Tales of Taboo

Latest Episodes:

Sex Club Confessions Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

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 very real physical, emotional, even spiritual experiences, with less real-life consequences.

This week, we hear from both participants AND performers at sex clubs and fetish parties in Australia, Berlin, New York City, Spain, and the UK - including myself! To kick us off, I share my own Tales of Taboo about the uniquely safe space they offered me for self-discovery at an insecure period of my sexual life. (I discuss this more in-depth on last season's bisexuality episode, too.) Then, our anonymous contributors regale us with stories of fabled clubs like Berghain, Haven, House of Love, Kit Kat Club, NSFW, Playscape, Skirt Club, SNCTM, Torture Garden, and Wonderland.

Their experiences range from The Good, like niche fantasies coming to life in Eyes Wide Shut-esque settings, sleeping with famous soccer players, and exploring the kinky, adventurous possibilities that exist within environments placing consent front and center...to The Bad, like getting stuck in the middle of circle j*rks or feeling lesser-than as BIPOC, queer and alternative-presenting people...and The Complicated, like being fetishized as a pregnant woman, developing body dysmorphia as a Dominatrix, and getting stuck in the middle of an incestuous glory hole threesome at a gay sauna!

Our contributors also have fascinating insight into monogamy, the nature of jealousy and cheating, and what it really requires to achieve sexual liberation. For more information about V, the fire performer confessor at 33:08, visit https://www.thehivefire.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/Thehivefire. Her business is the world's first all-female fire breathing collective!

Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Porn Star Confessions Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

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, IG & Twitter: @marykate_moss), a Hustler covergirl whose videos have over 100 million views on PornHub; (19:03) a BBW performer using ‘body worship’ to re-frame how men see and treat fat bodies; (26:37) an erotic artist who took the plunge into porn during COVID (and became a master at online brand-building in the process); (35:22) Alice Callipyge (IG: alicecallipyge), a former teacher who dreamt of more income and a place to explore sexual fantasies; (46:34) and Amanda North (IG: amandanorthstar), a current sex therapy student with complicated feelings towards the adult industry she used to be a part of.

Whether mainstream power players or small independent creators, they all have equally valuable insight into relationships, fetishization, safety, wealth management, the path to sexual expression and liberation, and creating the self you’ve always wanted to be - online and off.

Marykate's OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/marykatemoss Alice's OnlyFans: https://onlyfans.com/adorable_alice Amanda's film "Moist": https://vimeo.com/ondemand/moist

~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Teacher Confessions Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

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 thought I'd be curating a lighthearted inquiry into the lives of teachers, proving those authority figures we feared and revered as kids were fundamentally just humans trying to figure it all out. This episode became MUCH more than that - it's a juicy, shocking, enlightening and at times downright brutal look into the realities of educational systems in the U.S. and abroad. My intro does not accurately reflect how honored and humbled I am to help tell these stories - but it does show, as a graduate of a 'hippie' NYC private school, how much I needed to hear them.

Our anonymous contributors are or were teachers in Canada, Kentucky, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Seattle, Texas, and Utah, at schools ranging from the uber-elite (think: children of world-famous athletes, musicians, and tech entrepreneurs) to Title 1 public institutions housing hundreds of refugees from Africa and Syria. They share perspectives about: -being a white teacher for a predominantly black student body -teaching students with cognitive disabilities, as well as emotionally and physically violent behavioral issues -how to manage school shootings and lockdowns -establishing authority over (and gaining respect from!) rich, entitled children -the day-to-day reality of under-funding -social climbing amongst teachers in the private school system -tempestuous parent-teacher relationships -refugee crises in the U.S.

On both sides of the wealth spectrum, our teachers also have valuable insight into effective leadership, gaining a child’s trust, how to shape young minds….and why middle schoolers shouldn’t be allowed to wear Moncler.

A piece of wisdom from a contributor: “I truly feel that students want to be heard and need to be heard, and if you are a good listener, you can encourage them to speak.”

Herpes Confessions Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

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 children, no two stories are the same — but each have great insight into battling societal stigma, maintaining an active sex life, and mentally & physically recovering from a misunderstood, and incurable, virus.

Almost all of them say that despite facing obstacles, contracting Herpes ultimately bettered their self-respect by showing them their worth. Now THAT'S something we should want to pass around ;-)

Troubled Teen Industry Confessions Apr 18, 2022

Show notes

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 mainstream recognition with the release of Paris Hilton's 2020 documentary This Is Paris. In it, she reveals how her abusive experience at Provo Canyon in Utah led to lifelong trauma, dissociation, and the creation of her (fake) public image; in my intro, I reveal how watching the doc changed my life, forcing me to confront my own, very similar narrative.

