The Hook Up

They say it’s one of the oldest professions in the world, and with sites like OnlyFans booming in popularity, getting into the industry is easier than ever before - but what is it like to date someone who does sex work? We hear your experiences of dating and relationships from the POV of SWers and as partners - from escorts, full service and erotic dancers, to online adult content creators, phone operators and companion services.

SHOW NOTES:

Melbourne Sexual Health Centre Annual Report: https://www.mshc.org.au/images/downloads/AnnualReports/MSHC_AnnualReport_2024.pdf

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Over 20% of Australians live with a disability yet there’s still so much stigma and misconceptions when it comes to their sex lives. That’s something comedian and host Madeleine Stewart is trying to change in a new doco. We chat about what she’s learnt about desire and pleasure - through her own experience as well as those she interviewed for the show. 

SHOW NOTES:

Compass episode - Intimate Access: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/compass/series/40/video/RN2511H011S00

Maddie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_madeleine_stewart/

Disability Advocacy Support Helpline: 1800 643 787

Women Disability Australia: https://wwda.org.au/

Touching Base: https://www.touchingbase.org/

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Did you know psychology has only existed for 147 years? For such a young science, it’s had a huge impact on humanity and how we understand relationships, from Freudian theories to the pop psych infographics we see on social media every day. So we wanted to investigate it - where psychology came from, how it’s evolved throughout time, some of the biggest myths and misconceptions, and what the future of psychology could look like.

SHOW NOTES:

A Brief History Of Psychology:

A Brief History of Psychology: From Plato to Pavlov:

Freud’s life work and theories

The Jungian Shadow:

Is Stockholm Syndrome A Myth?:

Myth busting in psychology

AI and Psychology

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Research shows women are out performing men in education, and are buying more houses - but at what cost to their love lives? We speak to author Stefanie O’Connell about her book The Ambition Penalty and her viral Guardian article about how more single women are buying more houses and how men aren’t responding well.

SHOW NOTES:

Is Your Partner Intimidated By Your Success Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAHdxsrCrRg

Guardian article - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/13/women-home-buyers-men-dating

Stefanie O’Connell website - https://tooambitious.com/

The Ambition Penalty - https://tooambitious.com/book/

Stefanie’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stefanieoconnell/?hl=en

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Success looks different for everyone. Maybe you own property, or have built a great career. Maybe you’re highly educated, well travelled, creative, ambitious or wealthy. But sometimes thriving in life can impact dating and relationships. We hear your stories, particularly as women, about when your success has become a problem when dating.

SHOW NOTES:

Single women are buying more houses. The men they are dating are not responding well: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/13/women-home-buyers-men-dating

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

Saying I love you to someone can be such a huge thing - so how do you know when you actually feel it? And when is the right time to say it? Plus how do you deal when the person you love doesn’t say it back. We answer all your questions about declaring your love with couples therapist Megan Kozak. 

These are the most feared words for any budding relationship. I Love You. Everyone's advice is always “just say it when you genuinely feel it!” which is great in theory, but hard in practice for so many reasons. In this episode we chat about the ILY timeframe, why you may or may not say it and how it should be said. 

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

73% of you have dated someone where there’s been a mismatch of PDA in your relationship. So what can you do if one of you loves physical touch and the other doesn’t?

We chat to couples therapist and sexologist Isiah McKimmie on how to navigate that mismatch, how to deal with feelings of rejection, and whether it’s something you can work on or change. 

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

How do you feel about holding hands, hugging, kissing and canoodling in public? Is it cringe or cute? We hear your stories about PDA - witnessing it in the wild, when there’s been a mismatch in physical touch, and whether PDA has been lost.

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.

People are emotionally, mentally and spiritually exhausted by dating apps, so much so that hundreds of thousands of swipers are deleting them. Now to try and “shake things up” Bumble is replacing the swipe function with AI matchmaking. 

We chat to Dr Raffaele Ciriello from the Uni of Sydney about some of the major issues of using AI to help you date, as well as the benefits.

SHOW NOTES:

Dr Raffaele Ciriello: https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/raffaele.ciriello

Bumble AI changes: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/well/bumble-swipe-feature-online-dating-apps.html

DM us your thoughts, questions, topics, or to just vent at @triplejthehookup on IG or email us: [email protected]

The Hook Up is an ABC podcast, produced by triple j. It is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, work, and learn.