Tales of Taboo

Chelsea G. Summers is the author of one of my all-time favorite novels, A Certain Hunger . The story follows a sexy, successful, and sociopathic middle aged food critic as she travels around the world sleeping with, murdering, and then EATING men who have wronged her. Even more iconic than the book is Chelsea herself — a former stripper, sex writer, wine writer, and academic who self-identifies as...

It took me 10 years to graduate college. I mean, school sucks — when you’re a teenager, at least. It feels very different as an adult who actually chooses to be there. This week’s global confessors (8:55) reside in Southern California, Maryland, Hawaii, Ontario, London, Germany, and New Zealand. Each of them decided to finish their undergraduate degree or pursue higher education in their 30s, well...

Colette Pervette is a professional Dominatrix, writer, and PhD in Education from UC Berkeley. A self-proclaimed “Educatrix,” she’s also the founder of MistressClass : an online course merging psychology-centric lectures with technical BDSM training to teach aspiring Dommes the ropes (pun intended) while helping them step into their highest power and purpose. We discuss her teacher origin story of...

Would moving home with your parents be a dream or a nightmare? Depends on which confessor you ask. This week’s stories (11:38) come from people between the ages of 31 to 45 residing throughout New York, California, and Oregon. Each of them is — or was until recently — living with their parents as an adult. I was too, until I was 28. While the cost of living crisis played a major role in their deci...

I absolutely believe in marriage, but I also believe that marriage is inaccurately marketed as a one-stop solution for all of life’s problems. It’s no wonder why, as of 2024, about 43% of American marriages are said to end in divorce: we’re brainwashed! And yet, choosing to end a legally-bound relationship is still seen as a "failure." This week’s anonymous confessors were all married and split by...

I recently broke up with my boyfriend. Though extremely painful, I knew it was the correct decision - but I also wondered in my lower moments if, at 31, I was “too old” to start over again. I’ve never looked or felt better, but there’s cultural shame surrounding not having a partner after a certain age. A massive amount of power and freedom of choice comes with being single, and many solo people i...

Affairs are by no means good or fair, but they rarely have malicious intent. More often, they’re about quelling the ways adult life can be lonely and disappointing. This week’s lustful anonymous confessors began their affairs in Paris nightclubs, Las Vegas strip clubs, and European hideaways; on Seeking Arrangements and Ashley Madison; at work, via email, and though the phone. They fell for their...

The Fashion episode was such a hit that I decided to revamp and re-release another set of industry-related confessions. With casting help from DeuxMoi, we're coming out from behind the scenes and exploring life in front of the camera as a model. I open the episode with my own Tales of Taboo about my lulz attempt at a postgrad modeling career (you'll scream at the very off-brand national campaign I...

Which famous designer refused to pay for $100,000 worth of samples? What major eyewear company has a Chief Financial Officer with no credentials besides being a party magician? Where does being over a size 6 and an A cup make you "fat?" What really happens behind the scenes at Fashion Week? I LOVE clothes. I love theatrics. I love escapism. What I do not love is when some people suffer greatly to...

What do you think of when you think bisexuality? Promiscuous behavior? Polyamory? Lying, cheating spouses? Midlife crises? Burning Man? Or maybe you think of…nothing: perhaps the biggest misconception is that middle-of-the-spectrum sexual orientation doesn’t really exist. Au contraire, I believe that we’re ALL a little gay - some of us have just chosen, or found the freedom, to explore it. In hono...

I open this week's episode with my own candid confessions about the challenges of my former long-distance relationship, and how that experience + watching 90 Day Fiance led me to become uncharacteristically judgmental of people in green card relationships. I'm so grateful for our anonymous confessors, who successfully expanded and changed my mind by calling and writing in with accounts of their in...

Couples with large age gaps can cause polarizing reactions. On the one hand, age is a number and love is love - it knows no bounds or rules. Should one be lucky enough to find it, it’s always worth diving into head first, no? On the other, when one partner has lived considerably more life, is it kosher to subject a less experienced and often more impressionable partner to their baggage? Is desirin...

Ethical Non-Monogamy and Polyamory are becoming increasingly popular relationship structures (or, at least, are now more commonly discussed), but they're controversial and deeply misunderstood. Most people see ENM as glorified cheating: an excuse to have one's cake and eat it too. The acronym often conjures images of suburban swingers, wild sex parties in Bushwick or San Francisco, Burning Man, an...

Exercise gives many of us a sense of control, stability, and discipline. Boutique fitness, with its fancy methodologies and curated lights, scents, and sounds, capitalizes on another, more elusive (and highly monetizable) feeling: purpose. For up to $50 per class, we’re not only sold a vision of our best body, but also our best self. We’re asked to set intentions, repeat affirming mantras, and see...

$10,000 bottles of wine! 15 hour workdays! All-night cocaine benders! Psychotic head chefs! It's Season 4 of Tales of Taboo! This week, we're exploring the high-octane world of high-end dining: the kinds of establishments that (literally) inspire books like Sweetbitter and movies like The Menu, where reservations are impossible and Chef is spelled with a capital C. I kick us off by telling MY most...

There’s a narrative jammed down our throats year after year, incessantly, everywhere we go, that the holidays are supposed to be “the most wonderful time." Ironically, such a narrative often ends up reminding us (or forcing us to acknowledge) the things we do NOT have, and the ways in which life has disappointed us or not met our expectations. This is especially true when it comes to family member...

What do you think of when you hear 'sex club'? Predatory men? Deviant behavior? An unhinged, unsanitary, Ancient Roman-style orgy? I would liken it more to highly participatory immersive theatre - a contained place to become a different person for the night, or the person you secretly wish you could be. With a definitive start and end and (often) a price tag, the transactional element allows for v...

What do you think of when you think ‘porn star’? Party girls with f*cked-up childhoods? Sexual trauma? Misogyny and abuse?  This week’s contributors, both anonymous and on-the-record, dismantle those stereotypes HARD by creating and participating in adult content that empowers them, provides them with bodily autonomy...and makes them very wealthy. We’ll hear from Marykate Moss (formerly Mackenzie,...

What’s it REALLY like to manage a school shooting? Are students with special needs a "lost cause?" How does under-funding actually affect students and teachers? Are celebrity children as entitled as we think? Confession: I recorded the intro you're about to hear ages ago, before receiving any submissions (NOT a usual occurrence but alas, I had taken my Concerta and was feeling extra productive). I...

We’ve been led to believe Herpes is a “dirty” “STD” — only sluts get it, and when they do, any chance of having sex or finding love is ruined. This episode proves that idea could not be further from the truth.  Our anonymous confessors share varying accounts of contracting HSV1 and HSV2, orally & genitally. From one-off Hinge dates to serious boyfriends to family members kissing their faces as...

The "Troubled Teen Industry” is an elusive, corrupted, for-profit network of schools, programs, rehabs, and residences meant for "unstable," "out of control," "promiscuous," and drug-addicted young people. Some of these programs are notorious for kidnappings, forced medication, even brainwashing; all of them use emotionally or physically violent therapy and control tactics. These schools came to m...

First-person accounts of abortion are very difficult to find, and most of the essays and anecdotes available are riddled in guilt and grief. They often resemble an apology letter to the world (or oneself), rather than an honest description of a controversial medical procedure. Secrecy, shame, and lack of nuance within abortion rhetoric is what makes it so taboo. Here you will find a collection of...

Plastic surgery is more commonplace than ever, yet remains deeply taboo. Very few people are willing to openly discuss the realities: what drives them to want it, the intense recovery process, and whether or not physical alterations actually change mental and emotional wellbeing long-term. This week, we’re cutting deep — no pun intended. Encouraged by controlling mothers, modeling agents, and medi...

Which famous Washington D.C. members-only club is secretly filled with sex workers? Which politicians under Trump regularly visited rub and tugs? Which drug-abusing hotel heir brought an escort to Miami just to watch Wheel of Fortune with him? I'm deeply annoyed by the conflation of all prostitution with sex trafficking, and the ongoing narrative that women who exchange physical & emotional in...

Which professional soccer player shoved a $20 bill in a waitress’ mouth? Which famous actress with legal troubles had a waitress pretend to be her to evade the paparazzi? Which talent manager promised a waitress a spot on Love Island in exchange for sex? As someone who’s been clubbing for 13 years, I’ve long been fascinated with bottle waitresses. You know - those gorgeous girls in skintight dress...