Author: openjargon

• The Airbus A320 airliner that ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 is now an aviation artifact.
• None of the 155 passengers and crew died during the "Miracle on the Hudson" crash.
• I was blown away when I visited the jet at the Sullenberger Aviation Museum to see the famous plane.

On January 15, 2009, a fully loaded US Airways Airbus A320 plane ditched into the Hudson River after a bird strike caused both engines to fail.

The accident has since been described as the "Miracle on the Hudson" because none of the 155 passengers and crew onboard died.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles were in the cockpit that day and had just seconds to make a life-or-death decision.

Recognizing the aircraft was running on near zero thrust at just 2,800 feet above the densely-populated New York City, Sully saw the river as his only nearby obstacle-free option.

"I couldn't afford to be wrong," Sully said during his testimony in front of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The crew's heroism is now cemented in the Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, which opened in June and features the real A320 jet as its centerpiece.

As an aviation safety professional turned journalist, I had to visit the plan as soon as I could. I love that it has been given a second life, representing not only the power of bravery and skill but also inspiring future generations to get involved in aviation.

The famous A320 displayed in Charlotte is the real aircraft — not a replica — and is complete with all the damage it suffered in the crash.

The Sullenberger Aviation Museum opened on June 1 and is the second rendition of the exhibit.

The aircraft was first displayed in 2015 in the same location but was stored in 2020 while the museum was renovated and renamed in Sully's honor.

"With this Museum, we have the power to shape and inspire the next generation of innovators through the exploration and wonder of flight and provide equitable access to STEM opportunities," museum President Stephen Saucier told Business Insider.

There's a hole in the nose and extensive breakage along the fuselage and tail.

The aircraft has been maintained as it was after the investigation, including the dents, scrapes, and gaping holes.

I could see writing and numbers on the fuselage where investigators worked on the jet.

The wings were attached to the jet, but the flaps were wrecked from the crash.

The flaps were particularly important in the crash's success because Sully opted not to fully configure them for landing, per the NTSB. According to one of the museum signs, full flaps were part of Airbus' "optimal aircraft configuration" for landing on water.

In a non-emergency landing, the flaps are fully deployed to increase lift at lower speeds as the plane descends. This balances out if you have thrust. However, without thrust on Flight 1549, Sully raised the flaps to prevent a stall, which could have led to an even faster descent rate.

"The choice had to be made quickly because of the extreme time compression," he said in NTSB testimony. "By achieving Flaps 2, we had achieved almost all of the low-speed stall protection that we would've gotten at Flaps 3, but at less drag."

The two destroyed engines are on either side of the aircraft, and the auxiliary power unit, or APU, sits behind.

When Sully realized his engines were gone, he instinctively started the Honeywell-built APU. According to the manufacturer, the unit acted as backup power to control things like altitude, speed, and steering.

"The NTSB concluded that by quickly turning on the APU before called for on the emergency checklist, [Sully] significantly improved the outcome by providing electrical power to the airplane," an information display next to the APU read at the museum.

Visitors cannot go inside the jet, but photos displayed show it looks like a regular aircraft cabin.

Pictures show the blue seats in the typical domestic layout. The cabin looks old and worn, but not as if it was in a serious crash.

According to the museum, the jet's interior is regularly checked for corrosion, considering it was submerged in water for a few days after the accident.

The plane's underbelly took the brunt of the impact, and I could see where it was torn off.

According to the NTSB, the aircraft was descending three times the rate at which the aviation industry said a water landing could happen.

This meant the aircraft's impact on the Hudson was greater than its design allowed, causing part of the frame to collapse and let water seep in.

The damage was extensive, but the aircraft was otherwise surprisingly intact.

Sully had to land the aircraft at a specific angle to avoid flipping or fully breaking apart upon contact with the water. The museum said this included landing at an 11-degree pitch with the wings level.

Sully achieved this despite the high descent rate being beyond the accepted envelope, making the task that much more challenging and a testament to Sully's skill.

"[Skiles] began to call out to me airspeed and altitude as I was looking at the water ahead to help me judge that critical height," Sully said in a 2019 interview with Inc, referring to the specific altitude at which to begin raising the nose for a successful water landing.

Next to the plane was a case of personal belongings donated by the crew and passengers.

Artifacts like cushions, life jackets, seats, clothes, and even Sully and Skiles uniforms have been preserved and put on display.

It was like a time capsule seeing the old Blackberry cell phone and MacBook Pro.

There were also wallets, a finance book, and a fur coat among the inventory of random items that survived the crash.

The most moving element of the exhibit was the film that played on a loop. It told the story of Flight 1549 from takeoff to landing in the Hudson.

The short video has the air traffic control tapes, footage of the rescue, and testimony from passengers, investigators, and first responders.

"Unable," Sully famously told air traffic controller Patrick Harten when he was asked if he could make it back to LaGuardia. "We're going to be in the Hudson.

The comments were raw, and I couldn't help but get emotional. The crew gets a lot of praise, but the passengers also showed incredible bravery.

The aircraft lost power just a few thousand feet above NYC, and the passengers described their feelings as the city skyscrapers started rising above them and they descended into the Hudson.

"What flashed before me was the life that wasn't going to happen, the grandchildren I wouldn't see grow up," passenger Beth McHugh, seat 20C, said.

I can't imagine that fear, but seeing the hope after the fact is inspiring.

"The gift of another day, another year, and if you look at it that way, another lifetime," McHugh said later in the video. "By some miracle, we get to have it."

Flight 1549's rescue was swift, with boats and helicopters approaching within minutes.

The accident happened in January, meaning the passengers survived the water landing but were still in danger of drowning or getting hypothermia in the frigid Hudson waters.

People walked out onto the wings, jumped into rafts, and some tried to swim to shore — anything to survive the 38-degree water.

"My crew took out 24 people," New York Waterways Captain Brittany Catanzard said in the video. "My deckhands were literally grabbing them like fish and putting them onto the deck."

Flight attendants Donna Denta, Sheila Dail, and Doreen Welsh shouted commands as passengers braced for impact.

The three quick-acting flight attendants initiated the evacuation within seconds of landing and, alongside Sully and Skiles, were awarded the keys to the city by New York City Mayor Bloomberg in 2009.

"It took all five of us being trained and doing what we do to make this miracle on Hudson," Welsh said, as quoted in the museum exhibit.

Quoted in the display was a comment from passenger Ben Bostic, seat 20A, who noted the unbelievable response effort.

He said agencies like the NYPD, the American Red Cross, and the FBI, as well as the New York governor and NYC mayor were on the scene.

"I quickly noted that this level of response could probably only happen in NYC post-9/11," Bostic said. "For better or worse, they are "battle" tested for incidents like this."

The plane sat at the bottom of the Hudson for two days before being lifted out and taken to New Jersey for the investigation.

Workers spent 22 hours retrieving the aircraft from the icy waters, which included using a mechanical winch and crane to maneuver the A320 and lift it in one piece.

The aircraft was then moved by barge to New Jersey. According to the museum, passenger luggage was cleaned and returned.

During the investigation, the museum inquired about getting part of the plane but that turned into a donation of the entire jet.

