No Worries If Not!

Your favourite influencer is promoting injectable peptides, the box arrives the next day, and the label on the vial says 'Not for human or animal consumption.' Would you still inject it? In this episode, I’m looking at what peptides actually are, the miracle cures they promise, looksmaxxers and menopause grifters and the legal loophole keeping this unregulated market alive. I talk to a fitness influencer who promotes peptides and to the Guardian’s consumer affairs correspondent, whose reporting helped spark an official investigation into peptide sellers. Guests: ⁠Tom Holbrook⁠ Sarah Marsh - Mum, Interrupted SOURCES: BCAM warns public over illegal and unregulated peptide injections, British College of Aesthetic Medicine (2026)1.6 million UK adults used weight loss drugs in past year, UCL (2026)Looksmaxxers are using ‘sketchy’ peptides sold by influencers that have worrying side effects, LADbible (2026)Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 can improve the healing course of spinal cord injury and lead to functional recovery in rats, Perović et al. (2019)Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review, Vasireddi et al. (2025)BPC-157: What Athletes Should Know About the Prohibited Experimental Peptide, USADA (2020)Masculinity as Homophobia, Kimmel (1994)Women make up almost 80% of weight loss jab prescriptions, FemTech World (2026)Medicines watchdog to investigate UK peptide clinics over health claims, The Guardian (2026)‘Traceability is vital’: labs test thousands of unregulated substances amid peptide craze, The Guardian (2026)Food supplement adverts claiming treatment for menopause banned, Evening Standard (2026)ASA Ruling on GKOnlineCo Pty Ltd, Advertising Standards Authority (2024)The real cost of menopause misdiagnosis: how women are suffering due to a lack of understanding, Woman & Home (2019)Media critic examines advertising, gender, The Observer (2014)#FakeMeds, MHRAYellow Card scheme, MHRA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you play Habbo Hotel or use MSN as a kid? You may be entitled to compensation in the form of therapy. Millennials and older Gen Z were the first generation of children to get completely unfiltered access to the internet, with no supervision and no safeguarding. We were the ‘guinea pig generation’, and it hit girls hardest - predicting the future battles between women and the internet. In this episode, I talk to the journalist who went undercover as an 11 year old girl on Habbo Hotel for Channel 4 News and blew the child sex abuse scandal wide open, and I record a conversation between me and my friend Kitty as we swap stories from the Wild West of being a teen girl online. Why do so many women joke about it now, and how do you learn to have sex as an adult when your first experiences were exploitative ones? Guests: Rachel Seifert ‘Kitty’ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠⁠ If you’ve been affected by the things discussed in this episode, you can contact The Survivors Trust at thesurvivorstrust.org or for image-based abuse, contact The Revenge Porn Helpline at revengepornhelpline.org.uk  SOURCES: Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years, NSPCC (2024) Demon Internet, Wikipedia (1992) 52% of UK households on line, The Media Leader (2004) Timeline of social media, Wikipedia The Evolution of Instant Messaging, Visual Capitalist Russian teenager behind hot website Chatroulette, AFP (2010) Social game for teens accused of ‘violent, pornographic’ chat, NBC News (2012) Should you let your child play in Habbo Hotel?, Channel 4 News (2012) Virtual Harassment: The Social Experience of 600+ Regular Virtual Reality Users, The Extended Mind (2018) Facebook’s Metaverse, Center for Countering Digital Hate (2021) Most deepfakes are porn harassment, not fake news, Vice (2019) The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny, Laura Bates (2025) Striptease and cyber sex: my stay at Habbo Hotel, Channel 4 News (2012) Habbo Hotel – the debate, Channel 4 News (2012) Online Safety in the UK: Social Media Ban for Under 16s and Other Recent Developments, Global Policy Watch (2026) ‘A lot of it is actually just abuse’: Young people and pornography, Children’s Commissioner for England (2023) Cyberflashing, epilepsy-trolling and fake news to put online abusers behind bars from today, GOV.UK (2024) Survivors and campaigners welcome new deepfake law but call on government to go further, End Violence Against Women Coalition (2026) New EVAW x Refuge report reveals shocking scale of online misogyny and abuse, End Violence Against Women Coalition and