Downstream: Porn Addiction Defines Our Political Age. Here’s How w/ Ash Sarkar
Summary
Investigative journalist Patricia Nielsen discusses her book *Guilty Pleasure*, which examines the porn industry's transformation from a studio-based business into a data-driven tech ecosystem. The episode explores how Wall Street investors and early internet pioneers like Fabian Tillman established the free "tube site" model, effectively turning sex work into a commodity that generates billions through ad tech and affiliate marketing. Nielsen highlights how this shift created a shadowy underworld where payment processors and algorithms, rather than traditional producers, now control the in…
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