The insurance company donated the A320 to the museum and worked with it and a conservator located in New Jersey to help conserve the plane.

"The goal was the stabilize and preserve the aircraft for museum display while maintaining its historic integrity," the museum said.

It was a monumental task to transport the jet from New Jersey to North Carolina, first arriving in Charlotte in 2011.

Saucier previously told BI that the A320 had to be transferred via road. Its wings and tail were removed for transport.

He said the tiny towns that hosted the jet on its trek to the museum had to move light poles and make other adjustments so the plane could weave through the streets.

The engines were delivered a year later.

The museum said it took three years to reassemble the engines with assistance from volunteers from then-US Airways, which has since merged with American Airlines.

It noted the engines were corroding, having been exposed to the marine environment, and had to undergo extensive conservation treatment to preserve them.

The original exhibit closed in 2019 to make way for the new, and I love the focus on not just the crash but the evolution of aviation safety.

The aviation industry learned a lot from the accident, and the NTSB made recommendations, such as improving life vests and developing better engine testing for bird ingestion.

"[The A320] stands as a carefully preserved tangible reminder of the paramount importance of safety in aviation," read the exhibit.

Most notable was the human factors element, as Sully and Skiles had just seconds to decide how to save the plane.

In a 2019 interview, Sully said he asked Skiles right before the landing if there was anything more they could do. Skiles said, "Actually, not."

"He answered that way because he knew we'd done all we could," noting it wasn't because Skiles was indifferent or had accepted some fate.

"The fact we could have that exchange just before the emergency landing of a lifetime is one of the more remarkable things about this flight and this crew and our diligence, our dedication to never give up."

• I traveled on the TGV Lyria between Paris and Geneva, which can reach 199 mph.
• Tickets can be as cheap as $50 and offer scenic views of the countrside.
• The journey was about as long as a flight but more relaxing and convenient.

France's high-speed trains are among the best in the world, capable of traveling up to 199 miles per hour.

The TGV Lyria is a joint venture between the state-owned rail operators of France and Switzerland. I traveled on one as I returned home to London after a conference in Geneva.

If you book in advance, it can be as cheap as $50 — about the same price as a budget airline flight and usually faster.

Plus, with great views of the countryside and friendly interactions with employees or other passengers, it's a great way to better comprehend the country. Not to mention the convenience of boarding and the relaxed atmosphere of the café car.

Here's what it's like to travel on board.

Last month, I was in Geneva to attend a business aviation conference.

Jeff Bezos owns a $10 million Swiss private jet. See inside the Pilatus PC-24 with its unusual toilet in the galley.

While I flew into the city, I traveled back to London via train — starting with the TGV from Geneva to Paris.

TGV — pronounced in French as tay-zhay-vay — stands for train à grande vitesse, meaning high-speed train.

It's operated by the TGV Duplex, which has 510 seats — 332 in second class and 183 in first.

That's a higher capacity than the 469 seats in British Airways' A380 superjumbo jet.

I booked my seat online and got a QR code ticket, but you can also get one in person at the station. A one-way ticket in advance is as cheap as 47 euros ($50).

At Geneva, the TGV platforms were separate from the rest. I walked through a narrow corridor where two border-control officers stood watching people.

The train arrived about 15 minutes before departure which gave me plenty of time to find the right carriage.

I was impressed by how many luggage racks there were, with one on either side by the carriage entrance…

… As well as one between seats.

There was also space for smaller bags above the seats.

About five minutes before departure, there was an announcement reminding everyone to label their luggage with their name and address.

Helpfully, the announcements were all delivered in French and English.

I was on the lower deck in standard class in a 38-seat car. Tables for groups of four were at the front and back, while the other seats were in pairs.

It was pretty simple to find my seat — around one of the tables — with these numbers and illustrations of aisle or window.

It's easier to move around and get into your seat since the table extends and folds out.

Underneath, there was only one outlet for two seats, which isn't ideal.

The seats also have a recline button on the armrest, and I found them to be much comfier than a typical plane seat.

We set off at a slower speed, enjoying some beautiful views of the eastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

After stopping at a couple of small French towns, the train joined the high-speed line towards Paris where it can reach 199 mph.

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The black line shows the 1 hour 25 minutes it took to reach Bourg-en-Bresse. Onward to Paris was a similar time, another hour and 53 minutes, thanks to the LGV Sud-Est.

After leaving Bourg-en-Bresse the conductor gave the only announcement that wasn't repeated in English — something about us now traveling at high speed and "bon voyage."

A few minutes later, the ticket inspector came by. He was friendly as he scanned my QR code.

Looking out the window, I could tell the train was going much faster. Watching the countryside whizz by was a great sight (even if the windows were a bit dirty).

I've traveled on an Italian high-speed train before, the Frecciarossa, which feels similarly speedy at around 190 mph. Along with the TGV, they feel far more advanced than the 125 mph reached by British trains, while the fastest Amtrak train travels at 150 mph.

Then I went to check out some more of the train, which had some relatively spacious bathrooms.

It had a peg for a jacket or bag, an electric shaver outlet, and a handle that was useful for those bumpy parts of the journey.

The toilets on the upper deck looked to be slightly smaller.

On the upper deck, you can find the TGV Duplex's pièce de résistance…

The café car was impressively modern and bright, with long curved countertops and trash cans underneath.

The menu was pretty extensive, with sandwiches, cheeseburgers, pizzas, and a croque monsieur, among others.

You can also buy tickets for the Paris Métro on board.

I managed to order with my rudimentary French skills, and when I didn't understand the response, the friendly cashier helpfully repeated it in English as well: "Rien d'autre? Anything else?"

I haven't spent much time in France and only remember bits of what I studied at school when I was 14. But thanks to that small interaction I have another phrase that'll stay in my mental dictionary.

There were a couple of spaces with stools …

… but I preferred to stretch my legs a bit and lean against the counter while taking in the landscapes.

Returning to my seat, I had a laptop and a book with me, but I was happier spending much of the journey just listening to my headphones and appreciating the French countryside.

After three hours and 18 minutes, we made it to Paris Gare de Lyon on time. TGV Lyria staff hung around the platform to help people with onward journeys.

It was about the same time as a flight between Geneva and Paris, taking into account the extra time needed for security and traveling from the airport to the city center.

While it would've been quicker to fly directly home to London (the Eurostar was another few hours), I certainly don't have any regrets because it was more relaxing and gave me more time to enjoy the country.

• Greece is building what's billed as Europe's largest and greenest smart city close to Athens.
• Ellinikon's developers say they're trying to construct a "zip-code paradise."
• At the center of the project is the Riviera Tower, set to become Greece's first skyscraper.

Greece is building Europe's largest and greenest smart city in an $8 billion project that's been more than a decade in the making.

Located on the site of a former Athens airport, Ellinikon is set to feature Greece's first skyscraper, a high-end mall, and a sports park.

Its developers told Business Insider they're trying to construct a "zip-code paradise" that merges scenic coastline views with tech-savvy and eco-friendly infrastructure. They're estimating that the project's first phase, which is expected to be completed by 2026, will attract a million new tourists and boost the Greek economy by 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion).

