Powered by Orgasm - the rise and fall of a sex cult. (Cautionary Tales, with the amazing @ellenhuet.bsky.social )
timharford.com/2026/01/powe...
30.01.2026 07:24
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Powered by Orgasm - the rise and fall of a sex cult. (Cautionary Tales, with the amazing @ellenhuet.bsky.social )
timharford.com/2026/01/powe...
excellent news! I hope they enjoy it as well. books thrive on word of mouth so I appreciate you telling others!
thank you, this is so kind!! I assume most people won't read the notes (and that's fine!) but I like that they are there for those who are interested. as a journalist, i love checking the endnotes in other narrative nonfiction books
It’s impossible to put this book down - incredible story, so well researched and well told.
I've lost friends to OneTaste and had to bail out of a work retreat accidentally programmed at a venue owned by OneTaste founders. Very glad @ellenhuet.bsky.social exposed the manipulation driving it. Here she is in convo with Jules Evans (www.ecstaticintegration.org).
🎙️ON AIR:
We're talking to investigative journalist and features writer @ellenhuet.bsky.social about OneTaste, a company dedicated to “orgasmic meditation,” and how its cult-like nature led to a criminal conviction.
❓ Did you have a connection with OneTaste? Tell us about it.
📻 Listen:
📖 Today, a Story Time episode featuring @ellenhuet.bsky.social reading from her new book, EMPIRE OF ORGASM: SEX, POWER, AND THE DOWNFALL OF A WELLNESS CULT (MCD Books).
🎧 Available wherever you get your podcasts.
thank you so much for reading this and so glad you enjoyed it chris!
Truly, it’s a bonkers story that you should absolutely read.
One charismatic person takes their trauma or extreme life experience and draws universal truths from it. Start charging money for those truths. Add in attachment theory/victim blaming. And gear everything towards getting young women to have sex with old men they are not attracted to.
Ooh boy, this is a wild one. It’s meticulously reported and compellingly written by @ellenhuet.bsky.social. I’ve read a lot about cults and this has all the hallmarks.
thank you for sharing this Leslie!!
They felt safe telling each other something most people wouldn’t understand: they kind of wanted to join a cult again, Audrey said, “because we’re bored and lonely.”
#SundaySentence from the riveting Empire of Orgasm by @ellenhuet.bsky.social
#Booksky💙📚
Just found out about this book via this post and IMMEDIATELY went to my library’s website to place a hold
whoa! did you ever meet him
This deeply sad article by @ellenhuet.bsky.social and @rachelmetz.bsky.social made me think of Eleanor Rigby: All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
(Aside: Paul McCartney's songwriting always struck me as a depressive trying hard to stay cheerful.)
IT’S PUB DAY BABY HELL YEAH
Happy publication day @ellenhuet.bsky.social!!
On the latest podcast episode, @ellenhuet.bsky.social discussed her book investigating the true story of OneTaste, a sex wellness cult.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Ayyyy @ellenhuet.bsky.social
Brad Lander is shown being detained by federal agents in a courthouse. Lander wears a dark blue suit, blue shirt and blue striped tie. The agents wear sweatshirts and blue jeans. A headline reads: "Brad Lander Is Detained By ICE Agents at Immigration Courthouse." Photo by Olga Fedorova/Associated Press.
Breaking News: Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller who is running for mayor, was detained by ICE agents at an immigration court as he tried to escort a migrant out of the courthouse to prevent his arrest. nyti.ms/4jWkANE
most importantly, i got @bloomberg.com to print "these nuts"
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NEW from me: a quick profile of Alexandr Wang, who left his company Scale to become one of Meta's most $$$ expensive hires
with some fun details like
- why his name is missing an e
- how YC thought he "may be arrogant or brilliant"
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
“I was born here,” Jason Brian Gavidia shouted as a federal agent twisted his arm & pressed him against a fence outside his auto body shop in a working-class L.A. suburb. “I’m an American, bro!”
Vivid @nytimes.com reporting on the targeting of U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent.
NEW: @kateclark.bsky.social and i went deep on the unhinged spying saga between Rippling and Deel for @BW (and this gif!!!)
two of the world's most valuable startups are volleying accusations back and forth
at the center is one alleged spy, who says he smashed his phone w an axe (!)
Ron Chernow’s new book about Mark Twain is more about disappointment than success
NEW @bloomberg.com feature from me on @hf0.bsky.social, the 12-wk live-in startup accelerator that calls itself a "monastery for hackers"
at HF0, founders tune out all distractions and build. the coaching incorporates mindfulness (and cold plunges)
gift link 🎁:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
paris, i've always admired your work -- so sad to hear this
