Defiance

“I definitely think that this shift in power to the hands of the performers has been a long time coming, it’s been sorely needed. ”
— Holly Randall

Location: Zoom
Date: Monday 20th July
Company/project: hollyrandall.com
Role: Pornographer

With the spread of the coronavirus, countries around the world have gone into lockdown, and businesses everywhere have had to change their working environments. Most have utilised remote working and implemented social distancing to adapt to the pandemic, and many have now returned to some form of normality.

Social distancing and porn, however, do not go hand in hand. With the changes brought about by coronavirus, productions and film sets have closed, leading to lots of performers turning to sites like OnlyFans to subsidise their income.

So, will this move away from larger-scale productions become a fundamental shift in porn? Or, in an industry already used to regular and rigorous testing, will it perhaps lead the way in the return to normality in the workplace?

In this interview, I talk to pornographer Holly Randall about porn on lockdown. We discuss how the pandemic has reshaped the industry, testing and precautions and sexual assault & racism in porn.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/porn-on-lockdown

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“The systems of patriarchy are really threatened by sexual liberation, especially female sexual liberation.”
- Stoya

Location: Brooklyn, New York
Date: Friday 15th November
Company/project: hellostoya.com
Role: Pornographic Actress, Model and Writer

The porn industry is estimated to be worth around $97 billion, 25% of all internet searches are porn related, and 98% of men and 78% of women watch porn. So why is such a huge industry consumed by such a large percentage of the population viewed with so much stigma?

People working in the industry face a constant battle with financial censorship. Banks regularly close accounts, credit cards are often rejected, and payment processors can be hard to come by. From financial censorship to a lack of regulations, sex workers are exploited and abused, despite being an industry which is entirely legal in the majority of countries.

In this interview, I talk to pornographic actress, model and writer Stoya. We discuss what it is like to work in the porn industry, the stigma & discrimination in the sex industry, how it affects her outside life and financial censorship.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/inside-the-world-of-porn

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“I see synthetic biology as a positive in light of this status quo of just the absolute horror of biology.”
— Bryan Bishop

Location: Zoom
Date: Saturday 16th May
Company/project: Avanti & Bio, Tech and Beyond
Role: CTO & Co-Founder

In the previous episode of Defiance, I spoke to Rob Reid, and we looked at how synthetic biology, with tools like CRISPR, pose a threat to humanity as they could be used to create a highly contagious and deadly virus.

While this risk to human life is scary, the benefits that can come out of synthetic biology and surrounding technologies are astounding. Aside from helping to protect humans from future pandemics, it could also be crucial for future space exploration and a way of combating the ageing process.

In this interview, I talk to Bryan Bishop, the CTO at Avanti and Joseph Jackson, the founder of Bio, Tech & Beyond. As a follow up to my previous show, we discuss how synthetic biology can cure viruses, hunger and extend human life.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/how-to-save-humanity-with-synthetic-biology

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“I would say that many people, in academic and commercial labs, if they were twisted in exactly the right way, could probably at this point destroy humanity. I mean that literally.”
- Rob Reid

Location: Zoom
Date: Saturday 16th May
Role: Author & Entrepreneur

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically impacted society, shutting down countries and stalling economies. There have now been over 10 million reported cases worldwide and over 500,000 deaths. While it has been an unprecedented event for modern times, it provides a warning for the devastating impact viruses can have.

H5N1, a virus more deadly than COVID-19 but it did not have the same impact, as it was not as contagious. So, what are the chances of a disease like that H5N1 occurring in nature which is as infectious as COVID-19?

With increasing evidence that COVID-19 may have originated from a laboratory, perhaps it is humans who pose the most significant risk.

With synthetic biology advancing at an exponential rate, it may not be long until the tools needed to create a highly contagious and devastatingly deadly virus with the potential to wipe out humanity are available to anyone.

While this sounds scary, the same tools could also cure cancer, aids, and malaria; even end shortages in organs and solve global hunger with lab-grown meat.