Ellinikon is one of several high-tech new cities being built across the world — although they're typically in China or the Middle East rather than Europe.

Check out these designs for the project.

Ellinikon is being built on the site of Athens' former airport

The smart city gets its name from the disused Ellinikon International Airport 4 miles south of Athens, which closed in 2001. Construction was initially supposed to start in 2008 but was significantly delayed by the global financial crisis that left the Greek economy on the brink of collapse.

It's on the Aegean coast

Work on the project, which developers describe as Europe's biggest urban regeneration project, finally began in July 2020.

Its developers are touting Ellinikon's stunning views of the Aegean Sea. They've made regenerating the two-mile coastal front a priority.

High-end villas

Construction started last year on the Cove Residences, a set of luxury villas. Lamda Development, named as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential companies, says it's already sold 350 coastal-front properties and recently revealed plans to start work on another site called Little Athens, which will have another 1,115 residential units.

Large coastal park is a key part of the development

The idea of opening a metropolitan park on the site of the abandoned airport has been in the works since 2005. The site is 650 acres, a similar size to Alley Pond Park in Queens, New York City.

Riviera Tower will be Greece's first skyscraper

Developers have described the Riviera Tower, which is under construction and will have 180 apartments across 50 floors, as the "crown jewel" of the Ellinikon. At about 650 feet it will be Greece's tallest building and first skyscraper when completed.

The Ellinikon Experience Center aims to showcase the project's history

The smart city's experience center, which opened in 2022, is a restoration of one of the abandoned airport's original hangars. It aims to celebrate the site's history and showcase some of the eco-friendly tech that the site's founders believe will be central to the cities of the future.

Ellinikon will also have a super-luxury shopping district.

Lamda and other contractors have made building the Riviera Galleria, a high-end shopping district that sits next to the Riviera Tower, another priority. The site will be home to 70 leading fashion brands, according to Retail Insight Network.

Greece's prime minister is among the officials to visit the site

Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Ellinikon earlier this year to mark the opening of Lamda's first completed building, a center for disabled people. He's made boosting Greece's economy one of his main priorities as prime minister.

Not all Athenians are thrilled about Ellinikon

Lamda CEO Odisseas Athanasiou has previously said that Ellinikon is "putting Greece on the map for the right reason" — but not all Athenians agree. Some locals fear the project will turn Athens into a "mini-Dubai" full of mega-yachts and casinos, while others have complained about the destruction of historic buildings linked to the old airport.

• The US fight against Yemen's Houthis is its toughest fight since WWII, experts told AP.
• Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea aim to pressure Israel and the West over Gaza.
• US strikes recently destroyed Houthi radars as well as sea and aerial drones.

The US is facing its most intense battle since World War II against Yemen's Houthi rebels, experts say.

"We're sort of on the verge of the Houthis being able to mount the kinds of attacks that the US can't stop every time, and then we will start to see substantial damage," Bryan Clark, a former Navy submariner and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute told the Associated Press.

"If you let it fester, the Houthis are going to get to be a much more capable, competent, experienced force."

"This is the most sustained combat that the US Navy has seen since World War II — easily, no question," he said.

Houthi attacks have been targeting ships in the Red Sea corridor with missiles and drones since October as part of a campaign that aims to put pressure on Israel and the West over the war in Gaza.

Between October 17 and the start of May, the Houthis attacked commercial vessels at least 53 times and have posed a serious threat to naval ships in dozens of other incidents, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

US warships from the US Navy's Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group had fired over 500 munitions fighting the Houthis, Business Insider reported on May 23.

This week, the US attacked several Houthi radar sites in response to recent rebel fire that targeted shipping containers and saw one merchant sailor go missing, authorities said Saturday.

US strikes destroyed seven radars within Houthi-controlled territory, the military's Central Command said.

"These radars allow the Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping," CENTCOM said in a statement.

US forces also destroyed two Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USV), or drone boats in the Red Sea, as well as an aerial drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, the statement said.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned last month that the Houthis were likely to remain active "for some time," and the intensity of the combat shows no sign of letting up.

"I don't think people really understand just kind of how deadly serious it is what we're doing and how under threat the ships continue to be," Cmdr. Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon told the AP.

Sailors often have only a few seconds to confirm an incoming Houthi strike. They have to quickly confer with other ships and then respond by firing at the incoming missiles and drones.

"It is every single day, every single watch, and some of our ships have been out here for seven-plus months doing that," said Capt. David Wroe, the commodore overseeing the guided missile destroyers, told AP.

This exacting environment has put a financial strain on US resources in the region.

Parts of the Eisenhower strike group have already left the Red Sea once to be rearmed and resupplied, and the Pentagon recently extended its deployment for a second time.

Munitions have cost some $1 billion, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro revealed in mid-April, a figure that has certainly increased in the two months since.

"I think, unfortunately, the Biden administration has settled into a rhythm where, because of the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, they feel like they have to do something," Brian Finucane, the senior advisor for the US program at the International Crisis Group, previously told Business Insider.

The Houthis continue to be backed by Iran, and have employed a dangerous mix of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles, one-way attack drones, and uncrewed surface vessels.

Earlier this month, the rebels said they had fired a new solid-fuel missile called the "Palestine" at the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

The missile is believed to be able to fly at hypersonic speeds and resembles one unveiled by Iran earlier this year.

Fabian Hinz, a weapons expert at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote on X that the Palestine missile reassembled the Iranian-developed Fattah 1 and the Kheybarshekan 2, both solid-fuel missiles.

• Jamey and Lauren Bertram's house, worth over $1 million, was posted on Zillow without their consent.
• A scammer listed the house for just $10,000, asking interested buyers to wire $200 to secure a tour.
• Some scammers can target eager buyers in a housing market with few reasonably priced homes for sale.

Picture waking up one day to find your inbox flooded and doorbell ringing with eager buyers all clamoring to purchase your home.

In this sluggish real estate market, it might seem like a dream — that is, if you're actually looking to sell.

For Kansas City homeowners Jamey and Lauren Bertram, the situation turned into a nightmarish ordeal when they realized their 5,300-square-foot home, purchased for around $1 million in 2019, had been falsely listed for sale on Zillow for a mere $10,000.

The Kansas City Star first reported the mixup.

"My wife and I both started getting emails from our friends saying, 'Hey, are you selling your house?' Of course, we're not," Bertram, who LinkedIn says is senior vice president at architecture and engineering firm Burns and McDonnell, told the newspaper. "I didn't know what they were talking about."

According to the Star, when Bertram first saw his home posted on Zillow, featuring images from the 2019 listing, it was for sale at its market value. However, within a few days, the price had been slashed to a fraction of its true worth: $10,000.

The Star quoted the listing description that Bertrams presumed was written by a scammer: "Once a year we sell one or a few of our homes to first time buyers for under $25,000. This is done to bless a family or individual that needs it, but also as a tax write off for us."

The listing description said that real-estate agents, lenders, investors, wholesalers, and attorneys should not inquire further, according to the Kansas City Star. It directed interested buyers to contact an individual named Mandi at a phone number with a Las Vegas area code.

