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Kids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat

Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR's Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life, host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids […] Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR's Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life , host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids getting creative to work around the restrictions placed on them. When Glass asked one of the kids why they picked this particular podcast, they said, "We just, like, looked for podcasts that didn't have many comments." Which, obviously, hurt Glass's feelings

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Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR's Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life, host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids […] Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR's Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life , host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids getting creative to work around the restrictions placed on them. When Glass asked one of the kids why they picked this particular podcast, they said, "We just, like, looked for podcasts that didn't have many comments." Which, obviously, hurt Glass's feelings

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What happened

According to The Verge’s source item, Kids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat, Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR’s Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life, host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids […] Middle schoolers, likely blocked from other apps and social networks, apparently turned the Spotify comment section under an episode of NPR’s Wild Card into an impromptu group chat. In a new episode of This American Life , host Ira Glass digs into how the kids landed there and why. But it mostly boils down to kids getting creative to work around the restrictions placed on them. When Glass asked one of the kids why they picked this particular podcast, they said, “We just, like, looked for podcasts that didn’t have many comments.” Which, obviously, hurt Glass’s feelings

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-26T17:32:35+00:00.

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Primary source: Kids turned the comment section of an NPR podcast into a group chat via The Verge. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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