In this episode, I team up with fellow sex writer Magdalene Taylor to unpack the defining sexual and pop culture moments of 2024 and predict what we think is coming in 2025. We discuss sex in the movies, polyamory's PR crisis, the politicization of big boobs, bathhouse feminism, Brat summer, the Sapphic pop renaissance, Sabrina Carpenter's sexuality, the rise and fall of the Girl's Girl, and so much more.

People, places, and things we mentioned: The Veggietalesification of Culture, as predicted by Brad Troemel; your fave is selling a pedophilic fantasy, by Jade Fax; Post-Election, Beware 'Self-Care,’ by Jessica DeFino; The “Girl’s Girls” Have Lost The Plot by Magdalene Taylor; All Fours by Miranda July; “bathhouse feminism,” as discussed by Sighswoon, Pornhub’s 2024 data, etc.

Get more of Magdalene’s insights by subscribing to her newsletter Many Such Cases. The podcast is illustrated by Molly Crabapple, with music by Sinning. Thanks for listening!

In this exclusive interview, pioneering independent porn director Erika Lust—dubbed “the queen of ethical porn”—joins me to unpack the relationship between desire, culture, and power. A feminist trailblazer, Lust has redefined adult filmmaking with authentic, female-centered stories that challenge industry norms. Her work has earned her TEDx stages and a profile in The New York Times, which crowned her an “art-house pornography behemoth” shaping the future of adult entertainment.

This episode was recorded in person at Lust’s Barcelona HQ. Watch the video version on the Pleasure-Seeking website. To learn more about Erika Lust, check out her website and her immersive erotic art exhibition House of Lust.

Credits: Podcast illustration by Molly Crabapple. Music by Sinning.

For the first episode of the Pleasure-Seeking podcast, I chat with Jessica DeFino, an award-winning journalist who’s been called “the woman the beauty industry fears” for her work unpacking the psychological and societal impact of beauty culture. We dissect Coralie Fargeat's body horror The Substance, analyze the relationship between botox and sex, and discuss how beauty culture has shaped our experiences with dating and romance—plus, how the male gaze has been replaced by “the sale gaze,” how the internet changed beauty culture, extreme beauty trends like the “morning shed” videos circulating on TikTok, and whether looksmaxxing can be empowering.

People, places, and things we mentioned: Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom, Everyone Is Botoxed & No One Is Horny by Jessica DeFino, Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny by RS Benedict. Annihilation of the selfie by Haley Nahman, and the works of Bell Hooks and Audre Lorde (broadly speaking). Plus The Hole Debate, where my fellow sex writer Magdalene Taylor debated the politics of labiaplasty.

You can get more of Jessica's insights by subscribing to The Review of Beauty, her weekly newsletter on beauty culture.

Illustrated by Molly Crabapple, with music by Sinning. Thanks for listening!