How the creator economy is making you talk like the internet

Episode of TED Radio Hour · August 21, 2026 · 50 min

Manoush Zomorodi talks with linguist and creator Adam Aleksic about how social media algorithms shape slang, influencer speech, identity and politics.

Summary

In the second part of TED Radio Hour's series on the creator economy, host Manoush Zomorodi interviewed Adam Aleksic, a linguist who posts as Etymology Nerd and wrote the book Algospeak. The interview was interspersed with excerpts from his TED Talk. Aleksic took apart one of his viral videos, on why languages use either "chai" or "tea", to show the techniques he uses: second-person hooks, a single simplified narrative, and a fast "educational influencer accent."

Aleksic described how platform moderation produced euphemisms such as "unalive," which middle schoolers now use offline. He argued that algorithms, which he said are really many interlocking systems, are accelerating language change through trends like the Rizzler song and words such as "skibidi," "rizz," "demure" and "chalant." In his view, quieter shifts such as the adverbial "low-key" from African American English will matter more over time. He placed algorithms in a longer history of media running from oral tradition to the printing press, citing Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis. He contended that influencer accents spread because of human preference for social prestige, not because algorithms detect intonation.

Aleksic argued that algorithms push users toward narrow identity labels such as "cottagecore" in order to target them commercially, and he called this surveillance capitalism. He acknowledged the dissonance of profiting from the same system he critiques, and said this was part of why he wrote a book. The two made a test video about the robot slur "clanker." Zomorodi then raised Charlie Kirk's viral communication style. Aleksic said algorithms reward clip-ready gotcha content and extreme views, and called Donald Trump the first "algorithmic president." He expressed optimism about young people's media literacy but not about algorithms themselves, and warned that terms such as "-pilled" carry vocabulary from incel and far-right online spaces into mainstream slang.

Chapters

0:26
Introducing the creator economy, part two
Zomorodi introduces the series and Adam Aleksic, a linguist who built a following explaining language online.
2:46
Anatomy of a viral video
Aleksic breaks down the hook, simplified storyline and delivery of his chai-versus-tea video.
6:14
Unalive and algospeak
Aleksic explains how TikTok's suppression of words like "kill" produced "unalive" and outlines his broader concept of algospeak.
10:26
What "the algorithm" really is
Aleksic describes algorithms as many sub-systems and argues that the personalization of the For You feed hides the platforms' interests.
15:17
Demure, rizz and brain rot words
The pair discuss viral slang, the Rizzler song, and how trends die once out-groups adopt them.
22:20
Low-key words and teenage bellwethers
Aleksic argues that subtler changes from minority communities last longer and that teenagers lead language change.
25:24
The medium is the message
Aleksic traces how media from oral tradition to the printing press to algorithms have shaped language.
30:16
Influencer accents
Aleksic explains lifestyle and educational influencer accents and how human preference for social prestige, amplified by algorithms, spreads them.
35:39
Generations, cottagecore and surveillance capitalism
Aleksic argues that generational and aesthetic labels serve as trend bait and as targeting categories for platforms.
40:36
Selling out and writing a book
Aleksic discusses the dissonance of being a creator and Harold Innis's distinction between space-biased and time-biased media.
43:49
Making a video about clanker
Zomorodi and Aleksic make a test video about the speculative robot slur "clanker."
45:25
Politics, radicalization and youth literacy
Aleksic discusses clip-farmed political rhetoric, Trump as the algorithmic president, and extremist vocabulary such as "-pilled."

