Alex Cooper is everything about a guy I hate. She's funny, blond, confident, strong, successful, a podcast host, and she doesn't shower immediately after getting off the plane. She's something I'm not and I wish I was - my reverse mental category - and I'm obsessed with her.
“There are two kinds of people in the world: stupid smart people and smart stupid people,” he told me as we drove to LAX. "Who are we;" I'm asking
"Obviously, smart ass," he replied. He goes on to explain that a stupidly smart person is someone who has zero intuition about people but "knows things like books." My conclusion is that smart dunces are just the opposite. We were flying to New York for the weekend - the plan we made was that if we flew across the country, we would have no choice but to leave our respective homes. It would have been a refreshing change of scenery from the chilly Los Angeles we shared. In autumn, people who live with the four seasons tell me. It ended up reaching a chilling 75 degrees, and unfortunately, it was also the last weekend in October, which some dubbed the dreaded "Halloween". Didn't realize it until we were already 3,000 miles away from home, and we had to spend another weekend in sweatpants, staying home—no choice.
Alex Cooper and Kaz David.
i know alex is famous but it turns out alex apparently isrealfamous. Probably the only one who has gained such popularity through a podcast, instead of becoming a celebrity and then deciding the world is wrong not to start a podcast. Walking through the West Village with Alex was like standing in line for Elvis: adoring beauties flew from her left and right, screaming "Daddy!" at the top of their lungs. But I also noticed an unusual fan relationship. Alex and her audience interact like friends at an overnight camp. girls you haven't seen in yearsVeryto catch. It took me at least a dozen of these interactions before I finally stopped asking "How did you guys meet?"
Unlike some celebrities who secretly build cult followings and blindly follow everything they do, Alex has managed to create a real community - one where she and her audience share stories, tips, and ideas. He doesn't sell anything. She will never ask you to spend your hard-earned paycheck on her new line of hair extensions. Her loyal listeners, aka "Daddy Gang" (a name Alex came up with early on in the show in anticipation of it making people feel like they were part of something) aren't afraid to give her constructive criticism because she accepts that he just like a champ. In fact, she's been called out publicly on more than one occasion, and while it might cause others (me) to flee the country and take on a new identity, Alex has proven herself to be reflective and has an almost superhuman capacity for self-deprecation. Even While talking about her unreal moments, she's also real to her audience (wow... BeReal really ruined the word "real").
In September 2021, a TikTok account attempted to reveal that she had Photoshopped her waist in an Instagram post. She released an episode of the aptly titled Response, "I Got Caught in Photoshop," days after what she described as "a little embarrassment." As a young woman living the nightmare of modern internet culture, she doesn't pretend to be above these things, but she also understands the importance of talking about them.
Another sweaty weekend aside from taking these pictures.
According to a Demand Sage report, there will be more than 2.4 million podcasts in the media space by June 2022. Among them, there are probably a million podcast titles liketwo girls, a glass of wine, everyone makes the same dating comments like, "Girl, listen, if a guy is toxic, you need to cut him out of your life." Althoughshe calls her papaWith his presence almost a decade ahead of the podcast curve, Alex's point of view is never obvious or superficial. "As people say [she calls her papa] Polarized, and I'm trying to find a way for women in the world we live in, where we're not moping and complaining about the patriarchy," she told me. "Oh, you want power? Here are some tips for gaining strength from the inside out. "
That mission statement remains Alex's North Star, which is part of why she isn't disturbed by those who try to emulate her ascension. "I'm my own competitor," he said. "I don't pay attention to what other people are doing, I don't consume other people's content so I can keep an original sound. When I started, I've never listened to a podcast in my life. I focus on who I am, not trends And quick shots that don’t last.” In an age where rapidly changing trends and endless comparisons live on our permanently attached screens, that’s an admirable quality.
He was about to go...nowhere.
When I started, I had never listened to a podcast in my life. "
What sets it apart?she calls her papaHow Alex deftly traverses such a wide range of subjects in such an oversaturated market. She kicks off season 2 with an interview with Hailey Bieber, in which she talks about the crazy tabloids of the past few years. This episode follows a Human Interest article in North Carolina that interviewed staff and women who went to the abortion clinic at Preferred Women's Health Center in Charlotte to examine the impact of abortionRoe v WadeThis was overturned.
she calls her papahas become a safe space for people to explore everything from sex to mental health. Potential guests actually ran into the pod as their first friend to call after much public turmoil, and Alex patiently listened to their stories without judgment—she Credit this skill to being a mother growing up with a professional psychologist. "When I was young, and to this day, when I walked into my house, a friend of mine would sit on my couch and talk to my mom. Growing up, I would be disappointed by her being so intuitive because she Always knew if I was lying. But now I feel so grateful that she served me and my friends in a way no other parent could." Alex himself often conducts interviews from a psychoanalytic perspective, allowing The listening experience feels like something one would hope to gain from one's own therapy session - that is, if your therapist calls you a "hoe" and gives you explicit advice on how to masturbate
Yet the consistent line that captivates listeners each week is Alex's undeniable authenticity. She comes to the microphone, ready to offer her unfiltered opinion and leads a dynamic, uninhibited conversation, and in doing so, reveals a part of herself. Her large audience doesn't come for her celebrity guests or gossip, they come forshe"One week I'll have a comedian, and the next I'll have someone talking about their childhood trauma," she says, popping a Cheetos into her mouth and quickly wiping her fingers on her hotel bathrobe. "Even when I change things, I have a loyal audience. I don't stick to what I know."
Alex seems to know how to make people laugh. Many of her stories remind me of a maxim her mother told Nora Ephron when she was a child: "When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you. But when you tell people you slipped When poured on a banana peel, they laugh at you, so you become a hero and not a victim of a joke." For Alex, she shared her fears, such as when she spit her dinner on her boyfriend's dick, or She contracted a kidney infection from behind-the-scenes sex while going to the hospital in Las Vegas on her birthday. You know, the classic Nora...
Three nights in a hotel room can make or break a relatively new friendship. Disturbing habits are revealed and questionable morals surface. Before I left LA, I had asked Alex to put a headscarf on for her on the plane if she wasn't going to wash my hair that night before we went to bed. Luckily I don't snore, he said if I did he would "suffocate me mercilessly with a pillow". Expecting to know what shameful qualities in me or her would cause our relationship to end prematurely, I instead fully understand how unique his culture isshe calls her papaIt's true, if Alex is a smart chump, she's probably the smartest chump alive.
Photographer: Emilio Madrid; Hair: Frankie Calire; Makeup: Carolina Daly
kazi david is aNew York TimesBest-selling author and actor.