketed corporations.
Negative: Most of these high-end products are, when boiled down to it, talk shows or advertisements.
EMBEDDED: Do you have a take on the “manosphere”? Do you think personalities like Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and Theo Von have shaped young men’s political leanings?
NOAH KULWIN: I don’t have a particularly strong take; I dunno. Seems like it.
EMBEDDED: Do you believe that the “artificial general intelligence” and “superintelligence” that many AI boosters have warned of actually pose a risk to humanity?
NOAH KULWIN: No.
EMBEDDED: Are smartphones bad for us? Where do you fall on the Jonathan Haidt-Taylor Lorenz divide?
NOAH KULWIN: I think social media is worse than the phones, and that it is the actual “addicting” part of them.
EMBEDDED: What’s something that you have observed about the online behavior of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and/or Boomers?
NOAH KULWIN: We should all be a lot nicer to people above the age of 70 who are using the computer. Being an older person on the internet is a terrifying experience.
EMBEDDED: How do you find recommendations for what to watch, read, and listen to?
NOAH KULWIN: No particular method. If you are smart about listening to, reading and watching stuff then it will generally lead to other things that you want to consume.
EMBEDDED: Have you had posts go viral? What is that experience like?
NOAH KULWIN: This is the only post of mine that I regularly still get random people from non-online parts of my life referencing to me, because they saw it on an Instagram meme page. It is utterly meaningless.
EMBEDDED: Who’s the coolest person who follows you?
NOAH KULWIN: My girlfriend (IG and Twitter)
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
NOAH KULWIN: Joe Weisenthal on Twitter.
EMBEDDED: Which big celebrity has your favorite internet presence, and why?
NOAH KULWIN: I dunno, man.
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
NOAH KULWIN: Bloomberg’s Odd Lots, You Know Ball Podcast,
EMBEDDED: Have you ever been heavily into Snapchat? Do you miss it?
NOAH KULWIN: Nope.
EMBEDDED: When was the last time you browsed Pinterest? What for?
NOAH KULWIN: I don’t think I have ever browsed Pinterest.
EMBEDDED: How would you describe Tumblr’s legacy?
NOAH KULWIN: I don’t think I ever looked at Tumblr for more than like 20 minutes total.
EMBEDDED: Are you in any groups on Reddit, Discord, Slack, or Facebook? What’s the most useful or entertaining one?
NOAH KULWIN: Not really. I’ve never been a good Reddit or Facebook lurker. And Discord is just for gaming with friends.
EMBEDDED: Do you use Slack or Teams for work? What’s the best thing about Slacking with your co-workers? What’s the worst thing?
NOAH KULWIN: Not being on Slack at all is one of the great joys of being an independent podcaster.
EMBEDDED: What is your Wordle starting word?
NOAH KULWIN: Don’t play Wordle.
EMBEDDED: Do any of your group chats have a name that you’re willing to share? What’s something that recently inspired debate in the chat?
NOAH KULWIN: Condiment Corner ft. Suckle Chat. And I dunno. Probably something about Luka Dončić.
EMBEDDED: What’s your go-to emoji, and what does it mean to you?
NOAH KULWIN: 🫡 Yes, comrade.
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
NOAH KULWIN: Yes, and I don’t mind receiving them. Some stuff is just better spoken aloud. But don’t waste the listeners' time. Wrap it up.
EMBEDDED: Do you pay for a music streaming service, and if so, which one? What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
NOAH KULWIN: Apple Music. I am writing this the week that I am going to Vegas to see Dead & Company, so I will be answering this with “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo,” played in Englishtown, NJ on 9/3/77. And I have also been greatly enjoying the new Deafheaven album.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? What’s a show that you’re really into right now?
NOAH KULWIN: Probably the Criterion Channel. My girlfriend and I watched the French TV show The Bureau recently, a five-season spy thriller show that was great fun. I recommend that.
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
NOAH KULWIN: Libby (audiobooks and e-books from your local library!)
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
NOAH KULWIN: I’m choosing to interpret basic as “essential,” and not “lame.” And so my answer is the Internet Archive.
EMBEDDED: Is there any content you want but can’t seem to find anywhere online?
NOAH KULWIN: A specific news segment about Angola that was aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 1989. My white whale of the moment.
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
NOAH KULWIN: I love buying old shit. My most recent eBay purchase is a 90-year-old magazine map of southern Africa. It came pretty cheap.
EMBEDDED: Is there a site you like for product recommendations? How do you decide, for example, which air filter to buy?
NOAH KULWIN: If I can’t figure it out from Googling around or checking a niche enthusiast subreddit, then I usually ask my girlfriend.
EMBEDDED: Have you recently read an article, book, or social media post about the internet that you’ve found particularly insightful?
NOAH KULWIN: No.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
NOAH KULWIN: It’s not the last thing. But this video from the 2019 protests in Chile has been a source of comfort in dark times.
Thanks Noah! Visit his website and listen to his podcast. 🫡
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