I mean who has time for another potential pandemic, in this economy? Come’on. But, as we’ve all recently learned, global health crises aren’t the type of thing you can blow off so I sat down with Student Doctor Ben to learn what we know, what we fear, and what we’re doing about it.
Read moreMarriage After Faith
Sex is hard enough to talk about in our society without having to actively unlearn decades worth of hokey religions and ancient bullshit. To talk about sex in a marriage founded on a hokey religion while actively working to re-learn and re-construct your sex life- jedi level. This week ExXtian Erin joins Nate and in a conversation about what it’s like to do just that, while doing our best to pass on a few mind tricks and further your training.
Read moreGender Purity
From seatbelts to power chords there’s an underlying assumption in our society that male goes into female JUST LIKE NATURE INTENDED. We tend to ignore the bees and the bonobos and everyother good goddamn creature under the sun by believing that two complimentary things must go together IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD’S WILL. Now that we’ve injected a little science to our thinking, what are we left to do with these supposed ideals?
Read moreGreat Sexpectations
With great sex cums great responsibility or… honestly that movie had too many characters. Instead, like poor Pip, let’s take a moment to consider how our assumptions and demands about sex may actually get in the way of the great sex we wish we were having. The pervasive myths and misrepresentations of human sexuality, so prevalent in our culture, more often then not set us up for failure. This week with the help of Kara Griffin and Nate Smith we work to understand those Victorian values and deconstruct our own culture of purity.
Read moreThe Science of Genetic Sex
Turns out a middle school understanding of ‘biological sex’ is a fair bit rudimentary so we brought in a (student) expert to (student) teach us what the hell is going on between our chromosomes and legs, to take your calls and questions and to finally answer the question “Who should be allowed to pee in here?”
Read moreTrans Bodies/ Cis World
Much of our world is designed around certain assumptions, but for those of us who don’t check all the boxes there can be not just a lack of step-stools and accommodations, but often an active campaign to change our identity. Social worker and trans story teller Phoebe Rose returns to the show to walk us through her own experiences and those of trans folx just trying to get by in a cis world and, for the love of Zod, find somewhere to pee.
Read moreCulturally Bound
Ever catch one of those videos of police sirens from all over the world and realize, ‘holy shit how do people in X find that sound to be Y’? Turns out that there’s a lot in the air- so many of the things we assume are biological facts are really just cultural preferences. This week Laura Magee returns to the show to highlight some of the strange goings-on from the world over and to help us consider our own cultural assumptions and beliefs, plus of course your calls and what’s turning us on this week.
Read moreLovin, Touchin, Squeezin with Mindful Touch
As a therapist there’s very little about paying a professional to help you self-regulate and develop your communication strategies that seems foreign to me. Commodified relationships and scholastic training in naturalistic social skills are part and parcel of the therapeutic process so it’s no surprise to me that professional cuddlers have something to offer the world. What that is and what to do with it on the other hand took some examination.
Read moreSecular ***uality
From Tonight’s episode-
Citizens United Explained by Tim Lau from Brennan Center for Justice
Words We Use: The Meaning of Words And Where They Come From by Diarmaid Ó Muirithe
Sex Workers Worry They’re Going to Be Purged From Twitter by Ej Dickson for Rolling Stone
Sex workers fear a new wave of deplatforming — and the proposed Online Safety Bill by James Purtill for ABC Science
Instagram’s problem with sex workers is nothing new by Brit Dawson for Dazed
Report says shadowbanning is real—and it’s suppressing sex workers by Ava Valens for Daily Dot
Survivors Against SESTA, “Platforms Which Discriminate Against Sex Workers” sourced from HackingHustling
STUDYING THE IMPACT OF SHADOWBANNING ON SEX WORKERS AND ACTIVISTS sourced from HackingHustling
On Compersion
The Jealousy Workbook: Exercises and Insights for Managing Open Relationships
Compersion: A Polyamorous Principle That Can Strengthen Any Relationship by Gracie X for HuffPo
Compersion: What Monogamists Can Learn From the Poly Community by Molly Frances for Polyamory Today
Compersion Is The Word You’ve Been Missing Your Whole Life by Melanie Ginsburg for A Million Happy Thoughts
How Essential Polyamory Tools Can Apply to Monogamous Life by J. Fergus for The Manual
Cultivating Compersion: Lessons from Buddhist Practice
How to Do Metta by Jack Kornfield for Lion’s Roar
Compersion is a Choice from Curious Fox
COMPERSION: A RADICAL LOVE PHENOMENON research collection conducted by Dr. Marie Thouin
Previous episodes for your consideration-
I didn't choose the Fet Life...
Fetlife is to kinksters like the office coffee maker is to the caffeinated- everyone uses it, no one is particularly impressed with it and a small vocal minority have incredibly strong opinions about it’s proper usage and etiquette. John Kopanas’ problem child of a passion project remains the best available platform for pervy people to meet and mingle despite the Myspace interface. Social media coordinator and certified kinkster Tanjil Wright joins Nate and I this week in understanding the etiquette of direct messaging and dungeon mastering at the intersection of social media and kink.
Read moreIdentity Politics and Unused Adjectives
Is there anything more privileged then setting yourself up as the group that gets to decide what does and does not constitute a privilege? Weird flex straight people, but passing is not all it’s cracked up to be. Living in a cis-het mono/alo world (with a bias towards religion) is fun enough without having to pretend it’s a pleasure to be placed in somebody else’s party. This week Nate Smith and Helen Greene join me on the show to pick apart the supposed privilege of passing and pay penance for our queer cards.
Read moreThe Case for Decriminalizing Sex-Work
After to much time beating around the bush and conversations with some of the most successful legal sex-workers of our era, it’s past time we discuss the decriminilization of sex work. Why is sex legal until it costs money? Why are sex workers adamant that legalization will lead to even greater injustice? What wind is the political wind blowing and please won’t anyone think of the children? Jack Parker joins the show to answer these questions, your questions and more! Catch the episode below and be sure to check back afterwards for some footNOTES!
While Jack hasn’t technically been on the show before…
Should Sex Work Be Decriminalized? Some Activists Say It's Time by Jasmine Garsd for NPR
Decriminalizing Prostitution by Micah Schwartzbach for Criminal Defense Lawyer
The movement to decriminalize sex work, explained by Anna North for Vox
Why Sex Work Should Be Decriminalized from Human Rights Watch
Is Sex Work Decriminalization The Answer? What The Research Tells Us from ACLU