Episodes
New name, new owners, new rules. Can Pornhub rebuild its reputation and remain one of the world’s biggest porn sites? Or will the company be disrupted out of business by a new crop of online porn entrepreneurs? This is episode 4 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole.
Published 04/01/24
Published 04/01/24
Jane was coerced into making a pornographic film, and told it would never be shared online. Then, it was posted on Pornhub, over and over again. How did a scandal involving the hosting of sexual abuse material seriously damage the lives of many and nearly destroy the company?  This is episode 3 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript here.
Published 03/25/24
Not only did Pornhub become a massive moneymaker, it also helped push porn into the spotlight by using data, clever PR, and the power of celebrity. How did Pornhub make itself a household name?  This is episode 2 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript here.
Published 03/18/24
How did a handful of competitive foosball players in Montreal create the world’s largest online porn site? And what do a picturesque Dutch cabin, thousands of pornographic VHS tapes, and the subprime mortgage crisis have to do with it? This is episode 1 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript here.
Published 03/11/24
Pornhub — that site you only access on your browser’s incognito mode? It gets way more views than Netflix. But because of the sheepishness and stigma around porn, it’s treated as if it’s fringe, instead of what it really is: one of Canada’s largest cultural exports. In The Pornhub Empire: Understood, hear the story of how a Montreal-founded company came to dominate the adult industry — only to have its reputation obliterated in a massive scandal — and where it stands today. The Pornhub...
Published 02/22/24
A jury has found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts, from conspiracy to fraud, following the collapse of his crypto exchange last year. Speaking with Front Burner host Daemon Fairless, Jacob Silverman walks us through Bankman-Fried’s trial and explains what the verdict means for FTX customers and the cryptocurrency industry.
Published 11/06/23
Today we bring you a bonus episode of The Naked Emperor. As Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial kicks off in New York, host Jacob Silverman is back to bring you up to speed on the latest. What’s happened at the courthouse in the lead-up to the trial? And what’s expected in the weeks to come? Joining Jacob is Zeke Faux, an investigative reporter at Bloomberg, and the author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.”
Published 10/02/23
Jacob Silverman sits down on CBC's Front Burner podcast to discuss how the biggest crypto exchange in the world is being sued by an American regulator accusing Binance and its billionaire founder of breaking a string of laws and misusing investor funds. Changpeng Zhao and his company say they will fight back "vigorously."
Published 06/08/23
Sam Bankman-Fried couldn’t have marketed FTX to the masses on his own. He had help – from the institutional investors who brought in the big bucks, to the celebrity endorsers who told the public that FTX was “a safe and easy way to get into crypto.” One FTX brand ambassador was Kevin O’Leary, from the reality show Shark Tank. Host Jacob Silverman questions O’Leary about his due diligence before accepting the multimillion dollar endorsement deal. We also hear from everyday investors and...
Published 04/03/23
In the weeks after FTX filed for bankruptcy Sam stuck to his story: he did not commit fraud. FTX’s post-collapse CEO claimed the company had been a managerial and financial disaster, writing that he had never seen “such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” In response to his cratering public image, Sam Bankman-Fried talked. A lot. He exhibited an almost reckless desire to tell his side of things, insisting he could...
Published 03/27/23
We return to the beginning of Sam Bankman-Fried’s lucrative foray into crypto and ask: how did it all fall apart? Sam Bankman-Fried rose to the top of the crypto world with help from his friends. Gary Wang was a former fellow math-camper and brilliant programmer; Caroline Ellison was a former colleague at an elite Wall Street firm and an avid LARPer on the side. While still in their twenties, they were entrusted with billions of dollars of customer and investor funds. But in retrospect...
Published 03/20/23
Sam Bankman-Fried wasn't like other crypto moguls: he drove a Toyota Corolla, he was an advocate for government regulation, he said he would give billions away to charity. That is, until he lost it all in what has been called “one of history’s greatest-ever destructions of wealth.” Sam Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, had an empire. His cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and hedge fund, Alameda Research, together were worth billions. Celebrities sang his praises, and politicians took his donations. Then,...
Published 03/13/23
In The Naked Emperor journalist Jacob Silverman explains how Sam Bankman-Fried built and destroyed FTX, a multi-billion dollar crypto currency empire. Who helped? Who was hurt? And will anything change following one of the most stunning financial collapses in modern history? Four episodes released weekly starting March 13. From CBC News and the team that brings you Front Burner.
Published 02/22/23