The Butterfly Effect cover art

The Butterfly Effect

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Butterfly Effect

By: Jon Ronson
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

Join best-selling author Jon Ronson as he traces the story of one very strange butterfly effect: What happened after a teen in Brussels figured out how to make porn free and easily accessible on the internet. Traveling from the tech world of Silicon Valley to the San Fernando Valley, where most porn films were made, you learn the consequences of free porn, which turn out to be mysterious, shocking, sad, and, at times, even surprisingly sweet. A 7-part series takes you on a journey to places you'll never expect. [Explicit]

When you add The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson to your library you will receive all 7 episodes, each with a runtime of approximately 30 minutes.

©2017 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2017 Audible Originals, LLC Sexual & Reproductive Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep. 1: A Nondescript Office Building in Montreal

    Ep. 1: A Nondescript Office Building in Montreal
    Oct 24 2017
    [Contains explicit content] Join best-selling author Jon Ronson as he traces an intriguing butterfly effect. Many years ago, a teenager in Brussels had an idea - make porn free and easy to stream online. The consequences of that idea are surprising, delightful, and sad. They reach into areas of life no one could have expected. In this series’ first episode, meet Fabian Thylmann - that teen from Brussels.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
    Try Premium Plus free
  • Ep. 2: The Fallow Years Between Teen & Milf

    Ep. 2: The Fallow Years Between Teen & Milf
    Oct 24 2017
    [Contains explicit content] Jon travels to California’s San Fernando Valley, where most of the world’s porn is made. There he finds pornographers with lives upended by Fabian’s business plan. But it isn’t long before Jon discovers something extraordinary: a community within the porn world fighting back by embarking on a very strange enterprise - pornography written, filmed, and performed for an audience of one.
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
    Try Premium Plus free
  • Ep. 3: Something Happened

    Ep. 3: Something Happened
    Oct 24 2017
    [Contains explicit content] Jon journeys deeper into the mysterious and delightful world of custom porn, which may never have existed if it weren’t for Fabian. He meets producers and their clients, and discovers that these films offer a remarkable window into our inner lives.
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
    Try Premium Plus free
All stars
Most relevant
I like Jon Ronson's writing style so I was curious about this free audio show when I signed up for Audible.
Even if I would have never guessed to be interested in the story of Pornhub, his research approach and sincere way of interviewing really makes it interesting and made me want to come back to it every day.
You do need to get used to Jon's voice, but after a few episodes it didn't catch my attention anymore. I'm glad I tried this show though before buying one of his audio books, because I might have regretted my purchase during the first chapters. Now I am used to his voice I know I'd be comfortable listening to him for 10 hours.

It's not as lighthearted as you would expect from the subject, but it really opened my eyes to how much effect a single website/platform can have on the rest of the industry. And this must go for many other, less "niche"/"extreme" companies. Always an interesting subject, the butterfly effect.

Since it's free for Audible members, just add it to your library and you can always decide to jump in when you don't know what to listen to next!

Jon Ronson's journalism at its best - and free!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Gripping documentary on the consequences of Pornhub takeover of the global porn business. It doesn't give the solution but watch this space.

A first rate introduction to the PornHub scandal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow, that was very interesting stuff, well done Jon Ronson! Great little series, I would recommend

not sure what to expect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An amazing story, told with great sensitivity by the narrator. I was hooked from the beginning.

Thought-provoking and intriguing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Got to love John Ronson. Unusual, unique, pleasant, submersible style and a special kind of thingy.

Got to love John Ronson. Unusual, unique, special

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews