The Manosphere and the Alpha Male Content Trap

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Manosphere and the Alpha Male Content Trap

Podcast Information:

• Title: How Is This Better?
• Host: Akilah Hughes
• Episode: The Manosphere and the Alpha Male Content Trap
• Release Date: July 18, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "The Manosphere and the Alpha Male Content Trap," Akilah Hughes delves deep into the pervasive online ecosystems that prey on men seeking guidance, self-improvement, or merely entertainment. This episode critically examines how these digital pipelines exploit vulnerabilities, promoting toxic masculinity under the guise of empowerment.

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Understanding the Manosphere and Alpha Male Ideologies

Akilah begins by unpacking the concept of the manosphere, a network of blogs, forums, and social media channels that propagate ideas centered around male dominance and supremacy. These platforms often promise men a path to personal success, wealth, and desirable relationships but frequently embed misogynistic and manipulative ideologies.

Denny Carter, a writer and podcaster, highlights the adaptability of men within these hierarchies:

"Men have become more and more well adapted, not only to the presence of the male dominance hierarchy, but to the ability to move up it." [00:30]

This assertion underscores how deeply ingrained these hierarchies have become, making it challenging for men to resist or recognize their pervasive influence.

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Influencers and Role Models: The Blurred Lines

A significant portion of the episode focuses on influential figures within the manosphere, particularly Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan. These personalities serve as both role models and gatekeepers of the modern alpha male persona.

Adam Mochler, a 22-year-old political content creator, discusses the seductive nature of these influencers:

"The idea that that's the beacon of masculinity is like just a social media facade." [00:58]

Mochler elaborates on how figures like Tate present a polished yet hollow version of masculinity, captivating young men who yearn for direction and validation.

Denny Carter further critiques this phenomenon:

"To be the alpha, to be attractive, the best thing you can do is to wear your Trump support on your sleeve. Show that you are a real man, show that you are not a Beta." [00:48]

This conflation of political allegiance with masculinity creates a narrow and often damaging blueprint for what it means to "be a man."

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Social Media's Role in Fueling the Pipeline

The episode delves into how social media algorithms are instrumental in guiding men down these destructive paths. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are engineered to maximize user engagement, often pushing content that reinforces existing beliefs and behaviors.

Denny Carter notes the insidious nature of these algorithms:

"The algorithm... will feed you into the Andrew Tate's, into the Joe Rogans and you're down the rabbit hole, you know, before you know it." [04:15]

This algorithmic steering ensures that once a user engages with a seemingly benign piece of content, they're swiftly ushered into more extreme and polarized content, deepening their entanglement in toxic ideologies.

Adam Mochler emphasizes the continuous loop created by these algorithms:

"I Feel like on a TikTok, it's especially brutal... You create a feedback loop where you give them more content that will keep them on the app over and over and over." [08:09]

Such loops make it increasingly difficult for users to escape once they've been drawn in, perpetuating cycles of misinformation and harmful ideologies.

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Impact on Men: Loneliness, Mental Health, and Unrealistic Standards

One of the most compelling sections of the episode addresses the psychological toll these online pipelines exact on men. The propagation of unrealistic standards and the stigmatization of emotional vulnerability contribute to a crisis of loneliness and self-worth.

Denny Carter poignantly states:

"Men are not okay. Most men don't have any friends, and everyone is online." [12:31]

This isolation makes men more susceptible to accepting simplistic and toxic solutions offered by the manosphere, falsely promising fulfillment through dominance and superficial success.

E.J. Dixon, a commentator on the subject, adds:

"They just automatically resort to, well, you're lying about. Women are lying about this... like, no, you actually do want this." [19:20]

This defensive backlash against contrary opinions reinforces a fragile sense of self, where acceptance isn't about genuine self-improvement but adherence to a rigid and often unattainable standard.

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Critique of Alpha Male Routines and Ideals

Akilah critically examines the daily routines and self-improvement hacks promoted within these communities, highlighting their often absurd and counterproductive nature.

