Episodes
Horniness (AKA being sexually aroused) is a special state of body and mind. It’s a state during which we are much more likely to make risky decisions, not just about our sexual health, but about other things too. What else can make us forgo condoms, or lead us to believe our partners are not as risky as they may be? Our guest this week, Dr. Shayna Sparling, has been getting people sexually aroused in the lab (for research only!) and then tracking how this affects their thinking and...
Published 03/26/19
Published 03/26/19
Sex work is one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood aspects of human sexuality. There are many different types of sex work, including phone sex, camming, stripping, “happy ending” massages, professional domination, and porn, to name a few. But the greatest stigma is probably reserved for the “full service” type of sex work (i.e., penetration and all), like that done by the workers at the Nevada brothels. (There are many other ways of doing “full service” type of sex work, from street...
Published 03/12/19
I’m sure you’ve heard of straight women making out in public with other women in order to attract male attention? It’s a phenomenon called “performative making out” or making out for an audience, and in Episode #57, we invited one of the main researchers studying it, Dr. Kate Esterline, to tell us all about it. Are straight(ish) women the only ones who do it? How about gay women and men? How about straight(ish) guys? Why do you people do it? How is it different when people make out with...
Published 02/26/19
Every time Dr. Zhana teaches about almost any topic, someone asks a question about squirting, often referred to as female ejaculation. It seems like squirting is having a moment right now, with everyone and their mother wanting to know if all vagina-owners can squirt, what the ejaculate is made of, and how to make it happen. There is very limited science on this, which Dr. Zhana recently sifted through extensively while working on the online squirting course that her business partner,...
Published 02/12/19
Testosterone is having a moment these days. T-boosting has grown into a $2.5 billion industry, with guys of all ages trying to up their T levels in hopes of increasing everything from libido to mood to energy. But what does testosterone do how about our cognitive processes? Could testosterone increase how quickly and automatically we make decisions about sexual situations, and could that lack of deliberation have a dark side that contributes to sexual assault and harassment? These are some...
Published 01/29/19
Happy belated New Year! Given that the holiday season is a time when a lot of people consume significant amounts of alcohol AND get frisky while under its influence, we thought we’d kick off 2019 with an episode that ties drinking and sexual consent. Specifically, how does being intoxicated impact people’s perceptions of their own and their friends’ ability to consent to sex? In her unusual “naturalistic bar study” (more on that in the podcast), Dr. Michelle Drouin from Purdue University...
Published 01/15/19
Optimizing Sexual Satisfaction We all know having sex with our romantic partners is good for our relationship and sexual satisfaction. But why you’re doing it can make a difference; not all sexual motives were made equal. Some reasons to have sex lead to better and healthier outcomes than other reasons. Optimizing your intimate life is partly about making sure you’re doing “it” for the right reasons, and not doing “it” for the wrong reasons.   In Episode 53, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr....
Published 12/19/18
What is it about teachers that make them so hot? According to the popular college professor reviewing website, Rate My Professors, it’s more than just looks. But how does their rating system work? How are female professors rated versus their male peers? In Episode 52, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to New York University professor Pascal Wallisch about how students rate and tag their favorite (or not-so-favorite) professors on the divisive yet popular website, Rate My Professors. Does the site...
Published 12/11/18
We have covered some kink, fetish and BDSM ground on the show, but this time we delve deep into the details of one specific kink: pup (or puppy) play. What is ‘pup play’? Who are ‘bio-pups’, and why are they so into this? Is this related to zoophilia / bestiality, or the world of furries? In Episode 51,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Liam Wignall about his research on pup play and the people who are into it.  He became the first to research this topic after it just kept “pupping” up for him...
Published 12/04/18
Do you know the difference between sex and gender? Or what it means to be “gender nonconforming”? Trans or transgender? Genderqueer and gender non-binary? Our understanding and language around sex and gender has been rapidly expanding, and we don’t blame you if you’re not super familiar with it all. In Episode 50,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Seth Pardo about his research on the gender identity and gender presentation of 170 folks who were assigned female at birth but identify as gender...
Published 11/27/18
The dangers and risks for gay men in coming out of the closet is widely acknowledged, but what about bisexual men? More bi men, compared to gay men, keep their sexuality strictly on the down low. Why is this the case? How are these men’s experience different? In Episode 49,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Eric Schrimshaw from Columbia University about his research on bisexual men–especially those with long-term female partners–who remain in the closet and why they do so. Why would bisexual...
Published 11/20/18
Some people are into sexually aggressive and humiliating acts, from biting &  spanking, to spitting and verbal humiliation. This is usually referred to as paraphilias, or uncommon sexual desires, but how uncommon are these sexual desires, actually? And, perhaps more controversially, could there be some evolutionary bases for some of our BDSM desires? In Episode 48,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Menelaos Apostolou from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus about his evolutionary theories...
