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Boys Like Me

Boys Like Me

By: CBC
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Why are some lonely, young men a growing threat to our safety? In 2018, a Toronto man drove a van down a busy sidewalk, killing 11 people and injuring many more. He was linked to the "incel" movement, a dark online world fueled by violent misogyny, extreme isolation and perceived rejection. In the wake of the attack, Evan Mead discovers a disturbing connection to the perpetrator. They were former high school classmates; both outcasts, existing together on the fringes of social acceptance. How did two young men who started in similar circumstances, end up on such drastically different paths? This five-part series examines how socially-isolated young men can vanish into an online world of nihilism and despair that radicalizes them into angry — potentially deadly — misogynists. Hosted by Ellen Chloë Bateman and produced by Daemon Fairless (Hunting Warhead). For the best in true crime from CBC, ad-free, visit apple.co/cbctruecrime.

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True Crime
Episodes
  • Boys Like Me Introduces: Deepfake Porn Empire
    Feb 24 2026

    Deepfake porn is a billion-click industry built on stolen faces, while the people making it hide theirs behind screens. Hosted by journalist Sam Cole, Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire traces the decades-long rise of synthetic porn, the targets who are fighting back, and the global investigation that led to its Canadian kingpin.


    Understood takes you deep inside the seismic shifts reshaping our world right now. From online porn and crypto chaos to the rise of tech oligarchs, deepfake AI, and the broken promises of the internet — we explore the stories that define our digital age with hosts and characters embedded in the heart of the action.


    More episodes of Deepfake Porn Empire are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/DPExBLM

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    39 mins
  • Episode 5: Welcome to the Manosphere
    Dec 13 2021

    Incels are only part of the threat. Ellen speaks with a woman who spent years undercover among a vast network of online communities — among them so-called mens’ rights activists and pickup artists — all united in their desire for total male supremacy. They orchestrate harassment campaigns, glorify violence against women and actively recruit vulnerable young men. Few people are talking about it. And no one knows how to stop it. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152

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    45 mins
  • Episode 4: A Soldier for the Cause
    Dec 7 2021
    Evan shares a troubling period from his past and reflects on the different paths he and Alek took. What pushes someone to kill in the name of an ideology? Ellen speaks to a former Jihadi recruiter about the murky path from radicalization to terrorism. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/boys-like-me-transcripts-listen-1.6732152
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    38 mins
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