In 2025, it feels as if everyone believes they need a podcast; all it takes is two microphones, a cheap ring light, a YouTube account, and suddenly, people think they’re experts. The problem doesn’t come from the podcast itself; it’s the message behind them. The rise of red-pill ideology, which refers to “white men awakening to the reality of male subjugation by women under feminism, and also the fear that white men will lose their standing in a world they cannot dominate and lose “their women” to black or brown men”according to Georgetown University. These beliefs have helped to spread toxic masculinity, which is “societal pressure that impose rigid and unrealistic standards of what it means to be a man, it reinforces traits like aggression, and men who express emotion such as crying are soft”cited by The Brooklyn College Vanguard students news publication.
Many red pill podcasts try to present themselves as a “self-improvement” space for young men but instead of teaching the idea that men can be emotional without it being soft, they push the idea that being dominant makes someone a “real man” while showing vulnerability makes them weak. Even worse, some podcast normalize violence towards women as something that’s acceptable. .One of the most popular red pill podcasters, Andrew Tate, who was a former professional kickboxer turned social media influencer. He gained popularity by showing his lavish lifestyle which was surrounded by wealth. He also gained popularity with his views about women and how feminism was to blame for male struggles and male loneliness. On his YouTube channel, Tate has conveyed misogynistic views such as, “I think the women belongs to the man”and “I think my sister is her husband’s property”, and a list of many more controversial opinions found here.
This shows how dangerous it is when people with a big platforms spread these ideas without thinking how it would affect the youth specifically teen boys who are still trying to figure out their identities, who often look up to these influencers since they see them with big houses, nice cars which makes them believe these influencers more since they think “look how successful he is what he’s saying must be right”, but the problem is that being rich, successful, or confident doesn’t make someone a good role model. A lot of red pill podcasters act like they know everything and convey their perspective with confidence, which makes it easy for adolescent boys to fall for their ideas without questioning it. It’s almost like just because a podcaster may be wealthy, makes them credible, which can be dangerous since teens are so susceptible.
In the end, I believe not everyone needs a podcast, especially when some use their platform to promote racism, toxic masculinity, and violence towards women. These messages have spread across Tiktok, Twitter and other platforms. It’s important for young people to be able to recognize when an individual’s “advice” is meant to help them grow or to harm others by promoting ideologies that marginalize certain groups.
