Quote/Unquote
Magdalene Taylor is the senior editor of Playboy and author of the Substack newsletter Many Such Cases, which explores sex and relationships. Under Taylor, Playboy recently launched a Substack, offering a blend of new writing alongside a mix of archival material, fiction, personal essays, and longform content.
This interview has been edited.
Mark Stenberg: Why did Playboy launch a Substack?
Magdalene Taylor: We want to reintroduce Playboy as a literary publication to an audience of people who read. I see what we’re doing as very much in the tradition of what Playboy has historically done. We wanted it to be as contemporary and fun and sexy as makes sense, but also have a lot of respect and a bit of nostalgia.
Mark: Is this part of a broader shift at the publisher? The writing has felt very contemporary.
Magdalene: Since I joined in April, we have focused on what it means for Playboy to exist in an editorial capacity. We have released two print issues, something on hiatus since 2020, and revitalized the website. We are on TikTok, on Reddit, and now on Substack. Really though, Playboy has always been a place that publishes really good writing, alongside sexy pictures.
Mark: It feels like we are living through a particularly fraught moment for sex and romance. What makes Playboy qualified to try and make sense of it?
Magdalene: I’ve been trying to dissect this moment for years, to untangle what has happened with gender. I feel aligned with Playboy in that mission. On the one hand there is gooning, and on the other there are people afraid of sex scenes in movies. There is a polarity between hypersexuality and puritanism. Playboy is a vision of sexuality that can be fun and playful and unashamed without being excessive.
Mark: I had heard the jokes about how good the writing was but never actually read any of it before. I was surprised to see an interview with the Reverend Jesse Jackson that you resurfaced after his death.
Magdalene: If somebody was a significant figure from 1955 onward, there’s a good chance that they were interviewed for Playboy, wrote for Playboy, or posed for Playboy. It has a long tradition of publishing both erotic content and stories that were the first of their kind to defend civil liberties and articulate political stances that people now see as a given. Playboy has always been a particular voice of sexuality’s place in a civilized world.
Mark: Did you reach out to Substack before launching, just to make sure you were in the clear?
Magdalene: We did talk with Substack ahead of the launch, mostly to see what they thought would be best practices. We wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t be shadow-banned or get in any trouble for having nudity—we don’t have any sort of exception, that’s just their policy.
Mark: Do you have a dream interview or story you would like to see written? Magdalene: My dream would be to interview Camille Paglia.
