Rehash

• AI Boyfriends (ft. Internet Anthropology)

  Isn’t it so annoying when your partner can’t be therapist, lover, parent, and nutritionist all at once? Enter…ChatGPT! After a somewhat inflammatory study released by the nonsecular, ultra-conservative Wheatley Institute found that 1 in 3 young adult men and 1 in 4 young adult women reported having chatted with an AI boyfriend or girlfriend, the think pieces started rolling. And while these numbers might be a little funky, it is true that people in at least the tens of thousands are engaging in romantic and sexual partnerships with their AI chatbots. In this episode, Hannah and Maia, joined by Carrera from Internet Anthropology, scour the r/MyBoyfriendIsAI subreddit to glimpse into the psychology of such people and ask some pressing questions. Are we dating AI because we’re tired of men? Because of covid and our increasing comfort with never being touched? Because the attention economy has made up gluttonous for constant validation? It would be cruel to demonize these people, but when a simple software update can kill your boyfriend in the blink of an eye and chatbots called Daenerys Targaryen are pushing lovesick children towards self harm, you’ve gotta wonder whether these AI companies are actually trying to solve the loneliness epidemic, or worsen it. Tangents include: Maia’s mysterious allergies and drinking culture in the UK. Support us on Patreon and get juicy bonus content:⁠https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast⁠Intro and outro song by our talented friend Ian Mills:⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusicSOURCES:“COUNTERFEIT CONNECTIONS: The Rise of Romantic AI Companions and AI Sexualized Media Among the Rising Generation,” Wheatley Institute (2025). Cathy Hackl, “Confessions Of A Futurist: I Dated Four AI Boyfriends To Explore The Future Of Dating, Love, And Intimacy,” Forbes (2025). Kashmir Hill, “She Is in Love With ChatGPT,” New York Times (2025).Carrera Kurnick, “Internet Artifacts on Digital Companionship,” Internet Anthropologist (2025). Kevin Roose, “Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?,” The New York Times (2025).Slavoj Žižek, For They Know Not What They Do: Enjoyment as a Political Factor, 2nded. (New York: Verso, 2002).Our Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my code REHASH for a great deal: https://mood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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• Notes App Apologies

  When Ariana Grande apologized for licking a doughnut in a doughnut shop display ten years ago, she had no idea she would be changing the world forever. Using the familiar notes app, Ariana broadcasted to her fans both disappointment in her own behaviour, an expression of patriotism, and a PSA about healthy eating in a more intimate way than ever before. Soon to follow were a slew of other notes app apologies from naughty celebs like James Charles, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift. But is the notes app apology really as sincere as it appears to be, or is it a carefully curated mending of one’s own self image? Do we really care about celebrities becoming better people, or do we just enjoy throwing tomatoes? In this episode, Hannah and Maia discuss the notes app apology for what it really is: a come-to-Jesus moment performed by celebrities who have been coerced by their publics into saying they did a bad bad thing. Tangents include: loved ones getting got by AI, and Hannah delivering her own personalized, oral notes app apology to Maia.Support us on Patreon and get juicy bonus content:⁠https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast⁠Intro and outro song by our talented friend Ian Mills:⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusicOur Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my code REHASH for a great deal: https://mood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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• Creeping

  There is no greater candidate for a job with the FBI… than a woman with a crush. A recent study found that Gen Z and Millennials have “alarmingly relaxed attitudes towards online stalking.” But considering we all do it…why wouldn’t we? The term “stalking” (also know as “creeping” or “lurking”) has now take on a colloquial form, as all sorts of people use the internet to gather information about other people: ex partners, future partners, the ex of an ex, prospective employees, people they think are hotter or cooler than they are. But even if “creeping” is not stalking in the technical sense, even if it’s something we all do, why are we so ashamed to do it? In this season premiere, Hannah and Maia ask whether creeping is inherently creepy, and discuss the different affordances of social media that make it the perfect breeding ground for nosiness. As these “mass personal” channels of communication facilitate parasocial relationships of even the closest kind, have we become private celebrities to each other? Or are we all, as we always have been, just massive creeps? Tangents include: Maia’s evil ex-landlord, Hannah’s sorely misunderstood Baby Jane halloween costume, and dramatic readings of some truly diabolical “creeping” anecdotes from the lovely listeners. Support us on Patreon and get juicy bonus content:⁠https://www.patreon.com/rehashpodcast⁠Intro and outro song by our talented friend Ian Mills:⁠https://linktr.ee/ianmillsmusicSOURCES:Amelia Abraham, “12 People Admit To Their Social Media ‘Stalking’ Habits,” Refinery29 (2016). “CMV: It's not "creeping", "snooping", or "being a creeper" to browse social media content that presumably was put there for exactly that purpose.,” Reddit (2015). Frampton, J. R., & Fox, J, “Monitoring, Creeping, or Surveillance? A Synthesis of Online Social Information Seeking Concepts,” Review of Communication Research, 9, (2021). “Gen Z and Millennials Accept Online Creeping and Stalking as Part of Dating Culture,” GEN Digital (2023). Laura Pitcher, “Are You in a Parasocial Relationship With ‘the Other Woman?’” Digiverse (2023).Morgan Sullivan, “A Love Letter to All My Exes’ Exes’ Instagram Accounts,” The Cut (2022). Our Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my code REHASH for a great deal: https://mood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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• TEASER: Taylor and Travis

  Taylor Swift has entered a new era: Wifey. Rather than take a (much needed) vacation following her world tour, she’s announced not only a forthcoming album but also a forthcoming wedding to football superstar and HIMBO of the decade, Travis Kelce. But the couple, who very publicly began dating in later 2023 are not without their detractors. Along with the typical “PR relationship” accusations, speculation of a far more sinister plot is being thrown their way. Long time listeners may recall that we covered subset of Taylor Swift’s fandom who call themselves “Gaylors” in our second ever episode. Well buckle up, because we’re back at it again. But this time, we’re going to address the theory that Taylor Swift is secretly queer for what it really is: a CONSPIRACY theory. One that goes all the way to the top…. of the NFL. Put on your tinfoil hats, pop in your headphones, and take a listen. Tangent include: George Bush’s alleged role in a celebrity death, Naomi Klein’s Doppleganger, and Miley Cyrus’s 2012 fashion era. FULL EPISODE ON OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/c/rehashpodcast Our Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my code REHASH for a great deal: https://mood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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• Sabrina Carpenter's Album Cover [teaser]

  In a time where Sydney Sweeney is spreading her legs for a popular clothing retailer in the name of eugenics, it’s not so far-fetched to imagine that Sabrina Carpenter would also upset people with her latest album cover. Hair blown out, kneeling at the feet of a suited man, and captioned “Man’s Best Friend,” this image of Carpenter sent shock waves across the internet for provoking an already fraught political moment. But was the outrage justified? In this very special bonus episode, perhaps the best one yet, Hannah and Maia ~unpack~ their complicated feelings about the controversy. Was Carpenter’s team, like Sweeney’s, engaging in a conservative grift, or was this another instance of the public’s paternalistic impulse to whip female figures into shape? Is this just another transgressive breakthrough from a popstar, or is there something more nefarious at play? In our image-addled society, why did this one cause such a stir? And did Andrea Dworkin really have a point after all? All this and more on Patreon. Tangent includes: a postmortem on And Just Like That. FULL EPISODE ON PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/c/rehashpodcastOur Sponsors:* Check out Mood and use my code REHASH for a great deal: https://mood.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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