Tales of Taboo

It took me 10 years to graduate college. I mean, school sucks — when you’re a teenager, at least. It feels very different as an adult who actually chooses to be there.This week’s global confessors (8:55) reside in Southern California, Maryland, Hawaii, Ontario, London, Germany, and New Zealand. Each of them decided to finish their undergraduate degree or pursue higher education in their 30s, well beyond the age society tells us it’s “normal” to do so. We hear from a mother of two studying psychology to become a sex educator; a divorced mom back in community college at 35; and a woman pursuing her PhD while raising children in a foreign country. There’s a crime scene investigator pursuing a Master’s after seeing one too many dead bodies; a former nonprofit worker who fled abroad for graduate school after the Trump administration cut her funding; and an administrative employee pursuing a second Master’s out of fear that her mindless job would slowly rot her brain. We also hear from an Indigenous first-generation college student who took the LSAT four times before getting into law school, and a soon-to-be graduate navigating the complicated expectations of her immigrant parents.From tuition costs and lifestyle adjustments (goodbye Pilates, hello grocery budgets) to childcare, burnout, and balancing work with studying, all of this week’s confessors agree that returning to school later in life is no easy feat. But bringing real-world hardship, work experience, and parenthood into the classroom has made education feel far more meaningful — and the satisfaction of breaking barriers, whether racial, economic, or personal, has made the struggle worthwhile. Share your own story at confessions@aliweissworld.com. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating & review: it’s immensely helpful for expanding our community of confessors!Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro.

Would moving home with your parents be a dream or a nightmare? Depends on which confessor you ask.This week’s stories (11:38) come from people between the ages of 31 to 45 residing throughout New York, California, and Oregon. Each of them is — or was until recently — living with their parents as an adult. I was too, until I was 28.While the cost of living crisis played a major role in their decisions to move home, medical conditions, career changes, and relationship status factored in too. Some describe the experience as comforting and deeply healing; others admit it’s been infantilizing or emotionally complicated. But nearly all agree that multigenerational living offers benefits beyond saving money: community, relief from isolation, love, and the time and space to pursue hobbies, creative ambitions, and more meaningful ways of existing.Most of all, it’s encouraged them to reconsider America’s traditional definition of “adulthood” — and question whether independence, productivity, and constant striving are really the only markers of a successful life.~Share your own story at confessions@aliweissworld.com. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating & review: it’s immensely helpful for expanding our community of confessors!Tales of Taboo is produced and hosted by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Sound mixing by Cedric Wilson. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro.

Which famous designer refused to pay for $100,000 worth of samples? What major eyewear company has a Chief Financial Officer with no credentials besides being a party magician? Where does being over a size 6 and an A cup make you "fat?" What really happens behind the scenes at Fashion Week? I LOVE clothes. I love theatrics. I love escapism. What I do not love is when some people suffer greatly to compensate for others’ greed. On the heels of New York Fashion Week, I decided to revamp and re-release one of my juiciest, most scandalous, most shocking, and all-time favorite episodes. Our anonymous contributors went to hell and back in different parts of the exploitative, discriminatory, and deeply unglamorous Fashion Industry. With the help of DeuxMoi, I found ex-employees of American Eagle, BCBG, Dolce Vita, Halston, Free People, Linda Farrow, Stone Cold Fox, Victoria Beckham, Zac Posen, and some of the most famous- and infamous- fashion houses IN THE WORLD that I can’t mention by name! From dreamy, druggy parties to nightmare celebrity clients, body shaming to illicit sex, criminally low salaries and even lower self-esteem, turns out fashion is everything and nothing you thought it would be. In the words of one of our confessors: “we’re paying countries and people literally no money because we [the consumer] need fashion. I don’t think people realize that.” ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

