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In this episode of Nutty & Slutty, Janine and Isadora explore obsessive-compulsive disorder — and why it is far more complex than the familiar stereotypes of spotless houses, rigid organization, and repeatedly checking whether the stove is off. Isadora reflects on growing up with parents whose need for order once felt like criticism, while Janine shares how OCD became entangled with her experience of bipolar disorder.

Janine describes the relentless cycle of intrusive thoughts: unwanted ideas about sexuality, identity, violence, and other frightening subjects that can feel impossible to resolve. The two discuss an essential distinction — the thoughts that accompany OCD may be deeply upsetting precisely because they do not reflect the person’s character, desires, or intentions.

The conversation also examines treatment, including working with an OCD specialist and using exposure therapy to reduce the power of an obsession. Janine explains the counterintuitive process of allowing a distressing thought to exist without fighting it, analyzing it, or performing a compulsion — until what once felt like a hard ball ricocheting through the mind becomes something softer and easier to let pass.

With warmth, humor, and their characteristic honesty, Janine and Isadora reveal the exhausting private terrain that may be hidden behind an ordinary exterior. It is a conversation about stigma, empathy, and the courage required to speak aloud the thoughts that cause shame — and to discover that having a thought is not the same as wanting it or acting upon it.

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Welcome to NUTTY & SLUTTY
Where Mental Health, Sexuality and Unfiltered Truth Take Center Stage

NUTTY & SLUTTY is a bold, sex-positive podcast exploring the messy, complicated and often hilarious intersections of mental health, sexuality and real life — without shame, filters or pretense.

Hosted by Janine Noel (living with bipolar disorder) and Isadora O’Boto (ex-escort), this show brings together two radically honest perspectives for conversations that are as raw as they are insightful. From navigating mood swings and medication to unpacking the realities of sex work and desire, nothing is off-limits.

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Isadora O’Boto (co-host) is a Juilliard Drama grad. Under the pen name Sephe Haven, she is the author of two award-winning memoirs: My Whorizontal Life and A Someday Courtesan, and playwright/performer of the solo show: “My Whorizontal Life: The Show!” Isadora co-hosted the podcast My Index to Sex with Lynn Ferguson. Find her at: isadoraoboto.com

Janine Noel (co-host) is creator and host of Bipolar She podcast, where guests sh...

Have you rated the podcast yet? Review, Subscribe & Share with a friend!

Everybody has a healthcare nightmare — but when you’re an escort, living with bipolar disorder, or managing chronic illness, getting sick comes with its own set of complications. In this episode, Isadora and Janine talk about medical bills, inadequate insurance, lost income, and the frightening reality of working when your body is telling you to stop.

Isadora recalls powering through illness during her years as an escort, even leaving the emergency room and going straight back to work. That same instinct — to put everyone else’s needs ahead of her own — has resurfaced as she confronts a mysterious cluster of symptoms, including life-threatening anaphylactic reactions, while struggling to find a doctor willing to investigate the whole picture.

Janine shares her own experiences with dangerous medical treatment, including a psychiatrist whose license was revoked and an antidepressant that triggered a devastating bipolar cycle. Together, they consider what happens when doctors dismiss patients who “look healthy,” treat symptoms in isolation, or imply that an illness is somehow the patient’s fault.

With their trademark honesty, humor, and compassion, Isidora and Janine explore the terror of no longer trusting your own body or mind — and the exhausting search for someone who will listen. It’s a deeply personal conversation about bad medicine, invisible illness, financial vulnerability, self-advocacy, and the healing power of finally hearing: “This isn’t your fault.”

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to NUTTY & SLUTTY
Where Mental Health, Sexuality and Unfiltered Truth Take Center Stage

NUTTY & SLUTTY is a bold, sex-positive podcast exploring the messy, complicated and often hilarious intersections of mental health, sexuality and real life — without shame, filters or pretense.

Hosted by Janine Noel (living with bipolar disorder) and Isadora O’Boto (ex-escort), this show brings together two radically honest perspectives for conversations that are as raw as they are insightful. From navigating mood swings and medication to unpacking the realities of sex work and desire, nothing is off-limits.

_________________________________________________

Isadora O’Boto (co-host) is a Juilliard Drama grad. Under the pen name Sephe Haven, she is the author of two award-winning memoirs: My Whorizontal Life and A Someday Courtesan, and playwright/performer of the solo show: “My Whorizontal Life: The Show!” Isadora co-hosted the podcast My Index to Sex with Lynn Ferguson. Find her at: isadoraoboto.com

Janine Noel (co-host) is creator and host of Bipolar She podcast, where guests sh...

Have you rated the podcast yet? Review, Subscribe & Share with a friend!

What does it mean to feel powerful in a profession the world insists on seeing as degrading? In this episode, Isadora and Janine examine the complicated relationship between escorting and empowerment — and ask whether sex work can offer women a kind of control often denied to them elsewhere.

Isadora reflects on how escorting transformed her relationship with money. After years of low-paying jobs and financial insecurity, she discovered the freedom of earning enough to pay her bills without fear. But the empowerment went beyond income: clients valued her beauty, wit, talent, playfulness and intelligence — qualities that frequently went unseen in her romantic life.

A disastrous birthday date reveals the painful divide between Isadora’s professional and personal worlds. While one man can barely bring himself to call her beautiful, her answering machine is filled with birthday messages from clients telling her how much she means to them. The contrast raises a provocative question: Are transactional relationships necessarily less genuine — or can they sometimes make people feel more fully seen?

The conversation also ventures into pleasure, performance and the expectation that an escort should enjoy the encounter without ever forgetting whose experience she is being paid to provide. Honest, funny and unsettling, this episode complicates easy assumptions about prostitution — and explores the strange power dynamics hiding inside both paid sex and “real-life” romance.

Send us Fan Mail

Welcome to NUTTY & SLUTTY
Where Mental Health, Sexuality and Unfiltered Truth Take Center Stage

NUTTY & SLUTTY is a bold, sex-positive podcast exploring the messy, complicated and often hilarious intersections of mental health, sexuality and real life — without shame, filters or pretense.

Hosted by Janine Noel (living with bipolar disorder) and Isadora O’Boto (ex-escort), this show brings together two radically honest perspectives for conversations that are as raw as they are insightful. From navigating mood swings and medication to unpacking the realities of sex work and desire, nothing is off-limits.

_________________________________________________

Isadora O’Boto (co-host) is a Juilliard Drama grad. Under the pen name Sephe Haven, she is the author of two award-winning memoirs: My Whorizontal Life and A Someday Courtesan, and playwright/performer of the solo show: “My Whorizontal Life: The Show!” Isadora co-hosted the podcast My Index to Sex with Lynn Ferguson. Find her at: isadoraoboto.com

Janine Noel (co-host) is creator and host of Bipolar She podcast, where guests sh...