252: Netflix vs. Andrew Tate (On “Adolescence”)

There’s a mystery of violence swirling in and amongst the kids these days. Especially boys. What could it be? Snapchat? Video games? Andrew Tate? A hit Netflix series points to issues, and policy. But is it pointing in the right direction?

Today we’ll look at “Adolescence”: the origin story, the strengths and liabilities of its one-take technique, and its deceptively conservative messaging. Should it be shown in Parliament? Schools? Does it tell us much about the kids it is worried about? Does it offload responsibility for misogyny and violence onto ambient internet chaos, when there are so many other causes closer to home? And why, if it is a meditation on violence committed by boys, do we learn so little about the girls who are harmed?
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Correction: In the episode, Matthew said that Axel Rudakabana was of South Asian descent. He was born in the UK of parents from Rwanda.

Show Notes
Brief: Tate Crime
Teachers Warn That Misogynist Andrew Tate Has 'Radicalized' School-Age Boys
180: Is This the Next Andrew Tate?
Stephen Graham shares the heartbreaking stories that inspired Netflix's Adolescence
'Adolescence' Becomes Netflix's Most-Watched Limited Series in First 2 Weeks With 66.3 Million Views
Elon Musk blasted for spreading 'concerning' misinformation about Netflix's Adolescence
Netflix’s Adolescence makes TV history in the UK
“Netflix hit Adolescence has lessons for us all” says Northumbria PCC Susan Dungworth, as she welcomes PM backing for it to be shown in UK Schools
Netflix's Adolescence inspired by true story of Croydon girl's horrific murder - MyLondon
UK experts warn of dangers of violent content being readily available online | Southport attack
Croydon schoolgirl Elianne Andam stabbed in ‘white-hot anger’, court told | UK news
Hassan Sentamu sentencing remarks
Sentencing Remarks: In the matter of the murder of Ava White
Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2024
The facts about firearm violence
Firearm Violence in the United States | Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Online gangs of teenage boys sharing extreme material are ‘emerging threat’ in UK | NCA (National Crime Agency)
Beyond the Headlines 2024 Summary | Youth Endowment Fund
Spotify takes down Andrew Tate ‘pimping’ podcast after complaints
Kyle Clifford watched Andrew Tate videos before triple murder
The Terrifying Truth Behind Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’
Stephen Graham Netflix series Adolescence inspired by two real-life crimes
"Objective realism," ethnographic cinema, and the classical model of visual-anthropological research
PACE Code C 2023
GCSEs harm our young people. Ministers should have the guts to abolish them – and start again
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Dismantling New Age cults, wellness grifters, and conspiracy-mad yogis. At best, the conspirituality movement attacks public health efforts in times of crisis. At worst, it fronts and recruits for the fever-dream of QAnon. As the alt-right and New Age horseshoe toward each other in a blur of disinformation, clear discourse, and good intentions get smothered. Charismatic influencers exploit their followers by co-opting conspiracy theories on a spectrum of intensity ranging from vaccines to child trafficking. In the process, spiritual beliefs that have nurtured creativity and meaning are transforming into memes of a quickly-globalizing paranoia. Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this landscape. A journalist, a cult researcher, and a philosophical skeptic discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. Mainstream outlets have noticed the problem. We crowd-source, research, analyze, and dream answers to it.

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