Monica’s shady ties to foreign nationals

About this episode

On this week’s Sister Club meeting, we discuss Emilie Kiser’s recent interview on Jay Shetty’s ‘On Purpose’ podcast, where she spoke publicly for the first time about the tragic death of her son, Trigg, and the devastating impact that online speculation had on her family. We unpack the internet’s tendency to search for someone to blame in the wake of tragedy, the ethics of online sleuthing, and why so many followers felt entitled to intimate details of an intensely private case. What do social media, parasocial relationships, and digital culture teach us about grief, accountability, and the boundaries between public and private life?

Next, we turn to the recent "girlbossification" of AI, sparked by public comments from Reese Witherspoon, Mel Robbins, and Sophia Amoruso. We explore why calls for women to simply "embrace AI" rang hollow for so many, and whether the conversation ignores the structural issues surrounding artificial intelligence, work, and gender inequality. Can the challenges posed by AI really be solved by individual women "leaning in," or does the technology demand a much broader conversation about who builds these systems and to serve who’s interests?

Keywords: Emilie Kiser, Trigg Kiser, Jay Shetty, On Purpose podcast, parasocial relationships, social media, internet culture, online grief, true crime ethics, influencer culture, Reese Witherspoon, Mel Robbins, Sophia Amoruso, artificial intelligence, AI, women in AI, feminism, girlboss culture, future of work, workplace inequality, technology, digital culture, women's issues, Sister Club Podcast, Australian podcasts.

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Instagram: @sisterclubpodcast

Email: [email protected]

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References

Amoruso, S. (2026, May). 'Women are sleeping on AI and it's going to cost them.' Sophia Amoruso's Newsletter. https://sophiaamoruso.substack.com/p/women-are-sleeping-on-ai-and-its

Chapin, A. (2026, May). 'The girlbossification of AI.' The Cut. https://archive.li/SgRIo

Frederiksen, K.M. (2026, June). 'I asked three AI systems the same question…' Humidity Speaks. https://humidityspeaks.substack.com/p/i-asked-three-ai-systems-the-same

Ingram, L. (2026, May). 'Women's anti-AI backlash shows the broligarchs are out of touch.' AI Girl Gang. https://aigirlgang.substack.com/p/womens-anti-ai-backlash-shows-the

Jagielnicka, K. (2025, December). 'There's a reason women aren't swooning over AI like men are.' The Noösphere. https://thenoosphere.substack.com/p/theres-a-reason-women-arent-swooning

Kiser, E. (2026, June 17). 'Emilie Kiser exclusive: the loss that changed her forever' [Podcast episode]. In J. Shetty (Host), On Purpose with Jay Shetty. iHeart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSreAw_fjE

Otis, N. et al. (2024, October; rev. 2025, August). 'Global evidence on gender gaps and generative AI.' Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=66548

Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research. (n.d.). 'Gender, power, and AI.' https://gender.stanford.edu/news/gender-power-and-ai-how-gender-bias-male-centered-mythologies-and-resource-extraction

University of Waterloo. (2023). 'What would it mean to have feminist AI?' https://uwaterloo.ca/news/arts-research/what-would-it-mean-have-feminist-ai