A fiery examination of the damage wrought by internet culture

Historically, when a woman was giving birth, she was attended by the women she trusted most, including her child’s prospective godmother. The word ‘gossip’ derives from the Old English ‘god-sibb’, meaning godparent, but came to refer to what went on around the childbed. As Erica Jong later put it: ‘Gossip is the opiate of the oppressed.’

Gossip has since moved online – see Mumsnet and the network of Facebook pages called ‘Are we dating the same guy?’. Women use the latter to post warnings to alert others to serial cheaters – and worse. Perhaps inevitably, it has become the focus of several lawsuits brought by men who have been publicly maligned. Is it possible to keep the old ‘whisper network’ alive without being sued in the process? Lily O’Farrell, a young writer and cartoonist, is determined to show us how.

It says a lot about the state of the world we’re living in that we need podcasts like hers. Beneath its apologetic title, No Worries if Not! is a potent, even fiery examination of the damage wrought by internet culture. Its target audience is young women – 20-something feminist O’Farrell has a sympathetic voice that will appeal to the slightly younger Gen-Zers – but the topics discussed affect all of us.

A recent episode explored the hysteria over ageing that has prompted even children to use products containing peptides, retinol and other alleged youth-enhancing chemicals. Another proposed that dating apps are turning us into human fruit-machines devoid of empathy. You may not be shocked to learn that 75 per cent of Tinder users are male.

Statistics, eloquent experts and deep research elevate this podcast above most others of its ilk. In place of chit-chat we get a carefully considered commentary which builds to tell a broader story of our times.