Podcast Summary: Pablo Torre Finds Out

Episode: Share & Goon & Tell with Desus Nice and Katie Nolan (NSFW)

Date: November 11, 2025
Guests: Desus Nice, Katie Nolan
Host: Pablo Torre

Episode Overview

This episode dives headlong into the bizarre, subcultural world of "gooning"—a phenomenon popularized by a recent longform article in Harper’s Magazine. With guests Desus Nice and Katie Nolan, Pablo Torre takes a jokey, curious, and at times genuinely compassionate approach to the subject. The trio unpacks the origins, rituals, psychology, and communal dynamics of gooning, using humor and personal insight to reflect on how digital-age sexuality, isolation, and online communities intersect. Along the way, they reflect on broader themes of loneliness, shame, stigma, and sexual expression.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Banter and Setting the Stage

• Pablo, Desus, and Katie reunite, exchanging casual banter and discussing Halloween-size Starbursts and kitchen injuries (02:21–03:35).
• Desus is teased as the “Representative of Gooning,” setting the playful tone for diving into the subject (02:35–02:45).

2. Introducing "Gooning" (05:23–06:52)

• Reference to the recent "gooning bible" Harper's Magazine article that brought mainstream attention to the phenomenon.
• Pablo explains: “Gooning… is not merely like this dystopian form of, I would say, pandemic inspired isolationism… but it seems like the core of it is this knowledge that if your friends and colleagues knew that you were up to this, they would be horrified.” (06:20)

3. Definitions and Mechanics of Gooning

• Katie reads from the article: “The act itself resembles edging… but gooning is more goal oriented and more communal. The Gooner goons to reach the goon state, a supposed zone of total ego, death or bliss… likened to advanced meditation…” (07:13–07:18)
• Desus likens the “goon state” to a "runner’s high" (07:57).
• Discussion on how the community stretches masturbation to communal, competitive, marathon-like levels—sometimes involving hours or days of effort.

4. Psychology & Gender Differences

• Katie contrasts male and female experiences, saying, “Women can finish and keep going… whereas I imagine if you want to go for a long time as a man, you have to not.” (08:39–09:18)
• This segues into discussion of why edging/denial is central to gooning and the (often male) compulsion for sustained, unfulfilled pleasure.

5. Statistics & The Pandemic’s Impact

• Pablo shares the median age of sexually active gooners (27), and non-sexually active (23). References the role of lockdowns in shaping digital sexuality: “you had people who... came in a cage, they didn’t come public.” (14:35–14:46)

6. Porn Music Video (PMV) Culture

• PMVs: Gooners remix existing porn into high-speed compilations set to music, with “hundreds of separate clips” and degrading “direct-to-viewer” narration (12:25–13:02).
• Notable “artists” like “Noodle Dude” thrive in this subculture, releasing PMVs with "Swifty-like enthusiasm" among fans (15:48–16:08).

7. Communal Aspects: Goon Caves, Tournaments, and Sharing

• The trio marvels at “goon caves”: rooms with multiple monitors, for marathon group or solo sessions (19:14–20:21).
• Pablo explains “feeding” or “goon fuel,” when one gooner sends clips to sustain another’s session: “It’s meant also to be referred to as goon fuel… Sometimes they’re gifs, goon caps.” (20:38–20:53)
• Jokes about “goon tournaments,” competitive collection/sharing, and the generational shift towards open talk about communal masturbation (17:51–18:54).

8. Reflections on Online Porn & Sexuality

• Desus, who previously worked in porn server administration, laments porn’s pervasiveness: “Now, like you said, there’s way too much porn… Even I’m like, damn, let me mute this.” (22:04–22:41)
• The group discusses the desensitizing effect of ubiquitous, extreme content and the challenges for young people constantly exposed to it (22:44–23:19).

9. Social Media & Fetish Communities

• Katie describes her experience as an early sports media woman targeted by foot fetishists: “...my first experience of being on sports TV and the amount of, like, sexual foot stuff that was sent to me from real names on their real accounts… you guys are out here.” (30:12–30:30)
• Discussion of platforms like Twitter/TikTok as hubs for both overt and disguised erotic content, and the ease with which people now find niche communities online (28:20–30:05).

