The history of Pornhub, challenges to the ethics of podcasting and more new releases
When you think of Canadian cultural exports, you probably don't think of porn. But Montreal is home to a little website you may have heard of called Pornhub.
On The Pornhub Empire: Understood, we'll hear the story of the company's history in Canada. Plus, Leah sits down with host Samantha Cole to learn more about the series.
Plus, we delve into the ethics of documentary making. Here at Podcast Playlist, we air a lot of personal, narrative stories. Also known as audio documentaries.
These personal stories have the potential to move us, create empathy and drive positive change. Even just the act of telling one's story can be transformative.
At least, that's what we like to tell ourselves. Jess Shane isn't so sure.
Jess joins us for a conversation about her own experiences navigating the sticky world of audio documentary and what she wanted to explore in her new series, Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative.
Then, remember the BP oil spill? For most of us, it's faded from memory. But for the people and wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico, the disaster never ended. We'll hear that story on Ripple.
All that and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.
Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative: "What really happens when stories about people's lives are collected, edited, and consumed? Radiotopia Presents: Shocking, Heartbreaking,Transformative is a four-part non-fiction series created by Jess Shane, about the nuts and bolts of documentary storytelling, the power dynamics between makers and subjects, and rewriting unwritten rules of the documentary and non-fiction content industry." Plus, Leah interviews creator Jess Shane about the ethics of documentary making.
Sounds Gay (Jess Shane's pick): "Who has it right about the uncanny legacy of composer Julius Eastman? The musician [is] Black, gay and a fixture in the minimalist classical music scene of the 1970s and 80s. [He] wrote songs that demanded a lot of the listener. But his life, too, resists simplified explanations."
The Pornhub Empire: Understood: "Maybe you haven't heard of Aylo, the innocuously-named, Canadian-owned tech giant [but] with more than one hundred million visitors to their sites every single day, there's a good chance that whether or not you'd like to admit it, you've encountered one of their domains: Brazzers, Reality Kings, Digital Playground, RedTube, XTube, YouPorn or – their crown jewel – PornHub. The Pornhub Empire: Understood traces the history of the company behind one of Canada's biggest cultural exports: internet porn."
Ripple: "The largest oil spill in American history captivated the public's attention for the entire summer of 2010. Authorities told a story of a Herculean response effort that made shorelines safe and avoided a worst case scenario. Was that really the whole picture?"
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