On March 8th, 2025, fans got their pancakes out in Los Angeles to celebrate the one-hundredth episode of Smosh Reads Reddit Stories. The Escapist sat down with host Shayne Topp before the podcast’s milestone episode to swap social media horror stories and discuss what it means to be a YouTuber.
The Escapist: Congrats on one hundred episodes of Smosh Reads Reddit Stories and a sold-out show [at Dynasty Typewriter]!
Shayne Topp: It’s unbelievable. We’re so happy!
I wanted to talk about the show being so rooted in social media. Were you that active of a Reddit user before the show? How has your perception of Reddit as a platform changed through doing the show?
I have lurked on Reddit for a long time, I’d say close to ten years now.
Reddit can be very different depending on where you end up on it. Obviously, we’re sticking to the story-based ones like r/AmIth A**hole, confession ones, relationship advice. Those can vary. Fortunately, we have such a great team who aggregate our stories; Emily [Rose Jacobson] and Bailey [Petracek] are the ones who are doing it right now. They’re doing the hard work of going through and scraping out all the ones that aren’t good, finding the juicy ones.
A tough thing we have nowadays is trying to figure out which ones we believe are real and which ones are not. Which is always a tough thing with the internet, being like: “Is what I am seeing coming from a real person or not?”
Reddit’s interesting. Like I said, depending on where you’re at it can feel very different. I have mixed feelings about social media, which is hilarious working in it. I definitely find that I have to try to limit how much I scroll on Reddit because it can give you a sense of dread. You can [also] end up in an echo chamber. You see it. You see how every subreddit has its own culture to it. Some are incredibly toxic.
But, at the end of the day, it’s also been so entertaining. And there is good that can come from talking about it. I think our show offers a way for people not to have to delve deep into social media. And we can kind of cherry-pick some fun ones and talk about it in a lighthearted way.
I’d say you do have a lot of fun ones because it is a comedy podcast, but you don’t shy away from some of the darker topics. How does that work in terms of curation? Are there specific parameters in terms of topics that are off-limits?
We do have lines. You know, some things get so dark and we definitely keep in mind that this is ultimately a form of entertainment. People listen to this when they’re driving to work or when they’re going to bed or waking up first thing in the morning. So, we’re not trying to hit them with the hardest topics in the world.
But, we do delve into some serious things as long as there is the realm of still being able to talk about it lightheartedly or joke about it. Sometimes we don’t, but I’d say that’s more rare.
If you’re on Reddit, you’ll see that there are tons of stories that get way too tough. I mean, there are some stories you read and they’ll stick with you for weeks. We don’t wanna do that here.
So, we do have lines. We definitely have some strict lines, but I think, overall, it’s more vibe-based.
Do you have any stories from one hundred episodes of the show that haunt you that there were never updates on?
Oh man, so many!
There are so many that end with no closure. Where you’re like: “Okay, what happened there?” Or one’s where you go: “She should break up with him” or “he should break up with her!” And then you don’t get that update and you’re like: “Oh no, what happened?”
But, also, I keep hope, because sometimes we get updates like five years later. And those are the best ones.
At this stage, one hundred episodes, six stories per, I’ve read probably around six hundred stories. It’s hard to keep track. I’m hopeful to get updates on all of them. We need to do an episode where we revisit a bunch of stories that have gotten updates.
It is definitely frustrating because we will film and then our episodes will come out a few weeks after, [and] when we post it people in the comments will be like: “There was an update on this and this is what happened!”
I wanted to talk about social media versus mainstream media and where that bleed-over sometimes happens. Take the A24 film Zola, which was adapted from a Twitter thread. Is there any Reddit story you’ve read, either on the show or encountered on your own, where you’ve thought: “That would make a great movie?”
So many! Once again, almost every single episode we have one.
I mean, in this show we’re about to do today there’s a couple that could be very entertaining. At the very least, you feel like you’re listening to an episode of Seinfeld or an episode from an HBO show. Those are the best! That’s the heart of any traditional TV show or movie, dealing with some dilemma that people debate on.
I’d have to think, though, there’s endless amounts of stories. Almost every single one that has to do with a wedding I feel like could be turned into a movie.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see it, considering things like Creepypastas and No Sleep are getting turned into books and movies constantly. I mean, I just read a book and realized halfway through: “Oh, this was originally posted on Reddit.”
What was the book?
We Used to Live Here [by Marcus Kliewer].
It’s so interesting. We are now seeing that this is the first avenue for people trying to break into any industry. You start on social media. You start on some website and you end up there.
I know you’re a huge reader and you just started your own YouTube channel and mentioned books being something you might want to talk about there. Have you been reading anything you’d recommend lately?
I just read The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang. I’ve read everything she’s written. I know she has Katabasis coming out this year, which I’m stoked for!
I’m reading all over the place right now. I just read The God of the Woods [by Liz Moore], which is this mystery novel that just got published. I’m reading Han Kang’s We Do Not Part, which won the Nobel Prize. So, I’m jumping all over the place!
I do think fantasy/sci-fi is my favorite. It’s super big on BookTok and everything, people love talking about it. I love a good story. Literary fiction, I am not someone who is really capable of talking about [it]. I love reading it, but I am not adept enough or educated enough to talk about the themes that are going on. But, I love a great plot.
What I think I would like to talk about though is finding some of those weird books that aren’t hitting the algorithm, even books from back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Finding those almost embarrassing books. Something I do love about BookTok is that, I think in a good way, it has no shame. We’re willing to read books that are just full-on guilty pleasures. I’d like to find more of those, and some of those old-school silly ones.
Like the proto-versions of A Court of Thorns and Roses?
