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 a one-off tip.

No subscriptions, 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 or watch for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Products I Use for Artifacts

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 AI assistant for audio post production

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 a one-off tip.

No subscriptions, 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 or watch for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Products I Use for Artifacts

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 AI assistant 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 a one-off tip.

No subscriptions, 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 or watch for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Products I Use for Artifacts

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 AI assistant for audio post production

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 a one-off tip.

No subscriptions, 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 or watch for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, their preferred podcast app, or online at Artifacts Podcast.

Products I Use for Artifacts

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 AI assistant for audio post production