On the Wednesday, August 12, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: What happens when young men pursue extreme physical perfection? Advertisement AdvertisementDana Taylor:Well, beyond the algorithm, what makes this particular kind of self-improvement so appealing to young men right now? And so, they really, really just want people to be safe about it. That's what I would say makes looksmaxxing looksmaxxing. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why young men are resorting to extreme looksmaxxing | The Excerpt