Strippers and Sages

In this wide-ranging conversation with Ismail “Izzy” Ali, co-executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), we explore the intersections of psychedelics, spirituality, politics, social justice, and the evolution of consciousness. From the tensions between Indigenous wisdom and Western scientific frameworks to the evolving legal and political landscape of psychedelic reform, we examine the promises and perils of mainstreaming psychedelics in a society shaped by militarism, consumerism, and systemic inequality. Along the way, we discuss collective healing, the limits of the trauma narrative, the surprising political alliances emerging around psychedelics, and what it might take to build a more ethical, equitable, and interconnected future. We also debrief about the 2025 Psychedelic Science conference.

Ismail Lourido Ali, JD is the current Interim Co-Director of Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He believes entheogenic consciousness is a crucial aspect of challenging oppression in all of its forms and has been doing vital work in the psychedelic space for over decade. We’re republishing this episode to kick off this week’s Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver, which Strippers and Sages is thrilled to be covering. While lots has changed since its original recording in 2019, most of our conversation, which ranges from the personal to the political to the cosmic and back again, is still incredibly relevant and offers rich context for the moment and conversations we find ourselves in today. 

This is an interview I recorded in the winter of 2020 with the inimitable Tigre Bailando, a dear friend and collaborator who passed away on October 1st, 2022 of their own volition. Tigre dedicated their life to the joyful pursuit of dance, artistic creation, unabashed self expression and social justice. In this profound and revelatory conversation, we talk about archetypes, mythology, macaroni art, fairies, the artist as shaman, and battling our inner demons. Please honor Tigre by donating to their legacy at Make Love Visible and Earthseed Black Arts Alliance.

In this dynamic interview, the multifaceted Jet Setting Jasmine and I talk about liberation through erotica, dismantling white supremacy in the porn industry, and radical sex education. A psychotherapist with an emphasis on intimacy post injury and illness, Jet Setting Jasmine is the owner of and lead therapist at Blue Pearl Therapy and the co-owner, with her partner King Noir, of the award winning Royal Fetish Films. Together they have over 20 years of experience as adult entertainers, directors, and producers. The duo combines their love of art, film and sex education to produce erotica that stimulates and engages audiences to explore their sexual fantasies. Their work on the decolonization of sex porn and politics has been featured in Huffington Post, Rolling Stones, Paper Magazine, Vice, Playboy, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, BBC, and Psychology Today.

Since 2019, Christine Soyong Harley has led SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States), a national non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for comprehensive sexuality education in the United States. Founded in 1964, SIECUS promotes sex education that is comprehensive, evidence-based, and inclusive, aiming to help people of all ages make informed decisions about their sexual health and well-being. Chris brings extensive executive leadership experience to SIECUS as the former Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under the Obama Administration. Chris is mixed-race Korean American and Piscataway Indian–the indigenous people of Maryland, a single-mom by choice of twin boys, and the first generation of her family to attend college and graduate school. Chris received her B.A. in Politics from Oberlin College and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. SIECUS works on various fronts to achieve its goals, including policy advocacy, resource development, and public education. It provides educators, policymakers, and health professionals with information and resources to support sexuality education. The organization also engages in advocacy efforts to influence public policy and funding related to sex education, working towards a society where everyone has access to the information and education they need to lead sexually healthy lives.

Jimanekia Eborn is a Queer, Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert, Trauma Media Consultant, and Comprehensive Sex Educator. She is the host of Trauma Queen - a podcast for survivors of assault and our allies. The podcast focuses on uplifting voices in all communities and exploring our collective journey to healing. Jimanekia is the Founder of Tending The Garden- a nonprofit in service of sexual assault survivors who have been marginalized, offering retreats, online summits, community and education. She is also the co-founder of Cintima, bringing increased representation to the field of Intimacy Coordination in the film industry. In 2021, Jimanekia joined Lenora Claire Consulting as a SA & trauma expert for film & television productions. Jimanekia has been working in mental health for over a decade with youth, adolescents, and adults. She has led trauma-informed comprehensive sex and sex toy workshops at multiple universities including Columbia University, Georgetown University, Colorado College and Rhodes College. She has been the keynote speaker at Princeton Women's History Month 2021, UCSB Women of Color Conference 2019, UNCC & UC Merced's Take Back the Night Events 2022. Jimanekia has been a featured panelist at the MAC Belfast, Soho House, San Diego University, Converge Con and GirlSchool LA. Her work as a sex educator has been featured in Marie Claire, Playboy, Cosmo, Mind Body Green, Well + Good, Nylon, and many more.