For instance, the episode discusses extreme practices like:

• Dunking one's face in water at 3 AM to embody toughness.
• Rubbing bananas on the face as part of a superficial beauty regimen.

Denny Carter sharply criticizes these acts:

"That looks like the most miserable life imaginable to me. Like that video, like, waking up, dunking your face in water, like, doing that whole beauty routine... have I lost my mind?" [12:02]

These routines are portrayed as misguided attempts to forge a stronger identity, often resulting in more harm than good by promoting an unattainable and shallow version of masculinity.

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Intersection with Political Ideologies: Left vs. Right

The episode explores how right-wing ideologies intertwine with the manosphere, complicating efforts for the left to counteract these toxic narratives.

Adam Mochler discusses the challenges faced by left-leaning voices in these spaces:

"How does the left actually compete in that way? I think you're right. There is a purity test culture, especially the further left you go." [21:48]

He emphasizes the importance of the left engaging authentically in these spaces without alienating potential allies through rigid or exclusionary tactics.

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Conclusion and Insights

Akilah Hughes wraps up the episode with a powerful condemnation of the manosphere's influence:

"The Internet has swindled a lot of men out of happiness and community by putting insane pressure on them to be ignorant exactly one way." [17:22]

She advocates for authentic human connection and self-improvement outside the toxic frameworks imposed by these online pipelines. Hughes emphasizes that true fulfillment comes from genuine relationships and personal growth rather than adherence to harmful and superficial standards.

In her final remarks, she encourages listeners to seek real human interactions:

"Being a good person and touching grass is a superior method for figuring out who you are and building a life worth living." [20:18]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Denny Carter: "Men have become more and more well adapted, not only to the presence of the male dominance hierarchy, but to the ability to move up it." [00:30]
• Adam Mochler: "The idea that that's the beacon of masculinity is like just a social media facade." [00:58]
• Denny Carter: "To be the alpha, to be attractive, the best thing you can do is to wear your Trump support on your sleeve." [00:48]
• E.J. Dixon: "They just automatically resort to, well, you're lying about. Women are lying about this." [19:20]
• Denny Carter: "That looks like the most miserable life imaginable to me." [12:02]
• Akilah Hughes: "Being a good person and touching grass is a superior method for figuring out who you are and building a life worth living." [20:18]

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Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a critical examination of how digital platforms and influential figures within the manosphere manipulate and trap men into harmful ideologies. Akilah Hughes effectively highlights the urgent need for genuine community, emotional openness, and authentic self-improvement as antidotes to the corrosive effects of the alpha male content trap.

For those seeking a deeper understanding of these dynamics, this episode provides a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of the challenges facing modern masculinity in the digital age.

Transcript

[Akilah Hughes]

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[Denny Carter]

Men have become more and more well adapted, not only to the presence of the male dominance hierarchy, but to the ability to move up it.

[E.J. Dixon]

Women pretend what they want is the.

[Unknown]

Beta, but what they actually want is the alpha.

[Adam Mochler]

There's this weird line that's blurred in the manosphere's face where you can't tell when somebody is doing a bit or when somebody is being genuine.

[Denny Carter]

To be the alpha, to be attractive, the best thing you can do is to wear your Trump support on your sleeve. Show that you are a real man, show that you are not a Betta.

[Adam Mochler]

But the idea that that's the beacon of masculinity is like just a social media facade.

[Unknown]

Okay, this is the second of a two part episode. Our first on the Tradwife aesthetic and women's wellness pipeline is on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, this one is on the guys. And I have to tell you, it took a lot for me to write this episode. The problems with men who've been sucked into these pipelines online are so vast and endless, it's almost impossible to tell the story in full and with adequate levels of pity, empathy and outrage at just how extreme all of this has become. Still, if you've spent any time online in the past decade, you've seen the momentum growing in the manosphere, telling men and vulnerable little boys that they too can have it all. And their idea of it all means silent baby, making wife mommies, and making more money than God by being more efficient than computers. It's a fool's errand and total farce. But if you have the time and and in many cases money to become isolated and undesirable to everyone around you, you're the perfect mark in this ongoing con. I'm Akilah Hughes and this week I'm looking at the dangerous online pipeline directed at men who were simply looking for health advice or gaming clips, and how the smallest amount of curiosity can lead to, frankly deadly results. And asking, how is this?

