Boy Problems – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back to Hopecore - the optimistically hopeful pod, that just may be a cult. We’re chatting with Amanda Montell, an author, podcaster, and all-around cult specialist from Scientology to Soul Cycle, and every cult in between. Amanda and Liz dive into all things cultish - the way language influences leaders & followers, the groupthink power of social media, and how we can make meaning out of the current apocalypse. Come for the vibes, and stay for the cult. 

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Submit your boy problems here!

Check out Airplane Mode with Liz Plank on Substack! 

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This week on Boy Problems, we’re getting hot, heavy, sweaty, and messy. I went on a date with a girl, and I’m ready to share it ALL. From the power of paying on a first date, to the mystifying appeal of masculine confidence, and the reality of being with a woman in a man’s world, this episode explores every corner of modern dating, leaving nothing to the imagination. And of course, no Tuesday would be complete without answering a few of your boy problems - they make the world go round.💕

Keep writing in with whatever’s on your mind, and don’t forget to tune in this Friday for our eagerly awaited guest on Hopecore - we have an extra ✨magical✨ episode for you in store.

Submit your boy problems here!

Check out Airplane Mode with Liz Plank on Substack!

This week Liz is joined by her sister (with a surprise cameo from dad) for a family debrief that feels exactly like you’re part of the group chat. Eldest daughter icon Emilie Plank drops in to explain how to stay intimate when everything feels unhinged. We spiral about whether you should tell your sister her boyfriend is trash, get heated over the politics of cheese boards, and try to figure out how to exist without combusting in 2025. It’s messy, it’s unfiltered, and it’s probably too honest, just how we like it.

In this week’s episode of Boy Problems, you asked for it: Nick and Liz reunite on the pod in New York! Together, they write a few options for the official Boy Problems theme song, and discuss the importance of knowing your own diagnoses. Also, they invite Taylor Swift to join the boy problems squad, and chat about how the debut of her new album is a perfect example of women showing up in a male-dominated room, and being celebrated and admired while doing it. Nick & Liz answer a few of your questions, and chat to Nick’s sister about being a Swiftie, and how he turned out so great. Please keep sending us your boy problems. We love reading them! 💕

CHAPTERS

00:03 - Dressing up for prom

01:07 - Toenail or placenta?

02:10 - Nick is infamous

03:43 - Is that a MAGA hat?

04:15 - Nick is in a band!

05:22 - More men should self-diagnose

06:12 - The male Taylor Swift (Boy Problems Exclusive)

07:22 - Making our theme song!!

08:32 - Our petition to Taylor Swift

15:00 - Answering Problem #1

20:33 - Answering Problem #2

24:30 - Calling Nick’s sister on Taylor Swift Day

26:45 - Men, we love you

29:30 - THANK YOU!

For more from Liz Plank, subscribe to her Substack, Airplane Mode: https://substack.com/@lizplank.

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Write to Liz and share your Boy Problems they might make it onto the show! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HS1sBjrrvSYLTSTJni3HZlt-ADxrAB9rtCH9-C6hT70/viewform?edit_requested=true

Liz Plank is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, international bestselling author, and producer of several critically acclaimed digital series at Vox Media and NBC News. She currently hosts Boy Problems, a podcast that tackles love, masculinity, dating disasters, and life’s biggest questions.

Her widely celebrated book, For The Love of Men: A Vision for Mindful Masculinity, became an international sensation, captivating readers across the globe. Praised for its bold exploration of modern masculinity, it has been featured in iconic publications such as Vogue, Esquire, Playboy, ELLE, GQ, and has earned thoughtful coverage on NPR, The Washington Post, and MSNBC. Its impact transcended borders, sparking vital conversations about the future of gender and identity.

Liz’s groundbreaking journalism has garnered widespread acclaim, earning her a spot on Forbes’ prestigious 30 Under 30 list, as well as recognition as one of Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media and Marie Claire’s Most Powerful Women. Adding to her global impact, she was honored as one of the World’s Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical, cementing her status as a trailblazer in shaping the future of gender equality.

Learn more about Liz and her work at https://www.elizabethplank.com/

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Liz talks about her first humiliationship, and why it wasn’t humiliating at all but actually kind of iconic to care that much and be fully chalant. She also relives the best day of her life: seeing the Backstreet Boys at the Sphere and realizing they are basically the first documented case of men written by a woman. And because the patriarchy is still with us, Liz answers a listener question about how to date in 2025 when everything is hell. Please keep sending us your boy problems we love reading them! 💕

This week starts with a high-stakes investigation: is the apartment’s latest intruder a roach or something worse? Liz reminisces about the time she got engaged to a bag of Doritos, talks about all her exes getting pregnant at the same time, and makes the case for why being a lover girl is still elite even if it means crushing on athletes who give facetime tattoo tours. As always, your boy problems take center stage, so keep them coming because we are obsessed.

On this episode of Boy Problems we go to a Coldplay concert, meet the Stanley Cup, and wake up in bed in Miami so obviously we had to record. We unpack immigrant family dynamics, in-law chaos, and what to do with a messy wife. We also debrief our life-changing, soul-rearranging sleepover with the one and only Rupi Kaur, poet, icon, and now unofficial relationship therapist. Is the white woman way the right way? TBD. Keep sending your boy problems. We’re thriving on the drama.

We heard you. We read the comments. We saw the DMs. You wanted more Nick and honestly, same. So we delivered. America’s emotional support boyfriend is back on the pod. He’s here to walk us through heartbreak, sociopaths, the first time he got a boner, and what women still don’t understand about men. Warning: listening to Nick may cause side effects such as restored faith in humanity, sudden emotional regulation, and wanting to slide in nick’s dms (he’s @nickcianci) Listen at your own risk!! And keep sending us your boy problems!!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScy4d8Ke2I7_u1ck-vYxoSDQx3VKEB3iUKRC0K_wC2NpsHVtA/viewform?usp=send_form

Liz gets a text from her ex on the same day a global war is announced because the universe loves dramatic timing. In this vulnerable, emotionally chaotic episode, she spirals  (poetically) through heartbreak, geopolitics, and why she longs for the simpler, more delusional days of dating in the 2010s. Was love easier during the Cold War? Probably not. But it feels like it was. Plus: Liz does the whole episode from bed, and answers fresh Boy Problems, including whether being delulu is the solulu.

Heather Graham pulls up to Boy Problems and proves she’s MOTHER, both literally and spiritually. We talk breakups, boundaries, boosting your baddie energy, and why saying no is the new self-care. Liz and Heather also discuss the underrated power of millennial vibes, and why everyone could stand to be just a little bit more Millennial in this chaotic world.