I open this week's episode with my own candid confessions about the challenges of my former long-distance relationship, and how that experience + watching 90 Day Fiance led me to become uncharacteristically judgmental of people in green card relationships. I'm so grateful for our anonymous confessors, who successfully expanded and changed my mind by calling and writing in with accounts of their international engagements & marriages...and divorces :) (8:43) We hear from Americans with partners from Africa, Belgium, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, and Scotland, as well as a Peruvian woman (formerly married to a man from Rhode Island) who grew up as an illegal immigrant from 8-18. From rehab romance to being married by a one-eyed monk, invasive interview and customs processes to successfully sneaking around the government, supportive families to immense difficulties with cultural immersion, no two stories are the same - just as how no two relationships are. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Ethical Non-Monogamy and Polyamory are becoming increasingly popular relationship structures (or, at least, are now more commonly discussed), but they're controversial and deeply misunderstood. Most people see ENM as glorified cheating: an excuse to have one's cake and eat it too. The acronym often conjures images of suburban swingers, wild sex parties in Bushwick or San Francisco, Burning Man, and, like, sister wives, and I have to admit that there was a time where I made similar assumptions. This week's episode schooled the hell out of me, and I'm grateful for it. I open the episode with my own candid confessions about the positives and pitfalls of monogamy, why I desire more "traditional" partnership to add stability to my chaotic life, and the mistakes I made while getting serious with my last boyfriend. Then (13:05), our anonymous confessors call and write in with stories about ENM and Polyamory that are equal parts shocking and extremely enlightening. We hear from: -a former conservative Christian in Texas who discovered ENM while coming to terms with bisexuality and beginning her journey as an escort -a 30 year old woman whose partner fell into a simultaneous relationship with someone heavily pregnant -a divorced 68 year old dating a polyamorous, bisexual sex worker 20 years younger -a happily married, bisexual woman committed to raising her kids, whose her husband is permitted to use Seeking Arrangements when he goes on work trips -a former conservative who found a Poly community at UC Berkeley and overcame jealousy by becoming a "cuck queen" -a married man who entered the ENM scene with his wife after struggling with differing libidos -a 30 year old in a gay, polyamorous married THROUPLE -and more! In producing this episode, I learned very powerful lessons about attachment, boundaries, communication, jealousy, societal expectation, and most importantly, the urgent need for more unfiltered honesty in relationships - especially monogamous ones. Regardless of whether or not you fundamentally agree with our contributors, I hope you find your mind expanded and your heart more open after listening. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

$10,000 bottles of wine! 15 hour workdays! All-night cocaine benders! Psychotic head chefs! It's Season 4 of Tales of Taboo! This week, we're exploring the high-octane world of high-end dining: the kinds of establishments that (literally) inspire books like Sweetbitter and movies like The Menu, where reservations are impossible and Chef is spelled with a capital C. I kick us off by telling MY most absurd tales as a diner in fancy restaurants: a college friend's outpatient rehab in Chicago, the development of a weird friendship with a 69 year old British man, doing edibles with famous restauranteurs at the Beatrice Inn... Then (starting at 11:43), we hear from current and former employees on the other side. In New York, confessors include the former events manager at a 3 Michelin star restaurant in Flatiron, a former waitress at another 3 Michelin star restaurant in Midtown, a former hostess at The Standard and Bowery Hotel's restaurants + The Waverly Inn, a former champagne slinger for a downtown cocktail group, and a line cook at a Lower East Side restaurant owned by a very young celebrity chef. In London, confessors include the former sommelier at Daniel Humm's Davies and Brook + another unnamed 2 Michelin star establishment, and a former waitress at two different Michelin star restaurants in Mayfair and Shoreditch. Elsewhere in Europe, a former assistant manager tells tales about an abusive executive chef at a Japanese Michelin star spot that was the first in its country. Fine dining is controversial and divisive. It's glamorous escapism with a very grim underbelly; a way to create community, yet isolate a huge number of people who cannot afford it; facilitate artistic expression and pump pretentious bullshit. These nuances are why this world is so taboo - and enticing - and deserves to be discussed. Welcome back. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