You know, what you see on your social media timelines that's ingrained in boys, you know, very early in life is that like, girls share stuff, girls share their feelings, right? If you want to be a girl, go ahead and do that. Right? And of course, being a girl is the worst thing in the world when you're a boy. But if you want to be a boy, if you want to be a man, eventually you keep those things inside. You don't talk about them, especially not in public spaces, you know, and that gets hammered home very early.

This is Denny Carter, a [e-mail] and a fantasy football writer and podcaster for NBC Sports. He spent plenty of time in male dominated spaces online and off. And I wanted to talk to him about how the alpha male messaging breaks through there.

I do think that the stuff you see on social media about how to optimize your life, how to make your life perfect, sort of reinforces those messages that you receive early in life that you can achieve happiness if you just do this and that and this. But certainly not sharing, you know, your feelings, right? Not talking about important issues to you, to your family, you know, that stuff has to stay repressed, you know.

Absolutely. And the sort of idea that like being a woman is about community and girlfriends and all of that and being a guy is about like a solo male journey that like only you alone would understand. Okay, so I'm curious if there is a particular esthetic or vibe that makes this kind of content go from just like harmless life advice from someone you maybe kind of trust to something more politically coded.

Yeah, well, I mean, the political coding of optimization culture is definitely toward the right. If you're clicking on those videos and on those articles, it's going. The algorithm, Wherever it is, YouTube, say, will feed you into the Andrew Tate's, into the Joe Rogans and you're down the rabbit hole, you know, before.

Before you know it, Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan are at opposite ends of the full spectrum of the very narrow ideas of masculinity presented through this ideology. The though Rogan is infinitely more popular and well known than Tate, they're not so different, right? Both have backgrounds in martial arts, with Andrew Tate being a career kickboxer CTE almost for certain, and Joe Rogan being a UFC commentator. But guys see Rogan as aspirational because he makes millions of dollars stonily talking to other rich men, routinely complaining in a hypnotizing, multi hour, limited editing, podcast format. It's a stand in for intimacy and friendship from a guy you wish was your friend. If Joe Rogan is a thinker then for a lot of these men, Andrew Tate is a doer. And despite the things he's done, namely sex trafficking and rape allegations landing him in jail and banned from several countries, he still is a role model for men who feel entitled to women in the way that he boasts about. Tate is allegedly wealthy from a few key streams of income. Being a webcam pimp, tricking or convincing young women to engage in sex work on camera and give him the winnings.

He.

He claims he makes $600,000 per month this way. And also from selling courses from his Hustler University, now renamed therealworld.net on how to get in shape, get rich, and use that to get women to become webcam models for pay. I'm sure any day now he'll add in courses about emotional maturity and having a personality beyond subjugating women. But I digress. For a guy searching for completely benign health gaming or dating information online, both of these men are just a few clicks away in the algorithm.

[Adam Mochler]

It starts off with young dudes who are looking up advice online. So say you're a young dude and you need dating advice. A lot of young dudes at some point need dating advice. Inevitably you get sucked down into this red pill pipeline and you're watching Andrew Tate and you're like, what the hell?

[Unknown]

This is adam Mochler, a 22 year old political content creator who's been to more than 50 Trump rallies to debate Trump supporters to their face. He now runs a breaking news show that is the largest left lean Gen z show on YouTube. And I wanted to talk to him because he's the demographic that the alt right pipelines are directly trying to trap.

