No Worries If Not
The Masculinity Grift and Meta Smart Glasses
Published: 21 May 2026 at 00:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Remember the bestselling pickup artist book The Game by Neil Strauss? Since its release, pick up culture has evolved alongside the internet - from online forums to viral 'cold approach' videos filmed using Meta smart glasses (and uploaded without the women’s consent.) In this episode, I speak to two men who've made these videos, alongside a leading expert in image-based abuse, to unpack the online masculinity grift driving it all.
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Guests: Professor Clare McGlynn
'Joe' (not his real name)
No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins.
Sources:
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists - Neil Strauss
Neil Strauss: 'My thinking was: If this woman’s going to be naked with me – I must be OK. It doesn’t last’ - The Guardian, 2015
Adnan Ahmed: 'Pick-up artist' conviction quashed on appeal - BBC News (2020)
Campaign win: law to stop deepfake abuse - The End Violence Against Women Coalition (2025)
Survivors and campaigners welcome new deepfake law but call on government to go further - The End Violence Against Women Coalition (2026)
I cold approach 100 women to get over my fear of rejection - Michael Asibuo (2025)
A Disastrously Bad 6-Minutes Of Cold Approach (REJECTIONS) - Kristian Kasanova (2024)
Watch me face Rejection for 16min repeatedly (2025) - Alex Leon (2025)
How To Pick Up 9s and 10s (Infield Example) - Social Stoic (2025)
The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory - Marilyn Fry (1983)
41 Tenets - Andrew Tate
If Books Could Kill Podcast - The Secret (2023) Everything I’ve learned about incels - Lily O’Farrell (2021)
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