Mashable 101: The creators shaping the internet in 2026
By
Crystal Bell
Digital Culture Editor
Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
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Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Getty Images
For over a decade, Joe Santagato and Frank Alvarez have built their careers around one simple fact: They're genuinely funny together.
The childhood friends from Queens are the hosts of The Basement Yard, their weekly comedy show launched on YouTube in 2015 that has become one of the internet's biggest podcasts, gaining 7.6 million followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, and building an audience across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Patreon. Santagato also brings his own sizable audience to the partnership, with 7.5 million followers alone across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X; Alvarez still hits high with 1.5 million across TikTok, Instagram, and other social channels. That's reach.
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Despite their colossal online fame, what makes Santagato and Alvarez stand out is that they've resisted the pressure to turn their podcast into something bigger, more polished, or more serious than it needs to be. The show rarely focuses on politics, self-help, or celebrity gossip. Instead, it thrives on the chemistry between two lifelong friends arguing about a vast array of topics, telling stories, and spiraling into absurd tangents.
In 2026, that dynamic translated into major growth. The duo toured nationally with their From the Basement to the World live show, sold out major venues like Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden, and won Best Overall Ensemble at the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards. They also made a memorable appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers after winning the People “Sexiest Podcasters” reader poll.
Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
