Rewind: Digging Deep with TikTok's "tunnel girl"
Endless Thread
WBUR
4.1 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this throwback from the Endless Thread archives, hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson revisit an episode from 2024.
In 2022, a TikTok creator who identifies herself as "Kala" began digging. What followed was an increasingly viral series of TikToks chronicling the efforts of Kala, who some on the internet dubbed "Tunnel Girl," as she excavated and constructed a tunnel system under her suburban home. Her more than half-million followers watched and weighed in with support, suggestions and, at times, concern. That is, until a stop-work order halted the project in its tracks.
Two years later, we have some updates on the story.This episode was originally published on February 02, 2024. It was produced by Katelyn Harrop and co-hosted by Katelyn Harrop, Ben Brock Johnson, and Amory Sivertson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.
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Transcript
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| 0:17.8 | At the end of all of this... |
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| 0:23.7 | original series streaming exclusively on Disney Plus. 18 plus subscription required T's and T supply. |
| 0:30.2 | Support for this podcast comes from Is Business Broken? A podcast from the Murotra Institute at |
| 0:36.0 | B.U Questrum School of Business. |
| 0:38.3 | A recent episode explores whether generative AI will complement or substitute for creative work in Hollywood. |
| 0:45.5 | Stick around until the end of this podcast to preview the episode. |
| 0:50.0 | What up, endless threaders? |
| 0:52.1 | It's Benny B. Johnson. |
| 0:54.0 | Hope you're doing well. |
| 0:56.1 | Today, we are returning to an episode from the past, and it's a good one. It's from a while ago, actually. |
| 1:03.6 | Our former colleague, Caitlin Harrop, brought us the story of Tunnel Girl. Remember Tunnel Girl? |
| 1:11.6 | Digging out a long passage in her northern Virginia home? |
| 1:16.8 | Well, there have been some updates. |
... |
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