Non-Toxic

In this follow-up to Episode 1's conversation on incels (involuntary celibate men) and their obsession with the idea of the alpha male, we drill into the origins of the alpha — and discover it's all pretty much a myth. Our guest is Connor Meyer, a PhD student at the University of Montana who has been studying Yellowstone National Park's wolves, the animal the incel community seems most fixated on. Connor has a new study out that suggests a lot of the more aggressive behavior exhibited by wolves in the park has nothing to do with genetics but instead a little parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. To support the show, ⁠visit our Patreon ⁠and become a patron today. You can also sign up for our free monthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram for climate news and dank memes. You can find Connor's study on "toxo" and other resources below.

1. Rudolph Shenkel’s 1947 study of wolf behavior.

   
   



2. Dr. Frans De Waal's 1982 book Chimpanzee Politics, which purportedly became a favorite of Republican House of Representative’ Speaker, Newt Gingrich. 

   
   



3. Michigan State University’s Mara Hyena Project. 

   
   



4. Connor Meyer, Kira Cassidy, et al.’s paper on the influences of Toxoplasma gondii’s on Yellowstone National Park wolves. 

   
   



5. The Yellowstone Wolf Project. 

   
   



6. What exactly is telemetry and how is it used in wolf research? 

   
   



7. KIra Cassidy’s TEDx Talk, “Aging in the wild: lessons from animals about the value of growing old.” 

   
   



8. Wildlife biologist Diane Boyd, who has been called the “Jane Goodall of Wolves.” 

   
   

Guest bio: Connor Meyer is a native of Whidbey Island, Washington, and is currently a wildlife biology doctoral student in the University of Montana's Ungulate Ecology Lab, which is part of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation. His study on the influence of Toxoplasma gondii on wolf behavior in Yellowstone National Park was published in the journal Communications Biology in November 2022. 

CORRECTION:

We want to clarify that Connor Meyer and his colleagues didn't discover any toxo-infected wolves killed by cougars in Yellowstone National Park during the course of their study. The study only hypothesized that the behavioural effects of toxoplasmosis may create a feedback loop that increases spatial overlap and disease transmission between wolves and cougars.

In the first of this two-part series, we're talking about the myth of the alpha male, where it came from, how it's developed, and why it has remained so prevalent in our culture, despite the fact that a lot of research has overturned the idea.

Perhaps the group most obsessed with the idea of alpha males are incels (involuntarily celibate men), who have adopted an elaborate pseudoscientific misogyny that explains why women won't have sex with them. We spoke with Callum Hood, the head of reserach at the Center for Countering Digital Hate, about how incels look to "nature" to explain human society and justify their beliefs, how incel forums foster and spread hate online, and what (if anything) can be done about them.

To support the show, ⁠visit our Patreon ⁠and become a patron today. You can also sign up for our free monthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram for climate news and dank memes.

You can find Callum's report for CCDH and other resources below.

1. CCDH research on Jake Davison, a UK mass shooter involved in incel communities

   
   



2. We Hunted the Mammoth is a blog covering the manosphere that has been around nearly a decade now and is a useful 'historical' resource

   
   



3. Article explaining how former pick-up artist Roosh V described raping women in his books

   
   



4. Another article about a different pick-up artist describing having raped someone

   
   



5. Former pick-up artist Roosh V's blog on legalizing rape

   
   



6. Laura Bates' book "Men Who Hate Women" is very good on incels and crossover with white supremacism

   
   



7. Article about a leading incel moderator recently announcing he is now in a sexual relationship

   
   



8. CCDH's report The Incelosphere

   
   

Non-toxic is a new podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of masculinity and the climate crisis, hosted by critic and cultural journalist Daniel Penny.

Every week, we’ll be looking at climate through the lens of culture, politics, media, and everyday life to understand what researchers call "the eco-gender gap."

Join us for conversations with experts, journalists, and regular guys on topics ranging from why incels are obsessed with alphas to how chemical exposure is killing our sperm count.

Season 1, Episode 1 drops June 1st, 2023.

To support the show visit patreon.com/nontoxicpodcast and become a patron today.