

The Oldest Profession Podcast
Old Pros
The Oldest Profession Podcast reminds listeners that sex workers have always been part of the story. Each episode focuses on an “old pro” from history, contextualizing that figure in their own time and connecting their story to the ongoing struggle for sex worker rights.
Your host, Kaytlin Bailey, is a nationally touring stand up comic, notorious old pro, and sex worker rights advocate. She’s partnered with the whole team at Old Pros to create an accessible and entertaining resource for anyone who wants to learn more about sex workers and our place in history.
https://oldprosonline.org/the-oldest-profession-podcast
Your host, Kaytlin Bailey, is a nationally touring stand up comic, notorious old pro, and sex worker rights advocate. She’s partnered with the whole team at Old Pros to create an accessible and entertaining resource for anyone who wants to learn more about sex workers and our place in history.
https://oldprosonline.org/the-oldest-profession-podcast
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 25, 2022 • 25min
EARN IT v. Sex Worker Safety - with Daly Barnett
This week, on Old Pro News, we’ll update you on a former stripper who is running for Congress, and an exciting new exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. Then, host Lakeesha Harris will explain why the EARN IT Act is the new FOSTA SESTA. Our guest today is Daly Barnett from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She’s here to break down the return of EARN IT, and how it could allow the government to violate your privacy. For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/oldpronews-002/ Daly Barnett is a staff technologist at the EFF. She is also an artist, activist, and community organizer. She was the founder of t4tech, a trans forward tech collective based in NYC. She is also a part of Hacking Hustling, a sex workers advocacy organization, where her title is Witch. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/daly-barnett ALEXANDRA HUNT | “I’m A Former Stripper Running For Congress. I Refuse To Be Ashamed.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandra-hunt-stripper-congress-soccer-coaching_n_620fa613e4b08ed7cf6ee45c VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA | “After Decriminalisation, Local Councils Are The Next Battle For Sex Workers” https://www.starobserver.com.au/opinion/after-decriminalisation-local-councils-are-the-next-battle-for-sex-workers/209948 BACKPAGE TRIAL | “Judge declares mistrial at trial of Backpage.com founders” https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-declares-mistrial-trial-backpage-founders-80013257 DECRIMINALISED FUTURES https://www.ica.art/exhibitions/decriminalised-futures SUPER BOWL | “214 Sex Workers Arrested in Super Bowl 'Human Trafficking' Mission” https://reason.com/2022/02/16/214-sex-workers-arrested-in-super-bowl-human-trafficking-mission/ EARN IT | “Anti-exploitation bill advances in Senate despite free speech concerns” https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/10/22927346/earn-it-act-markup-senate-judiciary-section-230-csam-non-consensual-porn FOSTA-SESTA https://hackinghustling.org/what-is-sesta-fosta/ THIRD WAVE FUND https://www.thirdwavefund.org

Feb 16, 2022 • 55min
Belle Brezing Was Lexington, Kentucky’s Most Successful Madam
With razor sharp wit and a keen eye for business, Belle Brezing (1860 – 1940) clawed her way out of humble beginnings and eventually claimed her space as Lexington’s most successful Madam. Belle Brezing’s reputation was nationally known and served as the inspiration for the Belle Watling character in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. Join Kaytlin Bailey as she recounts the story of Belle Brezing on this week’s episode of The Oldest Profession Podcast. For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/belle-brezing Stock Media provided by sounddogs / Pond5

Feb 11, 2022 • 28min
PILOT: Destigmatize It! Breaking Down Sex Work Myths with Rep. Mandie Landry
Welcome to the first episode of Old Pro News, with your host, Lakeesha Harris! For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/oldpronews-pilot/ Headlines: New York District Attourney Bragg Includes Landmark Sex Work Reform in Policy Statement / Decriminalize Sex Work https://decriminalizesex.work/ny-district-attorney-bragg-includes-landmark-sex-work-reform-in-policy-statement In Light Of Dallas’ New SOB Ordinance, Imagine What Could Be Possible If We Transformed The Way We Respond To Violence In Our City / Central Track https://www.centraltrack.com/strip-clubs-city-hall-and-the-politics-of-care/ The Dangerously Fake Link Between the Super Bowl and Human Trafficking / LA Times https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-02-06/super-bowl-trafficking-link Monologue: “To stigmatize someone means that you withhold power from them, denying them access to reach their full human potential and restricting their ability to thrive and live.” — Lakeesha Harris, host of Old Pro News

Feb 2, 2022 • 2min
Old Pro News (Coming February 11)
Welcome to Old Pro News, your source for the latest in politics and culture affecting sex workers and everyone who supports our movement. Hosted by longtime human rights activist and former sex worker Lakeesha Harris, Old Pro News will bring you headlines, interviews, and analysis every other Friday. https://oldprosonline.org/news

Feb 2, 2022 • 43min
Maya Angelou: Sex Worker History is Part of Her Esteemed Legacy
This week our host Kaytlin Bailey is joined by Old Pros historian, Dr. Charlene Fletcher for a powerful conversation about Maya Angelou’s unapologetic past as a sex worker. To ignore this part of Maya Angelou’s personal journey does a great disservice to her legacy. Maya Angelou wasn’t ashamed of sex work and neither are we. For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/maya-angelou-sex-worker

Jan 19, 2022 • 58min
Nevada Brothels and the Truth About Legalized Prostitution
Nevada brothels house the only legal prostitution in the United States. Why then does Nevada have the highest arrest rate per capita? Join The Oldest Profession Podcast host, Kaytlin Bailey, to learn why the legalization of sex work as seen in Nevada brothels does not work, and what we should be pushing for instead (Spoiler Alert: It’s the decriminalization of sex work). For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/nevada-brothels

Dec 16, 2021 • 1h 37min
Coming Out Stories with Jessie Sage + Melrose Michaels
Kaytlin Bailey sits down with Jessie Sage and Melrose Michaels from On the Whorizon Podcast. We all asked you to send in your stories about coming out, and being outed as a sex worker. Some of these stories are funny, some of them are sad, but they all remind us this holiday season that we are never alone. For more resources on this episode, visit our website: https://oldprosonline.org/sex-work-coming-out-stories/

Aug 9, 2021 • 60min
thotscholar & The Scarlot Harlot: Perspectives on Language
What is gained or lost by the language we use to define ourselves and our community? Where does this language come from and who gets to use it? In this season finale, two influential thinkers (thotscholar aka Moses and The Scarlot Harlot aka Carol Leigh) meet for the first time and explore the role of language in the sex worker movement. They ruminate on the importance of discourse around language, the impact of using such language and the evolution in discourse over time.

Jun 23, 2021 • 58min
Part 5 - A Tribute to Margo St. James w/ Miss Vera and Annie Sprinkle
Margo St. James, who founded the prostitutes’ rights organization COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and later the St. James Infirmary, passed away this year on January 11, 2021. As a tribute to Margo, we have the great pleasure of speaking with living legends of the early sex worker rights movement, Miss Vera and Annie Sprinkle. To learn more about the life of Margo St. James and the sex worker rights movement, please visit https://margostjames.com.

Jun 21, 2021 • 52min
Part 4 - A Tribute to Margo St. James w/ Miss Vera and Annie Sprinkle
Margo St. James, who founded the prostitutes’ rights organization COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics) and later the St. James Infirmary, passed away this year on January 11, 2021. As a tribute to Margo, we have the great pleasure of speaking with living legends of the early sex worker rights movement, Miss Vera and Annie Sprinkle. To learn more about the life of Margo St. James and the sex worker rights movement, please visit https://margostjames.com.