logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2025
8m 58s

Listen Now: Flesh and Code

Wondery | Ballen Studios
About this episode

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

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Aug 27
Introducing: American Criminal
Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole are two of history’s most prolific serial killers. Or they’re liars who aren’t to be trusted. Either way, they’ve both got red in their ledger – all stemming from their twisted beginnings. American Criminal takes you inside the minds of some of our ... Show More
16m 23s
Aug 19
WikiLeaks: The Hacker Who Exposed America's Darkest Secrets
When Julian Assange released classified footage of a U.S. helicopter strike that killed two journalists and several civilians in 2010, it catapulted WikiLeaks into global headlines. As Assange unleashed a flood of classified documents, he sparked protests, fractured alliances, an ... Show More
35m 39s
Aug 12
Castle Bravo: America's Deadliest Nuclear Mistake
On March 1, 1954, a Japanese fishing boat called the Lucky Dragon No. 5 was sailing near the Marshall Islands when its crew was caught in the fallout of a secret U.S. hydrogen bomb test. Code named Castle Bravo, the test released far more radiation than scientists had anticipated ... Show More
29m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
What to Listen to Next - REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana
Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. Each week, Luke Lamana, a Marine Corp Reconnaissance Veteran, pulls back the curtain on what once was classified information exposing t ... Show More
6m 53s
Jan 2025
97. Who Killed John O'Keefe? : The Karen Read Trial
When John O'Keefe's body was found in the snow in January of 2022, there were more questions than answers. Eventually his girlfriend, Karen Read, was charged with his death. But as the case unraveled in court, dark secrets, illicit affairs, and police coverups came to light, prov ... Show More
38m 47s
Jul 2025
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
First published in Russia in 1903, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion purported to demonstrate evidence of a global Jewish conspiracy. Though it has repeatedly been proven to be a forgery, the text has helped fuel antisemitism across the world, from Henry Ford in America, to Naz ... Show More
30m 7s
Feb 2025
The Lindbergh Baby’s Killer is Convicted
<p>February 13, 1935. German immigrant Bruno Hauptmann is convicted for the murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. This episode originally aired in 2023.</p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Support the show!</strong>&nbsp;Join&nbsp;<a href="https://intohistory.co ... Show More
17m 3s
Nov 12
CRIMES: The Murder of Charles Walton
In 1945, the quiet village of Lower Quinton, England, was rocked by a brutal killing. Seventy-four-year-old Charles Walton was found dead in a field — pinned to the ground with his own pitchfork, his body marked in what looked like ritual sacrifice. Was it a crime of passion… or ... Show More
45m 16s
Nov 2019
Ep 93: The Murder of Dan Markel (Part 1)
In July 2014, FSU law professor Dan Markel was shot and killed in the driveway of his home in Tallahassee, Florida. Investigators immediately suspected that the family of Dan’s ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, was behind the murder, but would they be able to prove it? After two years of i ... Show More
1h 20m
Sep 19
EP. 216 - PENNSYLVANIA: Hazed To Death: The Murder of Timothy Piazza
In 2017, news of a disturbing crime began to spread across the campus of Pennsylvania State University. A student named Timothy Piazza had been found dead inside of a fraternity house... but what could have possibly happened here? As investigators and the public began to probe in ... Show More
1h 46m
Aug 21
134. The Mysterious Disappearance of The Beaumont Children: Australia’s Most Puzzling Unsolved Mystery // DARK SUMMER VOL. 2
In 1966, three children vanished without a trace in Australia, and no one knows what happened. It’s a mystery that still plagues the country to this day, and may credit it as the reason people started locking their doors there. But today, we have a much clearer picture of the cri ... Show More
52m 45s