Consider Before Consuming

Over the last decade, an overwhelming amount of science and research has come out on the topic of pornography and its effects on the viewer. Hundreds of studies by experts show how consuming porn develops neuropathways that can change our brains and impact people individually, including how it can be habit-forming, become an escalating behavior, change how we view others, and even impact mental he...

This episode contains discussions of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. Rachel was first exposed to pornography at seven years old and went on to develop an addiction to porn for the next thirteen years. Despite getting treatment for anxiety and depression as a young girl, she never felt like she could tell others about her struggle with porn because it was something that "girls did...

Valiant Richey started his career as a prosecutor, where he moved to the Special Assault Unit, handling sexual assault, child exploitation, and human trafficking cases for a decade. He now works for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an organization that works on security issues and human rights for 57 countries. Val is an ambassador for the organization, working with...

Disclaimer: Fight the New Drug collaborates with a variety of qualified organizations and individuals with varying personal beliefs, affiliations, and political persuasions. As FTND is a non-religious and non-legislative organization, the personal beliefs, affiliations, and persuasions of any of our team members or of those we collaborate with do not reflect or impact the mission of Fight the New...

When Dr. Jill Manning began her career as a therapist, she quickly realized how many people of all ages struggled with issues surrounding the use of pornography, including addiction and betrayal trauma. This led her to obtain a Ph. D. in marriage and family therapy, specializing in betrayal trauma. Dr. Jill Manning explains how betrayal trauma victims are affected by their partner's porn use a...

After being exposed to pornography for the first time during his freshman year of high school, Chandler began struggling with pornography and realized that he wasn't able to stop using willpower alone. It wasn't until he connected with others in an in-person support group that Chandler was able to see improvements in his journey to be porn-free. In this episode, Chandler discusses how find...

Uldouz started her acting career and quickly began to grow a following from her modeling and acting work. As she was growing in popularity, she learned that intimate, nonconsensual images and videos of her were leaked in the 2014 iCloud hack that affected hundreds of women, including many celebrities. After the leak, Uldouz battled to have the videos removed from mainstream porn websites, includin...

As the owner of a personal training company, Look Like You Lift, Braydon helps people strength train and get mentally and physically healthy, which sometimes means helping them address their addiction to pornography and begin to heal. Braydon shares his own personal story of being exposed to pornography at a young age and how it affected him throughout his adolescence, including how it affected hi...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains frank discussions of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Listener discretion is advised. Taina Bien-Aimé is the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW), one of the oldest international organizations dedicated to ending trafficking in women and girls and commercial sexual exploitation as practices of gender-based violence and disc...

We sat down with Alex and Candice, a couple whose marriage was brought to the brink due to Alex’s consumption of pornography. Over the course of five years, they struggled together as Alex tried to find recovery from what can best be described as an “addiction” and Candice suffered from betrayal trauma and body image issues. After much pain, therapy, and setbacks, Alex is well on the road to recov...

The following podcast episode contains discussions of child sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Listener discretion is advised. The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. Elizabeth was 14 years old when she was abducted from her home on June 5, 2002, and endured daily sexual assault, starvation, and abuse for 9 grueling months. Fortunately, due i...

This episode discusses explicit sexual behaviors and abuse that may be triggering to some. Listener discretion is advised. Victoria started online dating after her divorce. That's where she first met Brandon. In the beginning, Brandon was saying and doing all the right things to make Victoria believe this was a man that respected and loved her. Years into their relationship, however, Victoria...

Lisa Frost is the Co-Founder of Wired Human and author of The Glass Between Us. In this episode, Lisa discusses her work with kids and parents to discuss the harms of pornography, the correlation between screen time and mental health, and the importance of digital literacy for youth. Lisa also shares her experience doing a 30-day "digital reset," hiking on the Appalachian Trail with her fa...

Counselor, Coach, & Sex Addiction Specialist, Eddie Capparucci, Ph. D., joins us again on Consider Before Consuming to discuss the ways in which pornography affects the consumer and their relationships. In this episode, Eddie Capparucci, Ph. D., explains how porn can negatively impact the consumer's emotional intelligence, how porn consumption can be symptomatic of a larger problem, and ho...

Teresa was 22 years-old message therapy student when she was offered the opportunity to work for a high-profile client as a traveling massage therapist. Instead, she ended up being groomed, sexually assaulted, and trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and his network of exploiters. During this episode, Teresa shares her experience being a sex trafficking victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ho...

Wright, P. J., Paul, B., & Herbenick, D. (2021) British Board of Film Classification. (2020) Maas, M. K., Gal, T., Cary, K. M., & Greer, K. (2022)  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As few as 1 in 3 and as many as 9 in 10 porn videos depict sexual violence or aggression. That's especially concerning, considering that research indicates that these sexually violent narratives can bleed into consumers' attitudes and behaviors. This episode is a part of our Get The Facts series, where we explore the research on a specific topic  surrounding porn’s harms to help you be mor...

Ironically, despite porn’s promise of improving consumers’ sex lives, there is growing evidence that porn consumption is linked to sexual dysfunction and less sexual satisfaction. This episode is a part of our Get The Facts series, where we explore the research on a specific topic  surrounding porn’s harms to help you be more informed and more empowered with the facts. You can find our Get The Fac...

Myunique is a content creator and influencer. Today she lives a life free from pornography but that hasn't always been the case. Myunique watched porn for the first time at ten years old, she wasn’t aware how that decision would negatively impact her life for years to come. What started as a natural curiosity about sex eventually escalated into compulsive sexual behavior which left her feeling...

A deeper look into how the brain works reveals that addictions to harmful substances like tobacco have striking similarities to porn compulsion, including impaired decision-making. This episode is a part of our Get The Facts series, where we explore the research on a specific topic  surrounding porn’s harms to help you be more informed and more empowered with the facts. You can find our Get The Fa...

If you know anything about technology, you’ve heard about Silicon Valley. Jason Portnoy was a Silicon Valley executive at PayPal and had all of the outward signs of success, but internally, he was miserable. He experienced compulsive porn consumption which escalated to buying sex, sugar dating, and more. Listen to Jason open up with podcast host Garrett Jonsson about some of the adverse childhood...

Trigger Warning: This episode includes frank, explicit, discussions about sexual exploitation, rape, and sex trafficking. Listener discretion is advised. In the porn industry, there is virtually no way to guarantee that any piece of pornographic content is truly consensual, ethical, or even legal. This episode is a part of our Get The Facts series, where we explore the research on a specific topic...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. Listener discretion is advised. This week’s conversation is with exploitation and trafficking survivor turned sociologist, Megan Lundstrom. Today, Megan is a contracted trainer, consultant, national speaker, and the Co-Founder of The Avery Center, an organization dedicated to ending commercial sexual exploitati...

Research indicates that consuming porn can normalize sexual objectification, which can have profound consequences in the ways porn consumers view and treat others. This episode is a part of our Get The Facts series, where we explore the research on a specific topic  surrounding porn’s harms to help you be more informed and more empowered with the facts. You can find our Get The Facts articles at f...

Isabella was born and raised in Guatemala where she was exposed to porn at a young age. Later in life, she experienced how porn can disrupt a couple’s intimacy and relationship harmony with her ex-husband. Her negative experiences with porn consumption motivated her to become a therapist so she could help others, and today, she has more than six years of experience working toward becoming a licens...