Exactly! And to find some of those cheesy ’60s sci-fi novels would be so much fun. That’s really what I think I would enjoy.
I’m going through all sorts of avenues. I filmed a video the other week talking about my favorite books. I’m probably gonna scrap that footage and go back and re-film it. Just cause, it was like: “No, I didn’t talk about that book the way I wanted to talk about it!”
And this is for your YouTube channel?
For my own personal one, yeah.
I wanted to talk about that a little because in your first video you were saying that, even though you’ve been making content on YouTube for ten years, you didn’t really identify as a YouTuber. What does identifying as a YouTuber mean to you?
Being a YouTuber is such a general term. It’s so funny how we call everyone a YouTuber who is working on YouTube when there are people on YouTube who are out in the middle of nowhere building huts from scratch, and they’re a YouTuber, and also comedians are YouTubers. It’s like if we called everyone who was on television a TV influencer. It doesn’t make sense. You’re a news anchor or you’re an animal specialist or whatever.
I didn’t call myself a YouTuber because, to me, it was someone who was doing the whole process. That was the sale of YouTube from the beginning, right? You film it all yourself, you’re doing it on your own and you’re a YouTuber.
I always felt like I worked on a YouTube channel. Like, I am an actor and comedian who works here at Smosh. And Smosh is so big. It doesn’t feel to me, as an individual, like I am a YouTuber.
Of course, I am a YouTuber and I have been for ten years. But, it was this itch I needed to scratch of finally taking care of the whole process, of having my own channel and doing the whole thing and doing it from where it all started. You know, Smosh did start with Ian [Hecox] and Anthony [Padilla] forever ago just filming stuff in their own home.
It was weird. It was only a four-minute video. I filmed for like a half hour, and it took me forever to edit it. I did do multiple takes. The take I have on my channel is the original take. But it was really hard because I judge myself so hard.
And that’s what your second video was about, that idea of perfectionism.
Exactly.
I know you said you’re gonna get silly in future videos.
Totally.
But that video did showcase a different side of you than what Smosh viewers might be used to seeing.
It’s a huge challenge. Because what you see in [Smosh Reads Reddit Stories] and most of what we do on Smosh, I feel most comfortable when I’m playing off of other people. So much of my comedy is joking with people. So, filming something by myself is such an interesting avenue. I’m not used to it.
I give so much praise to those who do it. I’m so impressed by them, and I have so much to learn from them.
You are one of those people now.
I mean, yes, I’ve got a couple.
You know, this has taken up so much of my time and, of course, it will continue. My channel’s just a hobby right now, and I do want to keep uploading just for fun. And yeah, I’m not afraid to go more serious there. Because there’s no boundaries.
Smosh is a comedy channel, we’re doing comedy and entertainment. My own channel can be whatever I want any day. So, it felt good to release something a little more serious, with little hints of comedy, of course, because that’s who I am.
Is there anything you’re specifically excited to explore with the channel?
What I’m excited to explore is truly knowing that any time I have an inspiration, I can just go for it.
I do wanna take more risks. I want to do silly things just to do silly things. So that I don’t build too much of a cage for myself. I’m afraid of a bar forming. I don’t want there to be a bar.
I kinda wanna upload a minute-long video. I wanna upload something that’s so throw away and I’m not thinking about to know that’s okay [and] I can do that.
I’m excited to have a video get a small amount of views so that I’m no longer afraid of that. I don’t wanna be chasing anything that channel. I want to enjoy the pure fun of it.
A space for experimentation.
Exactly. I want to let it be a place for my creativity to grow, really.
I want to almost be inspired from the work I do there and get ideas from doing stuff there.
I want to circle back to Reddit and social media in general, because you mentioned having mixed feelings about it. As someone with a psychology degree, how do you feel about the trend of the armchair psychologist and seeing people diagnose others in comment sections?
I definitely have mixed feelings about it.
I make it clear so often that I have a Bachelor’s in Psychology, and I’m not qualified to say anything. I think the danger of the internet is that people get so comfortable thinking they have the answers. Everyone wants to have the answers, because we’re all driven by this desire to get likes and get attention, and having the answers is a great way to get that.
People speak so confidently online. I mean, how many times I scroll passed a TikTok where someone’s saying: “You need to do this. If you chew this gum, your teeth will be perfect.” Woah, okay, I’m believing you, but then you have to have that shred of doubt. I think it can be dangerous.
On the flip side, though, what’s tough is that therapy is so expensive. This is where it’s a struggle and I understand it’s hard to go out there and pay the money it takes to get an official diagnosis for things. So, I also recognize that people are striving to understand themselves and find community with others who are going through similar struggles.
I don’t want to tell anyone not to think anything or feel anything, but I think it’s also having that open mind and being careful a bit more when it comes to diagnosing others. It’s okay to have your own journey, but to not be jumping in and telling somebody that you’re one hundred percent sure because people do go to college for a long time to learn these things and it’s a very delicate thing. Even when people have this expertise, they sometimes get it wrong.
So, it’s treating it delicately and I think on the internet we don’t treat things delicately. We all kind of have this brashness.
Well, I have one last question for you, and, to move away from the serious: What is your progress reports on doing the splits?
Okay! It is not good, I’ll be completely honest!
I will sometimes at night just sit with my legs spread out in a stretch pose and go: “I’m just gonna read in this pose for a while.” But, my legs are stubborn, man. I will stretch consistently for a month, I will think I’m making some progress, and then I’ll go a week without stretching and it’s gone!
At 33, I’m at the place where I need to stretch genuinely. Like, this isn’t for a bit anymore, this is important that I do this. But, I am still determined. I haven’t given up.
We’re rooting for you!
Thank you!
