Deep Cover – Special Episode Summary

"From The Kink Machine: The Secret Power Behind Porn"

Release Date: February 10, 2026
Podcast: Deep Cover with Jake Halpern (Pushkin Industries)
Guest Hosts: Alex Barker & Patricia Nilsson (Financial Times Journalists)
Featured Voices: Stoya (adult performer), Kelly Holland (former Penthouse head), Curtis Potek (XTube pioneer)

Episode Overview

This special episode is a preview of "The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Adult Entertainment," an investigative audiobook by Financial Times journalists Alex Barker and Patricia Nilsson. It explores the opaque power structure behind the global porn industry. The narrative probes who owns, profits from, and controls online pornography—a multibillion-dollar enterprise that shapes internet culture, yet remains shrouded in secrecy despite its massive reach.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The Structure of the Porn Industry: Secrecy and Control

• Secrecy in Ownership:

  • Performers are highly visible, but the real power brokers—corporate owners and financiers—operate in the shadows.
  • The industry’s transformation into a network of shell companies and offshore entities makes ownership and profit flows nearly impossible to trace.
  • "The money has to move... from a personal account, sometimes from a business account. That sounded a bit sketchy to me." – Kelly Holland (03:14)

• Problematic Consolidation:

  • Kelly Holland (former Penthouse executive) warns of health risks in having a few conglomerates own most of the industry, prioritizing profits over performers, consumers, and healthy competition.
  • "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 (04:05)

2. Investigative Journey: The Financial Times Enters Pornland

• Motivation & Obstacles:

  • Journalists rarely cover porn as a business, despite its market dominance. Nilsson and Barker aim to lift the veil, treating it as they would any major legal industry: tracing money, owners, and accountability.
  • "Business papers don't usually write about the porn industry... that in itself made me curious." – Patricia Nilsson (04:34)

• Discovery of the “Secret Owner":

  • Nilsson’s digging led her to uncover a hidden owner behind the biggest online porn company, pulling top FT brass into the story.
  • "She said, 'I think I found the secret owner of the world's biggest porn company.' And she had." – Alex Barker (06:35)

3. Performer Perspective: Stoya’s Story

• Rise of the Tube Sites:

  • Stoya, a prominent performer, explains how the internet disrupted the traditional porn studio system.
  • Her breakout—helped by viral, pirated content—illustrates the double-edged sword: performers become stars, but content is stolen and devalued.
  • "There’s this video of me... destroying an enormous teddy bear while naked." – Stoya (13:04)
  • "The tube sites actually helped make her a star... at first." – Alex Barker (14:35)

• Consequences of Free Porn:

  • Tube sites like Pornhub made porn widely accessible—but devastated the market for paid content and slashed performer income.
  • Uploaded content often came with misogynistic, body-shaming commentary.
  • "They gave the general porn watching public an immense sense of entitlement... more difficult to get them to pay." – Stoya (24:20)

4. Corporate Takeover and Hidden Figures

• Rise of Manwin (later MindGeek):

  • Major tube sites (Pornhub, YouPorn, XTube) emerge and consolidate, scooping up studios and leaving performers’ fates in corporate hands.
  • "They're buying up all these properties... It's weird." – Stoya (15:19)
  • The industry’s "year zero" moment comes as German engineer Fabian Thylmann (Manwin) acquires XTube and major platforms, kickstarting the era of conglomerated porn.

• Business Model Built on Legal Loopholes:

  • Tube sites dodge responsibility for stolen or illegal uploads by relying on DMCA safe harbor laws, similar to big social platforms. Enforcement is left to rights holders (performers, studios, victims), not platforms.
  • "Tube sites prospered using the same legal loophole as social media platforms." – Alex Barker (25:18)

5. Performers’ Exposure vs. Owners’ Anonymity

• Full Public Exposure:

  • Stoya and her colleagues face relentless public scrutiny and loss of privacy, while site owners remain entirely concealed.
  • "I am so exposed... And the people who own these tube sites get to be reclusive... That is so unfair." – Stoya (28:00)

• Morality of Hidden Ownership:

  • The claim that owners hide to avoid stigma is dismissed by performers: if you benefit from an industry, face the same risks.
  • "Sorry, babe, that comes with the package." – Stoya (28:53)

6. Key Questions About Power and Accountability

• Financial Shell Games and Global Complexity:

  • Why so many shell companies, offshore registrations, unusual financial structures?
  • Is this driven by the nature of porn, or is it a calculated effort to hide profits and accountability?

• Unanswered Business Model Riddles:

  • How does a model giving everything away for free survive? What’s the viable, long-term path to profit in an era acclimated to free access?

7. Implications: Who Calls the Shots and Who Gets Hurt?

• Marketplace Realities:

  • Only a tiny fraction of site visitors ever pay; the ad model supersedes direct sales, further undercutting traditional creators.

• Vulnerability and Lack of Recourse:

  • Content theft, revenge porn, and even illegal material all proliferate, while those harmed are left powerless.

• Call for Serious Financial Investigation:

  • Stoya urges journalists to focus on finance, investment, and legal standing—where real, influential decisions are made.
  • "You focus on the business aspect, you focus on the finances... and what the legal standing of these free tube sites should be." – Stoya (31:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On industry secrecy:
  "[Information about the industry] are kept undercover like a state secret." – Alex Barker (01:59)
• On consolidation:
  "I don't think it's healthy. I think it's very problematic." – Kelly Holland (04:05)
• On viral stardom and piracy:
  "My first film... was selling so well... there's this video of me... destroying an enormous teddy bear while naked." – Stoya (13:56)
• On personal cost:
  "I am so exposed. And the people who own these tube sites... get to be reclusive and not publicly held to account. That is so unfair." – Stoya (28:00)
• On media’s responsibility:
  "You are the Financial Times. I suggest you stay in your lane. You focus on the business aspect... and what the legal standing of these free tube sites should be." – Stoya (31:18)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [03:08–04:05] – Kelly Holland discusses losing Penthouse to a secretive investor, raising concerns about industry consolidation.
• [04:34–06:35] – Patricia Nilsson recounts how her reporting on porn began and why the industry intrigued the FT.
• [09:16–14:35] – Stoya describes her entry into porn, the rise of tube sites, and how viral piracy affected her career.
• [15:19–16:07] – Stoya learns about the Manwin acquisition and questions the consolidation of the industry.
• [18:00–23:16] – Curtis Potek narrates the chaotic creation and sale of XTube, the arrival of Fabian Thylmann, and the start of conglomerate ownership.
• [24:10–25:18] – Stoya details the negative impact of tube sites on performer income and well-being.
• [27:46–31:18] – Stoya reflects on the unfairness of total public exposure for performers vs. anonymity for site owners, and calls for financial scrutiny.

Conclusion

This episode of Deep Cover presents a revelatory, behind-the-scenes look at the porn industry's consolidation, the rise of hidden power, and how performers and the public are affected by the sector's unique legal and financial structures. By probing "who rules porn," it invites listeners to recognize the significance of these unseen forces—and whose interests they really serve.

For the full investigative story, check out "The Kink Machine: The Hidden Business of Adult Entertainment."