This is the story of the social media app that changed the face of the internet before it crashed and burned in just three short years. Vine was the future - until it wasn’t. How did a platform so popular and beloved just disappear? Like any self-respecting chronically-online person, Benedict Townsend needed answers. In this 8-part series he tracks down Vine’s founders, social media power players and some of the most famous Vine creators to find out what really happened. What he found? A bizarre story of genius, chaos, and betrayal—and the blueprint for everything that came next. If you want to understand TikTok, or the modern internet itself, you need to understand Vine.
Contact us: vinepod@global.com
If you enjoyed Vine: 6 Seconds that Changed the World, we think you'll love Explosive Lies - your next podcast binge.
Jim McCormick was a cocky English salesman with an outrageous claim: a black plastic gadget that could sniff out bombs using “electromagnetic energy.” The science was pure fiction. But in the panic after 9/11, governments bought the lie - paying up to $60,000 for a device that started life as a $20 novelty golf-ball finder.
McCormick sold hope to armies and security forces across the globe. But hope turned deadly. Behind the deals were fragmented friendships, betrayals, and a truth so dangerous it would take years to drag into the light.
Alice Levine uncovers the jaw-dropping story of a con that likely cost countless lives - and the unlikely people who stopped at nothing to uncover the truth.
All episodes available now on Global Player (https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42L5Lt/) or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for 'Explosive Lies'.
Explosive Lies is a Global Original podcast, produced by Forest Sounds in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.
16 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Did We Bring Back Vine?
Evan Henshaw-Plath discusses his creation of diVine, an open-source successor to Vine, and how it differs from Elon Musk's AI-driven revival, in an interview with Benedict and Mary.
30 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
Introducing: Coining It
Lewis Goodall introduces "Coining It," a podcast about a man who exploits a Bitcoin glitch, exploring the consequences of limitless money in this interview.
6 May 2025TRANSCRIPT
8. Famous
Host Benedict Townsend examines Vine's cultural impact and explores the reasons behind the app's shutdown, revealing missed opportunities and its lasting legacy on internet creators.
6 May 2025TRANSCRIPT
7. The Battle of Vine Street
Vine's leadership faces a million-dollar demand from top creators in a high-stakes meeting, threatening the platform's stability and future collaboration.
29 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
6. VIVs (Very Important Viners)
Karyn, Vine’s Head of Creators, faces open revolt from creators and circling competition as she attempts a full-scale reinvention to save the app at a glittering Hollywood party.
29 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
5. Do It For The Vine
Hosts Benedict Townsend and Mary Goodhart explore the growing tensions between Vine creators and leadership, revealing the struggle for control and monetization that ultimately led to the platform's downfall.
29 Apr 2025
4. Not Demure
This episode explores how Vine's growing influence led to competition and plagiarism, as opportunistic newcomers sought to game the system, impacting creators.
22 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
1. Who Killed Vine?
Launched in 2013 after an early buyout by Twitter, Vine quickly grew into one of the fastest growing platforms on the internet. The app created an entirely new category of online content: short, user-generated videos. It became the home of online creativity, birthed beloved memes and viral trends, and introduced a whole new generation of celebrity: the influencer. So, how did an app that was ten steps ahead die only three years after launch?
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator
Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer
Patrick Lee - Sound Design & Score
Chris Janes - Mix
Lucy Chisholm Batten - Legal
Sophie Snelling - Executive Producer
Al Riddel - Head of Factual Podcasts
Vicky Etchells - Director of Podcasts
Archive acknowledgments:
CBS Sunday Morning/'From 2005: Four young internet entrepreneurs'/CBS News
Jawed Karim/‘Me at the zoo’/YouTube
Channel 4 News Theme/‘Best Endeavours’/Alan Hawkshaw
Channel 4 News/’A year of Vine: the six second videos rivalling Twitter and Instagram’
The Fox News Channel Theme/‘The Five’
FOX 5/’CEO Chris Dessi Discusses Vine on Fox 5’/Brayden Shanks/The Fox News Channel
PacificRimVideoPress/’Vine Famous Jake Paul Interview about Getting Girls, High School, Fave Shoes & More!’
