1989. Sex is being revolutionized, fax and internet programs

What happens when the fax machine and the home computer enter the dating world? 1989 finds out, looking foward to "sex in the 1990s."

Geraldo brings together two sides of early tech culture. On one side: Chuck Farnham, creator of the adult computer program "Smutstack," debating Paige Mellish of Feminists Fighting Pornography and psychologist Dr. Peter Wish over interactivity, age verification, bulletin-board shareware, and whether adult software is harmless fantasy or escalation. On the other side: self-described "fax king" Paul Hollendorf, who says he received 8,000 faxes and throws fax parties, and Barry Kachalowicz, founder of the "Singles Facts" fax dating service - plus Aggie & Jeff, a couple who actually met through his service.

Closing the hour, Omni Magazine editor and futurologist Patty Adcroft offers the history of the internet view: infertility science, blurring gender roles, "serial marriages" across longer lives, and - with AIDS reshaping behavior - non-contact dating as a form of safe sex.

A pure 90s nostalgia time capsule for fans of 64 90s daytime talk, pre-internet dating, and how America first argued about computers and intimacy.

GUESTS IN THIS EPISODE
Chuck Farnham - software creator
Paige Mellish - Feminists Fighting Pornography
Dr. Peter Wish - psychologist
Paul Hollendorf - fax party organizer
Barry Kachalowicz - founder, Singles Facts
Patty Adcroft - Omni Magazine editor / futurologist
Aggie & Jeff - met via Singles Facts

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro: Sex in the 1990s
01:00 Meet the Computer and Fax Guests
02:46 Demo: How the Program Works
04:10 The Debate: Fantasy vs Harm
08:00 Psychologist on Alienation and Risk
10:43 Lawsuit Over Look-Alike Program
11:40 From Mainstream to Extreme? Geraldo Presses
14:39 Age Checks and Kids Finding It Anyway
16:34 Bulletin Boards Contradict "Hard to Get"
22:02 The Fax King and 8,000 Faxes
24:43 Why Singles Facts Started
27:54 Aggie & Jeff: A Fax Match That Worked
31:23 Grim Outlook vs Optimistic Future
34:08 Futurologist on Science and Equality
36:51 Serial Marriages Prediction
38:47 Safe Sex, AIDS and Monogamy

ABOUT THIS ARCHIVE:
For more than 50 years, Geraldo Rivera has covered the stories that divide and define us. This upload is part of the Geraldo Rivera vault restoration - uncut classic broadcasts remastered from the original tapes.

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The founder argues in favor of Penthouse, saying most Miss America winners fade into oblivion.