In this episode of pplpod, we scroll through the turbulent history of TikTok, the platform that redefined social media and sparked a geopolitical crisis. From its addictive "For You" feed to the historic 2026 sale of its US operations, we break down how the app went from a place for lip-syncing to a national security target.

Topics covered:

• The Rise: How ByteDance merged Musical.ly with TikTok to create a cultural juggernaut that surpassed Google as the most popular website by 2021,.

• The Algorithm: A look at the "For You" page, the "heating" tool used to manually promote videos, and the privacy concerns surrounding user data collection,,.

• The Controversy ...