Podcast Summary: "What's the Solve?"

Podcast: Incels (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode: Season 1, Episode 11
Air Date: December 3, 2025
Host: Courtney Armstrong
Key Guests: Weezy (sports therapist), Katie Greer (digital safety expert)

Episode Overview

In this pivotal episode, the Incels podcast turns toward hope and prevention, focusing squarely on actionable solutions to the spread of incel ideology among young men. Drawing on firsthand observations, family strategies, and digital safety expertise, the episode offers listeners clear guidance on recognizing early warning signs, practical intervention points, and ongoing ways to support vulnerable youth—before anger and isolation calcify into hate.

Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. Early Warning Signs and the Lure of Incel Communities

With Guest: Weezy, Sports Therapist
Timeframe: 02:52–16:50

• Personal Story: Weezy recounts her close online mentorship of a young man who gradually embraced incel beliefs after facing repeated romantic rejection and social setbacks in college.
• Progression of Incel Mindset:
  • Initially, her client sought typical fitness and lifestyle advice (06:11).
  • As romantic disappointments mounted, his self-reflection disappeared and blame shifted entirely onto women, with no self-accountability (07:30–08:10).
  • Misogynistic talking points from popular influencers began to enter his everyday language (08:24–09:53).
• Subtle Beginnings, Rapid Snowball:
  • The transition from hurt to hate often starts small—one or two bitter comments—but can quickly overtake a young man’s worldview (09:53).
  • "It's weird how fast it happens. It seems like it's become his personality. He talks like them...And whenever he gets rejected, it's this long diatribe about how women just don't want to be treated right." – Weezy (09:53)
• Predatory Communities:
  • Online groups and “red pill” influencers exploit and monetize the pain of vulnerable young men, perpetuating both misogyny and isolation (12:10).
  • These groups foster an environment where boys are told their pain will be healed only by dominating or demeaning women.
• Emotional Core and Real Danger:
  • The ultimate source of incel anger is deep loneliness—something that, if addressed with empathy and open conversation, might stop radicalization before it begins (15:05).
  • “Understanding the suicide rates in men, how high they are, is because they feel like they have no one they can come to. That's a problem. There is no reason why someone should be so out of hope that they take their own lives.” – Weezy (15:05)

2. Expert Strategies for Digital Safety and Prevention

With Guest: Katie Greer, KL Greer Consulting
Timeframe: 20:16–43:01

A. Start Early: Tech Conversations in Childhood

• Lead by Example:

  • Parents should model healthy device habits—putting phones away during meals, demonstrating polite tech use (21:01–21:47).
  • “We have to be better about this too if we want our kids to be good at it...Ask yourself, can we be better going forward?” – Katie Greer (21:47)

• Early Learning (Pre-K to 2nd Grade):

  • Set explicit family rules and expectations around devices from the earliest age, much like teaching children to cross the road safely (21:01).
  • Recognize that technology is omnipresent and begin phased, honest conversations early on.

B. Elementary Years: Get Involved, Stay Curious

• Gaming & Online Risk:
  • Parents often underestimate the open nature of modern games; many are unaware their children interact with strangers online through games like Roblox (22:14–23:20).
  • “The amount of parents that don't know what these kids have access to even as early as third grade is...frightening.” – Katie Greer (22:14)
• Research Parental Controls:
  • Use tools and platforms like ChatGPT to understand safety settings for games and apps (23:30).
  • Active engagement—learning alongside your child—is vital.

C. Middle School: Rules and Vigilance

• Bigger Kids, Bigger Problems:
  • With hormonal changes and new freedoms, middle schoolers face increased social and digital pressures (24:48).
  • Initiate more detailed conversations about online experiences and feelings (25:00).
  • “Our kids are being pummeled at that age...with so much information...we got to roll up our sleeves at that point and start to really ask some of the tough questions.” – Katie Greer (25:00)
• Reality of Online Content:
  • Even with filters and age gates, inappropriate content frequently reaches under-16 users (26:18–28:43).
  • Tech companies implement filters, but kids and creators routinely work around them.

D. High School: Written Agreements & Individual Decisions

• Device Contracts:
  • Katie shares her own method: a detailed signed contract outlining not just rules but expectations around politeness and tech etiquette (28:50).
  • Consideration is individualized; every family should weigh needs, maturity, and alternatives before granting full device access (30:31).
  • “It's not a one size fits all...I really implore parents to think about why and why for each member of their household.” – Katie Greer (30:31)
• Parental Regret is Universal:
  • “I've never met a parent that gave their child a device at any age and said, I did that right...I wish I had waited.” – Katie Greer (31:16)

E. Online Gaming & Stranger Danger

• Prevention, Not Panic:
  • Be proactive—parents should learn game settings to control stranger access, voice chats, and location sharing (36:32–37:57).
  • Talk candidly about the (often social) dangers of location sharing; explain both the risks and the social pressure dynamics (37:57–39:28).

F. Breaking the Cycle: Addressing Internet Addiction

• No-Tech vs. Less-Tech:
  • The solution isn’t banning devices, but redirecting toward positive, real-world activities that meet social and emotional needs (41:18).
  • “It's not just about put your phone away, it's about look at the other things that we can do to get the same dopamine hit, but in a different way.” – Katie Greer (41:18)
  • For adults, especially those isolating online well into their twenties, organized offline activities (game nights, family walks, device-free dinners) help reconnect them to real life (41:18–43:01).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Weezy, on the shift in mindset:
  • "It's weird how fast it happens. It seems like it's become his personality." (09:53)
• On empathic intervention:
  • “We need to get to them and just be like, hey, reach your hand out and say, hey, you hurt? I give a shit. Come here.” – Weezy (15:05)
• Katie Greer, on family rules:
  • “I wanted to establish written rules that I wrote that she read and agreed and signed to, to put in writing, which I think is kind of significant and symbolic.” (28:50)
• On location sharing:
  • “Maybe it's healthy as a mom that I know where my kid goes, but it's not healthy that my friends know...that is not healthy.” – Katie Greer (37:57)
• On the myth of perfect timing for devices:
  • “I've never met a parent that gave their child a device at any age and said, I did that right...I wish I had waited.” – Katie Greer (31:16)
• On replacing tech addiction for adults:
  • “It's not just about put your phone away, it's about look at the other things that we can do to get the same dopamine hit, but in a different way.” – Katie Greer (41:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening and Intent: 02:52–04:24
• Weezy’s Story & Early Signs: 04:24–10:00
• Red Pill Community’s Methods: 11:49–13:41
• Emotional Roots & Suicide Risk: 15:05
• Digital Safety Education with Katie Greer: 20:16–43:01
• Preschool to Elementary Advice: 21:01–23:30
• Middle and High School Challenges: 24:48–32:51
• Gaming & Stranger Contact: 36:17–39:28
• Internet Addiction Solutions: 39:28–43:01

Actionable Takeaways

• Watch for sudden shifts in language or worldview, increased cynicism, and the adoption of hostile, misogynistic rhetoric in young men.
• Begin honest technology and relationship conversations early—even before device ownership.
• Actively investigate platforms your kids are using; use tools like ChatGPT to get up-to-date safety information.
• Employ parental controls, but don’t rely on them exclusively—ongoing engagement is key.
• For preteens and teens, set written agreements and explicit family expectations about device use and digital behaviors.
• Offer alternatives and organize device-free interactions for both kids and adults.
• Approach all interventions—whether with children or adults—empathically, validating feelings rather than shaming tech use or emotional pain.

Conclusion

This episode of Incels moves beyond exploration, mapping vital pathways for early intervention and ongoing prevention. Anchored by voices who have witnessed radicalization firsthand and experts with real solutions, it equips listeners with the awareness and tools needed to spot warning signs, foster open conversations, and build healthier digital and emotional lives—for children, teens, and adults alike.