Boys Like Me

Boys Like Me Introduces: Deepfake Porn Empire

Deepfake porn is a billion-click industry built on stolen faces, while the people making it hide theirs behind screens. Hosted by journalist Sam Cole, Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire traces the decades-long rise of synthetic porn, the targets who are fighting back, and the global investigation that led to its Canadian kingpin. Understood takes you deep inside the seismic shifts reshaping our world right now. From online porn and crypto chaos to the rise of tech oligarchs, deepfake AI, and the broken promises of the internet — we explore the stories that define our digital age with hosts and characters embedded in the heart of the action.  More episodes of Deepfake Porn Empire are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/DPExBLM [https://link.mgln.ai/DPExBLM]

Episode 5: Welcome to the Manosphere

Incels are only part of the threat. Ellen speaks with a woman who spent years undercover among a vast network of online communities — among them so-called mens’ rights activists and pickup artists — all united in their desire for total male supremacy. They orchestrate harassment campaigns, glorify violence against women and actively recruit vulnerable young men. Few people are talking about it. And no one knows how to stop it. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152

Episode 4: A Soldier for the Cause

Evan shares a troubling period from his past and reflects on the different paths he and Alek took. What pushes someone to kill in the name of an ideology? Ellen speaks to a former Jihadi recruiter about the murky path from radicalization to terrorism. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152

Episode 3: Boys Will Be Boys

Alek frequented incel sites for years, lurking in forums that celebrated or even encouraged the kind of attack he’d go on to commit. What draws young men into this toxic world? Ellen connects with a prominent incel who takes her down the rabbit hole. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152

Episode 2: A Supreme Gentleman

Evan and Alek are in the same special-needs program in high school, where they’re both bullied and ostracized. But while Evan tries to break out of his shell, Alek retreats further into himself and finds solace in some of the most disturbing corners of the internet. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152