10. WikiFeet, Shame, and Body Image

• Pablo brings up Katie’s WikiFeet rating (4.97/5), sparking jokes and candid talk about online objectification (31:03–32:25).
• Katie: “There’s also a picture on there that isn’t my feet that I’ve been trying to get taken down.” (31:12–31:18)

11. Underlying Loneliness & Anxiety

• The trio grapples with the deeper psychological roots of gooning: sexual anxiety, fear of intimacy, and social withdrawal—exacerbated by digital life and pandemic isolation:
• “What if she’s bored by what he’s doing but too polite to tell him? Worse, what if she’s uncomfortable with the entire situation? ...I just feel like it’s exhausting, he says, for both parties.” (35:03–35:50)

12. Hope, Cynicism, and the Future of Porn

• Pablo predicts a return to analog, vintage porn as a backlash to endless digital stimulation: “Small batch pornography… vintage pornography is going to become valuable because it feels like it’s the opposite of the always on...” (33:55–34:25)
• Katie cautions against shaming, adding wryly: “If you want to feel shamed by me… you can pay me.” (34:28–34:33)
• They question whether gooning, for some, is a harmless coping mechanism amidst an epidemic of loneliness—or a sign of deeper malaise.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the surreal aim of gooning:
  “The Gooner goons to reach the goon state, a supposed zone of total ego, death or bliss… likened to advanced meditation… hours or even days at a time.”
  — Katie Nolan (07:13–07:18, quoting the article)

• On isolation and digital sexuality:
  “You had people who like came of age such that they came in a cage, they didn’t come public.”
  — Pablo Torre (14:35–14:46)

• On PMVs:
  “They may contain hundreds of separate clips. And in a lot of these videos, apparently there’s a voice that addresses the viewer directly, calling them porn addicts, pathetic Gooners…”
  — Pablo Torre (12:31–12:42)

• On goon “feeding”:
  “It’s meant also to be referred to as goon fuel… you know, these are short clips. Sometimes they’re gifs. Goon caps.”
  — Pablo Torre (20:38–20:53)

• Desus on his porn server days:
  “I used to be in charge of the back end of server administration… terabytes of porn. And even then I was like, wow, this is a lot of porn. This is. But now, like you just said, there’s way too much porn.”
  — Desus (22:04–22:41)

• On PMV artistry:
  “He’s known for…the sucking and/or thrusting in each clip, sinking to the beat.”
  — Pablo Torre (16:22–16:30)

• On sexual anxiety:
  “Turns out that what most frightens this particular Gooner about sex is the impossibility of ever knowing what’s really going on in your partner’s or anyone else’s head.”
  — Pablo Torre (35:19–35:50)

• On the bleakness of it all:
  “Just felt kind of bleak… now you know about it and it’s going to bother you. And guess what? You’re part of it now and you can’t escape it. And now you’re burdened with this information.”
  — Desus (33:34–33:55)

• On hopeful perspectives:
  “There’s an epidemic of loneliness and there’s people out there that if they need this to get through life, maybe it helps them…perhaps it will provide something for people who are missing something that we don’t see…this might, God forbid, save lives.”
  — Desus (39:43–40:27)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Opening & Banter – 02:21–03:35
• Definition of Gooning – 06:00–07:56
• Article Excerpts/PMV Culture – 12:25–16:08
• Goon Caves & Community – 19:14–20:21
• Social Media & Fetishes – 28:20–31:03
• WikiFeet unpacked – 31:03–32:25
• Psychology, Anxiety, and Stigma – 34:25–36:05
• Group Reflections – 39:07–41:36

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is frank, irreverent, and intellectual all at once—a blend of shocked curiosity, genuine empathy, and relentless humor. There’s an undercurrent of worry about the psychological effects of extreme online culture, but also openness to exploring even the most taboo topics without shaming—in true Pablo Torre Finds Out fashion.

Final Takeaways

• Gooning, while bizarre and alienating to many, opens up conversation about modern porn consumption, loneliness, sexual anxiety, and the ways online communities shape young people’s sexuality.
• Despite the bleakness, the hosts find a silver lining—acknowledging the importance of not shaming sexual outliers, and perhaps even the solace some find in such communities.
• In the end, the group wishes for healthier, more connected expressions of sex and pleasure—but their irony-laced sympathy is never far from a punchline.

Closing thought from Katie Nolan:
“Just come on, babe. Just come.” (41:34)