Modern Love

When Paloma Karr took a job at Sheri’s Ranch, a legal brothel in Nevada, she thought of men as paychecks. Back home in New York City, Karr had just gone through an intense breakup and was stuck with a rent payment she couldn’t afford. She explored “sugar baby” work and, almost on a whim, started applying to brothels in Nevada. Just a few weeks later, Karr was flying to Las Vegas, ready to make the money she needed and return home. But while she was there, Karr had a series of conversations that changed everything. She found herself endeared to her clients, many of whom just seemed to want someone to talk to about their insecurities. When they were honest with her, she was surprised to find herself being honest with them, too. This week on the “Modern Love” podcast, Karr talks about how working in a brothel completely changed her ideas about men, sex and herself.

After tremendous loss and heartbreak, Jim Morrison didn’t feel he had anything left to lose. Then he went for a walk. Next, a hike. Soon, he was running. He found challenging himself in nature helped him work through his grief, and before long he was seeking out increasingly difficult feats. In 2025 he became the first person to successfully climb up the North Face of Mount Everest and then ski down. A new documentary, “Everest: The Other Side,” chronicles Morrison’s journey to Everest and tells the story of his great loves and devastating tragedies. On this episode of “Modern Love,” Morrison talks about how he survived the darkest times in his life and how coming right up to the edge of what’s humanly possible keeps him close to the people he’s lost.

Janene Lin loathed the moment when the dinner bill would hit the table. When her date would pay, she felt like her love was for sale. Splitting the bill felt like no one had anything at stake. Most of the time, she would pay the bill herself, but that left her feeling uncared-for. So Janene prepared a pitch: On her next date, her third with a man named Aodhán, she would ask to open a joint bank account. On this episode of Modern Love, Lin tells our host, Anna Martin, why this risky move felt like the best solution, how Aodhán reacted and what it taught her about what money means to her and her family. This episode is adapted from Janene Lin’s essay The Woman Who Always Paid for Dinner.

Explore the trials and tribulations of love in these deeply personal essays. A collaboration of The New York Times and WBUR in Boston, Modern Love: The Podcast features the popular New York Times column, with readings by notable personalities and updates from the essayists themselves. Join host Meghna Chakrabarti (WBUR) and Modern Love editor Daniel Jones (NYT) -- and fall in love at first listen.