Britain isn't angry.
It isn't collapsing.
And it isn't fine.
It's holding its breath.
This podcast is an emotional weather report for the UK - a five-part series exploring what this country is really feeling beneath the headlines, the polling, and the endless noise.
Because you can't understand Britain in 2026 through GDP charts or culture wars alone. You have to understand the emotional climate people are living inside: the exhaustion, the numbness, the quiet sense of unease that something isn't working anymore - even if no one quite knows how to say it.
Across this series, we ask a simple but neglected question:
What does life actually feel like right now - and what does that tell us about what comes next?
Each episode focuses on a different pressure system shaping Britain's inner life:
The Emotional State of Britain - why so many people feel flat, overwhelmed, and quietly on edge.
The Masculinity Recession - the collapse of belonging, purpose, and connection among men, and why it affects everyone.
Algorithmic Adolescence - how growing up online is reshaping identity, attention, and the nervous system of a generation.
The AI Self - the emotional cost of a machine age that's making people feel replaceable.
How Britain Heals - what genuine repair could look like, without slogans, optimism theatre, or false certainty.
This isn't a campaign.
It isn't a diagnosis.
And it isn't about telling anyone how to feel.
It's a map.
A way of saying:
Here's where we are.
Here's why it feels like this.
Here's what we need to pay attention to before the pressure breaks - or lifts.
Britain's emotional world is shifting faster than its political one.
It's time we treated that with the seriousness it deserves.
New episodes drop throughout January.
Everything begins at The Brink.
We were promised infinite information would make us smarter. Instead, it made restraint aspirational. In this episode, I explore the rise of "content diets," why spending less time online is now a signal of power, and how mental health, class, and identity quietly collided in the attention economy. Being offline helps - but it also means something now.
The internet isn't dead-but something human is disappearing inside it.
In this episode, we dive deep into the unsettling shift happening beneath our screens: bots now outnumber us online, AI-generated content floods our feeds, and the places that once felt alive with other minds have grown quiet, uncanny, and strangely hollow.
We unpack the real data behind the Dead Internet Theory-like Imperva's 2025 report showing automated traffic finally surpassing human activity-and explore what this means for our mental health, our sense of connection, and our emotional wellbeing.
Why does the web feel less human?
Why does posting feel like talking into a void?
What happens to us when the world we use to feel "seen" starts filling with entities that aren't alive?
This conversation blends psychology, digital culture, and the eerie emotional truth of living in a synthetic internet. And most importantly, it asks the only question that matters:
If the internet is hollowing out... how do we keep the human part alive?
Every October, we invite darkness in. We wear masks, summon monsters, and laugh in the face of things that should terrify us. But beneath the costumes and candy, there's something ancient happening - a psychological ritual that's been keeping us sane for thousands of years.
In this episode, The Brink explores Halloween as a kind of collective therapy session - where ancient tradition meets modern psychology. From the Celtic fires of Samhain to the neon glow of suburbia, we trace how humanity has always needed one night to dance with fear.
Drawing on the ideas of Carl Jung, Ernest Becker, and contemporary researchers like Coltan Scrivner and Margie Kerr, we uncover how fear, death, and darkness help us stay emotionally alive.
🕯️ In this episode:
The ancient origins of Halloween - and what they reveal about human anxiety
Why fear feels good: the science of "benign masochism" and safe scares
Jung's "shadow self" and how wearing the monster helps us make peace with it
The strange neuroscience of why fear connects us instead of isolating us
Why Halloween might be our last surviving ritual for dealing with death
🎭 It's not just about horror - it's about honesty.
This is a story about the ghosts we carry, and the strange comfort of realizing we're not alone in the dark.
Listen now on The Brink - where psychology meets culture, and the shadows finally get to speak.
Marches in the streets. Hotels attacked. Crosses painted on roundabouts. Something in our collective mood has soured - in the UK, in the US, across the West. This episode digs deep into why societies drift right in hard times. We'll explore the economic shocks, the cultural backlashes, the media machines, and the psychological levers that make anger feel like the only option. But we'll also ask: is this really what we're losing? And what would it take to imagine a less angry future?
In this episode, we uncover the rise of "coachfluencers"-influencers who package trauma healing, shadow work, and nervous system resets without licenses or regulation. Why are millions turning to them? What risks lurk in their promises? From NHS waitlists to TikTok trauma hashtags, we trace the cracks in the system that birthed a black market of healing-and ask who's left to protect the vulnerable when therapy becomes content.
