Rephonic
Artwork for Revolution.Social
Social Media
Digital Rights
Privacy
Social Media Bill Of Rights
Decentralization
Vine
Surveillance Capitalism
Twitter
Age Verification Laws
Freedom Of Expression
Social Media Governance
Anonymity
Silicon Valley
Trust and Safety
Encryption
Youth Online Safety
Artificial Intelligence
Bluesky
Elon Musk
Kids Online Safety Act

A podcast about the future of social media and reclaiming our digital communities. Revolution.Social is hosted by technologist and community advocate Rabble, a.k.a. Evan Henshaw-Plath — who was Twitter’s first employee and hired Jack Dorsey. In weekly interviews, Rabble will interview thought leaders, technologists, academics, and more about the need for a new social media "bill of rights." Just a... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes45Foundeda year ago
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Artwork for Revolution.Social

Latest Episodes

Are we regulating the wrong tech problems? Many opponents of Big Tech cheered recent lawsuits that found Meta and YouTube liable for violating consumer protection laws and designing their products to addict kids and teens. But in the battle over user... more

YouTube

Is 2026 the new 2016?

Back then, we didn't know that Facebook could win or lose elections, and become weaponized, that Gamergate-style harassment would take over politics, or that we were about to lose the creative, absurd, and sometimes brilliant s... more

YouTube

When the internet is full of distortions, fake news, and AI-generated slop, how can facts and journalism rise to the top?

Former BBC and Vice journalist Sophia Smith Galer has one possible way to beat the misinformation and exploitation. Her app Sop... more

YouTube

From scams and spam to platforms we don’t control, many of the systems shaping our online lives feel increasingly broken.

In this episode of Revolution.Social, Rabble (Twitter’s first employee) sits down with Molly White, software engineer, Wikipedi... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Sophia Smith Galer
BBC journalist, author of How to Kill a Language, creator of the Sophiana app
BBC; Sophiana
Episode: Why the Algorithm Loves a Villain, And How to Beat It
Molly White
Wikipedia editor and open Internet advocate; known for Web3 is Going Just Great
Wikipedia/Web3 is Going Just Great
Episode: Why does the internet feel worse than it used to?
Brad Burnham
Venture capitalist, Union Square Ventures
Union Square Ventures
Episode: Ethical Venture Capital: Why Social Media Needs a Conscience (with Brad Burnham & Zoe Weinberg)
Zoe Weinberg
Venture capitalist, Exxante
Exxante
Episode: Ethical Venture Capital: Why Social Media Needs a Conscience (with Brad Burnham & Zoe Weinberg)
Rudy Fraser
Founder of Blacksky Algorithms
Blacksky Algorithms
Episode: Escaping Algorithmic Binds: Creators vs. Corporate Platforms (w/ Bridget Todd & Rudy Fraser at SXSW)
Jim Louderback
Longtime journalist and former CEO of VidCon; key figure in the creator economy
VidCon, Revision3
Episode: What Creators Can Do & AI Can’t (with Jim Louderback)
Ben Werdmuller
Senior Director of Technology at ProPublica; former VC; founder of Elgg
ProPublica
Episode: An Alternate History of Social Media (with Ben Werdmuller)
Anil Dash
A journalist, tech entrepreneur, advocate for the open internet, and former executive at Fastly
Episode: Silicon Valley Has Lost Its Moral Compass (with Anil Dash)
Mike McCue
Former executive at Netscape, creator of Flipboard and Surf app.
Flipboard
Episode: “I've Never Been More Optimistic” (Flipboard’s Mike McCue On the Open Social Web)

Host

Evan Henshaw-Plath
Founder/Host focusing on open web, digital rights, and community governance.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 11 ratings
  • Must Listen

    Here’s the thing. Social media has been around for decades. Revolution.social is exploring its origins. Why things are the way they are, and what can be done to make change. Rabble has been on the frontline from the beginning and he’s working toward a better future. Context is everything. Understand the past to change the future.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    beach
    United States10 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Discussions mix practical tooling with high-level governance questions.
Open-web advocates consistently frame the Internet's future beyond profit-driven platforms.
Guests deliver critical, policy-relevant insights for building humane tech.
The host provides sharp context on open web history and future direction.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How Social Media Platforms Use Regulation To Stifle Competition
Q: What is the main risk of over-regulation for smaller, decentralized platforms?
Over-regulation can create a costly compliance moat that favors big incumbents, making it near-impossible for small teams or open-source projects to compete. Incentive-based regulation, like portability and open protocols, is a better path than heavy mandates that suppress innovation.
How Social Media Platforms Use Regulation To Stifle Competition
Q: Can you explain what Section 230 actually does and why it matters for regulation and First Amendment rights?
Section 230 lets platforms host content and moderate without being treated as the publisher of everything posted, which keeps costs manageable and enables experimentation. Removing or reforming it would raise the legal bar drastically, making it harder for smaller players to survive and deterring open moderation practices.
Can We Bring Vine Back From the Dead?
Q: Why did Vine struggle to monetize and sustain growth, despite its massive early popularity?
Despite hundreds of millions of views and emerging creator stars, Vine failed to establish a viable monetization strategy and resisted ads in its early culture, which limited revenue opportunities and made it hard to compete with platforms that integrated stronger revenue models like YouTube and later TikTok.
Can We Bring Vine Back From the Dead?
Q: What made Vine distinctive in its early days compared to other platforms at the time?
Vine opened the camera for outward-facing recording, emphasizing short, unedited slices of life that felt democratic and accessible to ordinary people, which allowed a broader range of creators to emerge and connect with audiences without heavy production.
Why the Algorithm Loves a Villain, And How to Beat It
Q: So why don't you tell us a little bit about Sophia's background and what made you want to talk to her today?
Sophia is a BBC-trained journalist turned public intellectual who combines traditional reporting with social-media storytelling; she has written about language, built the Sophiana app for journalists, and engages with the tension between institutional media and independent digital platforms.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Revolution.Social

What is Revolution.Social about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful exploration of how social platforms should operate in the public interest, with deep dives into open web infrastructure, decentralization, and user sovereignty. Episodes repeatedly circle themes such as interoperable protocols, user-owned identities, and safety tools, often contrasting centralized platforms with open, community-driven approaches. Guests range from open-web advocates and technologists to creators and investors, offering practical paths for owning online presence, defending digital rights, and reimagining governance models for online communities. Noteworthy are conversations about safety tooling, open-source collaboration, and the idea of a modern “bill of rights” for digital life, which helps listeners assess ho... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Revolution.Social?

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1. The Ezra Klein Show
2. Podcast – Cory Doctorow's craphound.com
3. The Daily
4. Hard Fork
5. Your Undivided Attention

How many episodes of Revolution.Social are there?

Revolution.Social launched a year ago and published 45 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Revolution.Social?

Recent guests on Revolution.Social include:

1. Sophia Smith Galer
2. Molly White
3. Brad Burnham
4. Zoe Weinberg
5. Rudy Fraser
6. Jim Louderback
7. Ben Werdmuller
8. Anil Dash

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