We go behind the scenes at NYC's hottest sex club, the New Society for Wellness (NSFW...wink, wink). Daniel Saynt is the founder and Chief Conspirator of NSFW, a private club for the adventurous in NYC. Designed to be a safe, judgement-free, cannabis friendly space for sexual exploration, the community has grown to over 6000 members, who connect virtually and at sensual get togethers at the NSFW Clubhouse. Daniel is an activist and a community organizer, and this conversation sheds light on both the magic and the challenges of orchestrating sex-positive gatherings.  If you're interested in a more intimate sensual gathering, join us for our upcoming in-person immersion, SACRAL SOUND AND SENSUALITY, a weekend retreat combining ceremony, music, expansive wilderness, alchemical plants, and erotic activation.  Recalibrate, heal, and deepen your relationship to the erotic in a ceremonial container Unlearn your conditioning to cultivate a truly personal and authentic erotic ontology Tap into the deep, replenishing well of the erotic to unleash your power and creativity Explore how erotic agency is tantamount to self-actualization Experience new frontiers of pleasure and self-touch with the support of vibrational sound and sacred plants Combining INTROSPECTION (the psyche) and INTEROCEPTION (the soma), the immersion will include consciousness raising and embodiment workshops, 1:1 consultations with Strippers & Sages host Lianne Sonia, and a sacred medicinal SENSUAL SOUND JOURNEY featuring live music by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Petite Celine.

SEASON THREE IS HERE!  What does it mean to be an eco-sexual? How are sex, ecology, and climate change interconnected? And why is laughter a key ingredient in both activism and performance art? The legendary duo Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens explain it all!  Life partners and collaborators since 2002, Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens are the authors of the Ecosex manifesto (along with Guillermo Gomez Peña) and producers of the award winning films Goodbye Gauley mountain and Water Makes Us Wet, a documentary feature that premiered at Documentary 14 and screened at MOMA. Sprinkle, the old whore, is a former sex worker with a PhD in human sexuality, and Stephens, the hillbilly, holds a PhD in Performance Studies and is the founding director of Earth Lab at the university of California at Santa Cruz. In 2021, they received a Guggenheim fellowship for filmmaking. They have a new book out called Assuming the Ecosexual Position, which describes how the two came together as lovers and collaborators, how they took a stand against homophobia and xenophobia, and how this union led to the miraculous conception of the Love Art Laboratory. sprinklestephens.org https://sprinklestephens.ucsc.edu  |   https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/assuming-the-ecosexual-position *In honor of this episode on ecosexuality, we are holding a FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN to support the legal defense fund of the water protectors who have been on the front lines PROTESTING LINE 3, a proposed pipeline expansion that would transport nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day through the untouched wetlands and treaty territory of the Anishinaabe people, passing through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior. The pipeline is proposed by Enbridge, the company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Join us in being devoted stewards, lovers, and protectors of the earth by donating here: https://www.stopline3bailfunds.org. To donate to mutual aid, click here: https://mn350.org/line3mutualaid 

In this episode, sex educator and pleasure educator Luna Matatas discusses threesomes, BDSM, sexual confidence and butt stuff, which you can learn more about on her podcast The Plug. Luna has over 10 years of experience teaching sexual empowerment workshops. She celebrates body confidence, self-adoration and building shame-free pleasure in and out of the bedroom. Her advice on sex and kink has been featured in Playboy, Cosmo, Vice, Women's Health and Pornhub, and she is the visionary behind the brands Peg the Patriarchy® and Meditate Medicate Masturbate® as part of her sex-positive and feminist merchandise.  This is our season finale! We are already stirring up a sensational season three for you. In the meantime, help us grow our audience by dropping a rating on Apple Podcasts and sharing the show with a friend. What was your favorite episode this season? We'd love to hear from you! Reach out at www.strippersandsages.com / [email protected] or on Instagram @strippersandsages.  We wish all our listeners a joyful, healthy, sexy new year filled with unparalleled amounts of laughter and pleasure. 

In this exciting episode, I interview Burlesque legends Jet Noir, Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière, and Una Osato about the political, spiritual, subversive, and revolutionary aspects of this radical artform.   Lou Lou la Duchesse de Rière, known as the stripping sensation from the Mohawk nation, has been performing her brand of balls to the wall burlesque for well over a decade. Thrice  voted into the Burlesque Top 50 by 21st Century Burlesque (#11 worldwide and #1 in Canada) 2018 Queen of New Orleans Burlesque Festival, She is an internationally recognized performer who has shimmied her way across the stages of New Orleans, Las Vegas, New York, Texas, Detroit, and Chicago. https://linktr.ee/NationalResourcesList  Creator of The Black Manifest, the all Black, all masculine burlesque revue, Jet Noir is a sex educator and was the first man hired to dance for the infamous Mitchell Brothers O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco. He has a reputation for stunning audiences with performances that are joyous, playful, and will have you screaming for more. He’s known as the obsidian obscenity here to disrupt your memories. He dances for work, joy, meditation, and has been heating up stages, internationally, since 2010. http://linktr.ee/JetNoir Una Aya Osato aka exHOTic other aka Norms, is a performer, writer, sex educator, CareBear, clown, and stripper from NYC. They are an award-winning actor and playwright who tours their original work nationally and internationally. They are also a co-founder of the queer BIPOC performance company brASS Burlesque. Venmo: @UnaOsato, Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ThisIsUna