The Science Of Sex

Horniness (AKA being sexually aroused) is a special state of body and mind during which we are much more likely to make risky decisions of all kinds. What else can make us forgo condoms, or lead us to believe our partners are not as risky as they may be? Join Dr. Zhana and Joe as they talk with Dr. Shayna Sparling from Ryerson University in Toronto about her fascinating research on the factors that make people make risky sexual health decisions.

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 walkers to illegal brothels to independent or agency-run escorts, but the Nevada brothels are the only fully legal and transparent avenue for this work). So what does it look like to live and work in these brothels? Who are the people doing these jobs, why are they there, what kinds of services do they provide, how much do they like the job, how often do they have orgasms with their clients...? Our guest on episode #58, Christina Parreira, answers these questions (and more) from both personal and professional experience -

Why do straight women make out with other women in public? Do straight men and gay folks do it too? Why is making out for an audience a thing? And do people accomplish what they were after with it? In Ep. #57, we tackle this phenomenon of "performative making out."

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, Kenneth Play, launched recently to teach people how to squirt. So in this episode, Dr. Zhana and Joe do something a little different. Instead of an academic researcher, we invite someone with an impressive amount of hands-on "research" when it comes to making vagina-owners squirt - Kenneth Play. Just how many vaginas has Kenneth had an opportunity to try and make them squirt? What's his success rate? What's the most reliable technique for making this happen? This and so much more in Episode 56 of the Science of Sex Podcast.

Testosterone and oxytocin. Two hormones that have received a lot of media attention (and sales profits): testosterone as a supposed remedy to all that ails men; oxytocin as a supposed intimacy- and trust-inducing machine. But could testosterone have a dark side when it comes to our sex-related decision making? And can all the oxytocin hype stand up to scientific scrutiny? Dr. Zhana and Joe find out by talking to one of the preeminent researchers of the psychological effects of these two chemicals, Dr. Gideon Nave.

Do drunk people perceive themselves as capable of providing sexual consent at that moment? How good are they at evaluating their drinking buddies' levels of drunkenness and ability to consent? Join Dr. Zhana and Joe for this fascinating discussion with Dr. Michelle Drouin in their first episode of 2019.

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: Some reasons to have sex are better & healthier 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.  

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?

What is 'puppy play'? Who are 'bio-pups', and why are they so into this? Does this increasingly popular kink activity bear any links to zoophilia or furries? In Episode 51, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Liam Wignall about his research on the fascinating world of 'pup play' and the participants in this kink / fetish / BDSM activity.

Do you know the difference between sex and gender? Or what it means to be gender nonconformist? How about the definition of non binary? Surprisingly to some, many people do no know the answers to these questions. In Episode 50,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Seth Pardo about his research on gender non conforming folks who were assigned female at birth. This super educational episode covers a lot about the trans community.

The dangers and risks for gay men in coming out of the closet is widely acknowledged, but what about bi 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 about bisexual men, focused on those with long term female partners, and why they stay in the closet.

Interest in sexually aggressive and humiliating acts (from biting & spanking, to spitting and verbal humiliation) might be far more common than we think. And, perhaps more controversially, there might 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, Cyprus, about his theories and research on this that really push the boundaries.

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?

In Episode 46, Dr. Zhana and Joe speak with Dr. Gerulf Rieger about his research on identical twins with discordant sexual orientation. Research has shown us that sexual orientation is greatly determined by genetics. So how is it possible that only about 30% of all identical twins have the same sexual orientation as their co-twin?

In Episode 45, Dr. Wednesday Martin, author of the new book UNTRUE, gets into a heated discussion with Dr. Zhana about to what extent women and men differ when it comes to sex drive, monogamy, and infidelity, and why this might be the case.

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. Tune in to find out how sampling, counting and some degree of misreporting play into the vast perceived difference between men and women's "number." 

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.

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. Dr. Lehmiller talks about his new book on sexual fantasies: Tell Me What You Want.

In episode 41, 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!

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 but what do those effects look like especially among menstruating women?