An academic journal has released a special issue dedicated to pornography. The editors of AG About Gender, a peer-reviewed international journal based in Genoa, say the decision points to growing academic interest in the adult industry.

Growing up in the early aughts, my hometown’s sex shop had a reputation as a seedy establishment from which customers emerged, purchases in an opaque black plastic bag, casting furtive glances. Now, a new generation of these stores has emerged, and they’ve evolved into more than nondescript buildings where you can buy toys in secret.

Las Vegas is already known as Sin City, in part for the gambling and sex work that takes place there (though it turns out that, while legal in Nevada, prostitution is actually illegal in Vegas), and for its history of ties to the mafia. But it was only in 2020 that sex toys were allowed at CES, the largest consumer electronics show in the world.

When Mark Padoongpatt was first asked to write a book about Thai food in America, he wasn’t interested. But then he began to examine the immigration history between Thailand and Los Angeles, and found a rich story about immigration and cooking. Padoongpatt ultimately wrote “Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America,” which examines how cooking was at the heart of the assimilation of Thai Americans.

This tactic enables conservatives to avoid addressing structural inequalities that still plague society.

This episode of Jack Dappa Blues Radio is part two of my discussion with scholar Tyler D. Parry on the role of the bloodhound before, during, and after slavery. He delves into the origins of the purpose this hybrid animal was created, where they were trained and how it's been utilized for centuries as a weapon against the freedoms and lives of the "Blues People" on America.

One of the most important tools in the Taste of Thai kitchen is a white plastic spoon.

Her black hair falls on her face. A rose gold chain with a pendant rests on her denim dress. At first glance, the Instagram photo is nothing special. Indeed, nobody notices that this elegant pendant is a sex toy with a USB connection.

The newest sector that is upset by - especially female - designers and start-ups? Sex toys. These days they look like minimalist design objects.

Local business owner Woranuch Boonprakob has walked up and down the 5000 block of Hollywood Boulevard every day for the past 35 years, taking note of what’s different and what’s the same with every step. As Thai Town approaches its 20th anniversary at the end of the month, Boonprakob describes the neighborhood’s transformation into a cultural hub as “beautiful.” But unlike the tourists who simply marvel at the stylized lamp posts and golden Aponsi statues, Boonprakob is able to recall the tragedy and ensuing strife from which the beauty was born.

On this episode, I speak with Dr. Tyler D. Parry, professor of African American and African Diaspora studies at UNLV, about his latest project “Jumping The Broom: A Multicultural History.”

The ubiquitous masturbation device marketed to men was ahead of its time—and became the bellwether for a more fluid, inclusive future.