The newspaper said when it tried reaching out to Mandi, it received a response instructing potential buyers to send $200 via an online banking app to the "owner's mom." It claimed a walk-through of the house would be provided, and a refund would be issued to anyone who didn't end up making an offer.

The listing was removed last week, but it wasn't clear how long it was live. Requests for comment to the Bertrams by phone and email was not immediately returned.

These scams are relatively common

Despite their brazenness, real-estate scams are pretty routine.

In 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center saw more than 880,000 complaints about internet scams totaling $12.5 billion in losses. That's a 49% increase in the amount of money reported lost in 2022, according to FBI data that BI's Jordan Pandy cited in March.

Real estate scams are an especially popular internet crime.

According to the FBI, real estate wire fraud is classified as business email compromise (BEC). In the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center's annual report, BEC ranked as the second-costliest crime in 2022, following investment fraud, with reported losses totaling $2.9 billion.

Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that in 2023, over 9,500 people from across the country filed complaints of real estate fraud.

Homebuyers are easy prey for scammers right now.

In a housing market burdened by high prices and few available homes, many prospective buyers are eager to secure a good deal. Scammers, motivated by the potential to earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars, can turn to real-estate marketplaces like Zillow. Taking advantage of anonymity, they can create listings with appealing descriptions and unrealistically low prices to lure unsuspecting buyers.

In November, Galen Caldwell told news station KIRO 7 that his million-dollar Seattle home had been listed for sale on Zillow without his consent, priced at $10,245. The incident was connected to the Bertrams' situation by CBS News. In Caldwell's case, too, a scammer told prospective buyers to contact "Mandi" in Las Vegas and send $245 to the seller's mother.

Both Caldwell's and the Bertrams' listings have since been taken down.

But Bertram said that he and his wife are still receiving inquiries from people who want to buy their home.

"I'm kind of stuck here," Bertram told the Kansas City Star. "People want to see the house. It's just a complete scam."

• Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay says he's "lucky to be alive" after a cycling accident in Connecticut.
• Wearing a helmet saved his life, Ramsay said on Instagram.
• He lifted his chef's uniform to reveal a large purple bruise on his torso.

Gordon Ramsay said he's "lucky to be alive" after being involved in a "really bad" accident while cycling in Connecticut earlier this week.

In a video uploaded to Instagram on Saturday, the British celebrity chef, 57, credited his helmet for saving his life as he recounted the recent accident and showed off his injuries for which he required hospital treatment.

"This week, unfortunately, I had a really bad accident, and it really shook me, and honestly, I'm lucky to be here," Ramsay said.

The "Kitchen Nightmares" presenter continued: "Those incredible trauma surgeons, doctors, nurses in the hospitals looked after me this week. They were amazing, but honestly, you've got to wear helmets."

In his caption, he clarified that he did not "break any bones or suffer any major injuries" but said he was "a bit bruised up looking like a purple potato."

The keen cyclist wrote that he was thankful for those at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital's trauma surgeons and nurses who looked after him, but was "most thankful for my helmet that saved my life."

"I'm in pain. It's been a brutal week and I'm sort of getting through it," Ramsay added in the video.

He lifted his chef's uniform to reveal a dark bruise that covered a significant portion of his torso.

He stressed to his 17.4 million followers the importance of wearing a helmet while cycling.

"I don't care how short the journey is. I don't care that these helmets cost money. They're crucial."

Ramsay also shared before and after photographs, the first of which showed him wearing shorts, a bright yellow shirt, and a helmet while he stood beside his bike; the after showed the same shirt and helmet with substantial damage from the accident.

"I'm lucky to be standing here," he said.

The father of six signed off by wishing people a happy Father's Day.

"I want to wish you all a happy Father's Day, but please, please, please wear a helmet. If I didn't, honestly, I wouldn't be here now."

• My dad raised me alone in the Bronx in the 90s. 
• He told me I was not only his daughter, but also his best friend. 
• He died when I was 11 , and every Father's Day I think of him and try to celebrate who he was. 

For years Father's Day was a sad holiday for me. My dad raised me in the Bronx as a single parent in the 90's. Even harder than raising a child alone were my medical issues.

I was born partially blind and with cerebral palsy. Now, at 33, I realize the depth of responsibility he'd embraced. For years, I pondered how different my life would be if he didn't pass away three days after my 11th birthday.

"You're not just my daughter you're my best friend," he said one evening while pushing me in a stroller to the grocery store. Despite his parents' divorce, he had strong family values thanks to his Polish upbringing. Raised in Manhattan, John was a hippie in 70's while completing a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He met my mom when he was 35 and soon after I was born.

He fought for me

To tackle the complications of my disability, he made difficult decisions. After learning about my diagnosis when I didn't reach the milestone of walking, Dad gave consent for a surgery to correct my posture. He enrolled me in a specialized hospital Blythedale, in Valhalla, far away from our apartment. I received a peak level of specialized physical therapy that allowed me to walk with my knees bent through the help of a support cane. Quickly, he realized the education provided by the hospital was less than average.

Against professional advice and threats of losing parental custody during an ongoing court battle against my mother, Dad took me out of the children's hospital. I became the first disabled student to attend Our Lady of Angels Catholic school in the Bronx. He took me to outpatient PT three times a week. When I was 8 I had a kindergarten reading level. I soon caught up to my appropriate grade level, gained more confidence during interactions with the other children, and learned self-discipline.

He died and I was adopted

Unfortunately, my father lost custody of me and two years later he died. I stayed in foster care where I was eventually adopted at 16. As I grew older, I held onto the memory of my father and the life we'd shared. I found solace while spending time with my best friend in the area we grew up in as a teenager, overcome with pride when a local store owner called me "John's daughter."

In my 20s, while requesting documentation of my adoption at The Bronx courthouse, I met a woman who remembered my name. She'd worked on behalf of the court during my parent's custody battle, and never forgot my story. She said that she felt my father was treated unfairly because he was a man seeking custody of his daughter. She noted that despite my mother's own struggle with substances and a documented diagnosis of bipolar disorder, the court continuously granted her grace. Also, seeing first-hand how much my dad fought for me made an imprint on her. I left the short interaction with a new outlook. It was a liberating to gain validation from a stranger who didn't have a stake in my story.

Now, when Father's Day arrives, the sadness I once felt has been replaced with admiration. Over time, I've realized how lucky I was to have him, even for a short time. Instead of mourning his loss, I try to commemorate the role he chose to take on. Whatever struggles I face, his unconditional love sparks my resilience and I try to do good in the world with all the strength that he gave me.

• Amy Porterfield started her own business at 31 and surpassed her husband's income as a firefighter.
• They decided as a couple that her husband would retire and she would support both of them.
• Despite initial hesitation, this arrangement has strengthened their communication and marriage.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amy Porterfield, a 47-year-old founder and online marketing expert in Nashville. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I never dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. When I graduated, I got my first corporate job and assumed I'd climb the corporate ladder. I liked a steady paycheck, health insurance, and all the benefits of having a 9-to-5 job.

