This Week on Thinking Is Cool

How to make adult entertainment suck less & other adventures in the modern economy

Stop what you’re doing right now, and turn on one of these three songs: “Good in Bed” by Dua Lipa, “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae, or “Your Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer. Today, we’re talking about sex. The mood has to be right.

Now that we’ve established a sonic vibe, it’s my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the very first Thinking Is Cool newsletter [pause for balloon drop]. 

This newsletter is the place to be for random musical recommendations, but also for everything you need to know about Thinking Is Cool every single week. The very first thing you need to know: I have a new episode out today! It also happens to be the premiere episode of Thinking Is Cool. Big day. 

Now, here’s where we get to the choose-your-own-adventure part of this newsletter.

Option 1: Go in blind. Listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you get podcasts right now without knowing what it’s about. Recommended for water signs, people who think skydiving would “be a good story,” and anyone inherently trusting of others.

Option 2: Learn a little more about this week’s topic and guests and then listen to the episode with a little more background on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else. Recommended for products of divorce, John Mulaney fans, and people who prefer physical books to ebooks.

If you chose Option 1 → Hit play, then come back and keep reading for a fuller picture of what this week is all about.

If you chose Option 2 → You’re in the right place. Read on.

This Week on Thinking Is Cool

How can we make p-o-r-n suck less?

It’s a question that’s been pestering me for a while now. So many signs point to p*rn being broken (again, typing p*rn instead of the real word, p-o-r-n, because spam filters suuuuuck). We know that creators aren’t fairly compensated, we know that tube sites like P*rnhub are ghastly spectacles of monopolism, and we know that the responsibility to fix these shortcomings does in some ways fall on us as consumers.

Well, you might not know that yet. But you will once you listen to this episode. 

Because of the riches this topic and my incredible guests offered, the episode is simultaneously adventurous—even playful—while also being honest and at times seriously introspective. To me, that’s the p*rn industry...it’s vibrant and diverse and ripe with talent, but it’s also troubled and sometimes incongruous with any of our expectations as outsiders.

Recognizing that this industry, like so many other parts of our shared world, exists in many different versions? That’s how we come to understand our roles in making it better.

Here’s what you can expect in this episode of Thinking Is Cool:

• A deeper look at the modern p*rn industry and the contextual analysis of what technology has changed most about the ways we all get off.

• An honest assessment of today’s biggest p*rn players, including some information you probably didn’t know about the site I know you’re all going to more than you might admit, P*rnhub. Also OnlyFans...that’s a big one.

• Honest stories from adult film stars and experts who mince no words in assigning both blame and glory to said big p*rn players.

• And finally, an idea of what needs changing and who can do it.

If you get nothing else out of this episode, I hope you get this: Making p*rn suck less starts and ends with talking about p*rn more honestly. So much of what’s broken in adult entertainment is rooted in stigma...stigma that harms creators as much as it does consumers.

I’ll be the first to tell you—I’m not going to think any less of you for admitting that you like to watch, read, or listen to p*rn. In fact, I might think more of you. You’re human! That’s okay! You have needs! We all do! And talking about our needs and desires and preferences, even if it’s just for 5 minutes, reduces the shittiest part of p*rn...the social stigma.

I think the seeds of this p*rn episode were sewn when I was a junior in college. I was at my friend’s house, and she shared a video her boyfriend at the time had shown her that truly changed my perception of both human anatomy and miniature basketballs. 

That was the first time I’d ever had a conversation about porn with my friends. Up to that point, it was something closely guarded, secretive, and shameful. I felt guilty about my browser history.

But after that fateful day with my friend, things changed. There was a shift in our relationship, and we were suddenly a lot more comfortable talking about not just p*rn, but sex and sexuality in general. I came to appreciate the fact that we approached things from different perspectives, and I saw how powerful one conversation could be.

So do me a favor. Go have a conversation with someone about p*rn. You won’t regret it.

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We’re all about to embark on the Best. Summer. Ever. For me, that’s because I’m launching Thinking Is Cool, I’m vaccinated, and I’m single. But it’s also because I’m getting smart with my money thanks to HMBradley, our exclusive launch sponsor. 

HMBradley isn’t just a bank account. It’s my new core money platform that’s all about helping you make the most of your finances and simplifying money management—so you can live your life.

I’ll spend all summer telling you more about how HMBradley is transforming my relationship with money. But for now, trust me—you want to check out HMBradley, and you want to do it soon. 

Sign up here and you can start earning up to 3.00% annual percentage yield on balances of up to $100,000. That’s up to $300 a month in your account...without doing a thing. Go to hmb.to/ThinkingIsCool to learn more. And get ready for the Best Summer Ever.

Deposit accounts are provided by Hatch Bank, Member FDIC. Credit cards are issued by Hatch Bank under a license with MasterCard. This a paid endorsement.

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Shout out to HMBradley for being so chill about p*rn :) ily

Now, the details of this week’s episode of Thinking Is Cool…

Where to hear it: Most important detail, of course. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else.

People you’ll hear from:

• Cindy Gallop, the Michael Bay of Business (she likes to blow shit up) and founder and CEO of Make Love Not Porn. Cindy is the person who indoctrinated me into the world of building better porn. I’ve known her (virtually) for a while now, and every conversation with her feels more urgent and insightful and exciting than the last.

• Dr. Heather Berg, a feminist studies scholar writing about labor, sexuality, and social struggle. Dr. Berg is a professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the book Porn Work, which has just been added to my required reading. Nothing says “intellectual and hot” like reading a book called Porn Work on the beach this summer.

• Allie Knox, a porn performer and OnlyFans creator and perhaps the most emotionally honest source I’ve ever had the pleasure of interviewing. I was so floored at how raw and open Allie was with me—a perfect stranger—in the name of shedding light on the ways porn is desperately in need of change.

• Josh Kaplan...who’s my Thinking Is Cool cofounder which is plenty big as far as claims to fame go. He’s also been, at any given moment over the last 3 months, my manager, assistant, therapist, life coach, hype man, and really good friend. I’m lucky to be building this empire with him.

What to do after listening: Talk to someone, of course. Then consider subscribing to the show and leaving me a rating and review. That’s a huge part of growing Thinking Is Cool. It would mean the world to me. 

Because this show has, in essence, become my child. Seriously, my best friend just had her first baby and every time she sends photos of little Graham, I consider responding with links to my drafted scripts. Neither of us is sleeping very well, but at least I traded in spit-up for carpal tunnel. 

So you get what I’m saying: This show is everything to me. And I want it to become everything to you too. I want your feedback, your ideas, your constructive criticism. I want it all.

Making the first episode of Thinking Is Cool was always something I looked forward to with both dread and excitement. I was terrified that I wouldn’t meet the expectations set for my saucy new show, but I was also so, so eager to get in front of a microphone again.

This episode and the people it features showed me that what we’re doing with Thinking Is Cool is worth it. I learned, I yelled, I lamented, I pontificated, I imagined...and most importantly, I started having conversations. 

I hope you’ll do the same. 

See you Friday for another edition of the Thinking Is Cool blog. Have the best week ever.

Love,

Kinsey