Jack Wagner takes your ghost stories seriously
On ‘Otherworld,’ the podcaster feeds into a resurgent cultural interest in the paranormal, from near-death experiences to demonic encounters to lost time
Bookmarked: Everything the Document editors watched, read, ate, bought, and listened to in March
From ’80s Brian Eno to the Gwyneth Paltrow trial to metaverse deep-dives, our team shares the very best of what we consumed this month
Tokens of a Type: How Levi’s AI models continue a history of human-averaging
Artificial Intelligence may be new, but its racial and gender-based biases are not—paradoxically disappearing the individual under the guise of championing diversity
Why is menstrual blood banned in porn? You might want to ask your credit card company
In the era of e-commerce, payment processors have become the internet’s unofficial content moderators—because when banks threaten to revoke service, platforms listen
Document takes to Montreal, uniting nightlife and fashion with Holt Renfrew Ogilvy
For the second iteration of the 'After Dark' party series, cabaret bar Vol de Nuit set the stage for a night of transition and cultural...
Why can’t sex workers find a bank?
Following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, another shutdown went unnoticed: that of SpankPay, one of the few payment platforms catering to the adult industry
Ask Liara: A sex worker’s guide to living, loving, and fucking
In the March edition of their monthly column for Document, Liara Roux addresses a reader’s inner turmoil around cosmetic procedures and the doors they open
GPT-4 heralds a new era of AI-generated get-rich-quick schemes
Digital entrepreneurs are automating their side hustles—and the ease with which they’re being replaced calls into question their value in the first place
Ethical Capital Partners wants to make Pornhub a leader in the fight against illegal content online
Parent company MindGeek has been acquired by a private equity firm, just days after a new Netflix documentary chronicled its exploitative practices
Meet CupidBot, an AI designed to automate straight men’s dating life
A group of alleged ex-Tinder engineers designed a service to improve the experience of heterosexual men in the only place they face systemic disadvantage: on...
Microsoft lays off its ethics team despite doubling down on AI offerings
The team was tasked with predicting the dangers of new technologies, raising questions about the company’s commitment to responsible use
Setting the stage for falling in love, or something like it
In the realm of reality dating television, “The Mansion” is a character in and of itself—designed to manipulate contestants, as well as everybody watching
What can we do about deepfake porn?
A new face-swap app ran provocative ads featuring celebrity faces, illustrating the dangers of non-consensual deepfakes and the struggle to moderate them
Daytripping: Dancing into the folds of time
In her bi-weekly column for Document Journal, McKenzie Wark writes about dancing at Berlin’s Berghain, the world-famous temple of techno
For Vex Ashley, pleasure is an act of resistance
With DIY porn project Four Chambers, the adult filmmaker finds the art in sex—and investigates its relationship to society in the process
Bookmarked: Everything the Document editors watched, read, ate, bought, and listened to in February
From police procedural horror novellas to Yasujirō Ozu’s unofficial trilogy, our team shares the very best of what we consumed this month
Ask Liara: A sex worker’s guide to living, loving, and fucking
In the February edition of their monthly column for Document, Liara Roux answers readers’ questions about OnlyFans burnout, living in Paris, and high-achieving lesbians
GITANO merges Tulum’s lush allure with the sensibilities of New York nightlife
Founder James Gardner joins Document to break down the magnetism of the Yucatán town, and how he hopes to carry it beyond its geographical bounds
Microsoft “lobotomized” its chaotic chatbot—now, it’s rolling back those restrictions
When it’s not busy having an existential crisis or attempting to break up a marriage, the new Bing raises questions about the ethics of AI
How a coercive cult took hold at a college founded on free-thinking
The new docuseries ‘Stolen Youth’ traces the Sarah Lawrence scandal, revealing the fragility of human memory—and our collective vulnerability in the face of manipulation
For Betony Vernon, eroticism is a way of life
From sexology to erotic jewelry design, Vernon’s three-decade career draws on countless disciplines in the fight for our right to pleasure
‘WHO’S WHO’ maps out New York’s cultural players, from fresh faces to old-school characters
Rob Cristofaro and Puma’s joint coffee-table book captures the city's creative landscape through its innovators, across music, sport, food, fashion, art, and performance
How TikTok’s dark psychology trend rebranded emotional manipulation
“Toxic relationship coaches” promise to help women reclaim the power in their relationships—but these techniques are not as liberating as they seem
Daytripping: How dancing can make you gay
In her bi-weekly column for Document, McKenzie Wark writes on the interpenetration of queer and straight spaces
Feeld is the dating app for the next sexual revolution
Document catches up with Ana Kirova, the radical platform’s founder, examining the roots, rules, and labels of the modern sexual landscape
Will transparency be enough to improve TikTok’s famously overzealous censorship policy?
