ICYMI | The Summer That Broke BookTok

Slate Culture

Slate Podcasts

Arts, Tv & Film, Music

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On today’s episode, host Candice Lim tells Kate Lindsay about two recent BookTok conventions that went off the rails. While the first convention become known as the “Fyre Fest” of BookTok, the other faced troubling allegations of sexual assault against an employee. Is BookTok or social media to blame for how often attempts to bring a fandom together end up shattering the community apart? Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, Candice Lim, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You've reached the final level.
0:02.0	The spicy McNuggets side mission.
0:05.0	Maximum flavour, crispy crunch and a spicy dip with a kick.
0:09.0	Are you ready?
0:11.0	Spicey McNuggets for a limited time only.
0:14.0	Until the night of September 25, fees apply to delivery.
0:17.0	Participation and price may vary.
0:19.0	Subject to availability, serving time supply.
0:34.9	Hey, I'm Candace Lim.
0:36.1	And I'm Kate Lindsay.
0:56.7	And you're listening to I see why am I. In case you missed it. Slate's podcast about internet culture. And Kate, hey, not to call you out. In fact, I'm proud of you, but I heard from a little bird that you took a bit of like a summer Friday last week, which I think is really cute. I would love to know just from like a co-worker perspective, like, where'd you go?
0:57.4	What'd you do?
1:07.0	Yes, I went to the event of the season, as we're all, we all know the event of this summer was my sister's wedding.
1:14.9	She is my younger sister.
1:16.6	She got married over the weekend.
1:17.8	It was lovely.
1:25.6	Most importantly, there was a cat that was on the farm of the venue that she was having the ceremony in, the cat was so friendly and so sweet let me pick
1:31.5	her up her name is Snowball and that is the highlight of the weekend and I think my sister would
1:36.9	understand me saying that now cat came with the venue yes so apparently Snowball lives on this farm. No one owns her. But you can tell that
1:47.9	every weekend she just flirts with whoever the, whoever happens to be there, whatever bride and groom
1:55.9	and their families, because that cat eats human food. We gave her bagels. We gave her crackers. We gave her.
2:03.3	Apparently she ran off with a slice of pizza. I missed that. Someone was feeding her chicken in the
	...

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