Cobra Lily

Episoder

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  Reality Surf 17.09.2026 1t 9min

  Is artificial intelligence bound to break the human mind? Is there an objective reality, or is it all just perception? Can you really manifest your greatest wishes, or is that just confirmation bias? Ella and Maria explore the impact of artificial intelligence on people’s grasp of objective reality and chart the dramatic increase in Internet content centered around manifestation since the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics include:Emily Hart, the AI-generated MAGA influencerThe troubling phenomenon of AI-induced psychosisSimulation theory and its predecessors in Ancient China and pre-Enlightenment FranceA deep dive into manifestation as a practice and an arm of pop spirituality: does the universe really care about your vision board?Follow Cobra Lily on Instagram and TikTokCheck out the Cobra Lily websiteCheck out Ella's poem and collage about phones and reality, "Divine Machinery,” Explore Ella's SubstackIntro song by Ivy Frey at Shirkerism zine
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  Pretty Boys Like Trap Music 06.09.2026 1t 18min

  Why do suburban white kids fantasize about the storied struggles of rap music? What happened when war lost its meaning? What is the path forward in today’s matrix of porn, sports betting, and misogynistic online content? Ella, Maria, and their Straight Male Correspondent Guy continue their discussion of bell hooks’ groundbreaking The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love with a focus on how patriarchy makes for good business. Topics include:How The Sopranos, Succession, and Animal Farm beg the question: why should men want to compromise their privilege?How low-status, exhausting work can make masculine authority feel more appealingThe relationship between boys and mothers in places of heightened male dominationThe nuances of commercialized female sexuality in a capitalist patriarchal frameworkFollow Cobra Lily on Instagram and TikTokCheck out the Cobra Lily websiteRead Ella’s essay, “Leaving Love to the Market,” which inspired the episodeExplore Ella's SubstackIntro song by Ivy Frey at Shirkerism zine
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  Fear and Loathing at Marine Corps Boot Camp 28.08.2026 1t 17min

  Why are we obsessed with sex and violence? Why has feminism failed to land with so many men and women? How much is it testosterone and how much is it social conditioning? Maria, Ella, and their Straight Male Correspondent Guy crawl through the thickets of modern gender wars using visionary cultural icon bell hooks' The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love as a guide. Topics include:The relationship between testosterone, natural selection, and patriarchal conditioningWhat 2010's feminist messaging got wrongThe Byzantine psychodrama of Marine Corps Boot CampWhat does a good man look like to an avowed feminist?Follow Cobra Lily on Instagram and TikTokCheck out the Cobra Lily websiteRead Ella's essay, "I Actually Want to Live in a Society," which inspired the episodeExplore Ella's SubstackIntro song by Ivy Frey at Shirkerism zine
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  Croc Nation 16.08.2026 1t 4min

  When did Crocs and sweatpants become restaurant attire? Why do people seem louder and ruder than ever? Should we bring back shame? In the debut episode of Cobra Lily, Maria and Ella discuss the collapse of shared behavioral standards in public American life. They connect this to the history of individualism, from Enlightenment ideas and Cold War politics to the human potential movement, self-help culture, and the rise of neoliberalism. Topics include:How funeral etiquette, movie theater behavior, and restaurant manners reveal a bigger cultural shiftWhy authenticity can become an excuse for selfishness in public spacesThe dichotomies of individualism versus collectivism, and shame vs guilt culturesWhy capitalism, neoliberalism, and the burnout economy leave people with no energy for social gracesFollow Cobra Lily on Instagram and TikTokCheck out the Cobra Lily websiteRead Ella's essay, "I Actually Want to Live in a Society," which inspired the episodeExplore Ella's SubstackIntro song by Ivy Frey at Shirkerism zine