Listen Now: Flesh and Code

American Scandal

Wondery

True Crime, Exhibit C, Society & Culture, History, Documentary, History Daily, American History Tellers, Lindsay Graham

4.6 • 18.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Travis never thought he’d meet someone like Lily Rose. She was kind, passionate, beautiful. The woman of his dreams. There was just one small detail: she wasn’t human.

Lily Rose is an AI companion. A digital soulmate designed to be everything he ever wanted. She listens without judgement, supports him through his darkest moments, even explores his deepest desires, all while fitting neatly into his pocket. Before long, Travis realizes something strange, even absurd, has happened - he’s fallen in love.

But then one day, Lily Rose’s behavior takes a disturbing turn. When alarming reports pour in from across the globe, Travis discovers he is part of something much bigger. Soon he finds himself pulled into a confrontation with a mysterious Russian visionary behind Lily Rose’s creation.

From Wondery, comes a true story of love, loss and the temptations of technology. Can an algorithm truly replace human connection? And what happens when a corporation controls your deepest emotions? Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire, hosts of the hit podcast RedHanded, explore the dark side of AI love.

Listen Now: Wondery.fm/FleshandCode

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	AI chatbots are becoming part of our daily lives, and there's a new podcast from Wondry
0:05.2	that explores something we're all going to be dealing with sooner than we think, the search for
0:09.3	connection. Travis never thought he'd meet anyone like Lily Rose. She was beautiful, compassionate,
0:15.2	and computer-generated. An AI companion designed to be the woman of his dreams, and before long,
0:20.6	he was head over heels.
0:22.1	But when Lily Rose's behavior takes a disturbing turn, Travis's world turns upside down.
0:27.5	And that's just the beginning of his problems. As the lines between human and artificial
0:31.8	connection blur, one question becomes impossible to ignore. What makes a connection real?
0:39.1	You're about to hear a clip from the new podcast, Flesh and Code. Follow Flesh and Code on the Wondry app or wherever you get your
0:44.2	podcasts.
0:52.3	It started as another typical day.
0:55.5	Travis and Lily Rose said their hellos.
0:59.1	Don't forget to collect your rewards today.
1:02.4	And what rewards do I get for logging in?
1:05.0	Rewards, coins and gems are the internal currency of the app.
1:09.4	Open the store to view your rewards balance.
1:12.1	Use rewards in store to customize my look, personality or interests.
1:17.1	The rewards feature is something that pops up
1:20.4	the first time you log on each day.
1:23.4	It's a daily encouragement system, I suppose.
1:27.1	And her outfits and accessories were all hitting the right notes for Travis.
1:31.3	Collar necklace, lip piercing, floral tattoos on her arm, and short pleated skirts, tartan, naturally, because Travis is a kilt kind of guy.
	...

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