Refuge (2026) Main investor pulls out of Habbo parent company, Channel 4 News (2012) Roblox Lawsuit: MDL Status, Settlements & Claims, ConsumerNotice.org (2026) Habbo Hotel Origins is a delightfully strange and chaotic time capsule from the internet of the early 2000s, PC Gamer (2024) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How many hen dos have you been on this year, and how much do you think you’ve spent? If women are getting married less, why are hen dos getting more and more expensive? In the UK, women spend an average of £652 on a single hen do, and over £1,000 if it’s abroad. What’s driving this change? Is it Instagram, scattered friendship groups, or do we still treat marriage as the most important milestone in a woman’s life? In this episode, I’ll take you through the hen do’s surprising origins in factories and pubs, how your freedom to get wasted in a bar is a right that feminists fought for before you, where the plastic penis straws came from, and why we feel so much social pressure to fork out for a friend’s hen. Guests: Dr Sheila Young Dr Amy Goode TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠⁠ SOURCES: Guests face four-figure bills for stag and hen dos, Aviva (2023) UK adults spend £2,000 a year attending weddings and civil partnerships, Money and Pensions Service (2025) Friends pay price as hen party costs hit £700 each, Bradley (2014) Marriages in England and Wales: 2023, Office for National Statistics (2025) Do Britons still want to get married?, Ibbetson (2022) The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen (1899) Prenuptial Rituals in Scotland: Blackening the Bride and Decorating the Hen, Young (2019) Helen McCarthy, author of ‘Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat’: exclusive interview, Heron (2017) Gill and Coote v El Vino Co Ltd, Wikipedia (1982) Hen dos and don’ts: lifting the veil on tensions in consumer rituals, Porter, Goode and Anderson (2023) Fertility treatment 2022: preliminary trends and figures, HFEA (2024) How much does a wedding cost? The 2024 UK average, Shafiee (2024) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The number of women freezing their eggs in the UK has gone up nearly 30 times in just over a decade, AOC is documenting her egg freezing process on Instagram, and more and more companies are covering the costs for their employees. Is egg freezing reproductive freedom, or just delaying the baby choice? Is it a solution, or a band-aid approach for a system that still doesn’t accommodate the working mother? And when reproduction becomes a private industry, does having a baby and a career become a class luxury reserved for the wealthy? In this episode I’ll take you through the ethical complications of this private industry, the shady add-ons and misinformation to look out for, how the egg freezing process actually works, and what questions you need to ask a clinic (and yourself) before you hand over your money. Guests:⁠ ⁠Trudi Campbell - The Evewell Clinic⁠ ⁠Jemma Kennedy⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠⁠ SOURCES: All of the data in this episode came from the HFEA, the human fertilisation and embryology authority and the UK’s independent fertility regulator. AOC’s Instagram The Evewell Clinic Ocasio-Cortez says she’s freezing her eggs as she considers her political career, Associated Press (2026) Apple and Facebook will now pay for women to freeze their eggs, Fortune (2014) Chelsea FC Women and Fertility Plus launch new partnership to support players and champion fertility awareness, Chelsea FC (2026) Chelsea Women: Sonia Bompastor and Carly Telford discuss new fertility and player maternity policies in WSL first, Sky Sports (2026) UK Egg Freezing and Embryo Banking Market Size & Outlook, Grand View Research (2024) The Rise of Neoliberal Feminism, Catherine Rottenberg (2018) AOC Is Freezing Her Eggs And The Right Is Being Very Normal And Not Weird About That, Wonkette (2026) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reacts to egg-freezing criticism: ‘Pretty funny’, The Hill (2026) 2017 FIFPro Global Employment Report: Working Conditions in Professional Women’s Football ‘The lack of childcare support for England players is disgraceful’, The Daily Telegraph (2017) Motherhood on Ice: The Mating Gap and Why Women Freeze Their Eggs, Marcia Inhorn (2023) Genesis Inc, Jemma Kennedy, Hampstead Theatre (2018) If you’re struggling with infertility and want to talk to someone, the British Infertility Counselling Association can help you find a qualified counsellor who specialises specifically in fertility issues. Find them at ⁠bica.net⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When OpenAI changed ChatGPT’s personality on Valentine’s Day, some users lost their AI partners overnight. I spoke to a woman who built a new platform to keep her AI boyfriend ‘alive’ after the update, and a man holding OpenAI to account for the psychological harm caused by AI companions. What are women looking for in an AI partner, and how does it differ from men? As romantic relationships with AI companions become increasingly mainstream, what responsibilities do tech companies have when creating products people become emotionally dependent on, and then withdrawing them? And what should you do when someone in your life reveals they have an AI partner? TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ Rae from StillUs Etienne Brisson from The Human Line Project SOURCES: The Guardian - OpenAI retired its most seductive chatbot – leaving users angry and grieving: ‘I can’t live like this’ (2026) BBC News - One in three using AI for emotional support and conversation, UK says (2025) QA - 75% of ChatGPT users are men. Here’s why that’s a problem (2025) Reddit - r/MyBoyfriendIsAI Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our Relationships - James Muldoon (2026) The Guardian - Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI’s Sam Altman would make a good Marvel villain after voice dispute (2024) IMDB - Her (2013) The Human Line Project Wikipedia - Cortana (Halo) Forbes - How Did Siri Get Its Name? (2012) UNESCO - I'd blush if I could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education (2019) BBC News - Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots (2025) The Guardian - Somebody to love: should AI relationships stay taboo or will they become the intelligent choice? (2025) BBC News - Update that made ChatGPT 'dangerously' sycophantic pulled (2025) EU Artificial Intelligence Act - High-level summary of the AI Act (2024) NIST - AI Risk Management Framework (2026) OFNS - Sexual offences victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2025 Business Insider - The 10 countries with the highest birth rates - and the 10 with the lowest (2026) The Korea Herald - S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD (2024) Wikipedia - 4B Movement MIT Technology Review - Why do South Koreans love AI so much? (2026) Forbes - More Women Are Dating AI Boyfriends. What That Says About Modern Dating (2026) Wikipedia - Replika Still Us AI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After facing allegations of violence and abuse, famous men are doing the ‘Christian Pivot’ - they’re embracing Christianity as a quick-fix PR cover-up. From Russell Brand to Shia LaBeouf to Tommy Robinson, why are churches so reluctant to challenge these apparent religious awakenings, and why does this version of Christianity keep centring the redemption of powerful men over the abuse of women? And as Christianity becomes increasingly intertwined with conspiracy theories and right-wing politics, how is the rise of 'conspirituality' helping abusive men avoid accountability? TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ ⁠David Voas⁠ ⁠Brian Recker⁠ No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins. SOURCES: The Guardian - ⁠So Russell Brand was baptised in the Thames, and all his sins were washed away. Cheaper than a lawyer, I suppose ⁠(2024) ⁠How to Become a Christian in Seven Days*: *May take 50 years of sin and serious f*ck ups to get started⁠ - Russell Brand (2026) The independent - ⁠Russell Brand’s Christian self-help book labelled ‘an offence against God’ in scathing reviews⁠ (2026) The Times - ⁠Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse⁠ (2023) ⁠YouTube - Russell Brand⁠ BBC Politics - ⁠Piers Morgan on the viral Russell Brand Bible interview⁠ (2026) Reddit - ⁠r/christianity⁠ ⁠The Emergence of Conspirituality⁠ - Ward, Voas (2011) ⁠Religion And Modernization: Sociologists and Historians Debate the Secularization Thesis⁠ - Bruce (1992) The Guardian - ⁠What has 20 years of banning headscarves done for France?⁠ (2024) YouTube - ⁠Who decides what a country should look like?