Summary
Overview
Dax Shepard and Monica Padman interview Ellen Hewitt, an award-winning investigative journalist, about her new book 'Empire of Orgasm' which explores OneTaste, a San Francisco-based wellness company that taught 'orgasmic meditation' but allegedly evolved into an exploitative organization. The conversation covers the company's origins, its charismatic founder Nicole Daedone, the practice itself, how members were allegedly manipulated financially and sexually, and the eventual FBI investigation that led to criminal charges.
Ellen's Background and Communal Living
Ellen Hewitt discusses her unconventional living situation in a communal compound with 20 adults and 8 children, where residents share dinners six nights a week and take turns cooking. She explains how this lifestyle influenced her perspective on community and social dynamics, which relates to her cult investigation work. The conversation explores the parallels between healthy communal living and cult-like structures, with Dax noting the importance of distinguishing between the two.
- Ellen lives in a communal compound with 20 adults and 8 children under age four
- Residents share dinners together six nights a week, with each person cooking once or twice a month for the whole group
- Some residents pay into a chef named Julie rather than cooking themselves
- The compound consists of six buildings and was conceptualized by Ellen's friend Phil
" The Wi-Fi password is not a cult. We joke a lot about it. It definitely doesn't qualify in a lot of ways. "
Journey to Investigative Journalism
Ellen traces her path from Stanford to becoming an investigative journalist, starting at the San Francisco Chronicle covering crime and breaking news before moving to business and startup coverage. She discusses the unique position of being a journalist in Silicon Valley during the 2010s tech boom, covering stories like WeWork and the infamous Juicero juice press scandal. Her background in covering both crime and tech startups prepared her perfectly for investigating OneTaste.
- Ellen studied English and poli-sci at Stanford, got her start at San Francisco Chronicle covering crime, fires, and breaking news from 2011-2014
- She later moved to covering business and startups during the unhinged 2010s venture capital boom
- The Juicero story revealed a $700 juice machine that squeezed packets you could actually squeeze by hand, despite the company raising over $100 million
" You call them and you're like, hi. I'm a reporter. It is hard, but you got to do it. Although it's also exciting. "
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