Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion

Special Feature: From The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Pleasure
Date: February 10, 2026
Podcast by Pushkin Industries

Overview:

This episode is a special preview of "The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Adult Entertainment," an investigative audiobook from the Financial Times team, delving into the business, power structures, and hidden forces in the porn industry. Host Alex Barker, along with reporter Patricia Nelson and co-host Lidia Jean Kott, goes beyond the usual hush-hush treatment to uncover who really profits and calls the shots in adult entertainment—an industry dominating a staggering share of the global internet.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Secrecy and Power in the Porn Industry (01:21–03:56)

• Alex Barker introduces the origins of the investigation, highlighting how little is known about the ownership and financial machinations within porn.
• Kelly Holland (former Penthouse CEO) shares concerns about being acquired by a shadowy company:

  "The deeper I got into it, the more concerned I became about just the general level of secrecy around the company." — (02:37)
  She points out that conglomerates owning large swathes of the industry with hidden identities are not healthy for consumers or the public climate

• Patricia Nelson reflects on reporting challenges:

  “It often felt like I was wandering around a maze. You know, that strange sense of never knowing where you're heading or how anything's connected.” — (04:58)
  The industry has obfuscated its major players with shell companies, making investigation unusually difficult for business journalists.

2. Origins and Transformation: Porn Meets the Internet (08:06-16:13)

• Stoya (longtime performer, writer, icon) is introduced as an insider who’s witnessed the industry’s most significant phase change—digital disruption:

  "I'm a career pornographer. I'm an artist. What's completely normal and an average Tuesday to me is completely fascinating to like the whole rest of the world." — Stoya (08:38)

• The late 2000s saw studio-driven porn’s profitability eroded by free “tube sites,” e.g., Pornhub, modeled on YouTube.
• Stoya’s quirky DIY viral video, "Stoya Kills the Bear," inadvertently helped launch her profile—an early example of pirated content being a double-edged sword (13:19–14:12).
• Ownership consolidation begins:

  “He told me that we had been purchased by Manwin, and I was like, oh, I am now tied to a company that is literally named Man Win. This is awful." — Stoya (14:42)

3. Rise of Tube Sites and the Business of ‘Free’ Porn (16:13–23:00)

• The rise of “tube” sites like XTube, Uporn, and Pornhub, most notably via the energy and opportunism of individuals such as Curtis Potek, a former strip club DJ who became a tech manager by accident (17:23).
• The early tube site landscape:
  • Funded by shadowy backers (e.g., “Mr. X,” a mysterious Chinese businessman).
  • Growth fueled by pirated, user-uploaded content.
  • Intense legal threats:

    “I got very used to hearing the words, ‘I'm going to sue you.’ I was like the subpoena king of the universe.” — Curtis (19:25)

• Rapid business deals and acquisitions (the $35 million XTube sale to Fabian Tillman, who will become a key figure and conglomerate builder—21:25).

4. Impact on Performers and Studios; Legal & Cultural Fallout (23:00–29:44)

• Performer Impact:
  Tube sites fostered a sense of entitlement and devalued paid content:

  “They gave the general porn watching public an immense sense of entitlement... it becomes much more difficult to get them to pay for pornographic work.” — Stoya (23:42)

• Personal toll on performers:
  • Body shaming, exposure, and the emotional damage from hostile, anonymous online commenters.
  • Performer work “stolen and put on tube sites,” with corporate owners hiding behind legal safe harbors (25:10).
• Corporate Secrecy:

  "I am so exposed. And the people who really own these tube sites get to be reclusive and not publicly held to account. That is so unfair. I don't like it.” — Stoya (27:23)

• The legal structure—these websites, like social media, claim not to be responsible for uploads, forcing those harmed to do the work of policing content.

5. Ownership, Exploitation, and Lingering Questions (29:44–31:15)

• Shell companies and secrecy:

  “So I'm personally very curious why they're using all these like shell corporations in places that shady people do business...” — Stoya (28:43)

• The core question: How do you build a business model when you’ve trained audiences to expect everything for free?
• The investigation’s philosophy emphasized by Stoya:

  “You are the Financial Times. I suggest you stay in your lane. You focus on the business aspect, you focus on the finances. You focus on who got what investment money, who's in how much debt, how much profit is actually happening and what the legal standing of these free tube sites should be.” — Stoya (30:41)

6. The Scope of the Investigation and What’s Next (31:15–32:43)

• The Financial Times team spent six months, with full editorial support, tracing ownership, profits, and legal liabilities.
• Planned exploration includes interviews with:
  • Pornographers, producers, tech entrepreneurs, money men, and victims of industry discrimination or abuse.
  • Anecdotes such as industry feuds, lost income, and discriminatory banking practices.
• Promise to reveal identities:

  “We were surprised by who is really in charge.” — Alex Barker (32:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On secrecy and unease:

  "I don't think it's healthy. I think it's very problematic. It's healthy for somebody's bottom line and it's healthy for shareholders, but I don't think it's healthy for clients, consumers and the general climate." — Kelly Holland (03:28)

• On ownership opacity:

  "You can make a choice in business to be friendly competitors…Or you can be enemies." — Kelly Holland (03:28)

• On being visible vs. reclusive:

  "I am so exposed. And the people who really own these tube sites get to be reclusive and not publicly held to account. That is so unfair. I don't like it.” — Stoya (27:23)

• On the business investigation’s focus:

  “You are the Financial Times. I suggest you stay in your lane. You focus on the business aspect, you focus on the finances...” — Stoya (30:41)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:21–03:56] — Introduction to the investigation, secrecy, acquisition stories.
• [08:06–16:13] — Digital disruption; Stoya's career and the evolution of porn's business model.
• [16:13–23:00] — Tube site origins, Curtis Potek’s story, early wild west of uploads and lawsuits.
• [23:00–29:44] — The impact of free online porn, performer hardships, and the wave of corporate anonymity.
• [29:44–31:15] — Legal evasion, open questions on business models, and the FT’s reporting strategy.
• [31:15–32:43] — Scope and promise of the investigative project; what to expect in future chapters.

Tone & Style Notes

The podcast adopts a candid, inquisitive, and slightly irreverent tone—balancing journalistic rigor with firsthand accounts and dry wit (particularly from Stoya). There’s a sense of both fascination and deep concern about the industry’s normalization of exploitation and lack of transparency.

For listeners and newcomers alike, this episode offers a rare, carefully reported glimpse into one of the internet’s most secretive and culturally impactful industries—raising crucial questions of power, business models, and accountability that extend far beyond adult entertainment.