Looksmaxxing, Ghostlighting and Bringing AI Companions On An IRL Date

Looksmaxxing, Ghostlighting and Bringing AI Companions On An IRL Date

From Well-Informed Girlfriends by Tiege Dooley-Panko and Samantha Kubota

March 2, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

Sam and Tiege discuss the mainstreaming of incel slang, the trend of bringing AI companions on dates, the concept of ghostlighting, and the implications of the U.S. - Israel - Iran conflict.

This week, Sam and Tiege explain how incel slang like “looksmaxxing” went mainstream, people are bringing their AI companions out on the town, and how the newly-coined dating term “ghostlighting” is a trend as old as time. Plus, an explanation of the escalating U.S. - Israel - Iran conflict and what it could mean for gas prices, cyberattacks and the political fight over presidential war powers.

People in this episode

Hosts: Tiege Dooley-Panko, Samantha Kubota

Topics covered

  • incel slang
  • AI companions
  • ghostlighting
  • U.S. - Israel - Iran conflict
  • gas prices
  • cyberattacks
  • presidential war powers

Keywords

  • looksmaxxing
  • ghostlighting
  • AI companions
  • U.S. Israel Iran conflict
  • gas prices
  • cyberattacks
  • presidential war powers

Mentioned in this episode

Places: U.S., Israel, Iran

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