FluentlyForward

Is your boyfriend cheating on you with ChatGPT? Is Sam Altman trying to become God? And when was the last time you argued with someone online who was actually a real human being?

This week I'm joined by award-winning journalist and tech expert Bridget Todd, author of the new audiobook Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy, to talk about all things AI, Silicon Valley, and the increasingly weird internet we're living on.

We get into people falling in love with chatbots, whether having an AI girlfriend counts as cheating, why so many people are turning to ChatGPT for therapy and medical advice, and the tech billionaires who seem determined to insert themselves into every aspect of our lives. We also dive into Sam Altman's god complex, AI being treated like a religion, tech whistleblowers, online propaganda, and dead internet theory (because even Reddit can't be trusted anymore).

Plus, we discuss why the internet used to be so much more fun, whether social media is officially dying, and what it would take to create an online space where we could actually talk to other human beings again.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Love-at-First-Prompt/Bridget-Todd/9781668179826

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Dancing With the Stars might be one big happy family…but it’s also one big dating pool! This week we’re going down the DWTS rabbit hole: which pros have dated each other, which celebrities hooked up with their partners, the Mormon-to-ballroom-dancer pipeline in Utah, and of course the blind items about dancing pros and celebrities from different seasons!

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Why don’t you have a seat? This week, in honor of the new A24 movie with Robert Pattinson, we’re going down the entire "To Catch a Predator" rabbit hole - from how the Dateline series began and the wild lineup of people it caught, to the disturbing case that brought the show to an end.

We’re also getting into the conspiracy theory that "To Catch a Predator" was getting a little too close to powerful people, Chris Hansen’s messy post-Dateline years, his battle with YouTuber Onision, and if there's a smear campaign directed at Chris Hansen as of late.  

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Fluently Fixed is back with more morally dubious advice that will never involve me telling you to meditate or go for a walk! This week, we’re fixing an ADHD morning routine, figuring out what couples can actually do together at home besides watching TV, dealing with the “anything works for me!” people pleasers who make you plan everything, and hacking corporate America when you work your ass off but keep getting passed over for promotions. 

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Kate Kennedy of Be There in Five is back (!!) and this week we’re asking an important question: where did recession pop go? Back in the 2008-2012 time period, the economy was in shambles but we had Pitbull and Flo Rida and so many other artists giving us songs about #YOLO and going out and having a good time but now in 2026…we have a terrible economy, data centers popping up everywhere, the Epstein files out (and nothing done about them) and the music isn’t giving us the bangers we needed back in the 2010s to get through the times!

Join us for this episode as we break it all down - and have many a tangent about Taylor Swift Tumblr lore, Tom Cruise, the downfall of Justin Timberlake, Rihanna (could she put out an album and SAVE US in 2026?) and so much more.

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Why is Nicole Kidman suddenly everyone’s muse? This week, we’re going down the Nicole Kidman rabbit hole - from Troye Sivan and ADÉLA’s obsession with her, to her secret Ibiza rave life, her even more secret engagement to Lenny Kravitz, her complicated history with Scientology, and the bisexual rumor that had the internet convinced she once dated Naomi Watts. We also touch on why Nicole is such a figure in conspiracy circles, the theories about her father, and the eternal question: what exactly is it about Nicole Kidman that makes her so damn magnetic?

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We love to gossip, but we never want celebrities to be listening…and it turns out that lately, they always are!

This week, Shannon is joined by Kayla of Kayla Says to talk about a strange change in celebrity culture: famous people are now scrolling the exact same TikToks, tweets and YouTube videos that we are…that includes the content we make about celebrities.

Kayla tells her crazy story of Todrick Hall finding her video about him and FaceTiming her for TWO HOURS to explain his side. Then Shannon and Kayla get into Joey King responding to criticism of her Practical Magic 2 casting, Hailey Bieber's cease-and-desists, Selena Gomez fighting back in the comments, and so much more.

When does criticism cross the line into cruelty? Should celebrities be allowed to respond to random people giving opinions on their movies and albums? Why does a celebrity acknowledging a rumor sometimes make everyone believe it MORE? And have social media and stan culture completely destroyed the mystique that used to separate celebrities from the rest of us?

I mean….can we please gossip about the teachers without the teachers coming into the lunchroom and giving us detention?

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In this throwback episode we talk about the artist Doechii and how the book The Artist's Way helped her - and so many other notable people - in focusing their creativity, and helping to break down fear/shame around creating.

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Throwback: Today we're joined by ⁠Let's Get Haunted⁠ to explore online conspiracy theories all about Google. From theories around X, to Google Maps, to the government spying on us and more - we cover a variety of conspiracy theories about this huge internet company and just how powerful they are.

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In this throwback, we're diving deep into one of pop culture’s most dissected dynamics: the internet-fueled theory that Hailey Bieber has copied Selena Gomez - from tattoos and fashion to relationships and mannerisms. We get into the timeline, the TikTok theories, and the media’s role in fanning the flames of female rivalry.

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