I was the director of content development for Tony Robbins for almost seven years. One day, Tony brought a group of internet marketers into a meeting. They were all successful entrepreneurs, and one thing they had in common was freedom. They called the shots, determined their hours, got to be as creative as they wanted, and didn't have to answer to anyone. For the first time in my life, I wanted that.

I decided to go out on my own. It took about a year until I found the courage to devise a plan, but when I was 31, I started my own social media consulting business.

It was the scariest thing I've ever done, but it was the best decision I ever made. Now, I support both myself and my husband, Hobie.

At the time, my husband was becoming a firefighter

When I started my business, my husband was still a general contractor and contributed to the family finances while working to become a firefighter. We don't have children together (I do have a stepson), and although I thought I might want kids one day, my desire to build something on my own, call the shots, and inspire others became bigger than my desire to have children.

I started making money in the first two years of my business, but I didn't make as much money as I thought I would. My goal wasn't to be the breadwinner of our family — I just wanted to find a way to make money on my own terms. It wasn't until the third year that I realized what I was creating could be incredibly lucrative.

As my business grew, I started to make more money than my husband

I realized I was making more money than my husband in a tax meeting. We sat in front of our accountant, who shared our yearly salaries. I surpassed my husband by a lot.

Once he became a firefighter, my husband made about $100,000 a year. In my third year in business, I made $1 million in revenue. Last year, my revenue hit $20 million.

I remember leaving that meeting and my husband saying, "I didn't realize it was that much more." I asked him if he was OK with that, and he said it was weird to know his wife made more money than him, but he was proud of me.

Each year, it became more apparent that his salary was significantly less than mine. We had to discuss our feelings about being in different roles than we thought we would be in our marriage. The conversations never got heated and he never got upset about it.

We were honest with each other that we both assumed he would make more money than me, but when things turned out differently, he celebrated my success and I kept moving forward.

We started thinking about retiring my husband

Three years ago, we moved from California to Tennessee. I can move anywhere with my job, but it wasn't easy for my husband to move to another state. As a firefighter, he would've had to start from scratch and move up the ranks again.

He's still young and loved his job, but together, we concluded that his retirement was the best decision for our family. I was more in support of it than he was in the beginning. Firefighters can be gone for 24 hours at a time, and I hated him being gone so much.

At first, he wasn't completely comfortable not making money to provide for us, but we often had to make sacrifices and change things around for his job. With my job, I can take a vacation whenever I choose and set my own hours. It just made sense so we could have more freedom.

Ultimately, it's been a good decision for us, but we were both nervous for different reasons

He was concerned with not having a job that gave him purpose. I was afraid I'd resent him for not working. I didn't want to feel frustrated that he could relax all day and do whatever he wanted.

The best thing I did was tell him the truth about this fear. He understood, and we set some guidelines. He manages our household and personal lives, and I make the money.

We clarified his new responsibilities to include errands, lawn work, laundry, appointments, car maintenance, and managing contractors and renovations. If we're going to have people over, I create the menu and the overall vibe. We manage our investments and retirement accounts together, but he pays all the bills.

These roles are very different than how I was raised. My dad was the breadwinner, and my mom stayed home to raise me and my sister. I'm living a life that is very different than what I saw growing up.

My husband is a true alpha male, but that doesn't mean he believes in traditional household roles. He was raised by a strong mom who worked outside the house and made most of their household money, so he was more open to a non-traditional dynamic.

There are challenges with our arrangement

A few times when I was working a lot and felt stressed and overwhelmed, I was jealous of his free time and less stressful days.

My favorite thing he'd say in those moments was, "How can I make this easier for you? What do you need from me?" Knowing he would help me was all I needed to know we were doing the right thing.

Sometimes, he'd love for me to shut it all down and be present with him, but I'm running a business and want and need to show up for my team. I love to work, and I love my business — it feels like an extension of me.

My husband told me he wishes he could reverse roles and succeed at my level, but that's not our reality. "You make more money in a month than I made in a year as a firefighter. Instead of wishing it was me, I choose to be proud of you, support you, and be grateful for the life we get to live," he said.

Being the breadwinner has made me a better leader, woman, wife, and friend

It's allowed me to build a business with 23 full-time employees, most of them women and many of them mothers. I'm an example of a lifestyle many women might not think possible for them.

It's also strengthened my marriage. Creating a life unlike most people's status quo forces you to communicate more, say the things you don't want to say but are necessary to grow, and show up in ways that stretch you.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• Living in a coastal state could result in higher monthly bills.
• That's according to Doxo's latest cost of bills index.
• Hawai'i, California, and Massachusetts lead the ranking.

The cost of living can vary among states, and the most expensive areas often have ocean coastlines.

Hawai'i, California, and Massachusetts are the most expensive states based on online bill-paying service Doxo's cost of bills index. The ranking, released on June 12, looks at how much the average household spends each month on the 10 most common bills, including utilities, cell phone, health insurance, and either rent or mortgage, and is based on Doxo's national bill payment statistics. Those 10 costs represent more than 75% of monthly household expenses, per Doxo.

Doxo's cost of bill index compares each state — along with cities and counties — to the national average. Hawai'i came in as the most expensive state, with the average household spending $3,091 monthly on the 10 essential bills, 45% above the US average. Meanwhile, West Virginia is the cheapest state to live in, with residents spending $1,596 monthly on bills, 25% below average.

According to Doxo's data, with additional information from the US Census Bureau, the average household now spends $2,126 monthly on the top 10 bills, up 4% from a year ago and 19% since 2019. Meanwhile, median US household income was up just 0.2% in the past year and 14% since 2019.

To be sure, many states with high living costs also have higher income levels for their residents. Doxo's index was also adjusted for the average income in each state.

Here are the 10 states with the most expensive essential monthly bills and the 10 with the cheapest.

10. New Hampshire

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,482

Difference from US average: +17%

Average income: $92,699

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -6%

9. Colorado

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,553

Difference from US average: +20%

Average income: $91,038

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -1%

8. Connecticut

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,569

Difference from US average: +21%

Average income: $98,025

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -8%

7. New York

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,627

Difference from US average: +24%

Average income: $88,943

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +4%

6. Washington

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,644

Difference from US average: +24%

Average income: $95,033

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -2%

5. Maryland

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,676

Difference from US average: +26%

Average income: $101,920

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -8%

4. New Jersey

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,802

Difference from US average: +32%

Average income: $104,132

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -5%

3. Massachusetts

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $2,817

Difference from US average: +33%

Average income: $102,709

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -4%

2. California

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $3,010

Difference from US average: +42%

Average income: $99,201

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +7%

1. Hawai'i

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $3,091

Difference from US average: +45%

Average income: $95,409

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +14%

The 10 states with the cheapest monthly bills

41. Kansas

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,864

Difference from US average: -12%

Average income: $73,161

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -10%

42. South Dakota

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,854

Difference from US average: -13%

Average income: $69,281

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -6%

43. Missouri

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,835

Difference from US average: -14%

Average income: $68,450

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -6%

44. Alabama

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,831

Difference from US average: -14%

Average income: $61,438

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +5%

45. Indiana

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,786

Difference from US average: -16%

Average income: $68,897

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: -9%

46. Oklahoma

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,786

Difference from US average: -16%

Average income: $63,029

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: 0%

47. Kentucky

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,783

Difference from US average: -16%

Average income: $61,507

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +2%

48. Arkansas

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,762

Difference from US average: -17%

Average income: $57,123

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +8%

49. Mississippi

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,719

Difference from US average: -19%

Average income: $53,697

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +13%

50. West Virginia

Average spent on top 10 essential household bills: $1,596

Difference from US average: -25%

Average income: $54,931

Difference from US average when adjusted for income: +2%

As I'm eating roti in a booth with Joe Gow and his wife, Carmen Wilson, a man in a baseball cap approaches our table. As chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for 17 years, Gow is as close to royalty as this Midwestern town gets. Six-foot-four and gray-haired, sporting an ever present gold chain, he was often approached by adoring students for selfies. But when I look into the man's eyes, there is a glint of aggression.

