Porn Nerds (Squirm)

Join Kels and Tess, Squirm co-founders and self-proclaimed porn nerds, on a penetrating plunge into the world of pornography. Experience a peek behind the scenes with an alluring and thought-provoking lineup of guests, including indie and mainstream directors and performers, a Financial Times journalist who covers the business of porn, a sex therapist fielding extreme porn panic, and everyday folks who love porn, hate porn, or are somewhere in between.

This miniseries explores our collectively complicated relationship with porn: it can be distressing, and it can be affirming. At the end of this series, you will have a better understanding of the role porn plays in our sex lives, how to navigate this squirmy topic with a partner, and–most importantly–how to create a healthy relationship with porn, as an individual and as a society.

Squirm (getsquirmy.com) is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. From committed relationships to casual sex, the ability to express your boundaries and desires leads to better, more satisfying sexual experiences. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Thousands of hours of porn are consumed globally every single minute, yet we still avoid the topic of porn in most conversations and social situations. This taboo leads to a lot of people feeling worried about their porn habits. How did we get here? In this episode, we find out just how much porn people are watching and society’s attitudes around it. We cover a brief history of porn, the impact of porn going online, and the significance of a pornographer in Prague calling us all perverts.

Featured Guests & Links:

Patricia Nilsson, reporter for the Financial Times and host of the podcast Hot Money: porn, power and profit.

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Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Have you ever wondered, 'Am I normal?' The word 'normal' by itself isn't particularly helpful, yet we can't help but question how far off the mark we might be, especially when it comes to our sex lives. Are we watching too much porn? Are we having enough sex? In this episode, we dive into how much porn is “too much porn,” the validity of the term 'porn addiction,' what line dancing has to do with partnered sex, and why Google shouldn’t be the judge of sexual normalcy.

Featured Guests & Links:

Patrick Bluett, certified sex therapist with The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), based in Portland, OR. For more information, check out Bluett Counseling.

Materials Referenced:
Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST) 

________________________

Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Porn will never reject you, which can be liberating and … a major crutch. It’s easier to turn to porn to get off than put yourself out there with another person. Sometimes you don’t want to be vulnerable and that’s ok. Today, we explore the difference between fantasy and desire, dabble in porn parodies, and hear from a cam model who shows us how the accessibility offered through platforms like OnlyFans creates a new opportunity for intimacy.

Featured Guests & Links:

Lilly Sparks, founder & CEO of afterglow, an ethical porn platform that's a mix of porn, sexual wellness and education. Follow: @xoaftergloww

________________________

Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Digging for that old VHS tape under the bed doesn’t hit quite the same as having 25 million porn sites in your pocket—it’s hard to compete with the accessibility and variety of porn on the internet. Dopamine reenters the chat as we discuss the instant digital gratification, quicksand and other niche corners of the porniverse ... and the value of bringing  adult films back to the cinema. 

Featured Guests & Links:

Shine Louise Houston, the founder of Pink & White Productions. Graduating from San Francisco Arts Institute with a Bachelors in Fine Art Film, her works have become the new gold standard of adult cinema. Shine is the creator of queer porn icon CrashPadSeries.com and – the 'Criterion Collection' of adult films – the streaming platform PinkLabel.TV, which also hosts the annual San Francisco Porn Film Festival.  

Follow:
@PinkAndWhiteProductions
@PinkLabelTV
@SF_PFF
@ShineLouise
@CrashPadSeries 

Materials Referenced: 

Janice’s Diner from J & B In The Hills

Stolen Focus  by Johann Hari

Dr. David Ley, clinical psychologist and internationally-recognized expert on issues related to sexuality, pornography and mental health 

HUMP! Film Festival, the World’s Best Amateur Porn Film Festival, touring the US now! @humpfilmfest

Wet and Messy Fetishism (WAM) aka Sploshing

Quicksand fetish porn (Sinking Adventures)

FuckForForest (FFF)

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Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Many of us have no idea what it's really like to make porn. Today, we’re joined by two women from different areas of the industry—one a filmmaker, the other an adult film performer and sensuality coach. They share insights on the importance of good casting and representation, the balance between spontaneous pleasure and scripted scenes, what makes “regular” movie sex scenes so captivating, and the unique challenges of being both a parent and a sex worker.

Featured Guests & Links:

Jennifer Lyon Bell, award-winning filmmaker. Jennifer Lyon Bell mixes arthouse cinema with hot explicit sex in her own movies. She has degrees from Harvard University and the University of Amsterdam. In 2004, she founded Blue Artichoke Films (based in Amsterdam) to create unique erotic fiction films and documentaries that illuminate the riveting, intimate, and sometimes delightfully awkward side of sex. She also specializes in sexual cinema as a university lecturer, intimacy consultant, and curator. 

Laura Bentley, advocate for sex workers, sensuality coach, pornagraphic actress and professional companion.  Born and raised in the south in North Carolina, relocated to southern California to educate and promote human sexuality and destigmatize sex and sex work in our society. Follow: x.com/laurabentleyla, 

Materials Referenced: 

She Will Cheat - Laura Bentley (Explicit, 18+ only)

Headshot  by Jennifer Lyon Bell of Blue Artichoke Films

Kaila Philo. “Porn Stars of Color Face Racial Inequality and the Wage Gap, Too.” Colorlines, Feb. 6, 2020.

Ashley Reese. “Why Is a White Woman Worth So Much More? Inside the Porn Industry’s Racial Pay Gap.” Jezebel, June 16, 2020.

________________________

Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com

Now more than ever, free online porn is a primary way people learn how to get down and dirty. This can lead to unrealistic expectations about how sex “should” look. What to do about this? In this episode, we entertain possible solutions – from porn that is intentionally educational to content that portrays more realistic depictions of sex. You’ll hear from sex workers-educators who create explicit sex ed for adults, plus high schoolers who took a class on porn literacy. You’ll also learn how to contextualize what you see with help from one of our favorite Doms...Dom Toretto of the Fast and Furious franchise.

Featured Guests & Links:

Lina Bembe - porn performer, director and sex educator based in Berlin. Follow: @linabembe 

Avril Louise Clarke - co-creator of the Porn Conversation and currently at the Center for Reproductive Justice. Follow: @ThePConversation

Jennifer Lyon Bell - award-winning filmmaker and founder of Blue Artichoke Films (Amsterdam). 

Laura Bentley- sex worker advocate, sensuality coach, adult film performer and professional companion.

Nina Hartley 

Eduporn by afterglow, Austin-based ethical porn platform: Guide to Squirting, Sex with a Disability, and Peg Your Partner. Use SQUIRM for a free 7-day trial.

Dr. Emily Rothman runs the Porn Literacy Curriculum at the Rothman Violence Prevention Lab at Boston University.
________________________

Porn Nerds is a co-production of Squirm and BOOM Integrated, the podcast division of GRAMMY-winning audiobook leader John Marshall Media. Huge thank yous to Adrien Glover, Uri Mansion, and the team at BOOM Integrated.

Squirm is an educational platform that helps people have productive and compassionate conversations on difficult topics related to sex and relationships. We do this through approachable, inclusive offerings, including games, events, workshops, and audio originals. A lot of sex advice ends with “talk about it.” That’s where ours begins.

Sign-up: Squirm newsletter! | Follow: Instagram | Read: Men’s Health, Mashable, Best of Portland 2024

Want to invite us on your podcast? Or feature us in your publication? Or collaborate on an event? Email us at hello@getsquirmy.com