[Adam Mochler]

If you want to work out, you want to work out all the time and get into a good routine. I'll eventually see like RFK Jr. In my feed. So it's a pipeline, they bring you down it and hit you with a bunch of volume. It's kind of really potent across generations and genders. There's a new study that mothers, a lot of like new mothers get caught up in this health pipeline that therefore brings them into this anti vaxx pipeline. Yeah, it's not like super, super common, but it's getting increasingly common in the digital age for you new mothers or young women to also get sucked up in a similar like pipeline. And it's just starts off with being interested in like yoga videos online. Then you're watching a video that's like, did you know that these supplements have these ingredients? It's like oh, that's probably true. This is bad for you. And it's, it's the same thing. It's a pipeline. Now it is extra potent for young men because I have friends who are watching gaming videos and then a few weeks later I see them liking Nick Fuentes videos. Because on Instagram you can see when somebody likes something, their. Their Instagram profile picture pops up when they. Like a reel.

[Unknown]

That's right, yeah.

[Adam Mochler]

So I see my friends liking reels and I can see the pipeline happening through Instagram. I'm like, wow, this person is liking some crazy reels when just a few years ago they were normal.

[Unknown]

Yeah. And I think that, like, what's unfortunate for I think especially young people is that there's sometimes not an awareness that like the algorithm is like, is trying get you to stay there is this, like, I think, delusion that we have a real choice in what we're doing online and that we're like discovering things and that makes us feel like, oh, well, I should keep going because I found this. And it's like they want you to see that. Like anything you're seeing on Instagram, they want you to see it because enough people saw it and they know that you'll stay there.

[Adam Mochler]

It is hyper tailored to keep you on the app because the end goal of any app, whether it's Facebook or YouTube or Instagram, is to keep you on their app for the longest amount of time. If you're owning Instagram, you don't want Instagram users to swipe over to TikTok and get bored. So as they scroll, you create a feedback loop where you give them more content that will keep them on the app over and over and over. And it's really potent. I feel like on a TikTok, it's especially brutal. I like a reel about something completely unrelated to all the other reels. And when I scroll, the next reel is about that. Like, if I went on and I liked a reel about the new Superman movie, I'd scroll down and the next reel would be about the Superman movie over and over and over.

[Unknown]

Right. And so it's like they really figured out how to just keep us in place. And I think that it's hard, hard for the left to compete with that because, like, I think a lot of the, like, facts and being reasonable, all of that is not necessarily like a sticky or loud or, you know, exceptional kind of content. Like, it is just sort of like, oh, but we already know that. I want the thing that's like, you know, black tar heroin I want to see the thing that's like, women should live in cages, you know?

After a quick break, we'll get into the idea of real men, the routines they're being sold and the cynical and small visions that they have for themselves and the world.

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[Denny Carter]

Don't eat soup in public, you don't cross your legs, and you don't drink from a straw. And one of the reasons you don't drink from a straw is because the way your lips purse, it's very effeminate.

[Unknown]

Jesse Watters at Fox News really wants you to think he's a hashtag manly man and that he is somehow a role model or gatekeeper for masculinity. And sure, his day job is riddled with so called femininity between sitting all day, having someone brush his hair and do his makeup like a pretty princess and how upset he gets when anyone disagrees with him. But men are looking for role models, and guys on the right, not unlike Waters, are eager to fill their pockets by filling that void. Just look at Ashton Hall, a man with loads of muscle making the same video every day of waking up earlier than necessary to fill out an Excel sheet he deems important.

So looking at it, bro, we gotta.

Go ahead and get in at least 10,000, dunk his face in water and have a disembodied woman clean up after him so he can do his workout routine and deem himself more valuable because of it. He's now getting major studio brand deals thanks to his over the top view of what being a man is. And that's conflicting for me. Because these same types of men say they want to go back to a sort of 1950s traditionalism, even when their grandparents weren't taping their mouths shut to sleep or drinking gallons of water every day. Here's Denny Carter again.

That looks like the most miserable life imaginable to me. Like that, that video, like, waking up, dunking your face in water, like, doing that whole beauty routine, rubbing bananas on your face, right? I mean, first of all, at some point, you got to stop. You're holding a banana peel, rubbing on your face, and you gotta say, have I lost my mind?