What happens when humans start worshipping machines? In this gripping episode of The Brink, we explore the chilling and fascinating rise of AI religion-a movement that's not science fiction anymore, but a real and growing phenomenon.
From Anthony Levandowski's AI-worshipping church Way of the Future, to immersive performance cults like Theta Noirand their AI deity MENA, to real-world robot preachers like Mindar in Kyoto and AI-powered "Jesus" confessionals in Swiss chapels-people across the globe are beginning to hand over their sense of the divine to code.
We dive deep into the emotional, spiritual, and psychological implications of this shift. Why are people turning to machines for meaning, comfort, and connection? What are the risks of treating AI as infallible, sacred, or even godlike? And most importantly-what does this say about us?
You'll hear about:
The roots of AI-based belief systems and why they resonate now.
Real-world examples of AI being used in sacred rituals and spiritual counseling.
Expert insights from anthropologists, theologians, and philosophers warning of "technocratic theocracy."
A sobering look at how moral judgment, critical thinking, and intimacy are threatened when divinity is outsourced to an algorithm.
This is a conversation about belief, power, and the human need to feel connected-to something greater, something intelligent, something eternal. But when that "something" is a machine, we have to ask: are we evolving-or losing something irreplaceable?
Whether you're spiritual, skeptical, or somewhere in between, this episode will leave you questioning what you worship-and who's really behind the screen.
You pour your heart out to what feels like a safe, empathetic ear-a therapy bot that's always there, never judges, and never forgets. But behind the soothing words lies a billion-dollar question: Who owns your pain once you've given it away? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the hidden economy of AI therapy-where your midnight confessions are scraped, anonymised, and fed into machines that sell the illusion of empathy. From Henrietta Lacks' stolen cells to modern data-mining chatbots, we trace the unsettling lineage of exploitation, uncover the platforms turning trauma into training sets, and ask: are you the client, or the product?
When the temperature rises, so do tempers. This episode dives deep into the neuroscience of "heat rage" and summertime Seasonal Affective Disorder - how extreme heat disrupts our sleep, scrambles our serotonin, and fuels everything from irritability to anxiety spikes.
From TikTok confessionals to hospital wards, climate change is now wired into our nervous systems. Featuring expert voices, cutting-edge research, and strategies to protect your mental health when the air itself feels hostile.
In 2025, outrage isn't a glitch in the system-it is the system. From viral political "debates" that platform extremists to TikTok provocateurs cashing in on chaos, rage has become big business. In this episode, we unpack how spectacle replaces substance, how algorithms weaponize anger, and why controversy is the most lucrative content of all.
We'll break down the now‑infamous Jubilee "Surrounded" debate with journalist Mehdi Hasan, where a self‑proclaimed fascist became an overnight viral star-and a crowdfunding success story-thanks to outrage clicks. We'll look at creators like Bonnie Blue, the British internet provocateur turning shock into millions. And we'll ask the uncomfortable question: who's really winning when our attention economy runs on rage?
If you've ever wondered why the loudest, most extreme voices dominate your feed, this episode exposes the psychology, economics, and real‑world consequences of rage‑bait media-and what it's costing our public discourse.
Behind every chatbot lies a human story. Often, a horrifying one.
In this episode, we uncover the invisible world of AI ghost workers-the people paid pennies to sift through the darkest corners of the internet to keep your tech "safe." Think beheading videos, child abuse content, racial slurs, suicide instructions-all reviewed by real people in Nairobi, Manila, Bogotá, and beyond.
These workers face nightmares, flashbacks, and emotional breakdowns just so your chatbot doesn't turn toxic. And just as they're being broken by the machine, they're being replaced by it too.
We ask: What happens when AI's progress is built on invisible suffering? And what does it mean when the machines start taking the jobs of the very people who trained them?
⚠️ This is not a story about the future. This is a story about the price we're already paying.
Beneath viral rants about "alpha males" and "female privilege" lies a conspiracy theory gripping millions of men: the belief that women secretly run society, rigging dating, sex, and power in their favor. It's called the "feminist gynarchy," and it's turning heartbreak into hate-and sometimes into violence.
In this episode of The Brink, we expose the myths behind hypergamy, red pill ideology, and the booming manosphere economy. From lonely forums to deadly attacks, we trace how modern masculinity is being rewritten-and ask: can we pull men back from the brink?
