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.

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.

This episode has been edited to remove reference to an email which was described as relating to a specific incident involving Sam and Cassidy. This has been removed because the email in fact concerned a different incident.

As One Taste grew, the tensions inside the company escalated.

We hear one especially disturbing story of abuse and coercive control, and hear how members were pressured into practising Orgasmic Meditation or having sex against their wishes.

We learn how the company began to take a turn towards the occult with a course called Magic School, experimenting with sex, spirituality and ritual.

And former One Taste members tell us how they reached breaking point 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.

Even from the early days of One Taste, discussion swirled around whether the company was a cult.

Co-founder Nicole Daedone even had a tank top which said “cult” on it in big white letters, and staff were briefed on how to respond to questions from outsiders on the subject.

After everything we’ve learned so far about One Taste, in this episode we speak to cult expert Steve Hassan, author of “Combatting Cult Mind Control”, about what makes a cult – and whether he thinks the term applies to One Taste.

Plus, wellness expert André Spicer tells us how to recognise red flags that an organisation could be a cult, and what makes people vulnerable to joining them in the first place.

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.

One former One Taste member tells us the story of her experiences inside One Taste.

Before she encountered One Taste, she had struggled to orgasm, and mainstream doctors hadn’t been able to tell her why.

She says the prospect that she could experience orgasm through Orgasmic Meditation left her “saturated with hope”.

Initially, One Taste welcomed her with open arms – but the company soon became exploitative.

She was encouraged to go into debt to pay for One Taste classes, to turn away from her friends and family, and to start a relationship with a wealthy One Taste member who could pay for her courses – a situation she describes as “not exactly prostitution, but not completely different”.

She left One Taste with PTSD.

Plus, her brother tells us what it was like to watch his sister become more and more distant from the outside world.

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