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Adam Aleksic
Aleksic says that using second-person "you" in a hook makes videos go more viral because people like content about themselves.
“I used the word you, which is a second-person pronoun which always goes more viral because people like videos about them”
Listen from 3:45 · Creator economy
Linked moment · 4:04Skip to 4:04 using a listen link in the info box.
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic argues that viral social media content requires a single simplified narrative.
“simple storytelling is so important to go viral on social media. You cannot have multiple narratives”
Listen from 4:04 · Creator economy
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic says that the word "kill" is suppressed on TikTok, which led users to adopt alternatives like "unalive."
“you can't say the word kill on TikTok. I mean, I guess you can, but it's suppressed”
Listen from 6:52 · Unalive
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic traces "unalive" to a 2013 Ultimate Spider-Man meme that later spread through Roblox and the TikTok mental health community.
“the word unalive started in 2013 with an ultimate Spider-Man meme that then turned into a Roblox meme in the late 2010s”
Listen from 7:32 · Unalive
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic argues that feed personalization is dangerous because it obscures how platforms benefit from what they show users.
“And I think the personalization is one of the most dangerous things because we really forget what's going on on a broader level”
Listen from 12:49 · Social media algorithms
Adam Aleksic
In his TED Talk, Aleksic said that algorithms accelerate word spread so much that "rizz" went from obscurity to Oxford word of the year within a year.
“In the span of just a year, a word like Riz can go from complete obscurity to becoming the Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year”
Listen from 19:13 · Internet slang
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic maintains that so-called brain rot words are not actually harmful to cognition.
“As a linguist, I have to say there is nothing actually about these words that is mentally deleterious at all”
Listen from 21:09 · Brain rot slang
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic argues that less conspicuous changes, such as the adverbial "low-key," will affect English more lasting than flashy trends like "skibidi."
“I think it's those words that don't stick out that are going to have a greater impact on our language hundreds of years from now”
Listen from 23:56 · Internet slang
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic says that teenagers are the leading indicators of language change because they are forming identities and are linguistically flexible.
“I think these kids are the bellwethers of where language is going to go”
Listen from 24:23 · Internet slang
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic argues that influencer accents spread through human bias toward social prestige, reflected in scrolling behavior, rather than through algorithms detecting intonation.
“No, I don't think the algorithm is picking up on accent intonations. I think there is actual human bias toward social prestige”
Listen from 31:21 · Influencer accents
Adam Aleksic
In his TED Talk, Aleksic argued that algorithms push users into narrow aesthetic identities like cottagecore in order to sell them targeted commercial content.
“social media algorithms wants to make you identify with hyper compartmentalized labels, since they can then give you extremely specific commercialized content catering to that identity”
Listen from 38:42 · Cottagecore and aesthetic subcultures
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic cites TikTok's 2021 business page as treating subcultures as targetable demographics.
“If you look at TikTok's business page in 2021, it says that subcultures are the new demographics”
Listen from 40:13 · Surveillance capitalism
Adam Aleksic
Drawing on Harold Innis, Aleksic recommends combining fast-spreading, space-biased media with durable, time-biased media such as books.
“I think we should be mixing as much time biased and space biased media as possible”
Listen from 41:59 · Media theory
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic argues that engagement-optimizing algorithms amplify far-left and far-right voices because extreme content captures attention.
“things that are good at getting attention are unfortunately really extreme things. So far left and far right opinions and voices are going to be amplified”
Listen from 46:58 · Social media algorithms
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic compares Donald Trump to John F. Kennedy, arguing that memeable candidates thrive on algorithms as photogenic ones did on television.
“if photogenic candidates were good on TV, memeable presidents are good for algorithms”
Listen from 47:50 · Social media algorithms
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic says that older generations are less literate about new media than young people and cites boomers falling for AI slop on Facebook.
“I actually think older generations are maybe more concerningly illiterate of the new medium”
Listen from 48:40 · Social media algorithms
Adam Aleksic
In his TED Talk, Aleksic said that the slang suffix "-pilled" derives by analogy from "black-pilled," a term tied to incel ideology.
“that word was formed through analogy with black-pilled, a term meaning convinced into incel ideology”
Listen from 49:43 · Manosphere
Adam Aleksic
Aleksic distinguishes his optimism about young people's media literacy from his pessimism about algorithms' cultural effects.
“I'm an optimist for younger generations having literacy about this stuff. I am not an optimist in terms of algorithms and how they impact our culture”
Listen from 50:23 · Social media algorithms

People

In the conversation

Manoush ZomorodiHost of NPR's TED Radio Hour
Adam AleksicLinguist and TikTok creator featured in part two of the series

Discussed

Charlie KirkAmerican conservative activist and podcast host assassinated in September 2025
Marshall McLuhanCanadian media theorist quoted by Rogan on humans as sex organs of the machine world
Harold InnisCanadian scholar who distinguished space-biased from time-biased media
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Ben ShapiroConservative commentator who advocated the Iran war
Kai CenatTwitch streamer credited with popularizing "rizz"
Yancey StricklerCo-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter, writer and musician
Paul TonkoU.S. congressman from Albany, New York, cited as a non-viral politician

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From the publisher

Online linguist Adam Aleksic explains how he goes viral decoding internet slang, plus why making a living online means working for 'the algorithm.' It's part 2 of our creator economy series. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 25, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Social Sciences·Technology·Society & Culture