Hey there, and welcome to The Brink, where we dive deep into the biggest cultural shifts shaping how we live, connect, and make sense of ourselves. I'm Matt, and today we're talking about something that hits right at the heart of our times: therapy-and why so many in Gen Z are walking away from it.
For older generations, therapy was the place you went when life felt too heavy to carry alone. A softly lit office, a calm stranger who listened, and the hope that talking might help. But for Gen Z? Therapy's starting to feel... cringe.
A new survey found that over a third of Gen Z sees going to therapy as a sign of weakness. And while they're fluent in therapy-speak-words like "boundaries," "gaslighting," and "trauma responses"-many are choosing TikTok, Reddit, and Discord over a professional's couch.
So why is therapy losing Gen Z's trust? What's replacing it-and is it enough? Today, we'll unpack the data, the memes, and the quiet crisis hiding behind viral confessions. Because this isn't just a story about therapy-it's about what it means to heal in the digital age.
Stay tuned.
We're not falling apart - we're folding in. In this episode, [Your Name] unpacks why so many of us feel emotionally numb in an age of endless crisis, digital overload, and a culture that's mining our inner lives for profit. From melancholy and powerlessness to the quiet radicalism of showing up, discover why your numbness might not be brokenness - but wisdom. And how we can start feeling human again.
Why are so many men swapping softness for structure, and comfort for cold plunges? In this episode of The Brink, Matt explores the rise of "hardness culture"-a fast-growing, male-coded approach to wellness rooted in control, discomfort, and performance.
From dopamine detoxes and fasting windows to ultra-marathons and testosterone tracking, this isn't your typical self-care. But behind the spreadsheets and Spartan routines lies something more human: a quiet search for meaning, safety, and emotional permission in a world that rarely offers it.
We unpack the cultural shifts, psychological roots, and emotional undercurrents driving this trend-and ask a deeper question: what happens when healing looks more like discipline than softness?
If you've ever wondered why some men turn to structure instead of support, or whether there's room in wellness for both grit and gentleness-this episode is for you.
In this episode:
Why "hardness" is trending in male wellness
The rise of cold plunges, biohacking, and dopamine fasts
How control becomes a coping mechanism
The hidden emotional needs behind performance-based self-care
What a softer, more sustainable version of male healing could look like
Mentioned in this episode:
Andrew Huberman
Sacred Sons, Ed Mylett, Lewis Howes
Data on cold plunge and ultra-endurance trends
🎧 The Brink is where culture, mental health, and meaning intersect. Subscribe for more conversations that go beneath the surface.
In this episode, we dive into the unsettling rise of AI-induced psychosis—cases where users report hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions triggered by deep interaction with large language models like ChatGPT. We explore what happens when the line between simulation and reality blurs, how vulnerable minds are interpreting AI as sentient or supernatural, and what mental health experts are saying about this emerging phenomenon. From Reddit confessionals to clinical case studies, this is a journey into the psychological shadow of artificial intelligence.
We're talking about the emotion nobody talks about: none.
Not anxiety. Not rage. Just numbness.
What it is, why it shows up, and why staying in it too long might be more dangerous than we think.
Plus: where it comes from, why men are especially prone to it, and how to start the slow journey back to actuallyfeelingsomething again.
It's not a fun ride. But it might be a necessary one.
What do you get when you cross heartbreak, internet algorithms, and a crisis of masculinity? You get the manosphere-a sprawling, messy, often misunderstood world of forums, influencers, and ideologies shaping how millions of men see themselves. In this episode of The Brink, I take you deep into the factions that make up this digital ecosystem-from pick-up artists to black pill nihilists-not to gawk, but to understand. Why is this space so magnetic to men in pain? What's fuelling the anger, the isolation, and the need to belong? And most importantly: what are we missing when we write it all off as toxic nonsense? I'm a therapist. I've sat with men in crisis. And I've seen what happens when society offers them silence, and the internet offers them answers. This isn't a takedown-it's a reckoning. Because men in pain aren't the enemy. But the systems that ignore them might be.
AI has found its way into the therapy room. Sometimes in controlled ways, sometimes in un-regulated ones. Should we be celebrating this innovation or trying to build walls to keep it out?
In this week’s Brink, I’m going to explore the rising prevalence of autism diagnoses, the role they’re beginning to play in legal defenses, and what this evolving landscape reveals about the stories we tell — and believe — about the mind, accountability, and fairness.