New Yorker writer Charles Bethea recently decided to attend men’s retreats—well, at least those who would admit him. His expose on the modern men’s movement got us thinking about what’s happening over those very expensive three-day weekends, as well as the inspiration behind these groups dating back to the seventies. And even how a movement tracing back to the work of Robert Bly was co-opted by the right-wing “alpha male” crowd.
Today we discuss Bethea’s article in the context of modern men’s groups: where they come from, what function they serve, and what they might get wrong…and horribly wrong.
Show Notes
<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/06/the-camps-promising-to-turn-you-or-your-son-into-an-alpha-male">The Camps Promising to Turn You—or Your Son—Into an Alpha Male</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inx2dMobzYs&t">The ‘alpha male’ myth, debunked</a>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5766054/inside-the-high-priced-retreats-promising-to-help-men-reclaim-their-masculinity">Inside the high-priced retreats promising to help men reclaim their masculinity</a>
<a href="https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-galloway-and-the-mooch">Brief: Galloway and the Mooch — The Lost Boys of Capitalism (Pt 1)</a>
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-boys/id1805054239">Scott Galloway and Anthony Scaramucci, Lost Boys podcast</a> 
<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/books/of-boys-and-men/">Of Boys and Men</a>
<a href="https://taboo.substack.com/p/reeves">A Statistical Book Review for 'Of Boys and Men'</a>
<a href="https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/03/03/White-Nationalist-Club-Found-Safe-Haven/">How a White Nationalist Club Thought It Found Safe Haven in a Montreal Gym</a>
<a href="https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026/03/12/Fallout-Reporting-White-Nationalism-Canada/">The Fallout from Reporting on White Nationalism in Canada</a>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/active-clubs-are-white-supremacys-new-dangerous-frontier-262786">Active Clubs Are White Supremacy's New, Dangerous Frontier</a>
<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/white-nationalist-active-clubs-1234835015/">White Nationalist 'Active Clubs' Are Who 'Proud Boys Wanted to Be'</a>
<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ice-recruitment-white-supremacists/">Whom Is ICE Actually Recruiting?</a>
<a href="https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2025/09/22/experts-concerned-about-white-nationalist-imagery-in-ice-recruitment-materials">Experts Concerned About White Nationalist Imagery in ICE Recruitment Materials</a>
<a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816614493/male-fantasies/">Male Fantasies, Vol. 1</a>
<a href="https://networkcultures.org/geert/2025/07/21/interview-with-Klaus-theweleit/">Interview with Klaus Theweleit on Male Fantasies Today</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

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