Podcast Themes: Sexual Health
These episodes contain adult themes and language.
Episode 140: Boys and Sex – Navigating the new masculinity with bestselling author Peggy Orenstein
Author Peggy Orenstein is back on the show with her instant New York Times Bestseller, Boys and Sex. Tune in to hear insights from her conversations with over 100 boys from high school to college across the U.S. We discuss why parents aren’t talking to their boys about sex and intimacy even though they really want the space to explore, to be vulnerable, and to figure it out, not just absorb the cultural narrative about masculinity that was created for them. We chat about how this conversation gap, especially between boys and dads, can harm today’s boys and girls in the context of consent, hookup culture, and forming intimate relationships with partners.
Episode 122: Sex is a Social Skill: How to have open sexual communication with Dawn Serra
Dawn Serra is a sex and relationship coach who has dedicated her life to helping others orient towards pleasure so that we can heal the shame we carry around sex and deepen the trust we have in our bodies. In this episode, we talk about the historical and very culturally relevant reasons today that women struggle with sex today.
You’ll learn why sex is a social skill, why it’s OK to have a fraught relationship to sex and how to change it, including how to tell your partner if you’ve been faking orgasms. And of course because TMI is a habit of mine, I share more details about my lack of sex experience— and how uncomfortable I was going through the process. I hope it helps you lean in to your discomfort, heal whatever is bothering you about sex and sexual health, and give yourself permission to experience more pleasure.
Episode 88: Why Women Fake Orgasms with Emily Nagoski PhD, author of the bestselling book Come As You Are
My guest is one of my favorite “sexpert” authors Emily Nagoski, sex educator and author of the New York Times bestseller Come As You Are: the surprising new science that will transform your sex life.
Among the gems in our conversation today: how our sex-negative culture came to be, intimacy without performance pleasure, and how our sexual well-being is byproduct of our overall well-being. I also share how her groundbreaking book rocked my world.
Episode 57: Get ‘Unscrewed’ in this #MeToo world with Jaclyn Friedman, activist and author of Unscrewed
Politics, Hollywood, and your neighborhood. Sexual abuse is happening everywhere and people are speaking up. And finally we’re believing them. If you’re shaking your head at Charlie Rose, Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey (and others) you’re probably wondering what you can do about it. I chat to author and activist Jaclyn Friedman: Unscrewed: Women, Sex, Power and How to Stop Letting the System Screw Us All.
Episode 34: How To Let Your Body Receive Pleasure, with Dr Sybil Lockhart
Dr. Sybil Lockhart is no “Masters and Johnson” – she’s so much more! With OMGyes.com, Dr. Lockhart is taking men and women to the next level of pleasure with a website dedicated to the education of women’s sexual pleasure with unique videos, vocabulary, and even interactive tools to practice techniques.
Sybil says that when we open up to giving ourselves pleasure (even if struggling with body image), we are more open up to all the other good things in the world. She says “any starting point is a good starting point, even if you never had an orgasm.”
Episode 33: Sex for One and All, with Elle Chase
Elle Chase had a lifetime of terrible sex so you don’t have to — any more! In this lively, laughter-filled, and stimulating conversation we discuss very specifically how you can get more out of your sex life, and how you can reconcile poor body image and a poor sex life. It’s not your fault, you were not broken and there are steps you can take that can make a difference, even if they seem small and insignificant.
If you get nothing else out of this conversation I want you to understand that you are not alone and that your effort to pursue more happiness and confidence can begin in the bedroom, whether you’re by yourself or with a partner you care about.
Episode 32: Orgasm Inequality – Achieving Parity in Achieving Climax, with Melissa Fabello
When Melissa Fabello talks, sex is bound to come up. It’s her job. As a sexuality scholar and body acceptance activist, Melissa sees so clearly that diet culture, body image, and sexuality intersect in ways that contribute to bodies experiencing oppression.
This conversation will help you understand that girls and women aren’t allowed to experience sexuality in positive ways and that impacts our body image. We discuss the “power dynamics” of subject vs object in our society and, perhaps more important, how you can have a conversation with your partner (or yourself!) in a safe, kind way that can help you grow your body confidence with your clothes on and clothes off.
Episode 31: Intimate Justice with Bestselling Author Peggy Orenstein, Girls and Sex
How do we teach our daughters to respect their bodies, while still being curious about their sexuality? What do you say to a 2 or 3 year old in the bath? Would you tell a 10-year-old what the clitoris is for?
If you’re squirming in your chair, so am I, but this is important issue if we really want our kids to normalize sex. Body liberation and sexual liberation go hand in hand. Find out why Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape and Cinderella Ate My Daughter, thinks we all gotta start doing a whole lot more talking to our kids and teens about what’s normal with our bodies and in sex for everyone’s health and well-being.
