Inside the training camps for “alpha males”

In this episode of Fresh Air, host Tanya Mosley speaks with New Yorker staff writer Charles Bethea about the rise of 'alpha male' training camps and retreats across the U.S., where men pay thousands to undergo intense physical and emotional challenges in pursuit of masculinity. Bethea, who embedded in programs like RISE in Virginia and the Squire Program in California, reveals that beneath the performative warrior imagery—cold plunges, mud crawls, and militaristic rituals—lies a deep well of male loneliness, anxiety, and emotional isolation. Many attendees are not privileged elites but men struggling with unemployment, erectile dysfunction, and social disconnection, seeking a sense of belonging and purpose. While some influencers like Nick Adams and Andrew Tate promote a hyper-masculine, often toxic ideal, Bethea finds that programs like RISE use symbolic rituals and brotherhood to create a therapeutic space where men can confront vulnerability. The episode traces the historical roots of hypermasculinity—from Teddy Roosevelt’s 'West Cure' to Robert Bly’s mythopoetic movement—and shows how the term 'alpha male' was distorted from a primatologist’s observation into a political and cultural weapon. Ultimately, Bethea suggests that while the movement is flawed and often co-opted by right-wing ideologies, it reflects a genuine crisis in male mental health and a desperate need for connection, community, and meaning in modern life.