{"podcast":{"title":"Pop Syllabus","slug":"pop-syllabus-7649526","podcast_index_feed_id":7649526,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/popsyllabus","website_url":"https://popsyllabus.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/2fa57a72-ea89-11f0-8488-63dcd1682c0f/image/fac8d1ff938c54bff640f53b3920f7ba.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Nkiruka Productions and Companion Arts","episode_count":29,"summary":"Pop Syllabus is a show where host Christiana Mbakwe Medina deconstructs the zeitgeist and answers the big cultural questions. How did we swing from body positivity to thin-being-in? Why do so many people trust wellness influencers over medical doctors? And how did tech oligarchs become the new celebrities? Think of Christiana as a cross between a messy news anchor and guerilla academic. Each week, she and an expert guest will unpack a buzzy topic, and help us understand the moment while going through it.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T16:20:16.937550+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pop-syllabus-7649526"},"episode":{"title":"The Dangers of Looksmaxxing With Dr. Michael Halpin","slug":"the-dangers-of-looksmaxxing-with-dr-michael-halpin","published_at":"2026-03-04T08:05:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pop-syllabus-7649526/the-dangers-of-looksmaxxing-with-dr-michael-halpin","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pop-syllabus-7649526","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.megaphone.fm/LLUOO7603828117.mp3?updated=1772835750","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.megaphone.fm/LLUOO7603828117.mp3?updated=1772835750","summary":"Looksmaxxing is the internet’s latest male self-improvement trend — where your jawline is a strategy and your face is a project. Today, Christiana sits down with Associate Professor of Sociology at Dalhousie University, Dr. Michael Halpin, to explain what looksmaxxing really is, why cosmetic surgeries are on the rise, and how this corner of the Manosphere is reshaping masculinity and the way men see women. Dr. Michael’s research on looksmaxxing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hn3HDozK8_GMWOVtv3do3joZ4Guyxlpp/view Follow Pop Syllabus: YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Substack Merch available now! Sponsor Pop Syllabus: advertise@companionarts.com If there’s a topic you’d like us to deconstruct, tell us in the comments. Email: hello@popsyllabus.com 03:35 Defining “looksmaxxing” 09:45 Who is looksmaxxing? 11:00 Lookism and why boys and men are looksmaxxing 14:50 How looksmaxxing and its harmful impacts are spreading beyond the manosphere 20:42 The PSL scale 24:40 How looksmaxxers and incels are subcultures within the manosphere 40:38 What can be done to stop harmful looksmaxxing 44:00 Looksmaxxing as an emerging health crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"Looksmaxxing is the internet’s latest male self-improvement trend — where your jawline is a strategy and your face is a project. Today, Christiana sits do…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3280,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/pop-syllabus-7649526/episodes/the-dangers-of-looksmaxxing-with-dr-michael-halpin/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/pop-syllabus-7649526/the-dangers-of-looksmaxxing-with-dr-michael-halpin.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}