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Are men ashamed of their porn habits?

The majority of men consume porn, and most use it for masturbation, but two thirds of men under 25 think porn should be harder to access, according to research from the Survey Center on American Life. There's a broader discussion now among some men about the role of porn and masturbation in their lives – and manosphere figures like Andrew Tate and Hamza Ahmed are urging their listeners to stop watching it. Some men are cutting it out entirely: they congregate on Reddit pages like r/pornfree or use porn addiction alleviation apps like Quittr and Fortify. But what do men think watching porn says about them? And is this just “purity culture for boys”? 

Brittany is joined by Rebecca Jennings, features writer at New York Magazine who wrote a piece about anti-porn men, and Scott Burnett, assistant professor of African Studies and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University, who has published research about men's anti-masturbation trends. 

(00:00) Why are (some) men turning against porn?
(03:49) Gen Z men and shame around porn
(11:18) "Real sex with real women": how anti-porn men view women
(14:30) The fear of losing control to porn addiction
(19:15) Is this just "purity culture for boys?"
(22:27) Desire can be embarrassing - but maybe that's okay

For more episodes about gender, sexuality, and internet culture, check out:
The price women pay for being online
The joy of breaking up with dating apps
Gen Z is afraid of sex — and for good reason

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The internet was built off women's labor. Will it ever pay them back?

From the creation of Google Images to the overlooked - or criminalized - digital labor of sex workers, the internet has been built on the intellect, image, and likeness of women. So where does that leave us in a rapidly changing digital environment where algorithms, AI, and even beauty filters distort our reality?

To answer these questions, Brittany is joined by artist and UCLA professor Mindy Seu. Her books, Cyberfeminism Index and A Sexual History of the Internet, uncover the desire at the foundation of the internet's inception and how the exploitation of marginalized creators has consequences for us all.

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Pilates is great. Why are people being weird about it?

Pilates is an exercise that has been around for a long time – around a hundred years – but it’s just now coming into vogue in a big way. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association report from 2025, Pilates is the fastest growing form of individual exercise in the United States: participation jumped by nearly 40% since 2019. And it’s gotten pretty big on social media.

But there's something interesting happening with that social media content – sometimes, it seems less about the actual exercise and way more about what doing Pilates says about who you are as a woman. And of course, anyone can do Pilates, but on social media, there is a strong emphasis on it being for "girls" (and being for specific kinds of girls). So why is some questionable baggage getting attached to Pilates? And why can't we be normal about exercise in general?

Brittany is joined by Madeline Leung Coleman, features writer at New York Magazine, who wrote a piece about why Pilates keeps getting people up in arms.

(00:00) How Pilates became popular
(02:21) Pilates got a hot makeover
(04:10) Does Pilates really reduce inflammation?
(08:29) The 'sculpt' body ideal (why celebrities are so thin and muscular now)
(11:19) The real benefits of Pilates
(14:43) Why (some) dudes are obsessed with finding a Pilates wife
(21:39) Can we ever be normal about exercise?

For more episodes about health, exercise and culture, check out:
Is tech making us too obsessed with our bodies?
The Swoletariat: a history of leftist fitness
Exercise is more important than ever

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Across the country, Evangelicals are facing a moral dilemma -- is supporting government actions in line with their religious beliefs?

The answer shows a rift in Evangelical communities, as government officials like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth use scripture to justify war and deportation.

To parse through these questions of God and country, Brittany is joined by NPR Religion correspondent Jason DeRose, and Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero, president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and pastor of the Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida.

(00:00) The Evangelical Dilemma: do the Trump Administration's actions line up with the Bible?
(06:29) How the Trump Administration uses the Bible for political messaging. Is it Christian, though?
(15:29) What is the line between church and state? And who decides?
(20:06) The Evangelical belief that American Christians are under siege

For more on belief and politics, check out these episodes:
The not-so-secret lives of Mormon women
Is Christianity cool again?

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When you can bet on anything, everything changes. 

Unlike sports betting, prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi give users the freedom to bet on anything that comes to mind. Will Lady Gaga sing at the Super Bowl? What words will Trump say in his next speech? Or worse… the assassination of a world leader.

Those bets - which are illegal - is what has prediction markets in hot water and lawmakers hustling to put guardrails on the industry. It’s also what today’s guest predicted in our 2026 predictions episode at the top of the year. 

NPR’s Bobby Allyn returns to the show to unpack the wild west of prediction markets and what the unfettered access to this market could do to us as a culture.

Want more? Check out these IBAM episodes:
2026 Predictions: Beyoncé retires, AI busts, Democrats lift weights
Get rich or die trying: how sports betting is changing our love of the game

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