Episode 61 - Periods: Why so Taboo?
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty about periods and the menstrual cycle!
Episode 60 - Love is Blind and Birth Control is Complicated
I promised you that this episode would be about periods and the menstrual cycle, but something urgent came up that I had to make an episode about. The Amy and Johnny storyline in Love is Blind season 6 where they decide not to have sex because Amy is not on birth control.
Episode 59 - The Coolidge Effect
What the heck is the Coolidge Effect? Sex research nerds will be familiar with this term, but others might not. It is a specific sexual phenomenon named after an urban legend about U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. Sound odd? It is! And the researcher who named it that did it as a hoax.
Episode 58 - Notes from the Road, Part 2
Part 2 of my 2 month road trip. I visit the Kinsey Institute, attend a kink convention, and contemplate the many abortion-related billboards on my journey through the U.S.A.
Episode 57 - Embracing the Solo Life with Peter McGraw: DWKT on the Road
Being single comes with a lot of stigma! We live in a world where being part of a couple is seen as #goals and anything outside of this, whether it be having multiple partners or choosing to be single come with societal judgment. For single folks, thankfully, there are people like Dr. Peter McGraw who hosts the podcast Solo: A Single Person's Guide to a Remarkable Life
Episode 56 - Notes from the Road, Part 1
Do We Know Things is back, baby! Join me on a road trip as I share sex info and insights.
Episode 55 - Circumcision Redux
On episode 53, I made the questionable choice to delve into the debates around circumcision.
On this episode, I am joined again by resident man, Matt Tunnacliffe and we will dig into some of the responses we got after the last episode. As expected, the responses were divided! We talk bias, science, and how many things we still don’t know.
Episode 54 - Sexuality and Reproductive Health in Fiction
Stories are fundamental part of the human existence and have existed since we have had language. We form our cultures and belief systems around stories. Writers of fiction have the gift of being able to create entire worlds through the stories they tell. I partnered with the Frye Festival to interview authors who do just that.
I am joined by authors and translators Aimee Wall, Clémentine Beauvais, and Sonya Malaborza. We discuss sex, sexual assault, and abortion in fiction, as well as the nuances and tensions of translating works into different languages.
Episode 53 - The First Cut is the Deepest: Penile Circumcision
Penile circumcision. It’s a big deal! People have very strong feelings about it. On this episode, I will explore the controversies around penile circumcision: does it affect penile sensitivity? Does it offer any health benefits? Is it ethical? And why do we see penile genital surgery as different than other kinds of genital surgery.
Episode 52 - The Nightmare of Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a debilitating chronic pain disease that affects millions of people in North America, but many people have never even heard of it. People suffering from endometriosis are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and ignored by many in the medical community. This episode follows the story of three women who have endometriosis: from initial symptoms, the epic journey to diagnosis, and the limited treatments available. Andrée-Anne, Léonore, and Maggie share their pain, the medical gaslighting, and the frustration of having a disease with no cure.
Endometriosis! What do we know? Do We Know Things? Let's find out!
Episode 51 - Lube, Glorious Lube
Until Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Katie Kelly asked me if I was going to do an episode about lubrication, I had no idea how much I didn't know! I thought lube was pretty basic. Turns out, there's a lot to know, especially about water-based lubes. I also think not enough people are aware of the importance of lube. It helps things feel better whether you are talking solo sex, hand sex, vaginal sex, or anal sex. There is a lube for every occasion. It helps for reducing pain and increasing pain. pleasure.
Episode 50 - The Pill, Your Partner(s) and You
Have you seen the many media articles or talk shows that say being on hormonal contraceptives can make you choose the “wrong” partner? Have you ever wondered if this was true? I realized it was high time that I investigate this research to see how the pill affects who we choose. On this episode, I delve into the research on genetic compatibility, hormonal changes on the pill, whether or not any of this matters when choosing a partner, and how smelly t-shirts factor in.
Episode 49 - The Need for Nuance in Stories of Nonmonogamy
Consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships are increasing in number, and there is more curiosity and awareness about these kinds of relationships than ever before. Rachel Krantz, author of Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-monogamy is my guest on this episode.
Episode 48 - Restorative Justice: A More Human Process for Survivors
Listen. We all know there's a problem with the way the legal system handles sexual assault cases. The process can be horrible and retraumatizing. But what if there was a different way. A more human way. That's where restorative justice comes in. My guest on this episode is Marlee Liss, a sensuality coach and an advocate for restorative justice. Marlee is a survivor of sexual assault and was the first person in Canada and the U.S. to have a restorative justice resolution to her sexual assault case within the legal system.
Mini-Episode - Serotonin Addendum
What do we actually know about serotonin and infatuation? On the last episode, I explored the neuroscience of infatuation and explored possible myths, which turned out to be mostly true. But I was left with additional questions about serotonin. It turns out, we don’t know as much as I thought about serotonin and love. The links between serotonin and love seem to be a story we have told so many times, we forgot it’s mostly just a story.
Episode 47 - Is Love a Drug?
Infatuation. Limerence. New relationship energy. All are words for the intense, sometimes overwhelming feelings people experience in new relationships. This feeling can feel like a drug. There is euphoria when you are with the person and withrawal symptoms when you are not. Others have said the infatuation shares symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Is love a drug? Is it like OCD? In this episode, we examine the research to see what we know about love.
Episode 46 - The Reality of Fantasies
Do you have a favourite sexual fantasy? Dr. Justin Lehmiller asked over 4000 people to answer this question and many other fantasy related questions in the largest study on fantasies ever done. In this episode, Justin talks about his research on people's favourite sexual fantasy, which he explores in his book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How it Can Improve Your Sex Life.
Episode 45 - Hiding in Plain Sight: Discovering the Clitoris
Did you know a man, actually several, had to "discover" the clitoris? On today’s episode, I welcome Sarah Chadwick, author of The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris. We will learn about the ups and downs in the life of the clitoris: it’s involvement in witchcraft, its repeated “discovery” and repression, and why we need more nicknames for it.
Episode 44 - Does Abstinence Work?
Abstinence is preached as being 100% effective in preventing pregnancy and STIs, which is true if it works. But how often does abstinence fail? In this episode, I try to figure out the typical use abstinence failure rate. A textbook I once had said 20%. Is that true? Tune in to find out!
Episode 43 - Sex Education: Not Just for Kids
We often think sex education is for kids. It is rare that we get realistic sex education and even rarer to get queer sex education as kids or teens. On this episode, I talk to Eva Bloom, sex educator extraordinaire, about sex ed for adults: why we need it, why it’s important, and why queering things up is beneficial for everyone.