The app is under fire for banning everything from educational content to videos about racial injustice. Now, they’re putting a new “strike” system in place
Cracks in the Facade: The shameful—and foundational—pursuit of pseudo-status online
The creator economy and influencer culture seemingly hinge on the authenticity industrial complex, but Photoshop fails challenge how real we actually want celebrities to be
Deepfake porn isn’t just a consent issue, it’s a labor issue
Sex workers have been fighting for control over their imagery since the rise of the internet—and now everyday people have joined the fray
Bookmarked: Everything the Document editors watched, read, ate, and listened to in January
From fabric porn to self-help books to vegetable yeast bagels, our team shares the very best of what we consumed this month
Julia Fox’s “mascara” controversy illustrates the problem with algospeak
TikTokers have come up with code words to discuss sensitive topics without triggering the algorithm—but instead, they’re triggering each other
15 sex workers on the joys and challenges of their line of work
Practitioners of the world’s oldest profession discuss the changes they want to see, and what sex work has given them
Bad Words: In defense of the faithless
In his monthly column for Document, sex writer and activist Alexander Cheves makes the case that cheating is human nature
Ask Liara: A sex worker’s guide to living, loving, and fucking
In the January edition of their column for Document, Liara Roux answers readers’ questions about ghosting, pronouns, and maintaining work-life balance
Charting the past, present, and future of emotionally-intelligent chatbots, from ELIZA to GPT-3
Consumer trust in technology is declining, even as machine learning programs grow more sophisticated. Are AI chatbots the exception?
‘Spirit of Kibera’ illuminates Nairobi’s dynamic dance culture
Premiering with Document, Romy Maxime’s film celebrates the Kenyan community’s affinity for movement, and its influence on Africa’s broader artistic landscape
Daytripping: The irreplaceable soundtrack to MDMA
In her bi-weekly column for Document, McKenzie Wark writes of the gap between the body and the body’s image of itself
For cyborg Neil Harbisson, technology is the medium, not the message
From shark fins to seismic senses, members of the biohacking community are changing their brains and bodies to foster a deeper connection with nature
Shoplifters or Security Guards: What’s the bigger financial burden?
Walgreens’s CFO admitted to inflating the scope of its theft problem, underscoring questions around the validity of retail’s moral panic
The internet is in its lying era
TikTok’s Celebrity Death trend left the internet divided, signaling the latest generational disconnect on what society finds funny
Daytripping: A night at the club, and tears before bedtime
In McKenzie Wark’s bi-weekly column for Document, two trans girls commune above the noise
Michaela Stark transforms the corset from an emblem of conformity into a tool of liberation
With transgressive body-morphing designs, the Australian artist celebrates the features shapewear often serves to hide—satirizing oppressive patriarchal standards in the process
Want to watch porn in Louisiana? Hand over your ID
A new law requiring age-authentication on porn sites is causing concern for sex workers and their patrons alike
Between illusion and the studied art of the tease, strip clubs are the last bastion of the American Dream
Rachel Rabbit White explores the strip club's enduring fantasy of social and sexual upward mobility, both on-stage and off
Chasing divinity in the Mojave Desert
For the seeker, the mystic, the artist, the outlaw, the romantic idiot, the allure of the American West endures
In Pasco County, Florida—Nudist Capital, USA—the body politic is on fully display
Way down upon the Suwannee River, purists and partiers clash over the movements founding doctrine
Is scamming the path to fame and fortune?
The success of the con artist isn’t built on the con itself, but rather the degree of notoriety won in its attempt
Behind crumbling highways and ghost towns lies the mythological freedom of the American road
Is the walkability-car divide another front in the so-called ‘culture wars’? Drew Zeiba explores the online proliferation of the new urbanist
Diesel founder Renzo Rosso imagines fashion’s new physical frontier
The Italian design mogul joins Document to discuss the brand’s legacy at the Pelican Hotel, and what it takes for creatives to stay relevant today
Daytripping: The collective catharsis of ravespace
In her biweekly column for Document, McKenzie Wark explores the dance floor as an antidote to dysphoria