What do you think of when you hear 'sex club'? Predatory men? Deviant behavior? An unhinged, unsanitary, Ancient Roman-style orgy? I would liken it more to highly participatory immersive theatre - a contained place to become a different person for the night, or the person you secretly wish you could be. With a definitive start and end and (often) a price tag, the transactional element allows for very real physical, emotional, even spiritual experiences, with less real-life consequences. This week, we hear from both participants AND performers at sex clubs and fetish parties in Australia, Berlin, New York City, Spain, and the UK - including myself! To kick us off, I share my own Tales of Taboo about the uniquely safe space they offered me for self-discovery at an insecure period of my sexual life. (I discuss this more in-depth on last season's bisexuality episode, too.) Then, our anonymous contributors regale us with stories of fabled clubs like Berghain, Haven, House of Love, Kit Kat Club, NSFW, Playscape, Skirt Club, SNCTM, Torture Garden, and Wonderland. Their experiences range from The Good, like niche fantasies coming to life in Eyes Wide Shut-esque settings, sleeping with famous soccer players, and exploring the kinky, adventurous possibilities that exist within environments placing consent front and center...to The Bad, like getting stuck in the middle of circle j*rks or feeling lesser-than as BIPOC, queer and alternative-presenting people...and The Complicated, like being fetishized as a pregnant woman, developing body dysmorphia as a Dominatrix, and getting stuck in the middle of an incestuous glory hole threesome at a gay sauna! Our contributors also have fascinating insight into monogamy, the nature of jealousy and cheating, and what it really requires to achieve sexual liberation. For more information about V, the fire performer confessor at 33:08, visit https://www.thehivefire.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/Thehivefire. Her business is the world's first all-female fire breathing collective! ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

What’s it REALLY like to manage a school shooting? Are students with special needs a "lost cause?" How does under-funding actually affect students and teachers? Are celebrity children as entitled as we think? Confession: I recorded the intro you're about to hear ages ago, before receiving any submissions (NOT a usual occurrence but alas, I had taken my Concerta and was feeling extra productive). I thought I'd be curating a lighthearted inquiry into the lives of teachers, proving those authority figures we feared and revered as kids were fundamentally just humans trying to figure it all out. This episode became MUCH more than that - it's a juicy, shocking, enlightening and at times downright brutal look into the realities of educational systems in the U.S. and abroad. My intro does not accurately reflect how honored and humbled I am to help tell these stories - but it does show, as a graduate of a 'hippie' NYC private school, how much I needed to hear them. Our anonymous contributors are or were teachers in Canada, Kentucky, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Seattle, Texas, and Utah, at schools ranging from the uber-elite (think: children of world-famous athletes, musicians, and tech entrepreneurs) to Title 1 public institutions housing hundreds of refugees from Africa and Syria. They share perspectives about: -being a white teacher for a predominantly black student body -teaching students with cognitive disabilities, as well as emotionally and physically violent behavioral issues -how to manage school shootings and lockdowns -establishing authority over (and gaining respect from!) rich, entitled children -the day-to-day reality of under-funding -social climbing amongst teachers in the private school system -tempestuous parent-teacher relationships -refugee crises in the U.S. On both sides of the wealth spectrum, our teachers also have valuable insight into effective leadership, gaining a child’s trust, how to shape young minds….and why middle schoolers shouldn’t be allowed to wear Moncler. A piece of wisdom from a contributor: “I truly feel that students want to be heard and need to be heard, and if you are a good listener, you can encourage them to speak.” ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

The "Troubled Teen Industry” is an elusive, corrupted, for-profit network of schools, programs, rehabs, and residences meant for "unstable," "out of control," "promiscuous," and drug-addicted young people. Some of these programs are notorious for kidnappings, forced medication, even brainwashing; all of them use emotionally or physically violent therapy and control tactics. These schools came to mainstream recognition with the release of Paris Hilton's 2020 documentary This Is Paris. In it, she reveals how her abusive experience at Provo Canyon in Utah led to lifelong trauma, dissociation, and the creation of her (fake) public image; in my intro, I reveal how watching the doc changed my life, forcing me to confront my own, very similar narrative. Then, our anonymous contributors bravely tell all about their own experiences with parallel institutions to Paris': New Haven Residential Treatment Center, La Europa, an unnamed wilderness program, a specialized dyslexia boarding school, Outward Bound, another unnamed wilderness program in Costa Rica, CEDU, and a Lord of the Flies-esque, pedophilia-ridden hockey boarding school. TRIGGER WARNING: though profoundly moving and illuminating of a complex subculture, this episode is dark. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Isabel McMahon & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Plastic surgery is more commonplace than ever, yet remains deeply taboo. Very few people are willing to openly discuss the realities: what drives them to want it, the intense recovery process, and whether or not physical alterations actually change mental and emotional wellbeing long-term. This week, we’re cutting deep — no pun intended. Encouraged by controlling mothers, modeling agents, and media-fueled beauty standards, our anonymous confessors got labiaplasties, breast reductions, nose jobs and revisions, and gobs of facial filler. While some healed fast and say these procedures undoubtedly changed their sense of self-worth for the better, others experienced terrible (occasionally irreversible) side effects like leaking spinal fluid, lip bubbles, lopsided nostrils, and blood hardening. I also interviewed 2 popular plastic surgeons (at 48:51) - Dr. Tony Youn (TikTok: @tonyyounmd) and Stuart Linder (TikTok: @dr.stuartlinder). We break down the most common complaints women have about their appearances (and the difference between insecurity and body dysmorphia), who really controls beauty standards (Men? Hollywood? Biology?), and which procedures the Kardashians and Bella Hadid have done, including the infamous - and potentially deadly - Brazilian Butt Lift. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin & WTF Media. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

