Rehash, the podcast shining a light on the internet’s seediest corners

Over the last four decades, the internet has transformed the way we have, talk about, and view sex. What’s less spoken about is the symbiosis of this relationship. Sex has always been a driving force in technological innovation, and if we weren’t so obsessed with it, we wouldn’t have the internet as we know it today (it was the desperation for porn that ultimately led to the creation of streaming services, VR, social networking apps, and the digital media business model). This is the central focus for Rehash’s new season, Sex On The Internet: a “loose” history of the reciprocal relationship between “our two most basic desires: innovation and getting off”.

The Toronto-based podcast, which is now in its fourth season, is known for its forensic examinations of social media phenomena. The hosts are razor-sharp internet experts in their own right: 26-year-old Hannah Raine is a “terminally online” aspiring filmmaker, while 27-year-old Maia Wyman, also known as Broey Deschanel, is a writer and YouTuber, known for her incisive video essays and film criticism. “We met in high school,” Wyman tells Dazed, “but we didn’t really become friends until we went to university in Montreal.”

Since Rehash premiered in 2022, the pair have explored a range of subjects, ranging from flash-in-the-pan viral moments to seismic cultural events. So far, there’s been episodes on BuzzFeed, the #FreeBritney movement and Gamergate, but also smaller ‘minisode’ discussions on millennial scapegoating and parasocial relationships. For the latest season, sex remains the primary focus, with planned discussions on the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape, FOSTA/SESTA, Tumblr Porn, and Sasha Grey, the internet’s ‘first porn star’. Here, ahead of the first episode’s premiere later this evening, host Maia Wyman tells us more about what to expect.

The theme for this season is Sex On The Internet – can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Maia Wyman: It’s about the way that sex impacts technology and the way technology impacts sex. The more you look into it, the more you realise that sex has actually propelled a lot of the big technological advancements of the internet. We’re starting with the Pamela and Tommy sex tape, then we’re going to go into Sasha Grey, ‘the internet’s first porn star’, and look at the way she impacted the prevalence of kink in porn. We’re also talking about FOSTA/SESTA, the way that Tumblr gave way to OnlyFans, and dating apps as well, how they led to a loss of human connection. It’s a bit more explicit than our other seasons, but obviously we’re trying to keep an academic lens on it. We’re excited about it.

I know you record the season as you go, but is there an episode you’re particularly excited to get into?

Maia Wyman: Personally, I’m really excited for Sasha Grey. I had the idea of doing an episode on her because I knew who she was growing up, but I didn’t understand why she was so famous. And then, after looking into her, I realised how interesting she was. She definitely influenced a lot of the personas of OnlyFans girls, she was very ahead of her time. I also know Hannah is really excited about getting into Tumblr, and we also have an episode on Is Anyone Up? which is about revenge porn – I think that’ll be kind of cool.

What are your thoughts on the way we talk about revenge porn now? It feels like deepfake porn has overtaken it as the new issue to be terrified about at the moment.

Maia Wyman: I think we‘ve effectively stigmatised revenge porn, which is what we’re ending the season with. I think there’s a huge cultural stigma around it now, in a way that there wasn’t before. I would say deepfakes, for sure, is something to be worried about. The internet was invented with the trespassing of women’s bodies, and historically it’s been a push-and-pull ever since. Sometimes women gain agency, say with like, OnlyFans, and sometimes it’s robbed of them, like with Pornhub. It keeps going. I’m hoping deepfakes are the final realisation of that, but I’m hoping Taylor Swift going after it now will help crack down on it. It’s scary!

What about the reputation young people now have for being ‘puriteens’? Do you think there’s any truth in that?

Maia Wyman: I’m personally in the camp where I do believe Gen Z are quite puritanical. They really are more puritanical than the boomers, it’s so strange. I don’t think it’s their fault, though. I think we’ve just overcorrected a lot in terms of the way we talk about sex and sexuality, and I think they were too young to be a part of that, but are now kind of regurgitating the effects of it. I mean, I think it’s a generalisation that every Gen Z is a puriteen, but from what I’ve seen of the way that sex is discussed on the internet, it tends to be very alarmist and not very nuanced – I have my Taboo On Screen series, which is kind of talking about that. 

“I do believe Gen Z are quite puritanical – more than the boomers, it’s so strange” – Maia Wyman

What do you think that means for culture more generally?

Maia Wyman: I think because industries are very risk averse, they don’t want to be criticised anymore. And so the projects that they’re funding are not going to be featuring desire, they’re not going to be featuring sex. And if they do feature desire, it’s going to be unconsummated desire, like yearning. And you’re not going to see sex on screen as often. I think people like Sam Levinson have encouraged the stigma, too, and have made it worse because they take it too far in the other direction. They want to be provocateurs, but they’re not saying anything with what they’re doing.

What do you want Rehash to do differently from other podcasts? How do you hope it stands out?

Maia Wyman: I think we’re trying to just bring nuance to these subjects. We’re very inspired by You’re Wrong About, who always manage to find the grey area in things. They look at the past, though, and we want to look into things that are slightly more contemporary. I also don’t think, when people talk about the internet, that they go into the actual technical part of it; there’s not much out there that really converges the worlds of culture and tech. People like Taylor Lorenz do that really well, and we’re trying to, too.

The new series of Rehash launches today (February 19) at 8pm EST. Find it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.