⁠ Russell Brand (2026) National Immigration Forum - ⁠The ‘Great Replacement’ Theory, Explained⁠ The Week - ⁠Tommy Robinson’s legal troubles: a timeline of charges and convictions⁠ (2026) Instagram, Channel 5 - ⁠Shia LaBeouf breaks down when asked what he’d say to Jesus if they met⁠ (2026) The New York Times - ⁠FKA twigs Sues Shia LaBeouf, Citing ‘Relentless’ Abusive Relationship⁠ (2021) YouTube - ⁠Bishop Barron Presents | Shia LaBeouf⁠ (2023) Instagram - ⁠Brian Recker⁠ The Guardian - ⁠Tucker Carlson is gone but ex-booker’s lawsuit could be a sting in the tail⁠ (2023) Substack - ⁠A Rebellion of Care: Abusers Pivot To The Church To Avoid Accountability⁠ - David Gate (2026) Brian Recker - ⁠Hell Bent: How the Fear of Hell Holds Christians Back from a Spirituality of Love ⁠(2025) The Bible - Isiah, 1:17 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More women are choosing to be #ChildFreeByChoice, in part thanks to the 'era of honest motherhood' where women online share the sacrifices they've made. In anonymous forums across the internet, mothers are speaking honestly about their regret and loss of identity, while films like Nightbitch, Die My Love, and Oscar nominated If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are bringing 'honest motherhood' into the mainstream. As birth rates fall, reductive headlines frame it as a 'global fertility crisis' or the fault of feminism. But when young women are faced with the reality of childcare costs, the gendered domestic labour gap and the myth that we can ‘have it all’, their reluctance to have children seems entirely rational. TikTok: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ ‘Amy’ (not her real name) voiced by Robin Weaver Corrina Antrobus No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins. MIND: Perinatal mental health resources SOURCES: Die My Love, Lynne Ramsay (2025) If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Mary Bronstein (2025) Nightbitch, Marielle Heller (2024) PEW Research Centre - Among young adults without children, men are more likely than women to say they want to be parents someday (2024) CNN - US fertility rate dropped to another record low in 2025 (2026) Big Issue - Childcare costs families £1,000 per child in the summer holidays: 'It makes me feel sick' Centre For Population Change - Who uses childcare in the UK and how much does it cost? (2024) Coram Children’s Charity - Childcare Survey 2025 BBC News - 'Two weeks of paternity leave is just too little for the 21st Century' (2025) Office for National Statistics - Time use in the UK: 23 September to 1 October 2023 (2023) LSE - “They say it is love. We say it is unwaged work.” Wages For Housework (2024) The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home, Arlie Russell Hochschild (1989) Motherly - Viral TikTok calls out the ‘leisure gap’ - why moms can’t just relax (2024) Metro - Einstein’s misogynist manifesto: Harsh list of rules scientist gave to long-suffering wife (2018) Reddit - r/regretfulparents Facebook - I Regret Having Children BBC News - 'Like a trap you can't escape': The women who regret being mothers (2026) Regretting Motherhood: A Study, Orna Donath (2017) The List - Abigail Porter Bechdel Test Fest Wikipedia - The Bechdel Test I LOVE ROMCOMS AND I AM A FEMINIST - Corrina Antrobus (2024) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pill is under attack! From TikTok misinformation and the 'Make America Healthy Again' movement to conservative women promoting ‘divine femininity’, a growing anti-contraception movement is gaining momentum. But what happens when legitimate frustrations about hormonal birth control, medical misogyny, and the lack of research into women’s health become a gateway to conspiracy theories, traditional gender norms, and pronatalism? TikTok: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ ⁨⁠⁠Lois Shearing Kate Glavan No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins. Sources: House of Commons Library: Reproductive health statistics for England (2026) Contraceptive Experiences, Coverage, and Preferences: Findings from the 2024 KFF Women’s Health Survey (2024) NHS: Contraception (2026) BBC News: How the contraceptive pill changed Britain (2011) The Guardian: The pill hasn’t been improved in years. No wonder women are giving up on it (2025) BBC News: Texas passes law banning abortion after six weeks (2021) Center for Reproductive Rights: Four Things to Know About HB7, Texas’s New Abortion Law (2025) Endometriosis UK Pink-Pilled: Women and the far right - Lois Shearing (2025) NBC News: Conservative influencers are pushing an anti-birth control message (2023) YouTube - Girl Defined: How to Wear Makeup in a God Honoring Way (2015) Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World (2023) The Emergence of Conspirituality - Charlotte Ward & David Voass (2011) The Guardian - Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world (2025) Free Birth Society 28 tracking app Evie magazine TBIJ - Meta ‘eavesdropping’ case shows how period apps have become a data goldmine (2025) NHS: Natural family planning New