"I was an academic for 12 years, and I always kept it in my pants," the man says.

Gow laughs, startled by the man's directness. But the stranger isn't finished. "There's a bunch of people who are very ashamed your signature is on their diploma," he says.

Gow turns serious. "I hope you realize we didn't want to make a big deal out of this," he says. "They could have come to me and said we need you to resign quietly."

Gow was the second-longest-serving chancellor in the university's history. He oversaw 10,700 students and 1,450 faculty and staff, managed an annual budget of $95 million, and kept admissions up during a period of declining college enrollment. Then, last December, someone forwarded several Pornhub links to Gow's boss, the president of the University of Wisconsin system. The porn videos had titles like "Juicy Anniversary" and "Bedroom Shenanigans." The stars of the videos were Gow, 63, and Wilson, 56.

Within weeks, Gow found himself ousted as chancellor. Headlines flooded in from all over the world: CNN, The Times of London, India Today. In La Crosse, the news was greeted with a combination of disbelief and hilarity. A group of students flew a flag with an image of Gow going down on Wilson. A local brewery released a "Hot for Chancellor" fruited sour beer; the 186 cases sold out in 40 minutes.

But Gow, who grew up wanting to be the next Bruce Springsteen, has refused to exit quietly. This spring, as campuses across the country erupted in protests over the war in Gaza and the nation grappled with the complexities of academic freedom, Gow was fighting a very different kind of First Amendment battle. And how the chancellor turned porn star winds up faring in his fight may tell us a lot about what kind of country we've become and just how far we're willing to extend the limits of free speech.

It's early April, and I'm sitting at the dining table in Gow and Wilson's airy home a few miles from campus. Their snow-covered backyard is visible through a stately window, photos of their grandchildren perched on a nearby ledge. Before I arrived, they asked if I wanted to watch them have sex, which they do five or six nights a week, usually just before having dinner. To my relief, they ultimately decided that doing it in front of me would be too weird. Instead, they suggest we watch them having sex on screen. As they sit beside me sipping white wine, Gow opens his laptop and cues up "Juicy Anniversary," the third professionally produced porn they shot.

Gow and Wilson met at UW-La Crosse in 2006. He was a candidate for chancellor; she was on the hiring committee. Rumors swirled that the two, both married, were having an affair, an accusation they denied. Wilson, an associate professor of psychology, served as Gow's chief of staff for two years before becoming the head of what was then UW-Rock County.

In 2011, Wilson and her second husband divorced after 20 years of marriage. Shortly after, Gow ended his marriage of 25 years. The two say they began dating in 2013, bonding over their bad marriages, their veganism, and their desire for sexual adventure. They were married in San Francisco, in a ceremony where they started on opposite sides of the Golden Gate Bridge and met in the middle. It made a BuzzFeed list of "32 Incredibly Beautiful Elopements You Have to See."

Because monogamy hadn't worked out for them, Gow and Wilson decided they were going to do things differently this time. First they tried a threesome with an ex-girlfriend of Wilson's (too awkward). Then they explored polyamory (too emotionally fraught). Finally, they tried hiring escorts (just right). They liked paying for a service, with no strings attached. But all the escorts were female, mainly because male escorts were hard to find in western Wisconsin. In search of a man for Wilson, Gow sought advice from his therapist, who suggested joining a swingers club. But they found that the other attendees, as Wilson puts it, "lacked hygiene."

Both Wilson and Gow, like most Americans, watch porn. Eventually they thought: Why not make our own? They went to Best Buy and bought a Sony camcorder.

Their connection to the porn industry began with a male stripper they paid to give them a private performance in their hotel room in Chicago, where they were attending the annual conference of the Higher Learning Commission. After the show, Gow says, the stripper was happy to get it on with Wilson for free while Gow filmed them. During a postcoital conversation, the couple shared that they were interested in making high-quality porn films of themselves. The stripper said there was another convention in town that might have what they were looking for. So after they were done with their panels on accreditation and assessment in higher education, Gow and Wilson visited the Exxxotica convention, looking to hire porn stars.

For their first shoot, the couple hired a 21-year-old porn actor for about $1,000 and took turns filming their sex with her. Then they spent $2,350 to hire a porn studio — camera crew, makeup, and editing — to shoot them having sex on a professional set in a penthouse loft in downtown Los Angeles. It turned them on to be watched.

Porn actors say it's fairly common for people to hire them to appear in private home videos. The industry "frowns upon" the practice, according to one veteran, viewing it as an unprofessional side hustle. But Gow and Wilson had no trouble hiring plenty of big names in the business: Gow's teenage crush Nina Hartley, young hunk Danny Mountain, newcomer India Summer, who'd had a career in finance. "We've worked with people with degrees from MIT, USC, Cal Berkeley," Gow says.

The films proved to be a middle-age sexual awakening. Wilson says she doesn't feel any jealousy when Gow is performing with porn stars. "I love to watch him fuck other women," she says. Gow feels the same way about seeing Wilson have sex with "these major stud-y guys," adding, "To watch her turn them on, I'm just like, 'Oh man, this is amazing.'" In 2016, Wilson became an administrator at Dickinson State University in western North Dakota. On days she was 700 miles away, Gow would often masturbate to their videos. "It gets you through the week," he says.

The shoots also brought out their creativity. Inspired by their love of food, they began shooting vegan cooking videos with porn stars and editing them together with their sex scenes — think Food Network meets Pornhub. In one, Gow, in a gray-checked button-down, and Wilson, in a purple top, face the camera behind a kitchen counter and explain how they're going to cook sweet-and-smoky soy-curl pizza. Then the adult star Lauren Phillips, the XBIZ 2024 MILF performer of the year, bounds into the kitchen, breasts bouncing gloriously in a cropped tank top. As Phillips kneads soy curls in a marinade of tamari, maple syrup, and liquid smoke, Wilson smiles mischievously.

"I am very hands-on," she tells Phillips.

"I would know," Phillips says.

"Wait till you've seen the scene we've shot with her," Gow says.

The couple spent some $80,000 to shoot 18 porn films. “Some people will go off on a trip to play golf," Gow says. "We’ll go off and do this video.”

