Vea Vesper is a professional Dominatrix who “creates safe spaces to play dangerous games.” She was the first woman in Russia to publicly come out as a Dom, blazing a trail for sex workers on social media in her home country.

We dive deep into sex and dating culture in Russia vs America (hello Russian Hooker trope!); what it really means to be a “good girl” and why intimidating women get further in life; how to “make the Universe your Mistress”; and all the ways in which BDSM can teach us about healthy boundaries, honest communication, and effective negotiation in everyday life.

And, as a special treat for us very good boys and girls, she reveals the wildest scene a submissive has ever asked for. (Spoiler alert: it involves cake.)

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Share your own story at confessions@aliweissworld.com. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating & review: it’s immensely helpful for expanding our community of confessors!

Tales of Taboo is produced and hosted by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Sound mixing by Cedric Wilson. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro.

Feel like blowing up your life? You’ve come to the right place.

This week’s confessors range in age from 28 to 51 and reside in New York City, Los Angeles, Charlotte, San Diego, San Francisco, London, and the Netherlands. Each of them took enormous personal, professional, or physical risks in pursuit of a freer and more authentic life.

We hear from an athletic trainer who elected to amputate half his leg; a high-end drug dealer turned stay-at-home mom; a sex worker turned corporate project manager — and a youth program director turned cam girl; two former city professionals making monster salaries who opted to pursue their artistic dreams full-time; a man who found unexpected success as a journalist in mid-life; a woman who moved to Europe for a man she met in China; and two women who found the strength to leave emotionally abusive relationships after ten and fifteen years.

Together, they offer wisdom about losing and rebuilding your identity, navigating judgment from family and society, redefining success, confronting fears of failure, and understanding the complicated role money plays in happiness.

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Share your own story at confessions@aliweissworld.com. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating & review: it’s immensely helpful for expanding our community of confessors!

Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Sound mixing by Cedric Wilson. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro.

Kseniya Sovenko (@ksenyeah) is a former nationally ranked competitive ballroom dancer, writer, and the founder of ⁠⁠NYC Rave Girls (@nyc.rave.girls)⁠⁠. After being diagnosed with HPV, Kseniya discovered she had high-grade cervical dysplasia (CIN3), an advanced type of precancerous cells. She was offered only one option for treatment, called a LEEP - or Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure - but read many reports that the procedure offered inconsistent results and bad side effects. So, in the middle of 2020's global lockdown, Kseniya traveled to Japan on a medical Visa to receive Photodynamic Therapy. Her story is equal parts wild and informative, and I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.

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Share your own story at confessions@aliweissworld.com. If you love the show, please take a moment to leave a rating & review: it’s immensely helpful for expanding our community of confessors!

Tales of Taboo is produced and narrated by Ali Weiss. Follow Ali on Instagram & TikTok @aliweissworld. Sound mixing by Cedric Wilson. Theme song by Chris Stathopolous. Cover photo by Erika Flynn. Cover art by Kristen Montenegro.