In this interview, recorded for my previous audio documentary The Future of Technology, I talk to author Rob Reid. We discuss Synthetic Biology and how it will simultaneously provide us with tools to cure disease and end humanity.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/irans-religious-dictatorship-masih-alinejad

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“Steve Mnuchin is the embodiment of kleptocracy, is the most obvious caricature of a crook, given the keys to the Treasury.”
— Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is one of the most powerful financiers in the world. As Treasury Secretary of the US, he is the principal advisor to the President and the Cabinet on economic issues and is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policies.

So how did he get there?

Mnuchin followed in his father's footsteps by joining Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. He quickly ascended the ranks at the investment bank and following his departure in 2002 he built a reputation as someone who profited from the misery of others after his bank, OneWest, turned into a "foreclosure machine" in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Mnuchin's questionable career practices are not strictly limited to Wall Street. In 2004 he founded Dune Entertainment as a side business, which was the financier of numerous notable films, mostly for 20th Century Fox, including the X-Men film franchise and Avatar, as well as several flops.

Following his foray into Hollywood, and with Mnuchin's former business associate, Donald Trump's presidential campaign underway, Mnuchin turned his hand to politics.

In the build-up to the 2016 election, Trump approached Mnuchin and asked him to join the campaign as his National Finance Chairman.

Mnuchin had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans over the previous two decades, and when Trump asked Mnuchin to come on board, he jumped at the chance.

In the final part of Robbing Hood, we look into Mnuchin's relationship with Trump and how a man dubbed the foreclosure king with a history of potential tax evasion became the Treasury Secretary of the United States.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/robbing-hood-part-4-trumps-footstool

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“Two things have become abundantly clear; Obtaining a clear and transparent explanation of all of his roles, positions and dealings, is close to impossible and he is a massive dick.”
— Peter McCormack

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is one of the most powerful financiers in the world. As Treasury Secretary of the US, he is the principal advisor to the President and the Cabinet on economic issues and is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policies.

So how did he get there?

Mnuchin followed in his father's footsteps by joining Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. He quickly ascended the ranks at the investment bank and following his departure in 2002 he built a reputation as someone who profited from the misery of others after his bank, OneWest, turned into a "foreclosure machine" in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Mnuchin’s questionable career practices are not strictly limited to Wall Street. In 2004 he founded Dune Entertainment as a side business, which was the financier of numerous notable films, mostly for 20th Century Fox, including the X-Men film franchise and Avatar, as well as several flops.

Dune Entertainment allowed Mnuchin to pursue his goal of expanding his creative side and rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s elite. It would also allow him to use his enormous political and financial muscles to catapult the career of his future wife, Louise Linton.

With beneficial tax breaks, sordid Hollywood partners, lawsuits and scandals; corruption in Hollywood would be just as prevalent as it is on Wall Street.

In Part 3 of Robbing Hood, we look into Mnuchin’s Dune Entertainment, his wife Louise Linton and his time on the board at Sears.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/robbing-hood-part-3-all-the-other-shit

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“They did it using tactics that were on the edge of, or completely skirting the law in order to make these foreclosures happen.”
— David Dayen

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is one of the most powerful financiers in the world. As Treasury Secretary of the US, he is the principal advisor to the President and the Cabinet on economic issues and is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policies.

So how did he get there?

Mnuchin followed in his father's footsteps by joining Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. He quickly ascended the ranks at the investment bank and following his departure in 2002 he built a reputation as someone who profited from the misery of others after his bank, OneWest, turned into a "foreclosure machine" in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

OneWest practices were both immoral and illegal, including:

Changing the locks on Leslie Parks's Minneapolis house, during a blizzard.

Refusing to negotiate with Greg Horoski and his wife, when the couple fell behind on payments due to Horoski falling ill

Reportedly foreclosing on a 90-year-old woman, Ossie Lofton, who owed the bank 30 cents but accidentally sent a check for just 3 cents.

During this 4 part series, we will be looking into Steve Mnuchin and his journey to becoming Treasury Secretary of the United States.

In Part 2 of Robbing Hood we look into his early life, time at Yale and role at Goldman Sachs.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/robbing-hood-part-2-the-foreclosure-king

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“Sometimes you have commentators talking of America as a meritocracy, and I think the case of Steve Mnuchin lays that to rest.”
— David Dayen

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is one of the most powerful financiers in the world. As Treasury Secretary of the US, he is the principal advisor to the President and the Cabinet on economic issues and is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policies.

