“Everyone knows a sex worker,” says Ariela Moscowitz, but due to shame, stigma, and the associated risks, “nobody wants to talk about it.” As the director of communications at Decriminalize Sex Work, Ariela advocates for the removal of all criminal and civil penalties for consensual adult sex work. Additionally, the organization opposes a regulatory model gaining traction in the United States.

The ‘demand equality model,’ despite its name, decriminalizes the selling of sex but not the buying of it, in an attempt to reduce demand. This creates a power imbalance between workers and clients and exposes workers to significant rights and privacy violations. Supported by feminists who otherwise champion bodily autonomy, this model is based on the belief that all sex work is inherently exploitative and that sex workers need to be “saved.”

Ariela points out that human trafficking, a popular issue for politicians seeking voter approval, occurs predominantly outside the sex work industry.

In this episode, Ariela shares her journey in advocating for sex workers’ rights and recounts a woman’s story that highlights the devastating consequences of criminalizing sex work and the varied, often surprising reasons people enter the industry.

Quotes

• “We don't want to see people saddled with criminal records for something they choose to do of their own volition with another adult in the privacy of their own home. And also, we know that decriminalizing consensual sex work is the best way to combat trafficking and exploitation in the sex industry.” (2:19 | Ariela Moscowitz)
• “But they're still existing in a criminalized arena. And when you're dependent on somebody who is nervous about getting arrested, they hold all the cards. So, where I started was, we have two goals: we want to decriminalize consensual adult sex work, and we want to fight this, I’ll call it “the equality model,” even though that drives me wild because there's nothing equal about the equality model…a lot of second wave feminists, the same folks who fight for bodily autonomy as it relates to abortion, but not as it relates to sex work, have decided that all sex work is inherently exploitative. We know that it's not. So, they want to ‘save’ these women who they also want to have autonomy. It's all inherently contradictory.” (6:18 | Ariela Moscowitz)
• “You know, it's generous to say they're well intentioned, but are hastily written, slapped together laws that are really solutions in search of a problem. So, they can say, ‘Hey, guys. Look what I did about trafficking,’ while they did nothing for trafficking, and everything to hurt consensual adult sex workers. In 2018,...SESTA/FOSTA basically fundamentally changed the way the internet works…platforms can't be held liable for what folks post on them. That's what shut down Backpage.” (14:26 | Ariela Moscowitz)
• “A lot of the structures we have in place in this society, really leave a lot of people out in the cold…you think laws are really written to keep you safe…and they actually make things more dangerous for people, which is what the criminalization of sex work does.” (17:38 | Ariela Moscovitz)

Links

Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com

Connect with Ariela Moscowitz:

https://www.decriminalizesex.work

https://www.instagram.com/decrimsexwork

https://www.tiktok.com/decrimsex

Connect with Bart Baggett

https://instagram.com/bartbaggett

https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/

https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast

https://bartbaggett.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett

https://x.com/bartbaggett

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“We always want to put people in categories,” says Mark Skousen, “if we believe in individualism, let’s treat everyone as an individual.” Mark, the founder of Freedomfest, clarifies that the event is not just a political conference for Libertarians but a “renaissance gathering” for people from all backgrounds who value thinking and living freely. On today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show, Mark explains libertarianism beyond political affiliation and why freedom is the cornerstone of all societal systems.

Mark, a world-renowned economist, author, and professor, asserts that money and freedom are interconnected. He cites examples like Benjamin Franklin and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who built wealth and invested wisely to live life on their own terms.

Mark will discuss what makes a nation economically prosperous, draw parallels between a parent’s relationship with a child and a government’s relationship with its citizens, and argue why the U.S. should move away from the two-party system.