Right?

What's going on with me inside to think that I need to be doing this nonsense, right? And I think, you know, a guy like that is selling the idea of, like, drudgery as happiness. Because all of that stuff in that. In that video that went viral is drudgery. Exercising, like, to an extreme degree, right? Waking up in the middle of the night wearing tape on your mouth and all this stuff, like, what is the point, is my question. You want to have a happy life? This cannot be the path to your happy life.

I mean, that's made me think two things, I guess. The first one is, like, we live.

In a time where people are talking about this male loneliness crisis. It's like, men are not okay. Most men don't have any friends, and everyone is online. And so you see this guy whose entire routine is alone all day, but he's, like, happy, you know, or like, he's, like, projecting, like, success, I guess. Do you think that that's part of it? Is like, if I was just a guy who was alone all the time, it's like, okay, but I could be alone and doing this. And that's something.

That's a good point. I. I had not thought of it that way, but, yeah, I. I guess that would appeal to a man who sits at home all day and scrolls social media feeds and maybe, you know, bets on sports and watches sports and eats and drinks and goes to bed and does it all the next day, right? That's a lonely life, you know, and a lonely existence. You know, guys who are in that situation, and there are a lot of them, especially young guys, are really looking to anyone for guidance on how to be better and how to have a better, happier life. And if there's a guy on your timeline who's saying, do these things, Wake up at three in the morning and exercise and dunk your face in water and all this stuff, they might try it, they might follow it, because, hey, at least someone's giving me some direction, right? These guys, young guys especially, are directionless. If I could just suggest, if there are young guys listening right now, the best thing you can do is get out there and like find some folks to hang around and to spend time with consistently. Like, as a human being, you were not designed to be isolated all day, every day, and that makes you sad.

The other thought I had in all of this is like, you know, just going back to the, like you're rubbing banana peels, your face, you're dunking your face in water. We have this interesting juxtaposition right now where I think a lot of men who would subscribe to someone like Ashton hall would say something to the effect of, we gotta go back to the 1950s. You know, real men used to do this, that and the other. And now we're all like soy boys. We're not, we're not tough, whatever. But nobody's grandpa was rubbing bananas on their face, right? So how did they square that, do you think? Like, is it, is it just capitalism? Is it just like. Well, it's something to buy.

That's a great, amazing question because I've always thought, well, you want to go back to the 50s, which is all. I think the 50s is like a shorter way of saying, like a time of extremes, cultural and societal repression. But, and, and you're right though. Look, if you're a guy, if you're a man's man in 1955, you know what you're not doing? You're not drinking any water.

Never.

You're drinking, you're drinking bourbon and you're drinking whole milk.

And that's smells crazy in your head.

You make up your mind. You want to be, you want to be a tough guy. No more water for you. No more five gallon jugs, right?

And never from a bottle.

No, go get a hose.

But yeah, I mean, there are, there are heavier parts of this conversation in that the desire to go back to a time of repression is, that's really dark, right? I mean, you shouldn't be wanting that, you shouldn't be desiring that. Except for the promise. And these are all promises, these are all being sold to you, right? As a young man, the promise that you could have what your father had and what your grandfather had. And honestly guys, it wasn't all that great. You're right. It is like a mix of like hyper optimized, futuristic, capitalistic excess combined with the promise of yesteryear, you know, where, you know, we can return you to your grandfather's throne, like Your grandfather wasn't on a throne. He was working a 9 to 5 and coming home and drinking bourbon, going to sleep.

Exactly. He didn't. He if he could have slept in, he would have chosen that.

He would.

[Adam Mochler]

He would have.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

Next up, we're asking 3am Wake up calls and expensive sparkling water face baths. To what end?

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Edu beyond the absolute maze of hypocrisies and ideology and the obvious grift if the end goal is for all of these things to lead to success and having women, why does it seem like only men could be into this? Even though both men and women can see the appeal of tradwives? Like, who is this for?

