How Reality TV Makes Us All Republicans

Alex Cooper, Alix Earle, & the Business of Relatability

Alex Cooper is one of the most successful podcast hosts in the country. Alix Earle is one of the most popular TikTok stars in America. The women, who appear to be separated by a single vowel and little else, have become central to a slow-burning pop culture feud representing two distinct, radically divergent archetypes: the Mean Girl™ and the Girl’s Girl.™ Cooper’s storied past includes a messy, public split with her former Call Her Daddy cohost, Sofia Franklyn, which she parlayed into an enormous deal with Spotify and, later, SiriusXM. Earle’s background is simpler and cleaner, involving a seemingly overnight ascent on TikTok and a Teflon-like immunity to controversy. Today’s episode is ultimately a story about the manipulation of discourse and how double standards don’t just exist between women and men, but between women who are, for all intents and purposes, functionally identical. It’s a deep dive into the characters populating the latest girl-on-girl morality play, a spectacle uniquely suited to demonstrate the skill of those seated atop the modern attention capture content creation industry. Enjoy this valiant effort to extract a takeaway other than “wow, maybe the internet really is making all of us stupider.” “Call Her Daddy’ [https://web.archive.org/web/20210727185628/https://time.com/6082311/call-her-daddy-alexandra-cooper/]s Alexandra Cooper Made Her Name Talking About Sex. With Her Massive Spotify Deal, She’s Pushing Beyond That [https://web.archive.org/web/20210727185628/https://time.com/6082311/call-her-daddy-alexandra-cooper/]” by Eliana Dockterman for Time (2021) “Daddy Issues: Trouble Behind the Scenes of Alex Cooper’s Unwell Media Empire [https://archive.is/NPOWx]” by Clara Molot for Vanity Fair (2026) “Noticing Emily Ratajkowski’s New Essay, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Politics, and Alex Cooper’s Leadership Skills [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/noticing-emily-ratajkowskis-new-essay-gwyneth-paltrows/id1533533467?i=1000773117834]” from Good Noticings (2026) “Inside Alex Cooper’s Unwell: Tears, Screaming and Employees Looking for the Exit [https://archive.is/X9tmF]” by Ashley Carman for Bloomberg (2026) “Alex Cooper, Husband Skip Team Meeting After Behavior Complaints [https://archive.is/beQVX]” by Ashley Carman for Bloomberg (2026) “Alex Cooper Went From Raunchy Podcaster to Gen-Z’s Barbara Walters [https://archive.is/MPQGh]” by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone “The ‘Call Her Daddy’ Feud: What Happened? [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/style/call-her-daddy-podcast.html]” by Taylor Lorenz [https://substack.com/profile/1153079-taylor-lorenz] for The New York Times (2020) Dave Portnoy’s obnoxious video [https://www.instagram.com/p/CAXtfgPgslo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again] to “Suitman” on the Call Her Daddy Instagram account during the negotiation breakdown “The truth about Call Her Daddy [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKSK3xctT0I]” on Alex Cooper’s YouTube channel “After Leaving ‘Call Her Daddy,’ Sofia Franklyn is Back with a New Podcast of Her Own [https://archive.is/g3SUc]” by Andy Meek for Forbes (2020) “Dave Portnoy Hates The Way Alix Earle Has Handled The Alex Cooper Controversy [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c08zLuFfi5c],” also known as a 50-year-old man hosting his favorite series, “Tea by the Sea” Brianna Chickenfry entering the chat [https://www.tiktok.com/@ihatebriannachickenfry/video/7629076141776702750] “‘Call Her Daddy’ Host Alex Cooper Launches the Unwell Network, Inks Development Deals with Influencers Alix Earle and Madeline Argy [https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/alex-cooper-unwell-network-alix-earle-madeline-argy-1235689592/]” by Todd Spangler for Variety (2023) “The Alix Earle Effect [https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a44775813/alix-earle-tiktok-interview-2023/]” by Véronique Hyland for Elle “Alix Earle’s ‘Hot Mess’ Podcast Dropped by Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network (EXCLUSIVE) [https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/alix-earle-hot-mess-podcast-dropped-alex-cooper-1236320220/]” by Tatiana Siegel for Variety (2025) “The Art of the Alix Earle Deal [https://www.wsj.com/style/alix-earle-deal-alex-cooper-podcast-poppi-019f0cca]” by Sara Ashley O’Brien for The Wall Street Journal (2025) The first direct shot [https://www.tiktok.com/@fathercooper/video/7628249946763857182], fired by Alex Cooper “Alix Earle is Bringing Your FYP to TV with New Netflix Reality Series [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/alix-earle-reality-series-release-date-news]” by Melanie Whyte for Tudum, the Netflix site (2026) “The Conservative Star Who Wants to Host the ‘Call Her Daddy’ of the Right [https://archive.is/9AIkN]” by Ashley Carman for Bloomberg You know we’re in some rich pop culture territory when the right-wing reactionary framing almost exactly matches the mainstream framing “Alex Cooper’s Netflix Problem [https://www.status.news/p/alex-cooper-alix-earle-netflix-unwell-network]” by Natalie Korach for Status (2026) This is a public episode. 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How Reality TV Makes Us All Republicans

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The "Rise" and Fall of the Girlboss

RESTOCK ALERT: Just in time for your summer vacation, the Banned Books tote [https://diabolical-lies.myshopify.com/products/full-color-portrait-tote] is back in stock. Alt. title: Katie finally bites off more than she can chew and attempts a nuanced exploration of the Lean In, Girlboss cultural era. 13 years ago, Sheryl Sandberg published Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. The following year, Sophia Amoruso published #GIRLBOSS. The broad understanding of this period was that—for a few solid years—we widely embraced the edicts of “corporate feminism” or “Lean In feminism” or “Girlboss feminism,” so named for a societal shift that saw a recognition and celebration of women’s career ambition as a decidedly positive thing worthy of support and encouragement or, at the very least, a collection of sassy poly-blend T-shirts. We tried it, and it didn’t work. …but did we? Diabolical Lies investigates. All citations and references can be found at https://www.diabolicalliespod.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe [https://www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

How to Give Birth in America, Pt. 2

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Gen Z Women's New "Anti-Woke Voice"

NEW SWAG ALERT 🚨 The Small Government line is back & better than ever. Get yours here [https://diabolical-lies.myshopify.com/]. Katie’s back on her metaphoric “What’s Charlie Kirk up to these days?” editorial grind—checking in with one of the hottest new Gen Z Lady Voices taking the middle-aged men of the center-right by storm. In this episode, we check in with a writer we haven’t discussed since one of our very first episodes: Freya India, also known as three Jonathan Haidts in a very hot 26-year-old trenchcoat, just published her first book, Girls®—an excoriation of the modern world and its effects on The Youth (or, more specifically, the pathologies of liberal teen girls, as she often puts it). To hear India tell it, young girls have been Filtered, Diagnosed, Documented, Disconnected, Detached, and ‘Empowered,’ all thanks to the increasingly rapacious incentive structure of a pyramid-shaped economic system that necessitates a constantly growing consumer base wait, sorry, no. That’s not it. Actually, we’re not really sure why. You know what? It’s not important. Let’s move on. What Girls® lacks in explanatory mechanisms, it makes up for in solutions: Logging off, finding God, and starting a family. The ideological project underway here should be obvious to anyone whose brain hasn’t been marinated in a dutch oven full of expired bath salts, so why has this book been endorsed by a gaggle of high-profile, putatively left-wing men? Diabolical Lies investigates. All citations and references can be found at www.diabolicalliespod.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe [https://www.diabolicalliespod.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]