The widespread familiarity with the phrase “15 minutes of fame,” originating from Andy Warhol’s iconic declaration—”In the future everybody will be famous for 15 minutes”—has permeated popular culture to an extraordinary extent. Yet, far fewer are aware that Warhol himself relished distorting his own maxim into a suite of absurd variations, such as “In the future 15 people will be famous” or “Everybody will be famous in a 15-minute future.” These whimsical deviations can be seen, from a contemporary perspective, as prescient commentaries on the volatile and unpredictable nature of virality in the world of 2024, driven by an ever-changing and unreliable digital narrator.
This thought returns to me continually as I delve into ‘Sixteenth Minute (of Fame),’ a remarkable new podcast by seasoned journalist Jamie Loftus. The podcast serves as an engaging exploration into the lives of individuals who, whether by intention or sheer happenstance, found themselves at the epicenter of the Internet’s fleeting obsession, being anointed as the “main character” of the web discourse for a brief period. A particularly fascinating recent episode features an interview with Robbie Tripp, who in 2017 created a viral sensation when he posted laudatory comments about his “curvy wife Sarah,” igniting an extended online conversation about body positivity and prevailing beauty standards.
In another captivating episode titled ‘A Fish Fell from the Sky,’ Loftus engages with Dr. Ben Beska, a 30-something cardiologist from Newcastle who became an unexpected viral sensation in June. The spark for this fame was a thread he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he shared a series of extraordinary occurrences enhanced by photographic evidence at every stage. Dr. Beska described discovering several magpies flying around his yard, leading him to find a goldfish—still clinging to life—stranded on his lawn. Displaying remarkable presence of mind, he placed the on-the-brink aquatic creature in a metal container, ultimately managing to save its life. Initially sharing this surreal experience with a message to his colleagues reading, “It’s Alice!”—an autocorrect error from ‘it’s alive’—Dr. Beska inadvertently birthed the viral sensation ‘Alice the goldfish.’ Tragically, the fish succumbed to its injuries a week later, likely the result of a predator dropping it mid-air, but not before its story had made international headlines.
What sets ‘Sixteenth Minute’ apart from other podcasts is Loftus’ unique sociological approach to these stories. This isn’t a true crime podcast focused on unraveling what “really happened”—even though conspiracy theories have played a role in the viral fame of Alice the goldfish.
. Instead, Loftus candidly states, “Whatever brought Alice to Dr. Beska’s lawn is between Alice and God,” signaling her primary interest in how such instances of online fame intersect with otherwise ordinary lives.
Dr. Beska’s case is emblematic of this clash, as it involves a man wholly unprepared for the demands and monetization intricacies of sudden online fame. Before his viral moment, Dr. Beska’s social media activity consisted primarily of sharing memes, Taylor Swift content, and professional observations. This juxtaposition between his regular life and unexpected fame not only enriches the episode but also makes it deeply relatable and compelling.
‘Sixteenth Minute’ is equally insightful when examining individuals whose viral moments tie into more extensive technological and business trends in the digital world. For instance, in the episode ‘HQ Trivia and the Quiz Daddy,’ Loftus delves into the story of HQ Trivia, a phenomenally popular mobile app during 2017-2019 that presented increasingly difficult trivia questions. Through an interview with Scott Rogowsky, the charismatic host known as ‘Quiz Daddy,’ the podcast explores the rise and fall of the app, intertwined with Rogowsky’s conflicts with HQ Trivia and Vine co-founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll.
This narrative paints a vivid picture of a turbulent period in the tech and media sectors from 2017 to 2019. It was a time marked by significant technological advances and the ill-conceived ‘pivot to video’ movement driven by Mark Zuckerberg, which wreaked havoc on media companies. Concurrently, the once-adulatory media tone towards Silicon Valley CEOs was turning decidedly more critical. ‘Sixteenth Minute’ methodically pieces together these myriad threads, providing a comprehensive understanding of the era’s dynamics.
Overall, Jamie Loftus’ ‘Sixteenth Minute’ is a must-listen for anyone keen on understanding the evolution of Internet culture over the past decade. For those already deeply ingrained in online life, it offers a series of nods and revelations that make it both educational and highly enjoyable.
