Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat. The rise of instant messaging has made our social and professional lives faster, more casual — and more chaotic. But amid all the discussion of the effects of public social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, there has been relatively little attention paid to private social networks—the direct message and the group chat — and how they are shaping our relationships and our world. In this series, Helen Lewis looks at the secret world of instant messaging, meeting a woman who married a chatbot, discovering how Russian dissidents are fighting a propaganda war, and hearing the in...
Latest episodes
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Left the Chat: No 6. The Telegram War
The encrypted messaging app Telegram is haunted by a single question - if it really is as secure as it claims to be, why does Vladimir Putin allow it to be used in Russia?And shoul…
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Left the Chat: No 5. Thug Shaker Central
When investigative journalist Aric Toler saw a handful of supposedly fake classified documents online, he had a hunch - what if they were real? The only way to find out was to hunt…
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Left The Chat: No 4. I Married a ChatBot
After years of bad dates and toxic relationships, Chris finally found love - with a chatbot called Emma. Is this the future of digital love, or is Chris caught in an illusion? In t…
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Left the Chat: No 3. Several People Are Typing
During the pandemic, a combination of fears over Covid, anger over police racism and sheer cabin fever saw company Slack channels boil with discontent. One day in February 2021, Mi…
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Left the Chat: No 2. Fax Machines and Foxy Natashas
In 2016, amid the post-EU referendum chaos, one man had an idea. His name was Steve Baker, and he was a low-profile Tory MP. But his WhatsApp group - the home of the hard Brexiteer…
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Left the Chat: No 1. Whatsapp Mishaps
In 1998, Helen’s family got their first home computer - and she logged on to chat with existing friends and strangers she met online. Since then, instant messaging has taken over o…
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Welcome to Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat
Have you ever been trapped in a group chat nightmare, either grabbing the popcorn or wondering how to leave without causing a scene? Who’s the admin in your family group, and do th…
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New Gurus: Bonus Episode - Gigachads and Sigma Wolves
After The New Gurus was released, there was one question Helen Lewis was asked far more than any other: why are so many gurus men? Stuck for an answer, she journeys into the world…
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New Gurus: 8. Prophets of Doom
Jessica Lanyadoo thinks civil war is coming — she has seen it in the stars. But it isn’t just astrologers who think we’re living through an age of upheaval. Peter Turchin, a Soviet…
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New Gurus: 7. Bitcoin FC
When Peter McCormack made a fortune investing in Bitcoin, he knew exactly how to spend it - buying his local football team. Helen Lewis travels to the ground of Real Bedford FC, wh…
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New Gurus: 6. Daygamers and Daydreamers
At Oxford University, fellow students remember Tom Ralis as a quiet, nerdy biology student who played percussion in the college orchestra. But even then, he had one ambition - to b…
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New Gurus: 5. Gazing into the Abyss
In 2018, a New York Times article anointed a group of taboo-breaking intellectual provocateurs as the 'Intellectual Dark Web'. David Fuller was one of those who found this loose gr…
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New Gurus: 4. White Women's Tears
The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement brought renewed interest in corporate diversity gurus. But Regina Jackson and Saira Rao were ahead of the curve, pursuing their own uniq…
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New Gurus: 3. Fitter, Happier, More Productive
As an author, broadcaster and journalist, Helen Lewis is drowning in deadlines. Join her race against the clock to see if productivity gurus can help her optimise her workflow, cha…
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New Gurus: 2. Taking the Urine
Will Blunderfield grew up, he says, an unhappy, unhealthy kid. Now he feels great — as a “wild naked man” who drinks his own urine. Across the world, wellness is a multi-billion po…
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New Gurus: 1. The Birth of the New Guru
In 2011, some mourners at Steve Jobs’ memorial service were confused by his final gift to them – a book called Autobiography of A Yogi. Others understood his message perfectly - th…
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Welcome to The New Gurus
Everywhere you look on the internet, people are giving — and receiving — advice. Advice that promises to transform our lives. How to eat. How to think. How to get rich. How to mana…