Despite societal challenges, Mark is optimistic about the upcoming generation’s willingness to learn and engage. Tune in to learn more about this year’s Freedomfest and how you can get discounted tickets with Bart’s help for a limited time. Coupon code “BART50” https://www.freedomfest.com

Quotes

• “When children are young, they’re dependent on their parents for their livelihood, for their education and so forth. Unfortunately, that’s been translated too often to the government saying, ‘You’re all children and therefore we have to take care of you, your food, your medical expenses, your retirement and so forth.’ And that’s a danger.” (2:32 | Mark Skousen)
• “It’s not so much a political seminar. I first thought, ‘It’s a Libertarian conference,’ but that’s not my impression now, Mark. I feel like it’s people who love freedom, who want to experience—they have different social issues, some have very specific agendas, and some like me are just going, ‘Wow, maybe I can learn something.’...Well, that’s the problem—I don’t think you can pinpoint at ‘average’—everybody is so different. We always want to put people in categories and really I think, if we believe in individualism, let’s treat everybody as an individual.” (14:22 | Bart Baggett and Mark Skousen)
• “I see the Libertarians as those who favor maximum liberty within the rule of law and within a robust competitive economy or model, if you will, maximum liberty.” (19:22 | Mark Skousen)
• “I’m really worried about our legal system and what is being taught in law schools. And we’re starting to see that now and this thing against Trump…we’ve had criminal justice reform, which I think overall has been good, but I do think if you become a target, they can use the law to go after you and you can’t get representation and you can’t get a judge that’s really fair.” (29:37 | Mark Skousen)
• “How do you personally become wealthy, how does a nation become prosperous: it’s all the same thing. You live within your means, you save regularly, you invest the savings productively in a business or in the stock market which is other people’s businesses. And a nation’s the same thing.” (38:05 | Mark Skousen)

Links

Save $50 on attending Freedomfest in Las Vegas in 2024.

Coupon code “BART50” https://www.freedomfest.com

Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com

Links

Connect with Mark Skousen:

https://www.mskousen.com

https://www.freedomfest.com

Connect with Bart Baggett

https://instagram.com/bartbaggett

https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/

https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast

https://bartbaggett.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett

https://x.com/bartbaggett

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Moral of the story: be so good at what you do that not even attempted murder will hold you back.” Comedian Brittany Hunter is very good at the many things she does, including creating the content for a major nonprofit law firm which hired her despite genuinely believing that she had tried to stab her ex-husband.

She never actually did—though she admits to lying to avoiding getting into trouble, so perhaps we’ll never know. This was just one of many persistent rumors that arose from a live-Tweet tirade she went on throughout her messy divorce.

Brittany’s approach to revenge is much more psychological than physical. She explains how she undermines the dreams and careers of her ex-boyfriends—several DJs and even a professional magician— in retaliation for their cheating on her and ignoring her. She tells the story of setting the precedent for text harassment laws in her native Utah while still in high school.

It all contributes to her personal brand of “trauma-dy,” a taste of which she serves up on today’s episode of The Bart Baggett Show. Tune in to learn what her sloppy cursive reveals about her and how she sets herself apart in a sea full of ‘Brittanys.” It is pronounced BRIT-TI-NEY… but she will answer to any version as long as you call.

Quotes

• “I work at a nonprofit law firm. We have like 17 Supreme Court wins. I am not a lawyer. I'm a college dropout, not a lawyer. I do content. I’m a writer, first and foremost, so I storytell about the clients whom we represent, so I get to interview them, do all that. And surprisingly, all my coworkers and the general counsel of our firm are coming to see me tomorrow. I have done comedy in front of them. They hired me thinking I killed– or tried to kill–my ex husband.” (3:11 | Brittany Hunter)
• “I've never tried to stab anyone. First of all I’m a good shot, so if I would have tried to stab him, I would have stabbed him. You’re calling me a bad stabber. I follow things through. I follow through. If I wanted to murder him, he’d be dead. I’m a finisher.” (5:16 | Brittany Hunter and Bart Baggett)
• “My first criminal record started when I was 18 years old. I was the precedent in Utah for text messaging harassment. Text messaging had been out one year. I texted my high school ex-boyfriend, who cheated on me, 200 times a day, every day, for two months until the police came. That is some persistence. It was persistence. It was hard work.” (11:52 | Brittany Hunter)

Links

Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Baggett’s Show The World’s Most Interesting People Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com

Links

Connect with Brittany Hunter:

https://www.instagram.com/brit_the_wit

https://www.tiktok.com/brittanyehunt

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RwOhjX68nb7iYCFCAbtOA

https://www.instagram.com/britt_the_wit/

Connect with Bart Baggett

https://instagram.com/bartbaggett

https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/

https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast

https://bartbaggett.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@bartbaggett

https://x.com/bartbaggett

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm