Louis Theroux Goes Inside the Manosphere. It’s Worse Than You Think.
4/2/20261 hr 4 min
Louis Theroux joins Kara to discuss his new Netflix documentary, "Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere." The film explores the online world of male influencers selling fitness, wealth and self-improvement through ultra-masculine and misogynistic ideologies. Louis focuses on the extreme fringes of the manosphere, where racist, homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric mixes with conspiracy theories – and his depiction of these influencers manages to be both hilarious and nerve-racking at the same time. Kara and Louis break down how the manosphere economy works, why so much of the content targets teenage boys and how tech platforms amplify it. They also examine the loneliness and economic frustration that can make young men susceptible to these messages, and why ideas that once lived on the fringe are increasingly moving into the mainstream. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLouis Theroux· Guest0:00
The technique that they're selling isn't usually the way they actually got rich, right? They're saying like, "Use my-- Just by placing tiny little ads," that was one in the '90s.
Kara Swisher· Host0:09
[laughs] I like your voice. I like it.
Louis Theroux· Guest0:12
Or, "You can hypnotize yourself to be a winner," and then some multi-level marketing program that they're getting you on. [laughs] But really they're just, they're getting rich by selling the program. You know what I mean?
Kara Swisher· Host0:23
Yeah. Your voice is excellent, by the way. I have to say [laughs] your voice is- It comes and goes ...it's quite good. Your American con man voice is excellent.
Speaker 20:30
[upbeat music] It's on.
Kara Swisher· Host0:31
Hi, everyone, from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is On with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher. My guest today is documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux. He's the host of a new film called Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere on Netflix. If you haven't heard much about the manosphere, it's a collection of online male influencers who promote fitness, self-improvement, and business through the lens of ultra-masculine and often misogynistic values. The more extreme end of the manosphere spectrum is characterized by racist, homophobic, and antisemitic rhetoric, along with a proclivity for far-right conspiracy theories. That's on top of the misogyny. Just [laughs] it's something else. It's this fringe of the manosphere that Louis Theroux set out to investigate, although it becomes clear in the documentary that even the most extreme ideas expressed by