Published 11/13/18
Some people are far more interested in and comfortable with casual sex, a trait called unrestricted sociosexuality. In Episode 47,  Dr. Zhana and Joe ask a question that’s on a lot of people’s minds: Are these “sluttier” folks (and we use this term lovingly and without judgment) less satisfied in and committed to their partners in long-term romantic relationships compared to their more “restricted” peers? Our guest, Dr. Gregory Webster, is the first–and thus far only–person to have examined...
Published 11/06/18
Research has shown that sexual orientation is greatly determined by genetics. We also know that identical twins share 100% of their genetic material. Then how is it possible that only about 30% of all identical twins have the same sexual orientation as their co-twin? In Episode 46, Dr. Zhana and Joe speak with Dr. Gerulf Rieger about his research on identical twins with discordant sexual orientation. Dr. Rieger tests whether childhood gender non-conformity, genital arousal patterns, and...
Published 10/30/18
Are women’s sex drives really weaker than men’s? Are women really less likely to cheat–or want to cheat? Are they really better suited for monogamy? And how much are these gender differences due to nature vs. nurture? In Episode 45, we bring best-selling author Dr. Wednesday Martin on the show to talk about her new book UNTRUE: Why Nearly Everything We Believe About Women, Lust, and Adultery is Wrong and How the New Science Can Set Us Free, which reviewers say totally upends our common...
Published 10/23/18
In Episode 44, Dr. Kirstin Mitchell returns to talk to Dr. Zhana and Joe about the differences between sexual partners reported by men and women. It’s been an age-old question: Do men really have more sexual partners than women? Or are there other reasons for men reporting twice as many partners as women on average? Joe thinks it’s as simple as “they’re all lying,” but the answers are slightly more complicated. Tune in to find out how sampling, counting as well as some degree of...
Published 10/16/18
In Episode 43, Kaci Mial joins Dr. Zhana and Joe to talk about the female condom. Some people (including Joe) don’t even know what a female condom is! But this stops with this episode where we learn a lot more about the female, or internal, condom. Kaci discusses the benefits and differences of the internal condom, compared with the more familiar external condom as well as the limited availability of the condom and the reasons and implications behind that. Tune in to find out! Read the full...
Published 10/09/18
In Episode 42, Dr. Justin Lehmiller returns to talk with Dr. Zhana and Joe about sexual fantasies and what they say about us! Most people have sexual fantasies, and some fantasies are not as rare as you might think. What do our fantasies mean? Should we act on them and if so how? Dr. Justin Lehmiller talks about his new book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. Listen to find out which are the most common sexual fantasies, how our...
Published 10/02/18
This week, Joe and Dr. Zhana switched things up and decided to dedicate an entire episode to answering some of your questions! Dr. Zhana gives science based answers to listener’s most pressing questions while Joe chimes in with some witty banter and some of his own questions. This week’s episode covered a range of topics including, vaginismus, open relationships, gooning, non surgical penis enhancement, and more! Before Next Time… Remember to like The Science of Sex Podcast...
Published 09/25/18
In Episode 40, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk with Tierney Lorenz on sex and the immune system! It’s been known that sexual activity can have an effect on the immune system. What do those effects look like? A healthy sex life can be great for the immune system which can in turn increase things like sex drive or pleasure. On this week’s episode we were able to talk to Dr. Tierney Lorenz on her research on sex and the immune system! About our Guest Dr. Lorenz received her Ph.D. in clinical...
Published 09/18/18
In Episode 39, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk with Jimmy Moran on Snapchat use and sex! Snapchat is a popular social media platform, founded in 2011, that allows users to send images and videos with the option of having the content automatically deleted after being viewed. The majority of the app's users are under the age of 24, and while most non-users may assume that it is primarily used for sexual purposes, there are differences in how men and women use the app in this manner. For example, men...
Published 09/11/18
Welcome back to the Science of Sex Podcast! In the Season 2 premiere, your favorite hosts, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk with Dr. Amy Muise on Communal Sexual Motivation, or CSM. CSM, or being Good, Giving, and Game (GGG), in a relationship is all about being motivated to be responsive to a partner’s sexual needs or interests. According to Dr. Muise, CSM works as a spectrum, with individuals ranking from high to low. In this episode, find out how CSM can be beneficial to a relationship, the...
Published 09/04/18
Before their summer break, Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Amy C. Moors, an assistant professor at Chapman University to discuss her research on polyamory and the social stigma of open relationships. Also on the show, they talk about SKYN Condoms new survey of 4000 people designed to analyze the behaviors, attitudes and preferences of sexually active millennials. Help us improve the show by going to bit.ly/tsosfeedback telling us what you love, what we can improve on, and what you want to hear...
Published 06/25/18
Foreplay SKYN Condoms unveiled a new survey of 4000 people designed to analyze the behaviors, attitudes and preferences of sexually active millennials. The results showed that despite what people may claim, there is still heavy stigma against women who have multiple sexual partners. Also, fewer millennials are using dating apps, and women are (still) more likely to fake an orgasm versus men. Finally. it showed that older millennials are getting kinky – using toys like anal beads, handcuffs,...
Published 06/25/18