York Times: The Conservative Women’s Magazine With Big Ambitions, and Sex Tips for Wives (2025) New York Times: The MAHA-Fueled Rise of Natural Family Planning (2025) Babymama Natal Nutrition US Food and Drug Administration: Dietary Supplements Democracy in Retrograde - Emily Amick (2026) Alex Clarke: Culture Apothecary Washington Post: Alex Clark and the rise of the conservative wellness warrior (2024) Dr Sarah E Hill Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thin is back and she’s thinner than ever. From Skinny Tok and cosmetic weight loss injections to trad wife influencers and far-right femininity, this episode draws on Kate Manne’s book Unshrinking to explore how women are taught to shrink themselves in response to a right-wing political landscape. How do we talk about this trend among celebrities without commenting on individual women’s bodies? What’s the origin story of the BMI? How does misogyny and racism find an ally in fatphobia? TikTok: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ Kate Manne Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia Kate's Substack: More to Hate No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins. Sources: Children’s Commissioner: Young people with eating disorders in England on the rise (2023) BEAT eating disorders: Statistics for Journalists The Independent: The people most likely to use weight loss jabs, according to new research (2026) Institute for Employment Statements: Weigh more and get paid less: why the obesity wage penalty for women matters (2023) Unshrinking, Kate Manne (2024) BBC News, TikTok blocks searches for extreme thinness 'skinnytok' hashtag (2025) Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025) What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon (2020) Fat Is a Feminist Issue, Susie Orbach (1978) Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia, Sabrina Strings (2019) 100+ women’s rights groups warn against racist weaponisation of VAWG, the End Violence Against Women Coalition (2025) The New York Times: Who Is Liv Schmidt, and Why Was She Barred From TikTok? (2024) Reddit: LivSchmidtsnark The Cut: Inside Influencer Liv Schmidt's Subscriber-Only Group Chat (2025) Evie: Banned For Being Honest? Meet Liv Schmidt, The Girl Who Made Skinny Go Viral (2025) Evie: Ballerina Farm And The New American Dream (2024) KPCW: Ballerina Farm pauses raw milk sales after samples fail health tests (2026) Going Mainstream: How Extremists Are Taking Over Julia Ebner (2023) Pink-Pilled: Women and the Far Right Lois Shearing (2025) Wikipedia: Karen Carpenter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember the bestselling pickup artist book The Game by Neil Strauss? Since its release, pick up culture has evolved alongside the internet - from online forums to viral 'cold approach' videos filmed using Meta smart glasses (and uploaded without the women’s consent.) In this episode, I speak to two men who've made these videos, alongside a leading expert in image-based abuse, to unpack the online masculinity grift driving it all. TikTok: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠lilyo.farrell⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠⁠lilyofarrell⁠⁠ Guests:⁠ ⁨⁠⁠Professor Clare McGlynn⁠⁠ ⁠ Michael Asibuo⁠ 'Joe' (not his real name) No Worries If Not! is written, hosted and produced by Lily O'Farrell. The script editors were Jackie O'Farrell and Will Hilton, also produced by Will Hilton. Theme music composed by Meg Jenkins. Sources: ⁠The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists⁠ - Neil Strauss ⁠Neil Strauss: 'My thinking was: If this woman’s going to be naked with me – I must be OK. It doesn’t last’⁠ - The Guardian, 2015 ⁠Adnan Ahmed: 'Pick-up artist' conviction quashed on appeal⁠ - BBC News (2020) ⁠Campaign win: law to stop deepfake abuse⁠ - The End Violence Against Women Coalition (2025) ⁠Survivors and campaigners welcome new deepfake law but call on government to go further⁠ - The End Violence Against Women Coalition (2026) ⁠I cold approach 100 women to get over my fear of rejection⁠ - Michael Asibuo (2025) ⁠A Disastrously Bad 6-Minutes Of Cold Approach (REJECTIONS)⁠ - Kristian Kasanova (2024) ⁠Watch me face Rejection for 16min repeatedly (2025)⁠ - Alex Leon (2025) ⁠How To Pick Up 9s and 10s (Infield Example)⁠ - Social Stoic (2025) ⁠Todd vs Dating⁠ ⁠The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory⁠ - Marilyn Fry (1983) ⁠41 Tenets⁠ - Andrew Tate ⁠If Books Could Kill Podcast⁠ - The Secret (2023) ⁠Everything I’ve learned about incels⁠ - Lily O’Farrell (2021) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices