Are men ashamed of their porn habits?

The majority of men consume porn, and most use it for masturbation, but two thirds of men under 25 think porn should be harder to access, according to research from the Survey Center on American Life. There's a broader discussion now among some men about the role of porn and masturbation in their lives – and manosphere figures like Andrew Tate and Hamza Ahmed are urging their listeners to stop watching it. Some men are cutting it out entirely: they congregate on Reddit pages like r/pornfree or use porn addiction alleviation apps like Quittr and Fortify. But what do men think watching porn says about them? And is this just “purity culture for boys”? 

Brittany is joined by Rebecca Jennings, features writer at New York Magazine who wrote a piece about anti-porn men, and Scott Burnett, assistant professor of African Studies and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University, who has published research about men's anti-masturbation trends. 

(00:00) Why are (some) men turning against porn?
(03:49) Gen Z men and shame around porn
(11:18) "Real sex with real women": how anti-porn men view women
(14:30) The fear of losing control to porn addiction
(19:15) Is this just "purity culture for boys?"
(22:27) Desire can be embarrassing - but maybe that's okay

For more episodes about gender, sexuality, and internet culture, check out:
The price women pay for being online
The joy of breaking up with dating apps
Gen Z is afraid of sex — and for good reason

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The internet was built off women's labor. Will it ever pay them back?

From the creation of Google Images to the overlooked - or criminalized - digital labor of sex workers, the internet has been built on the intellect, image, and likeness of women. So where does that leave us in a rapidly changing digital environment where algorithms, AI, and even beauty filters distort our reality?

To answer these questions, Brittany is joined by artist and UCLA professor Mindy Seu. Her books, Cyberfeminism Index and A Sexual History of the Internet, uncover the desire at the foundation of the internet's inception and how the exploitation of marginalized creators has consequences for us all.

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Pilates is great. Why are people being weird about it?

Pilates is an exercise that has been around for a long time – around a hundred years – but it’s just now coming into vogue in a big way. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association report from 2025, Pilates is the fastest growing form of individual exercise in the United States: participation jumped by nearly 40% since 2019. And it’s gotten pretty big on social media.

But there's something interesting happening with that social media content – sometimes, it seems less about the actual exercise and way more about what doing Pilates says about who you are as a woman. And of course, anyone can do Pilates, but on social media, there is a strong emphasis on it being for "girls" (and being for specific kinds of girls). So why is some questionable baggage getting attached to Pilates? And why can't we be normal about exercise in general?

Brittany is joined by Madeline Leung Coleman, features writer at New York Magazine, who wrote a piece about why Pilates keeps getting people up in arms.

(00:00) How Pilates became popular
(02:21) Pilates got a hot makeover
(04:10) Does Pilates really reduce inflammation?
(08:29) The 'sculpt' body ideal (why celebrities are so thin and muscular now)
(11:19) The real benefits of Pilates
(14:43) Why (some) dudes are obsessed with finding a Pilates wife
(21:39) Can we ever be normal about exercise?

For more episodes about health, exercise and culture, check out:
Is tech making us too obsessed with our bodies?
The Swoletariat: a history of leftist fitness
Exercise is more important than ever

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Across the country, Evangelicals are facing a moral dilemma -- is supporting government actions in line with their religious beliefs?

The answer shows a rift in Evangelical communities, as government officials like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth use scripture to justify war and deportation.

To parse through these questions of God and country, Brittany is joined by NPR Religion correspondent Jason DeRose, and Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero, president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and pastor of the Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida.

(00:00) The Evangelical Dilemma: do the Trump Administration's actions line up with the Bible?
(06:29) How the Trump Administration uses the Bible for political messaging. Is it Christian, though?
(15:29) What is the line between church and state? And who decides?
(20:06) The Evangelical belief that American Christians are under siege

For more on belief and politics, check out these episodes:
The not-so-secret lives of Mormon women
Is Christianity cool again?

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When you can bet on anything, everything changes. 

Unlike sports betting, prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi give users the freedom to bet on anything that comes to mind. Will Lady Gaga sing at the Super Bowl? What words will Trump say in his next speech? Or worse… the assassination of a world leader.

Those bets - which are illegal - is what has prediction markets in hot water and lawmakers hustling to put guardrails on the industry. It’s also what today’s guest predicted in our 2026 predictions episode at the top of the year. 

NPR’s Bobby Allyn returns to the show to unpack the wild west of prediction markets and what the unfettered access to this market could do to us as a culture.

Want more? Check out these IBAM episodes:
2026 Predictions: Beyoncé retires, AI busts, Democrats lift weights
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game

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What makes someone a star nowadays? And why does every generation of humans crave to celebrate them?

For decades, Hollywood has promoted a carefully curated ideal of aspirational talent, beauty, and intrigue. But in 2026, it feels like that power is in the hands of the one thing that alleges to know us best: the algorithm. Now computer programs hold more power in shaping who is famous and what we all are fed as aspirational ideals: from who is a star to what our bodies should look like. Enter the algorithm body.

In this episode, host Brittany Luse is joined by Christiana Mbakwe Medina, screenwriter and host of the Pop Syllabus podcast. They get into the evolving nature of fame and why Christina thinks the thin body ideal is out and the sculpted body ideal is in.

