What makes someone a star nowadays? And why does every generation of humans crave to celebrate them? For decades, Hollywood has promoted a carefully curated ideal of aspirational talent, beauty, and intrigue. But in 2026, it feels like that power is in the hands of the one thing that alleges to know us best: the algorithm. Now computer programs hold more power in shaping who is famous and what we all are fed as aspirational ideals: from who is a star to what our bodies should look like. Enter the algorithm body. In this episode, host Brittany Luse is joined by <a href="https://popsyllabus.substack.com/"target="_blank" >Christiana Mbakwe Medina</a>, screenwriter and host of the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2dtBZMYISVi3iOhJlqog5b"target="_blank" >Pop Syllabus podcast</a>. They get into the evolving nature of fame and why Christina thinks the thin body ideal is out and the sculpted body ideal is in. Want more about tech, beauty, and cultural cache? Check out these IBAM episodes:<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/25/nx-s1-5759733/the-morbid-lifelessness-of-modern-beauty"target="_blank" >The morbid lifelessness of modern beauty</a><a href="https://lnk.to/05HVk9"target="_blank" >Peptides & the pursuit of the "perfect" body</a> Support Public Media. <a href="https://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >Join NPR Plus.</a> Follow Brittany on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmluse/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@bmluse</a> For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at <a href="https://www.npr.org/podclub"target="_blank" >npr.org/podclub</a>. To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below: See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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