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Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power and the Downfall of a Bay Area Wellness Cult

Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power and the Downfall of a Bay Area Wellness Cult

Update: 2025-12-02
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In 2011, Nicole Daedone took to the stage at a San Francisco TedTalk to discuss her biggest business venture: the female orgasm. The founder of OneTaste, a company dedicated to “orgasmic meditation”, told a tale of women’s empowerment and exploration of female sexual pleasure through the business’s many retreats, centers and workshops. But in the years that followed, stories of sexual, financial and labor abuse and manipulation in OneTaste emerged. In the new book, Empire of Orgasm, Ellen Huet investigates the cult-like nature of the operation through accounts of former clients and community members that led to the company’s recent criminal conviction on federal forced labor conspiracy charges.




Guests:


Ellen Huet, investigative journalist and features writer, Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek - author, "Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult"

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Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power and the Downfall of a Bay Area Wellness Cult

Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power and the Downfall of a Bay Area Wellness Cult

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