Natasha Tiku wrote for Gawker in 2013, “Everyone is interested in doing fun things with their bodies. But the impulse to systematize, replicate, package, sell, and build an ideology around it is uniquely Silicon Valley.” She was writing about an organisation that was monetising the female orgasm. And they weren’t the only ones doing so.

Guests: Christine Talbott Acosta, Ruwan Meepagala, Sasha Nelson

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon or Acast+, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now.

With thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 4 of Let's Talk About Sects.

If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, contact Cult Information and Family Support in Australia, or the International Cultic Studies Association outside of Australia.

If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention. For sexual assault resources in Australia, visit www.1800respect.org.au, and in the USA, visit www.rainn.org.

Links:

• The Pleasure Principle — by Patricia Leigh Brown and Carol Pogash, New York Times, 13 March 2009
• Lafayette Morehouse — official website, accessed October 2020
• Lafayette Morehouse, Inc. v. The Chronicle Publishing Co., No. A067522. — 37 Cal. App. 4th 855, 44 Cal. Rptr. 2d 46, California Court of Appeal, First District, Division 5, 9 August 1995
• Sgt. Bilko Meets The New Culture — by Robin Green, Rolling Stone, 9 December 1971
• Inside The Purple People House, The Freaky, Stand-Offish Sex Cult In Northern California — by Anna Lindwasser, Ranker, 7 November 2018
• The Truth about RJ Testerman — Christine...

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