Despite its focus on an extremely niche and overwhelmingly taboo topic: the finance of porn, Hot Money is a must listen podcast for anyone with an internet connecting-device...even if you have zero interest in Xvideos, Pornhub, or Onlyfans. Episodes 1-3 is a detailed rundown of the industry in a purely business point of view, with stories of investors competing in cam sites buyouts, an enjoyable listen in its own right. However, the topic becomes increasingly linked to society today in the subsequent episodes. Episode 4 gives historical context to the start of live-streaming sites, highlighting porn as a non-negligible force that drove technical advancements now used everyday in Skype, Facetime, and Zoom. The same episode also explains why it is difficult to police both illegal reuploads of copyrighted media and unlawful, horrifying content on the internet - relevant to every single person using Google Images and social media websites. Episode 7 goes on a deep dive into OnlyFans, which is giving pornstars power back by letting them control their own content and pricing; but not even OnlyFans can abide censorship from Who Rules Porn, and could possibly disappear overnight, like Pornhub did in 2020. Finally, Episodes 5, 6, and 8 uncovers the influence credit card companies have over regulating what is acceptable and unacceptable content, the power being much stronger than any government currently existing, provoking listeners the important question "Who should police media and speech?". The whole podcast is very professional, never sentimental, and well-researched with thorough fact checking. Highly recommended for anyone yearning for a highly educational podcast.

Jan 28th, 2023