So how did he get there?

Mnuchin followed in his father's footsteps by joining Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. He quickly ascended the ranks at the investment bank and following his departure in 2002 he built a reputation as someone who profited from the misery of others after his bank, OneWest, turned into a "foreclosure machine" following the 2008 financial crisis.

During this 4 part series, we will be looking into Steve Mnuchin and his journey to becoming Treasury Secretary of the United States.

In part 1 of Robbing Hood we look into his early life, time at Yale and role at Goldman Sachs.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/robbing-hood-part-1-friends-with-benefits

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“The reality of technology is, it’s not good or bad, it’s both the answer and the problem.”
— Jonathon Brill

The coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the lives of everyone. The reaction by governments to the crisis has varied widely, but most countries have implemented some form of lockdown to reduce the spread of the virus.

With schools and businesses forced to close, and people restricted to limited movement outside of their homes, lockdowns have forced people to adapt to a new way of life. Whether working from home, attending lectures or catching up with friends, technology has facilitated the continuation of life.

While the lockdowns have been a challenge, there have been many positive outcomes from exercising more to eating fresh food to having more time with your family. The ease at which companies have adapted to remote working and the broader benefits this offers both the staff and the company, many are now considering becoming remote-first organisations.

The vast majority of people have complied with lockdown rules. A willingness to protect the general population and get back to ‘normal’, as quickly as possible, has meant most have accepted that they must temporarily give up some of their civil liberties. But there are now concerns that not all of the measures put in place will be temporary.

The old adage “never let a good crisis go to waste” has undoubtedly been true of this pandemic. Governments around the world are overreaching and implementing surveillance that they will likely be reluctant to relinquish, and the post-coronavirus world may be an Orwellian dystopia.

In this episode, I am joined by leading tech experts and futurists Jonathon Brill, Ross Dawson, Sam Lessin, Rob Reid and human rights activist, Alex Gladstein. We look at the good, bad and Orwellian technological changes in a post-coronavirus world.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/the-future-of-technology-the-good-the-bad-the-orwellian

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -

“We use the word cartel to describe drug cartels and oil cartels. We almost never hear the word cartel in association with banking… that, in itself, should tell you something, if you want to know who has power over you.”
— Andreas M. Antonopoulos

The coronavirus has thrown us into truly unprecedented times. Most countries have enforced a lockdown, and global travel has ground to a halt, and this, in turn, has had an enormous impact on the economy.

Stock markets all over the world experienced huge volatility. Wall Street suffered its worst day since ‘Black Monday’, oil prices went negative for the first time in history and governments all over the world have been implementing extreme fiscal and monetary policies.

Many analysts have suggested that rather than coronavirus being the cause of this economic downturn, instead, it was merely the pin that popped the bubble and the enormous debts that have been amounting since long before the 2008 global financial crisis was a disaster waiting to happen.

So, how do we get out of this mess? Who stands to benefit from government money printing? Who has to pay this money back? And, why the fuck is Steve Mnuchin, the Secretary of the Treasury?

To answer these questions and more, I am joined by leading finance experts: Andrea Ferrero, Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Caitlin Long, Ben Hunt & Raoul Pal. We look at the corruption and mismanagement of the economy by central banks and governments.

- - - - -

Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/the-money-game-cheaters-edition

- - - - -

Timestamps:
Coming soon…

- - - - -

The success of Defiance will be largely down to the support of you, the listener. Below are a number of ways you can help:
- Subscribe to the show on your favourite app so you never miss an episode:
iTunes
Spotify
Deezer
Stitcher
SoundCloud
YouTube
TuneIn
- Leave a review of the show on iTunes (5* really helps, if you think the show deserves it).
- Share the show and episodes out with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Follow Defiance on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
- Subscribe to the Defiance mailing list.
- Donate Bitcoin here: bc1qd3anlc8lh0cl9ulqah03dmg3r2uxm5r657zr5p

If you have any questions then please email Defiance.

- - - - -