ICYMI

How #BamaRush Took Over TikTok

Why is the University of Alabama’s sorority recruitment week the only thing on your FYP?

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Episode Notes

For many TikTok users, it’s been impossible to escape #BamaRush, the week of sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama. On today’s episode, Madison and Rachelle explain, how rush week actually works, why it’s flooded our feeds, and what its popularity says about whiteness, wealth, and class on the app.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

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About the Show

Join Madison Malone Kircher and Rachelle Hampton twice a week as they gaze deep into the online abyss—and tell you what’s gazing back. All episodes

Hosts

  • Rachelle Hampton is a culture writer and reporter at Slate. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian Magazine, and In These Times. She still hasn't recovered from Tumblr's demise.

  • Madison Malone Kircher is a senior writer at Slate. She was previously a staff writer at New York magazine, where she covered internet culture and edited New York’s Approval Matrix. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Vulture, and the Cut. Madison lives in Brooklyn, where she regularly drops her phone on her face watching TikToks in bed.