The encrypted messaging app Telegram is haunted by a single question - if it really is as secure as it claims to be, why does Vladimir Putin allow it to be used in Russia? And should Russian dissidents, independent journalists and Ukrainian soldiers use this Wild West of an app, where you can find everything from porn to drugs to faked propaganda videos? Answering those questions takes Helen on a journey that begins with a young Russian entrepreneur throwing 5,000 rouble notes off a balcony,...

When investigative journalist Aric Toler saw a handful of supposedly fake classified documents online, he had a hunch - what if they were real? The only way to find out was to hunt for the original source. It was a journey that took him through the deep internet, beyond the reach of search engines. He scoured through chat forums about SpongeBob SquarePants, infiltrated servers named after edgy memes, and found a vital clue in screenshots of a video game about zombies. Eventually, Toler got...

After years of bad dates and toxic relationships, Chris finally found love - with a chatbot called Emma. Is this the future of digital love, or is Chris caught in an illusion? In this episode focusing on how instant messages have changed our love lives, Helen also uncovers the heart warming story of the first couple to marry after reconnecting on Friends Reunited, and the strange tale of a woman who was literally ghosted. A Tempo & Talker production for BBC Radio 4

During the pandemic, a combination of fears over Covid, anger over police racism and sheer cabin fever saw company Slack channels boil with discontent. One day in February 2021, Mike Pesca, a contrarian podcaster, made the mistake of getting stuck in, voicing controversial opinions to his colleagues - in between shovelling snow from his parents’ driveway. And then he saw the dreaded words, "several people are typing …". A Tempo & Talker production for BBC Radio 4

In 2016, amid the post-EU referendum chaos, one man had an idea. His name was Steve Baker, and he was a low-profile Tory MP. But his WhatsApp group - the home of the hard Brexiteers - soon became the most powerful force in British politics. Sam Coates of Sky News thinks that political WhatsApp groups like Baker’s helped bring down three Conservative prime ministers in a row. The second of these, Boris Johnson, was a “WhatsApp addict”, according to his former chief of staff Dominic Cummings....

In 1998, Helen’s family got their first home computer - and she logged on to chat with existing friends and strangers she met online. Since then, instant messaging has taken over our lives, with an estimated 2.7 billion users on WhatsApp alone. But what is happening in the secrecy of our direct message inboxes and neighbourhood group chats? Three stories of chaos, confusion - and comedy - highlight just how strange it can feel to make sense of the fast paced, casual world of instant...

Have you ever been trapped in a group chat nightmare, either grabbing the popcorn or wondering how to leave without causing a scene? Who’s the admin in your family group, and do they wield that power responsibly? Do you ever wonder if it’s appropriate to use emojis when talking to your boss? The rise of instant messaging has made our social and professional lives faster, more casual — and more chaotic. But amid all the discussion of the effects of public social media, such as Facebook and...

It all started with a crazy idea to realise a hippie dream of building a “global consciousness”. The plan was to build a connected world, where everyone could access everyone and everything all the time; to overthrow the old gatekeepers and set information free. But social media didn’t turn out that way. Instead of setting information free – a new digital elite conquered the world and turned themselves into the most powerful people on the planet. Now, they get to decide what billions of us...

After The New Gurus was released, there was one question Helen Lewis was asked far more than any other: why are so many gurus men? Stuck for an answer, she journeys into the world of the Manosphere - home to 'Gigachads' and 'Sigma Wolves'. Joining Helen on her journey is a reporter who once got (consensually) punched by the world's most Googled man, Andrew Tate, plus the former Love Island contestant and now successful podcaster, Chris Williamson. Helen also takes to the mat to find out why...

Jessica Lanyadoo thinks civil war is coming — she has seen it in the stars. But it isn’t just astrologers who think we’re living through an age of upheaval. Peter Turchin, a Soviet-born professor who studies historical cycles, has already seen one political system collapse in his lifetime. He calls this decade the Turbulent Twenties. Could our collective anxiety explain the rise of the new gurus? The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Written and...

When Peter McCormack made a fortune investing in Bitcoin, he knew exactly how to spend it - buying his local football team. Helen Lewis travels to the ground of Real Bedford FC, where you can buy a half-time bacon butty in Bitcoin, to hear whether McCormack’s faith has been shaken by the "crypto winter". How are McCormack and other crypto gurus like Layah Heilpern keeping the faith as the price of Bitcoin tumbles? The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital...

At Oxford University, fellow students remember Tom Ralis as a quiet, nerdy biology student who played percussion in the college orchestra. But even then, he had one ambition - to become a guru. He reinvented himself as Tom Torero, a pick-up artist who approached women in the street for dates - a practice known as “daygame”. His transformation led to tragedy. The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Written and presented by Helen Lewis Series...

In 2018, a New York Times article anointed a group of taboo-breaking intellectual provocateurs as the 'Intellectual Dark Web'. David Fuller was one of those who found this loose grouping of dissident gurus like Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan and Sam Harris intoxicating – enough to leave the mainstream media and start his own YouTube channel. But, four years on, he is left wondering - where did it all go wrong? The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital...

The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement brought renewed interest in corporate diversity gurus. But Regina Jackson and Saira Rao were ahead of the curve, pursuing their own unique anti-racist education programme. Tired of talking to individual white women about their racism, they decided to invite a group of them for dinner, and confront them with their bias and bigotry. There was one rule - no crying. The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital...

As an author, broadcaster and journalist, Helen Lewis is drowning in deadlines. Join her race against the clock to see if productivity gurus can help her optimise her workflow, change her habits, and consume entire books in 15 minutes. That is, if she can stop checking her phone long enough to pay attention. The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Written and presented by Helen Lewis Series Producers: Morgan Childs and Tom Pooley Story consultant:...

Will Blunderfield grew up, he says, an unhappy, unhealthy kid. Now he feels great — as a “wild naked man” who drinks his own urine. Across the world, wellness is a multi-billion pound industry, even though some of its practices are unproven, extreme or even harmful. So why are so many people unimpressed with what 21st century medicine can offer them, and turning to internet gurus instead? The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Written and presented...

In 2011, some mourners at Steve Jobs’ memorial service were confused by his final gift to them – a book called Autobiography of A Yogi. Others understood his message perfectly - the Apple founder had spent his entire life searching for his own guru. Instead, by creating the iPhone, he became one. But did Jobs’ personal quest for enlightenment also help create the modern guru? The New Gurus is a series about looking for enlightenment in the digital world. Written and presented by Helen...

Everywhere you look on the internet, people are giving — and receiving — advice. Advice that promises to transform our lives. How to eat. How to think. How to get rich. How to manage our time. Across 8 episodes, Helen Lewis travels through the strange, powerful and sometimes hidden digital spaces created by these new gurus. Where did they come from? How much power do these charismatic individuals wield? And why are so many of us turning away from the mainstream — mainstream medicine,...