Want more about tech, beauty, and cultural cache? Check out these IBAM episodes:
The morbid lifelessness of modern beauty
Peptides & the pursuit of the "perfect" body

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Is AI in the workplace lightening your load...or frying your brain?

Researchers at Boston Consulting Group and the University of California, Riverside coined the term "AI brain fry" to describe “mental fatigue that results from excessive use of, interaction with, and/or oversight of AI tools beyond one's cognitive capacity.” In other words, doing too much with A.I.
There's something kind of comically tragic about the idea that these tools that were meant to lighten our loads seem to be doing the opposite for some. But beyond the psychic damage, there's a lot in this brain fry idea that points to how we work with AI: for example, with all the managing it needs, is turning us all into bosses? And is this really the future of work?

Brittany is joined by John Herrman, tech columnist for New York Magazine, to get into the ins and outs of AI brain fry.

(00:00) Who gets "AI brain fry"
(05:34) The strange incentives behind more AI-powered output
(09:30) Is working with AI simulating management?
(12:42) How AI chat tools challenge workplace boundaries
(16:18) The anxious future of work with AI

For more episodes about AI and modern life, check out:
Me and my partner don't see eye-to-eye about AI. Now what?
The hard work of having "good taste"
You're not broken - the job market is.

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With everything going on in the world, it makes sense that some of us want to check out. But at what cost?

In this episode, host Brittany Luse is dissecting our current obsession with numbing ourselves to the moment and tuning out. This so-called “numb girl” attitude and aesthetic is defined by detachment, irony, and a world weary cynicism. Think the "Gen Z pout," "expressionless Botox chic,” a deadpan voice, or selfies with a vacant gaze. Of course, It appears effortless and nonchalant, but it’s highly curated and self-aware — it’s the perfect mask for avoiding humiliation in a world that is always there to judge you. But is avoiding the pain of the world good for us?

Brittany is joined by writer Rayne Fisher-Quann aka Internet Princess and freelance cultural critic Sophie Lou Wilson to get into why all the cool girls are dissociating and what we lose when we numb ourselves to the world around us.

(0:00) News fatigue, detachment, & irony are cooler than ever
(5:02) Gucci runways to political nihilism: numbness went mainstream
(10:15) Lobotomy Chic: an ironic joke turned beauty trend
(14:57) The privilege of dissociating. Who can afford to disconnect?
(18:08) Is numbness a form of feminist resistance?
(20:15) How to un-numb and reconnect with humanity

This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9 8 8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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Have you seen ADHD content pop up in your feeds? Are you getting a lot of it?

In the past few years, there's been a surge in the number of adults diagnosed with ADHD, and at the same time more and more people online are going viral with "signs" that you might have it too. Whether with our doctors or friends, we're all talking a lot more about adult ADHD. Is this a perfect storm of online content leading to more diagnoses? Or is there more to the story?

Brittany is joined by culture journalist Kelli Maria Korducki, who wrote about this for The Guardian, and Manvir Singh, assistant professor of anthropology at UC Davis, to get into it.

This episode originally aired on April 25, 2025.

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After dominating television screens for decades, has reality TV gone into decline?

Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast member Taylor Frankie Paul has been a controversial figure for some time now, but the latest allegations surrounding the star - and the subsequent cancellation of her season of The Bachelorette - have caused viewers to ask: how far is too far for reality TV? With ratings on the decline and networks desperate to keep audiences coming back, reality TV has taken some drastic turns to remain relevant.

To get into all this Rebecca Jennings, features writer for New York Magazine, joins the show to unpack the drama surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul and the state of reality TV at large.

(0:00) Who's being exploited more on reality TV?
(03:36) Unpacking Taylor Frankie Paul's controversial reality TV journey
(09:27) ABC's risky bet on Taylor Frankie Paul as 'The Bachelorette'
(18:29) Navigating the line between 'messy' and 'dark' on reality TV
(21:25) How reality TV fandom has changed
(25:37) Finding unexpected value in reality TV drama
(29:23) The need for better vetting and ethics in reality TV casting
(33:33) Official statements from Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen

Want more about reality TV? Check out these IBAM episodes:
Our love lives have gone full Love Island.
Dating skills vs. dating gimmicks in 'Love on the Spectrum'

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Do you and your loved ones see eye-to-eye... about AI?

There’s been a lot of discourse about age gaps and wage gaps – but there’s a new kind of gap rocking relationships: AI gaps. For example, when a couple isn't on the same page about when and how to use it, or even how AI becomes an unwelcome third wheel in a relationship. And this is big for some couples – but this also can be an issue in some friendships and family dynamics, too. So what does AI usage say about what people value? And are conflicts around AI becoming proxies for deeper issues in relationships?

Brittany chats with Jenny Singer, a freelance culture writer who wrote about this for The Washington Post, and Heather Kelly, a freelance reporter who focuses on how technology affects daily life.

(00:00) Can using AI be an ick?
(03:35) When AI becomes an unwelcome third in your relationship
(07:41) Why Americans are pessimistic about AI - but might use it anyway
(13:08) What AI usage might say about our values
(18:06) Strategies for bridging the AI divide in relationships

For more episodes about modern dating, check out:
"Girl Math" does not add up to financial freedom
The unbearable fear of being cheated on
The joy of breaking up with dating apps

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