Artifacts: Stories from the Emotional History of the Internet – Details, episodes & analysis

Remember Winamp skins? Burned CDs? AIM away messages? The Dreamcast? Those weird little corners of the internet that somehow felt more human than everything online today?

Maybe we don’t actually miss the technology. Maybe we miss how it made us feel.

Artifacts is a podcast about forgotten platforms, dead gadgets, old internet culture, creative communities, and the strange emotional connection we still have to them.

But this isn’t just nostalgia. It’s about why these things mattered.

Why people still defend the Zune.

Why some gamers are still obsessed with the Dreamcast.

Why old forums felt more personal than social media.

Why podcasting used to feel smaller… and maybe more exciting.

Every episode starts with an artifact. And then follows the story underneath it. The people. The feeling. The moment in time. And what it says about who we are now.

Because sometimes the objects fade. But the feeling doesn't.

I’m Danny Brown.

And this is Artifacts.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Season One of Artifacts explores the emotional history of the internet generation. Not just the technology itself, but the feelings attached to it.

The optimism. The weirdness. The creativity.

The sense that the internet once felt smaller.

More personal. More human.

This season:

• the Dreamcast becomes a lost future
• old forums become digital neighbourhoods
• burned CDs become emotional time capsules
• and forgotten corners of the internet remind us what online spaces used to feel like before everything became content

This is Artifacts Season One: Lost Futures.

New episodes weekly.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Before social media feeds, algorithms, and endless scrolling, the internet felt different.

Smaller.

Messier.

More personal.

In Episode 2 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores the strange emotional connection people still have to old internet forums - from recognizable usernames and chaotic communities to forum signatures, inside jokes, and the feeling of belonging to tiny digital neighbourhoods.

Why did these spaces feel so human?

And what did we lose when the internet became optimized for performance, visibility, and engagement instead of connection?

From niche communities and message boards to the emotional texture of the early web, this episode explores why people still miss an internet that was slower, weirder, and more personal.

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

The Dreamcast failed. At least, that’s the official version of the story.

Released on 9/9/99, Sega’s final console lasted only a few short years before disappearing from store shelves forever. But decades later, people still talk about the Dreamcast with a kind of emotional reverence usually reserved for much bigger success stories.

So why does it still matter so much?

In the first episode of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores how the Dreamcast became more than just a game console - it became a symbol of optimism, experimentation, creativity, and a version of the future that never fully arrived.

From Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi to online gaming over dial-up and the strange emotional power of failed technology, this episode explores why some artifacts stay with us long after they disappear.

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Before status updates, before social media profiles, and before we carried the internet in our pockets, there were away messages.

A few lines of text attached to a screen name.

And somehow, they mattered.

In Episode 4 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores how AIM away messages became one of the earliest forms of online self-expression. From song lyrics and inside jokes to cryptic messages aimed at one specific person, away messages gave people a small but meaningful way to tell the world who they were.

But this isn't really a story about instant messaging.

It's a story about identity, connection, and a version of the internet that felt smaller, slower, and more personal.

Why do people still remember away messages decades later?

And what do they reveal about the way we communicated before algorithms, influencers, and personal brands became part of everyday life?

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Before streaming playlists, there were burned CDs.

Carefully curated collections of songs, handwritten track lists, homemade cover art, and hours spent deciding exactly what came next.

In Episode 3 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores why burned CDs became so much more than a way to listen to music. They were expressions of identity, creativity, friendship, and sometimes even love.

From Napster downloads and LimeWire mishaps to the emotional labour of creating the perfect mix, this episode looks at how music discovery used to feel slower, more personal, and more meaningful.

Why do people still remember burned CDs so fondly decades later?

And what happens when convenience replaces effort?

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Standing outside a store at midnight shouldn't be memorable.

And yet, for millions of people, it was.

Before digital downloads, launch day was an event. Whether it was a new console, a highly anticipated game, a blockbuster movie, or a must-have album, midnight launches transformed ordinary purchases into shared experiences.

In Episode 5 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores why people still look back fondly on late-night queues, countdowns, and the excitement of being surrounded by complete strangers who cared about the exact same thing.

From gaming launches and movie premieres to the psychology of anticipation, this episode examines what we gained through convenience, and what we may have lost when everything became instantly available.

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Matt Cundill: Voiceover Artist | Podcast & Radio Personality

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Before we carried the internet in our pockets, it lived in one place.

The family computer.

Whether it sat in the corner of the living room, the spare bedroom, or the family office, it was a shared space where homework, games, emails, music, and late-night internet adventures all happened on the same machine.

In Episode 6 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores what it meant to grow up with a family PC, from negotiating whose turn it was to use the internet to the unforgettable sound of a dial-up modem connecting you to the world.

But this isn't really a story about old computers.

It's about a time when technology brought us together instead of pulling us apart. When the internet was something we shared, discoveries happened by accident, and one computer held the digital fingerprints of an entire family.

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production

Enjoying the show? Support it here.

Before games taught us how to play, there were instruction manuals.

Folded inside the box, they were more than just guides to the controls. They introduced us to new worlds, told stories, shared artwork, and built excitement long before we ever pressed the Start button.

In Episode 7 of Artifacts, Danny Brown explores why video game manuals became such an important part of growing up for a generation of players. From reading them in the car on the way home to studying every screenshot before finally getting to play, these little booklets sparked imagination in ways that today's instant downloads rarely can.

But this isn't really a story about instruction manuals.

It's about anticipation, imagination, and a time when discovering a new world began on paper before it ever appeared on a screen.

Because sometimes the objects fade.

But the feeling doesn’t.

If you enjoy Artifacts, you can support it with either a one-off tip, or become a monthly Archivist.

No commitment - just a simple way to say thanks. Show your support here.

If you enjoy the show, I'd love for you to leave a rating or review on your favourite podcast app!

And please let your friends and other podcasters know they can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Note: these may contain affiliate links, so I get a small percentage of any product you buy when using my link.

My equipment:

• RODE NT1-A large diaphragm condenser mic
• Rodecaster Pro II audio production studio
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Elgato Wave Mic Arm Low Profile

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm podcast hosting, distribution, analytics, and monetization
• Hindenburg Pro recording and editing
• Auphonic mastering tool for audio post production