Then, our anonymous contributors bravely tell all about their own experiences with parallel institutions to Paris': New Haven Residential Treatment Center, La Europa, an unnamed wilderness program, a specialized dyslexia boarding school, Outward Bound, another unnamed wilderness program in Costa Rica, CEDU, and a Lord of the Flies-esque, pedophilia-ridden hockey boarding school.

TRIGGER WARNING: though profoundly moving and illuminating of a complex subculture, this episode is dark.

Abortion Confessions Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

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 anonymous stories - ages 17 to 34 in the US, United Kingdom, Ecuador, and Germany - showing the range of ways women process terminating a child. Some are effortless and simple, some are physically painful, others are emotionally ugly. But whether seeing their abortion as a cause for profound guilt or a mere bump in the road, all of our contributors stand firm in their belief that it was the CORRECT decision for them.

One size does not fit all when it comes to any human experience, especially one that pertains to women’s health and, to a certain degree, death. I hope this episode brings everyone a sense of understanding, acceptance, comfort and most importantly, community.

Plastic Surgery Confessions Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

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 media-fueled beauty standards, our anonymous confessors got labiaplasties, breast reductions, nose jobs and revisions, and gobs of facial filler. While some healed fast and say these procedures undoubtedly changed their sense of self-worth for the better, others experienced terrible (occasionally irreversible) side effects like leaking spinal fluid, lip bubbles, lopsided nostrils, and blood hardening.

I also interviewed 2 popular plastic surgeons (at 48:51) - Dr. Tony Youn (TikTok: @tonyyounmd) and Stuart Linder (TikTok: @dr.stuartlinder). We break down the most common complaints women have about their appearances (and the difference between insecurity and body dysmorphia), who really controls beauty standards (Men? Hollywood? Biology?), and which procedures the Kardashians and Bella Hadid have done, including the infamous - and potentially deadly - Brazilian Butt Lift.

~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Escort Confessions Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

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 intimacy for money were either forced into it or chose the profession as a result of severe trauma. In actuality, there's a subset of the industry filled with confident, empowered, and intelligent women earning six to seven figures by consensually, and literally, f*cking the patriarchy. It's my honor to share their perspectives this week.

Our anonymous contributors (and the beautiful Aspen Banks twitter: @aspen__banks) are or were high-end escorts in New York, Chicago, London, Singapore, Toronto & Montreal. Most have forgone agencies to work independently, advertising online to a global audience of wealthy and powerful men looking for a safe space and real connection. Our escorts' stories range from vulnerable to wildly kinky, but almost all agree that the work is, surprisingly, more emotional than sexual.

Some of our escorts thoroughly enjoy the sex that does happen and some despise it; some have traditional relationships outside work, and others can’t make it happen. Some girls love the industry while others say it’s ultimately destructive. None are sure whether or not it's worth giving up for a more "normal" life. At the end of the day, sex work is WORK and sex workers are WOMEN. They are daughters and sisters. DECRIMINALIZE IT!

Nightclub Bottle Waitress Confessions Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

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 dresses bringing over the magnums of champagne and sparklers. I saw their job as a tremendous position of feminine power: arm candy getting paid to party with important people in important places. I wanted to be one of them. Or…so I thought.

This week’s anonymous waitresses worked for a super exclusive downtown New York hospitality group, Catch, the Tao Group, Soho House, Public Hotel (created by Ian Schrager of Studio 54), and a notorious high-end strip club in London. Our on-the-record contributor Allie (IG: @allie.keel) even worked some shady private parties in Malaysia when she was only 17!

At their best, they hung out with prime ministers & pop stars and made $10,000 in a night. At their worst, they were forced into deeply compromising situations to get tips, got taken advantage of by their bosses, picked up used heroin needles from bathroom floors, and sang ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ in slam poetry (!). In between, their lives, which began at 9pm and ended at 5am, lacked structure and purpose. They found it hard to establish romantic relationships. They crumbled under pressure to maintain the ‘perfect body’ (even their hands). And they worried about their impending expiration dates. What would come next? Learn the dirty truth about being a bottle girl while getting an intimate and cohesive look into how the world's most exclusive nightclubs operate.

~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Drug Dealer Confessions Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Ever wonder what it’s really like to be a DRUG DEALER?

This week’s anonymous confessors operate(d) throughout a variety of countries and circumstances. One lived in a house with 100 weed plants, and distributed to dispensaries in California before recreational legalization. Another sold Molly to club partiers — including an unnamed famous DJ and Vice President’s son (!!). A husband & wife, LSD-dealing duo talk about providing their kids with a privileged life, but wrestling with what happens if they get arrested. And a former sorority girl-turned-coke dealer reflects on redefining the role of “social chair.”

All speak candidly about greed and guilt, as well as the physical and emotional highs. Some of our dealers got into the business wanting to protect their communities from poisoned drugs; others simply wanted money and clout. But all of them agree — not all drug dealers are dangerous. And as with each topic on this show, one size (or story) does not fit all.

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