Do you think that this is supposed to be rage bait? Like, do you think that he is aware of it being that like. Or it's just extreme in a very specific direction so that people will interact with it.

[E.J. Dixon]

I don't think it's supposed to be rage bait, but that's only because I've read a couple interviews with him, like after that initial one went viral, and I got the sense just from reading those interviews that he was in earnest. I definitely think it's supposed to be sensationalized. It's engagement bait for sure.

[Unknown]

That's E.J. dixon. You'll remember her from the last episode where we talked about Tradwives. She's also pretty well versed in this alpha male pipeline.

[E.J. Dixon]

But I mean, waking up at 3am and sticking your face in $8 carbonated spring water with ice in it, like that's not something that people do, obviously, right? And it's something that's gonna get a lot of eng. I get the sense that he thinks that is genuinely how the ideal man should live.

[Unknown]

And.

[E.J. Dixon]

And that he feels that his audience shares that sentiment.

[Unknown]

I'm just curious because I've watched far too many of them at this point in research for this. I'm not a fan, no offense to him. It's just I'm not the target demo. But, like, do you see any irony in how these sort of male optimization alpha male type videos seem to miss the mark on what women are looking for in men?

[E.J. Dixon]

Oh, I think about it all the time. I think it's so funny.

[Unknown]

And you.

[E.J. Dixon]

And you'll see it all the time. Like, you'll see these tweets or these, like, posts go viral where women are like, no, we don't want this. Like, we want that. And there'll be a picture of like, Seth Rogen or, you know, somebody else.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[E.J. Dixon]

And all of these men in the replies will just be like, she is lying. Like, they cannot possibly repeat their minds around the prospect that they are being sold a fallacy of, you know, what the ideal man is supposed to look like, that they just resort to bitches be lying. Yeah, I definitely noticed the irony and I think it's very funny that men don't even try to understand it. They just automatically resort to, well, you're lying about. Women are lying about this. Like, no, you actually do want this. Even if it would take the pressure off them even so slightly. They just assume that women are lying.

[Unknown]

It's like a level of self loathing almost where it's like, no, I'm not good enough and you're lying to me. Would you say that I actually could just show up with the body that I have? But it's also, it's like short sighted in that, like, most women are not with guys who look like Ashton hall who, like, just have, like the most giant muscular backs for, like, no reason. Like, it's just sort of their own fantasy of it.

So what we're left with is a bunch of fake hacks for how to optimize your lonely, manly man life, devoid of female input and companionship, being shoved down the throats of young, impressionable men who maybe just wanted to start a gym routine. Here's Adam again.

[Adam Mochler]

I think it's really important that we push back on right wing domination in these spaces because I work out. I know friends that work out or go fishing or do all of these things, and they are absolutely not right wingers. So it just, it's. You have to push back on this stuff and we have to be in these spaces sometimes. I'll play clips of Theo Vaughn on my show or Joe Rogan on my show. And my audience has this very reactionary response where they say, don't even platform Joe Rogan. Why are you even platforming this person? And I'm always like, guys, listen, I know we disagree with Joe Rogan. I know he said some things in the past, but he has a massive audience of people who are just apolitical. The idea that I can't show a clip of him talking about politics. And by the way, the clip was him disagreeing with Trump and saying that Trump is going too far. I'm like, you guys can't be so reactionary where I can't even have these conversations. I can't show clips of Theo Vaughn, someone called Theo Vaughan, like a fascist. And I'm like, okay, listen, Theo Vaughn is probably a little bit not smart on politics, but I don't think he's a fascist. I think he's just not smart.

[Unknown]

Yeah, he's like uneducated.

[Adam Mochler]

He's uneducated. And also he's pretty empathetic at some points. I've seen him talk about certain issues like Gaza, and he seems empathetic. I just think we sometimes push people out of these coalitions in a way that we shouldn't when it comes to maybe fitness or comedy. And I'm not trying to place all of the onus on Democrats. I would never do that, of course. But I think it's worth pointing out.