Over the years, the couple spent some $80,000 to shoot 18 porn films. "Some people will go off on a trip to play golf," Gow says. "We'll go off and do this video." His porn hobby, he says, usually didn't interfere with his work as chancellor. There was one day in 2015, though, when the university was trying to finalize plans for a visit from President Barack Obama. Gow was on set in Arizona when he received a call from a staff member. He declined it, thinking it would interfere with his on-screen performance.

Though they kept their porn films secret, Gow and Wilson self-published two books about their exploits: "Monogamy with Benefits" and "Married with Benefits: Our Real-Life Adult-Industry Adventures." They were careful to use pseudonyms, Geri and Jay Hart, identifying themselves in their Amazon author bio as "a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the US." But next to the bio, seemingly oblivious to the ways of the internet, they included a photo of themselves.

At their dining-room table, I sit next to Gow and Wilson as "Juicy Anniversary" starts to play. The video begins with Wilson in a slinky pink floral dress and silver heels and Gow in a beige sport coat and a white button-down. He presents her with several anniversary gifts, including a bracelet and a purple rabbit vibrator. The exchange goes on for six minutes. If you didn't know what was to come, you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a Lifetime rom-com.

Then the clothes come off. Gow, in boxers, stands behind Wilson, caressing her breasts.

At the table, Gow turns to me. "Now, me at this point, I'm like, OK, am I going to get hard?" he says. He'd taken Viagra for the shoot, but he remained worried.

In the background, Video Gow is moaning "Oh yeah" as IRL Gow says, "I've always had some ED issues."

On-screen, Gow begins to perform a variety of sexual acts on Wilson.

"Look at how well lit that is," Gow says.

IRL Wilson nods in agreement. Video Wilson moans.

"She's multi-orgasmic," Gow says.

"I wasn't always," Wilson adds. "I had to work at it."

There's a close-up on Video Gow's lower torso as he thrusts. "I like to do a lot of core," he tells me. "I want to have a flat stomach." Then he starts doing a play-by-play, like he's announcing a football game. "She has two so far," he says, counting off her orgasms, "and here comes three." As the video ends with the big finale — the money shot, as it's known in the industry — Video Gow stands above kneeling Video Wilson, arms outstretched. "It's almost Christlike," IRL Gow says.

While they kept their porn hobby hidden, it did bleed into their university life. In 2018, Gow and Wilson were filming a video with Nina Hartley when she mentioned she'd been paid to speak at schools like Dartmouth. Gow decided to bring her to UW-La Crosse for a talk called "Fantasy vs. Reality: Viewing Adult Media with a Critical Eye."

The backlash began the moment the event was announced. The chair of the faculty senate emailed Gow about his ire that "a controversial speaker" was being presented as the sole voice "of a potentially triggering subject." A student wrote that Hartley's visit "encourages behavior that promotes sexual assault."

Gow, who considers himself a champion of sex positivity, was undeterred. On the night of the event, he stood onstage in a suit and striped tie. "Sexuality, pornography: These are things that I think we need to talk about," he said. "And we have a speaker here with us to do that who is uniquely qualified on these subjects."

Hartley, then 59, blond hair cascading over her form-fitting black dress, began by leading the lecture hall in a chant. "I have a right to experience sexual pleasure," the audience intoned. Then she discussed safe sex, her experiences on set, and the fantasies depicted in porn. "There was nothing salacious about it at all," Gow says. (Hartley declined to be interviewed.)

The next day, Hartley's talk was front-page news in the La Crosse Tribune. When parents and others complained, Gow defended himself in an op-ed article, arguing that he was helping promote the university's policy of academic freedom. The university disagreed. "Your defense of your actions is just making things worse," Gow's boss, the UW president Raymond Cross, told him. Cross officially reprimanded Gow, ordered an audit of his discretionary funds, and denied him a pending raise.

Gow issued a public apology and announced he would pay Hartley's $5,000 speaking fee out of his own pocket. But the message from his superiors was clear: Even having so much as verbal intercourse with a porn star was off-limits for a university chancellor.

The big blowup took place last fall, after Gow announced at his annual start-of-the-school-year speech that he intended to retire as chancellor in May. He received a standing ovation. As Wilson stood beside him onstage, he mentioned that she was leaving academia and that the two of them were working on a YouTube cooking show. He, meanwhile, would remain on the faculty as a tenured professor in communications.

The accolades were universal. "When Chancellor Gow steps down next year, he will be leaving UW-La Crosse much better off than it was when he arrived," the university system's new president said. A public-radio story listing Gow's many achievements briefly mentioned the Hartley dustup. Gow spun the controversy as "very helpful," saying it had sparked global media attention for the university and elevated its commitment to free speech.

Now that their exit was pending, Gow and Wilson didn't waste any time in launching their porn career. That October, while he was still chancellor, they uploaded "Juicy Anniversary" and several other videos on LoyalFans and OnlyFans under the name SexyHappy Couple. The videos were paywalled. Only a handful of people watched.

A month later, Gow and Wilson were having dinner with their video editor. He suggested they might find a larger audience if they uploaded the videos on xHamster and Pornhub, where they could be watched for free. So the couple gave it a try, hoping they might get a few dozen views.

Several hundred people watched the first day. Within a week, 10,000 people were watching a day. Within two weeks, the views surpassed 1 million.

The couple were shocked. "We were like, holy fuck," Wilson says. "We didn't know: Does anybody want to see a couple in their 50s having sex? And the amazing thing was, yes, they did."

Then Gow realized they might have jumped the gun by posting their porn videos for free. "Sooner or later," he worried, "somebody we know is going to see this."

It was sooner. On December 19, three weeks after the videos were posted, Gow received a call from the university's legal team saying they needed to discuss a "personnel matter" with him. He didn't think much of it. As chancellor, he regularly talked to the school's lawyers. But when the meeting began over Zoom the following day, he realized it was about him. Someone had seen the videos and forwarded them to the president's chief of staff.

On the call, the deputy general counsel and the deputy HR director questioned Gow about the videos and his books, which they had also discovered. He admitted everything and cleared up a misconception. The lawyers thought — "their big concern," Gow says — that the couple had been paid by the porn studios, when in fact it was the other way around. Gow explained that he had never made more than $1,000 from his "expensive hobby," which is why he never reported it on the financial statement he was required to file each year with the state. "That seemed to satisfy my system colleagues," he later wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "and they ended the meeting cordially, giving me no indication of what might happen next."

Six days later, as Gow and Wilson were flying back to La Crosse after visiting his 93-year-old mother for Christmas, Gow learned he had been fired as chancellor. The termination letter said he had failed to properly report his income from the porn videos and had violated "prohibitions for using one's public position for private benefit." The president of the university system released a statement calling Gow's actions "abhorrent."

Gow was placed on paid administrative leave for the spring semester, but he retained his status as a faculty member. Firing a tenured professor is extremely hard, for good reason. The whole point of tenure is to let faculty express themselves freely, without fear of reprisal. Termination requires just cause. Sexual assault, domestic violence, and sexual harassment all count. Consensual sexual activity doesn't. The only mention of porn in the University of Wisconsin's bylaws is a rule against watching it at work.

