Subcultured

Carlos Vasquez is a competitive Mortal Kombat player that's competed at EVO, the largest fighting game tournament in the world. He's also completely blind. Carlos is part of a community of blind gamers that support each other, and even consult with developers on how to improve their games.

Host Josef Lorenzo talks to Cowboy Frank about the origins of the gay rodeo and how it was formed out of necessity. Today the gay rodeo's challenge is bringing young folks into the rodeo. Josef talks to all-star cowboy Greg Begay about the fierce competition at the gay rodeo. Lastly, Jade Fauver shares her experience as a young woman in the rodeo and her aspirations for the gay rodeo's future.

In this episode, join Josef as they visit AnimeNYC, an anime convention in New York City, to learn about the anime fandom, cosplay, and how the genre suddenly became so cool. We're also joined by the team behind @Beyond The Bot, a group of friends that love anime and make videos about it on their own YouTube channel. How did anime become so popular?

Using the platform VRChat, people can design unique worlds and avatars. These avatars can also track to a user's full body movements. With this new technology, dance scenes began to form in 2018 starting with the club Dance Dance VR. In this episode of Subcultured, Josef meets the creatives that invented an underground dance scene in the metaverse.

The term ASMR was coined in 2010 and since then, this audible fascination has spread across the internet like wildfire. ASMR is described as a tingly sensation in the brain and body often triggered by visual or audio cues. In this episode, Josef explores the world of ASMR and speaks with ASMRtists @Rea Moon ASMR and @Karl ASMR.

Roller skating is making a comeback! Meet the Central Park Dance Skaters. In this episode of Subcultured, Josef goes to the season opener of the Central Park skate circle, and gets a dance skate lesson at a rink in Brooklyn, New York.

WHY are we so fascinated with life outside Earth? Meet UFOJane, a UFOlogist who studies sightings in Texas; Dennis Sant, who has had a UFO experience himself; and discuss advocacy with Luis Jimenez, who is pushing for more information on UAPs from the government. Dr. Z from the PBS Storied series, "Monstrum" also stops by to talk about what drives humans to ponder extraterrestrial life.

Women graffiti writers have been pioneers in the modern graffiti movement since its origin over 50 years ago. Host Josef Lorenzo meets graffiti legends and learns about how graffiti began as an art form of rebellion started by teenagers in Philadelphia and New York City. Graffiti itself is closely tied to hip-hop culture which began in the Bronx during the 1970s.

Stan armies are known for protecting their celebrity at any cost. One of the earliest and most active Twitter stan groups are the Barbz, the loyal fanbase of Nicki Minaj. The Barbz have a reputation for being fiery online, but Josef meets with some popular Barbz to see if there is more to being a stan than meets the eye.

Fantasy shows like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings dominate streaming, and renaissance festivals worldwide inspire millions to dress up and travel to another realm. One community in Minneapolis has created its own fantasy world that invites people to teleport into their favorite movie.

The furry fandom is a subculture fascinated by anthropomorphic animals. But furries are stigmatized by the public, and have historically been misunderstood by the media. In this episode, host Josef Lorenzo meets with furries in New York and VR, to find out what it means to be a furry and with Dr. Sharon Roberts from the Furscience project, to better understand how furries protect each other.

Spirituality is on the rise in all corners of the internet. In this episode of Subcultured, Josef Lorenzo talks to spirits through a psychic medium named Peter Veth, learns about the ins and outs of Witchtok from the rootworker Lexx Heavy, and discovers why witchcraft is so popular online from the bruja and professor Dr. Maria DeBlassie.