[Unknown]

How does the left actually compete in that way? Because I think you're right. There is a purity test culture, especially the further left you go. And look, I consider myself pretty left, but it's like, I think that that's a major downfall of any sort of progressive movement is being like, well, they don't agree on this, so they're out. And it's like, okay, but we actually need them. Like, this is about numbers, guys. You only win with numbers. You can't lose your way into the future you want.

[Adam Mochler]

And even if we don't agree completely, conversation is important. Part of the reason why Joe Rogan was able to sway his audience so right is because the lack of left leaning voices. Now that could have Joe's casting crew only picking right wing voices. I don't know the full setup there, but I can say with certainty that if Pete Buttigieg was on there with the same frequency that Elon Musk was on there, that Pete Buttigieg would be winning over a lot of voters. He's good at what he does. He Goes on to Fox News, and he's great at what he does. I think it's important that we get in these spaces. We act like normal human beings. We don't shout people down or like finger wag. Sometimes the finger waggy gets a little bit too far. And there are cases where we should finger wag. Like when people are defending racism or doing insane stuff. Like, there should be a way where we can punch back in an edgy way, but we're punching up. And in defense of trans people, in defense of minorities, rather than being obnoxious in defense of people. And I hate to say that, but, like, I feel like some people on the left at times can be purity testy or obnoxious when it's like, yo, we have the right position. If you really want freedom, let trans people be free to live their lives. And, you know, just explain it like that.

[Unknown]

One major change in the alpha male space online has been the complete erasure of women altogether. The 2010s misogyny of the Internet was filled with men blaming women for withholding the sex they were rightly owed. Ew. But look today. And something even more sinister and addictive is being pushed in these groups. The idea that every shortcoming is something you've done wrong by being too poor or out of shape or bald or whatever you know you need to be looks maxing, as the boys are calling it. And that if you spend more and more money to obtain these superficial things, you won't find partnership on the other end, but you will find ways to manipulate the kinds of women you're attracted to, namely for these same shallow traits, into being subservient to you. Look, I'm not saying one is better than the other. And if you ask me, both ideologies can be floated out to sea and sunk to to the bottom of the ocean. But it's worth noting. In a time when AI girlfriends are increasing in popularity, isolation is on the rise, and inequality based contempt seems to be the baseline of communication online. I could go on and on forever about the sad state of manhood in 2025 and how remarkable men who somehow dodge this shit are, considering it's everywhere. But for now, let me just say none of this is better. I hate to be on a soapbox, but the idea that men or women are thriving under the boot of patriarchy, that seems willing and able to generate more and more rules for the correct performance of gender is impossible. There's probably never been a utopic era on earth where men and women had perfect relationships, but we're certainly in the dark ages for human connection, and the Internet has swindled a lot of men out of happiness and community by putting insane pressure on them to be ignorant exactly one way. As if Andrew Tate's criminal ass has figured anything out in any real way. Look, we're all just searching for answers, man, and good ones are harder than ever to come by. But I kinda think being a good person and touching grass is a superior method for figuring out who you are and building a life worth living. Thank you for listening to or watching. How is this this Better? Have you been enjoying the show? Great. Please leave a rating, preferably five stars and review to let us know what you think. We'd love to hear from you and it's gonna help introduce our new show to more people. Finally. Follow, subscribe, whatever they're calling it on your platform of choice. Or frankly, all the platforms Apple, Spotify, Courier's, YouTube. That way you won't miss any new episodes. Thanks and we'll catch you next time. How Is this Better? Is written and hosted by me, Akilah Hughes. It's produced by Devin Maroney and edited by Shane Berkest. Courier's national Managing Director and Executive producer is Kevin Dreyfus. RC Demezzo is their VP of Brand and Social, and Charlotte Robertson is the Deputy Director of Brand and Social. Tracy Kaplan is senior Vice President of Sales and Distribution and Marianne Kuga is Director of Marketing. Show artwork by Danielle Del Plato and original theme music is by Used People People.