The Orgasm Cult

This podcast is now the subject of a legal complaint by Nicole Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste Incorporated, the Institute of OM LLC and OM IP Co. Episode 9 of the Podcast has been removed for legal reasons. Minor amendments have been made to Episodes 8 and 10 to reflect the removal of Episode 9.In 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article by reporter Ellen Huet exposing the toxic culture within One Taste.Shortly afterwards, the FBI started making enquiries into the company over allegations of sex trafficking, prostitution and violation of labour laws.The company has since closed all its physical locations and is no longer offering in-person courses.Co-founder Nicole Daedone had stepped down as CEO the previous year – and after the FBI started making enquiries, she vanished.Former One Taste members tell us about their disappointment that the company has not responded better to the allegations against it.And we hear how many people struggled to put their lives back together after their time at One Taste.If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, help and advice are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.Presenter: Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Penny Murphy

This podcast is now the subject of a legal complaint by Nicole Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste Incorporated, the Institute of OM LLC and OM IP Co. One Taste was all about the female orgasm – but a lot of men wanted to get involved too, whether to learn how to relate to women better or just in the hope of more sex.And because Orgasmic Meditation was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, the home of Silicon Valley, it attracted a lot of men who worked in the tech industry, some of whom were extremely wealthy.Many of the women who got involved in One Taste were younger, and open to trying out something different and new age in the search to explore their sexuality, or sometimes heal from trauma.These two demographics created some complicated gender dynamics, which One Taste used to develop predatory and exploitative sales tactics.Former One Taste members tell us about the interplay between sex, money and power within the organisation.If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, help and advice are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.Presenter: Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Penny Murphy

This podcast is now the subject of a legal complaint by Nicole Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste Incorporated, the Institute of OM LLC and OM IP Co. Many One Taste members lived in communal houses, known as OM houses. They would practice Orgasmic Meditation together multiple times a day while also working for One Taste selling and running courses.Some people moved in to the OM houses only weeks after their first encounter with One Taste.Some were attracted by the possibility of lots of sex, but others were looking for meaning, purpose or community in their lives.And everyone was captivated by One Taste’s charismatic co-founder Nicole Daedone.Former members tell us how exciting it was at first – but things soon got complicated.The company was struggling to make money, and as the price tags for courses went up, the sales tactics got more and more predatory.If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme, help and advice are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.Presenter: Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Penny Murphy

This podcast is now the subject of a legal complaint by Nicole Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste Incorporated, the Institute of OM LLC and OM IP Co. One Taste didn’t invent Orgasmic Meditation – but they did repackage it for a modern audience.The idea of “deliberate orgasm” achieved by genital stroking started in the hippy communes of 1960s California. It was a time of huge social and sexual experimentation.One Taste co-founder Nicole Daedone first experienced the practice in the late 1990s.She had a vision of it reaching millions of people and changing the world – so she decided to redesign it as Orgasmic Meditation, making it sleeker and more structured.Former One Taste members tell us about the early days of the organisation, living together in a warehouse in San Francisco and experimenting with sex, self-development and Orgasmic Meditation.Presenter: Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Penny Murphy

This podcast is now the subject of a legal complaint by Nicole Daedone, Rachel Cherwitz, OneTaste Incorporated, the Institute of OM LLC and OM IP Co.Nastaran Tavakoli-Far explores the rise and fall of One Taste. We learn how to practise Orgasmic Meditation with a former member and his wife, and hear co-founder Nicole Daedone’s story of how she encountered a Buddhist monk at a party who changed her life. And former One Taste members and staff tell us about the optimism with which they joined the project, looking for a sense of purpose, for adventure, or for healing.But we hear how things soon started to go sour, with predatory sales practices, coercive control and abuse – financial, emotional, physical and sexual.And we’re also asking bigger questions that go beyond just one company.What makes people turn to organisations like One Taste in search of connection in the modern world?Why are women’s health and women’s sexuality still not taken seriously by conventional medicine?And where is the line between healing and harm?Presenter: Nastaran Tavakoli-Far Producer: Lucy Burns Editor: Penny Murphy