As part of a review of Gow's tenure, the university hired a white-shoe law firm and a forensic analyst from the publicly traded firm FTI Consulting to investigate his actions. His university-issued computer was seized, along with Wilson's. Then the most accomplished chancellor in the school's history was barred from campus, unless accompanied by a police escort.

The morning after I watch "Juicy Anniversary" at their dining table, Gow takes me to Planet Fitness. He wants to show me his workout routine. As Gow does mountain climbers, his skinny legs pumping, his longtime trainer, Tony Tomich, offers a full-throated defense of his client. Gow and Wilson's porn "wasn't hurting anyone," Tomich tells me. "It's sad in this day and age, in a university environment, where you're supposed to be open minded. This isn't Communist China."

Many on campus echo those concerns. After Gow's workout, I head to the student center to meet Easton Moberg, a sophomore who has covered the Gow scandal as managing editor of the student newspaper, The Racquet Press. The first thing I notice in his office is a brochure from the women's and gender studies department pinned to a wall: "Your Comprehensive Guide to Clitoral Masturbation and Other Pleasures." A recent issue of the paper featured a satirical story with a photo of Gow, Wilson, and Nina Hartley under the headline "Gow to Teach Culinary Class."

Moberg tells me he used to have a flag with Gow's face on it pinned inside the house he shared with fellow students. Gow "was just well respected," he says. "Students loved him." After the porn became public, he and his friends found the situation "hilarious." His roommate began "cranking out memes instantly." Still, Moberg doesn't think Gow should be stripped of tenure. "I am pro-First Amendment," he says. "I have the right to speak freely and write freely. He should be able to do whatever he wants to do freely as well."

The next day, a janitor in the student center tells me he feels the same way about Gow's indiscretions. "I don't think what he did was right, but that was his own private thing," he says. "If you don't like what someone's doing, just go to another website, just keep your mouth shut. You don't need to set someone up and take them down."

He gestures to an empty wall that used to contain portraits of past chancellors. "Gow was here," he says, pointing to a blank spot that has been repainted eggshell white.

In March, the university completed its investigation and provided Gow with a copy of its report, which stretches to 318 pages. After watching over 11 hours of the couple's porn, the investigators demurely concluded that the "dialog and video content would likely be considered offensive to many but were not likely illegal." Nonetheless, the report brims with salacious details, couched in a kind of tortured bureaucratic prudery unseen since the Starr Report. Breasts are "torsos"; scenes end with various things being "consumed." Twenty-five pages are devoted to sex-toy marketing emails that were sent to Gow's and Wilson's university email addresses. The emails featured images of vibrators, pocket pussies, and vibrating asses. Gow says he never visited porn sites while at work. The university's president, general counsel, and interim chancellor all declined to comment for this story.

Gow plans to defend himself at a tribunal over his tenure. "It's kind of the trial of Socrates," he says with characteristic modesty.

The university offered to settle the case without issuing charges if Gow would agree to retire from the faculty. When he refused, he was charged with 21 violations of university policy, including refusing to cooperate with the investigation, receiving emails containing pornographic images on university computers, engaging in "unethical and potentially illegal conduct" by paying to have sex with female escorts and strippers and paying for Wilson to have sex with a male escort, and damaging the university's reputation by making porn and posting it online. The university also complained, somewhat penuriously, that Gow "took a large volume of leftover catered wine from the Chancellor's Box" after two football games.

Gow decided to fight his dismissal on First Amendment grounds. On April 17, he formally requested a public hearing to review his termination as a tenured faculty member. Under the university's rules, a faculty member will chair the tribunal, which is scheduled to convene on June 19, and each side will have three hours to present its case. It will be the state's first hearing over a faculty member's tenure in 23 years, and the first ever over porn.

"It's kind of the trial of Socrates," Gow says with characteristic modesty. "It was about corrupting the morals of youth. They wanted me to drink the hemlock." He plans to defend himself at the hearing, as Socrates did, and he believes the tribunal will ultimately see that, as he recently told a local La Crosse news station, "what a couple does on their vacation, on their own time with their own money and on social media, that's their own business, and that shouldn't disqualify one from being a faculty member."

Gow may be right. But it's a tough sell at a moment when leading universities across the country are under attack by the far right. Experts are skeptical that Gow will prevail on free-speech grounds. "Being in a pornographic movie is generally not viewed as speech on matters of public concern," says Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment scholar at Stanford. He points to the precedent set by City of San Diego v. Roe, where the Supreme Court determined that a police officer could be fired for selling videos of himself masturbating on eBay.

Whatever the outcome of the hearing, Gow and Wilson have already paid a steep price for their perceived transgressions. Wilson's 37-year-old daughter didn't speak to her for five months and has cut her off from contact with her two young grandchildren. "I want to hurt you as much as you hurt me," her daughter told her. Gow's mother called him "disgusting." Wilson's 82-year-old mother, Diane, wouldn't speak to her daughter for a month. When she finally relented, she wrapped Wilson in a hug and said, "Your reputation is ruined."

Before I leave La Crosse, I pay one last visit to Gow and Wilson's home, where they and Diane are having their Sunday-night ritual of wine and snacks. "I decided I wasn't going to lose my relationship with them," Diane says. "I told them, I'm not condoning what you've done. But I will accept it." What upsets her most is that her daughter and granddaughter aren't speaking to each other.

"I want to have a relationship with her, but she won't talk to me," Wilson says.

"She has that right," Diane says.

"We need to have a conversation," Wilson says. They both begin to cry.

"This is the worst part of the whole situation," Gow says. "I really love those kids too. To just be shut out" — his voice breaks, and he joins the weeping.

As Diane is on her second glass of red, she tells me about how she remained a virgin in college. "We had zero sex education," she says. "I lived on a farm, and that's how I learned, watching the animals."

Her phone rings — her granddaughter, Wilson's daughter, is FaceTiming her. Diane walks into the living room to take the call.

I ask Gow and Wilson if I can see their OnlyFans. Gow logs in, showing me a chart of their subscribers. "You know what that bump is?" he says. "That's the day they fired me and it got into the media. We went from 24 subscribers to 9,666 literally overnight." In two months, they made $60,000 from the platform. They've also signed with Sssh.com, a porn studio for women and couples.

"We didn't get into this for the money," Gow says. "But when my job is under threat and our health insurance is under threat, it's good to be able to make, like, $300 a day."

And therein lies the rub, as it were. If Gow and Wilson had managed to keep their porn careers secret for a few more months, their videos wouldn't be generating nearly as much revenue as they are now. Gow could have stepped down to widespread acclaim before going on to a second act that combined recipes for vegan country-style ribs with scenes of graphic sexual acts. He and Wilson wouldn't be as famous. And they wouldn't be engaged in a battle over free speech. But they would still have their family.

In the dining room, Gow shows me one of their most popular videos on LoyalFans: a threesome with Lauren Phillips. Wilson peers into the living room, watching her mother sing "Uh-Oh SpaghettiOs" with her grandchildren.

Hallie Lieberman is a sex historian and journalist. She's the author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.