Which professional soccer player shoved a $20 bill in a waitress’ mouth? Which famous actress with legal troubles had a waitress pretend to be her to evade the paparazzi? Which talent manager promised a waitress a spot on Love Island in exchange for sex? As someone who’s been clubbing for 13 years, I’ve long been fascinated with bottle waitresses. You know - those gorgeous girls in skintight dresses bringing over the magnums of champagne and sparklers. I saw their job as a tremendous position of feminine power: arm candy getting paid to party with important people in important places. I wanted to be one of them. Or…so I thought. This week’s anonymous waitresses worked for a super exclusive downtown New York hospitality group, Catch, the Tao Group, Soho House, Public Hotel (created by Ian Schrager of Studio 54), and a notorious high-end strip club in London. Our on-the-record contributor Allie (IG: @allie.keel) even worked some shady private parties in Malaysia when she was only 17! At their best, they hung out with prime ministers & pop stars and made $10,000 in a night. At their worst, they were forced into deeply compromising situations to get tips, got taken advantage of by their bosses, picked up used heroin needles from bathroom floors, and sang ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ in slam poetry (!). In between, their lives, which began at 9pm and ended at 5am, lacked structure and purpose. They found it hard to establish romantic relationships. They crumbled under pressure to maintain the ‘perfect body’ (even their hands). And they worried about their impending expiration dates. What would come next? Learn the dirty truth about being a bottle girl while getting an intimate and cohesive look into how the world's most exclusive nightclubs operate. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

More often than not, addiction is dramatically portrayed in the media as a chaotic but chic side effect of wealth and power, or an inevitable circumstance of poverty. It’s not always black and white or economically driven, though: addiction is everywhere, nondiscriminatory, constantly shapeshifting. Much public talk of trauma, coping mechanisms, and self-medication exists in our post-pandemic world, but there’s a massive difference between occasionally overindulging in wine or Xanax after a long day and upending one’s entire life in pursuit of a high. The harsh day-to-day realities of addiction are rarely exposed, but secrets make us sick. So, Iet’s reveal them. Our anonymous confessors are or have been addicted to alcohol, benzos, cocaine, crack, heroin, methamphetamines, and opiates. Their addictions took place everywhere from Wall Street to the street itself, Ivy League colleges to prison. They’ve sold books out of dumpsters for 40 oz beers and treasured family heirlooms for one hit. They've become prostitutes. They’ve bought pee off of sober people to pass drug tests, and overdosed in jail. They’ve been wrongfully diagnosed with severe mental illnesses by trusted doctors and shamed by family, friends, and society. Their “whys” run the gamut from the unhealthy influence of the hospitality & finance industries to the effects of generational and sexual trauma, but almost all can agree: an unfair stigma surrounds addicts, especially women. And absolutely nothing about addiction is worth aspiring to. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.

What do you think when you hear "eating disorder?" Probably 'bored rich white women obsessed with being skinny'. But anorexia & bulimia are way more than just striving to be beautiful - and they can also affect people from any background. Mostly, they're about control. In the throes of the lonely and aggressively over-indulgent holiday season, this topic felt pertinent to explore. Our anonymous contributors detail wanting to exert control over their bodies as a way of grappling with the lack of it they have over mental illness (diagnosed or not), familial dysfunction, abusive partners, sexual trauma, addiction, and sky-high expectations. They describe the harsh realities of starving and binging, throwing and giving up, lying to people they love, and sacrificing personal relationships. Some are in recovery; others are still struggling. All are very blunt, and very brave. ~ Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Audio production by Zoe Kuhlkin. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro. GOT A SECRET TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? Share your own confession - or thoughts and feedback - at confessions@aliweissworld.com.