Pop Trigger/’Breaking: Twitter Officially Shutting Down Vine’
FOX 4 Now/’Twitter Kills Vine App’/The Fox News Channel
Sky News/’TikTok to be banned in the US from Sunday, Supreme Court rules’
BBC News/’Donald Trump’s inauguration set to take place’
NBC News/’TikTok is back up again in the U.S. following a shutdown overnight’
Mark Zuckerberg/’Mark Zuckerberg announces the end of Meta's fact-checking program in the United States’/Facebook
Artwork acknowledgments:
Cathleen Dovolis
Brandon Moore
B Bowen
Nicholas Fraser
James Morosky
Ava Ryan
22 Apr 2025
3. Subway to Stardom
Vine is quickly becoming one of the world’s most downloaded apps, carving out a unique online identity. In this episode, some of Vine’s earliest creators share how luck, form, and strategy determined viral success and how they navigated the uncharted waters of online fame.
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator
Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer
Patrick Lee - Sound Design & Score
Chris Janes - Mix
Lucy Chisholm Batten - Legal
Sophie Snelling - Executive Producer
Al Riddel - Head of Factual Podcasts
Vicky Etchells - Director of Podcasts
Artwork acknowledgments:
Cathleen Dovolis
Brandon Moore
B Bowen
Nicholas Fraser
James Morosky
Ava Ryan
22 Apr 2025
2. Vine Street Confidential
The term “influencer” has entered the mainstream, in large part due to the frat house ecosystem of Viners established by brothers Logan and Jake Paul. In this episode, Benedict and Mary search for one of Vine’s elusive founders, whose idea to simplify mobile video editing transformed modern internet culture. We want to trace Vine back to its very inception, understand who funded it, forged it in fire, and what happened the day Twitter came knocking.
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator
Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer
Patrick Lee - Sound Design & Score
Chris Janes - Mix
Lucy Chisholm Batten - Legal
Sophie Snelling - Executive Producer
Al Riddel - Head of Factual Podcasts
Vicky Etchells - Director of Podcasts
Archive acknowledgements:
ABC News/‘Meet the Vine Stars Who Turn 6 Seconds of Fame into Big Bucks’
PacificRimVideoPress/’Vine Famous Jake Paul Interview about Getting Girls, High School, Fave Shoes & More!’
HLN/’Logan Paul: How to be Vine-famous in 6 seconds’/CNN Worldwide
60 Minutes Overtime/’Social media influencer Logan Paul talks to "60 Minutes”’/CBS News
Squawk Alley/’Jake Paul Talks Transitioning From Vine Star To Disney Star’/CNBC
Netflix Sports/’Jake Paul Wins | Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson’/Netflix
Artwork acknowledgments:
Cathleen Dovolis
Brandon Moore
B Bowen
Nicholas Fraser
James Morosky
Ava Ryan
16 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World - Coming soon - Subscribe now!
Do you remember Vine? The six-second video app that sparked a cultural revolution, launched careers, and laid the foundation for today’s TikTok obsession? In Vine: Six Seconds That Changed the World, comic and host Benedict Townsend takes you deep inside the rise and sudden fall of the internet’s most chaotic, creative playground.
Featuring exclusive interviews with Vine creators, tech insiders, and even a co-founder, this investigative series uncovers the shocking truth behind Vine’s mysterious shutdown. Was it just a money issue—or something more sinister? Blackmail, betrayal, profit over art... the real story is wilder than any meme.
If you’re a fan of internet culture, digital history, or just want to know why your favourite app disappeared without a trace, this is the podcast for you.
🎧 First episodes launching April 23rd.
Available on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.
Inside a recent episode
Introducing: Explosive Lies
Published 31 Jan 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] This scam isn't like the ones that you've heard before targeting vulnerable people. This one fooled governments and security services around the world. People who should definitely know better. How can you go out there and say to people, keep using these devices? Knowing that people are dying every day, you know, I just don't know how they can do that. Incredibly, Jim convinced them that a cheap golf ball finder sold as a stocking filler was in fact a world -class life -saving bomb detector. He used pseudoscience to fall extremely powerful people. You pull out the air without the device and you flick your wrist and it just moves whichever you want it to. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
