The new streaming show Adolescence opens with a haunting scene, especially if you're a parent.

A 13-year-old boy, Jamie, is arrested for the murder of his female classmate.

And that is not a spoiler. That is in the very beginning of the show.

As the story unfolds, it becomes very clear that this is not just a crime drama. The show,

all four episodes, are a chilling exploration of how toxic online spaces and societal expectations

of masculinity can and will radicalize vulnerable young boys.

Jamie's descent into violence is shaped by relentless bullying, isolation, and the dark pull of extremist

internet communities. This is a show and a story that asks all of us to confront some really hard questions.

What happens when boys are taught to suppress their emotions, when their pain is ignored,

and when the digital world offers them a blueprint to be a man that we're not showing them in any other places?

Today we're getting into all of this with a friend of mine,

Reverend Angela Denker. Angela is the author of Disciples of White Jesus for the Radicalization

of American Boyhood. Her book begins with two stark truths. White boys and men are dangerous,

and white boys and men are struggling. These statements are both

very true and also both painfully accurate. White men do make up the majority of mass shooters in America,

but they also die by suicide at higher rates than any other group. From Andrew takes toxic rhetoric to the unregulated

forums that prey on boys like James and adolescents, we are unpacking how digital toxic masculinity

is reshaping boyhood today. And not just that, we are also talking about how we're going to stop

it, because we are solution people here. Okay?

Middle-aged women are going to change the world. This is a conversation about danger and struggle,

but I swear to God it is also about hope. Because if we can understand what's happening to our boys,

that is when we can begin to change it.

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