The 10 Best Reply All Episodes
Unravel the mysteries of the internet with the classic tech investigation podcast, Reply All, from Spotify’s Gimlet Media. Whether it’s digging into scam call centers in India or figuring out whether Facebook is listening to our conversations, or helping some guy find the long lost song that’s been stuck in his head, Reply All’s hilarious hosts will be there right away with their super tech support and do-anything investigative prowess. In earlier episodes, the co-founder of Gimlet, Alex Blumberg would join the show on occasions for episodes called “Yes, Yes, No” where the hosts would have to explain complicated and weird memes on the internet to him. Originally co-founded and hosted by Alex Goldman and P.J. Vogt, the podcast is now hosted by Alex and Emmanuel Dzotsi after a controversy about systemic racism and toxicity at Gimlet surfaced when a series about racism at Bon Appétit’s Test Kitchen aired. Despite the changes in host, the show has still maintained its quality journalism and quirky streak. To get started with this classic tech and storytelling podcast, try out some of the best Reply All episodes below recommended by Podyssey’s community of podcast lovers.
Last Updated: Mar 18th, 2022
1) #102 Long Distance
Talk to any Reply All fan about their favorite episodes, and they’ll for sure quote the two-part Long Distance series as the best Reply All episodes of all time. The episode starts innocently enough when host Alex Goldman picks up a call from a telephone scammer from India. But known for his infamous Super Tech Support skills, you know that Alex isn’t going to leave things at that. Follow him and PJ on a wild ride from the US to India to trace down who is actually behind the scam calls and what their motivations are. This Reply All’s Long Distance series is the serious (and not so serious) investigative journalism about scam call centers we’ve all been waiting for.
2) #158 The Case of the Missing Hit
Whether it’s Baby Shark or another addictive tune, we all get a musical earworm stuck in our ears once in a while. But what if that earworm is a tune from a song that you think exists, but doesn’t actually exist when you search for it? When a California man rings up Alex and PJ with his Super Tech Support issue, the Reply All crew pulls out all the stops to help solve this weird mystery. Take a trip down nostalgia lane and be prepared to laugh out loud in one of Reply All’s most hilarious and best episodes ever.
3) #109 Is Facebook Spying on You?
You know that creepy feeling when you see a Facebook ad about something you’ve talked about, but never actually searched? Yes, that feeling that Facebook is spying on you. In this episode, Alex will dig deep into technology and corporate America to figure out the pressing question of whether the big blue app is actually eavesdropping on your or if it’s just a figment of our imaginations. Regardless of what the actual answer is, you’ll be guaranteed to learn a ton about the hidden business of consumer data, and won’t be disappointed in this best episode of Reply All.
4) #104 The Case of the Phantom Caller
When the Reply All Super Tech Support needs super tech support, you just know this is going to be one of the best Reply All episodes of all time. An office worker keeps getting weird phone calls from a phantom caller. Each phone call is a mysterious sound like you’re overhearing someone else’s life. Alex Goldman tries for months to break this bizarre case, even calling on his super tech support for help. Get ready for a gripping episode that will have you gasp at every twist and turn of the case.
5) #130 The Snapchat Thief
Lizzie wakes up one day to find her Snapchat account hacked, so what does she do? Call Super Tech Support of course! Alex Goldman doesn’t hesitate a second to roll up his sleeve to crack this strange case. He finds himself diving into dark corners of the internet and enlisting his own hacked buddies turning this case into something much more horrifying that it initially seemed. Don’t say we didn’t warn you, but you might feel extra paranoid after listening to this top Reply All episode.
6) #166 Country of Liars
The mystery of QAnon has captured attention far and wide. The American far-right conspiracy group that reveres QAnon has created a cult of internet followers that have turned US politics upside down. But who is QAnon really and what are their motivations? This best Reply All episode is the big reveal where a guy at the front row seat drops the big secret on who (or what) QAnon actually is. Conspiracy theories usually stay as enigmas, but in this rare case, we get a wide open look at how conspiracies are created from the person closest to its origination.
7) #112 The Prophet
If you speak to any Reply All fan, they’ll agree that The Prophet is one heck of a crazy episode that should definitely be on your Reply All best episodes list. A woman randomly gets attacked at a train station in Mexico and she soon finds herself becoming the most controversial figure in town. As she seeks out the identity of her attacker, she unexpectedly finds herself thrown into a nutty situation involving a major influencer, Mexican politics, and a whole lot of angry people online. Wild internet stories like this one highlights why Reply All is one of the best storytelling podcasts of all time.
8) #172 The Test Kitchen, Chapter 1
Test Kitchen is the controversial and infamous Reply All series that changed Reply All forever. In 2020, after an uproar about racial discrimination at the food and entertainment magazine Bon Appétit, the Reply All team launched an ambitious in-depth investigation into the magazine’s toxic workplace with this episode as the first of the series. But soon after the initial episodes hit the air, Gimlet employees turned the mirror on the Reply All team exposing the systemic racism and “toxic dynamic at Gimlet” and specifically the Reply All team that paralleled Bon Appétit. As a result, PJ Vogt and Sruthi Pinnamaneni who were at the center of the controversy stepped down from the Reply All team, and the series was pulled midway through the release. Nevertheless, the reporting for Test Kitchen still tells important stories at its core, but what has resulted from this controversy was a bigger lesson about racial equity and workplace culture that we should all learn from.
9) #167 America's Hottest Talkline
This is the first episode with host Emmanuel Dzotsi at the helm of Reply All! America’s Hottest Talkline investigates exactly what the title of the podcast says — America’s hottest talkline (a.k.a. phone sex line). Emmanual digs into the deep mysteries of phone systems to figure out why the heck a sex phone line is getting tied up with government numbers. After all the twists and turns of this episode, the unexpected but endearing ending will have you feel all warm and cozy inside. If you enjoyed the classic Reply All best episodes of the Long Distance series about scam phone calls, you're guaranteed to love this one too!
10) #120 INVCEL
How a shy, queer Canadian woman accidentally invented one of the internet’s most toxic male communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
