Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino

Sex therapist and neuroscientist Dr. Nan Wise talks about her incredible book Why Good Sex Matters: Understand the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose Filled Life. Dr. Wise was a well-regarded sex therapist when she decided to go back to school to become a neuroscientist! She did an infamous study where she put people in fMRI machines, asked them to orgasm, then studied what parts of their brain lit up. This woman knows more about the sex and brain connection than anyone I know Quote: "Although we know our brains are involved in and contribute to sex, my research suggests that our brains largely control sex and pleasure." Dr. Nan Wise is a licensed psychotherapist, cognitive neuroscientist, certified sex therapist, board certified clinical hypnotherapist, and certified relationship specialist with three decades of experience. Driven by an intense desire to understand how the brain operates to create moods and behaviors, she returned to academia in 2009 to purse a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark where completed her dissertation project, "Genital stimulation, imagery, and orgasm in women: an fMRI analysis" in August of 2014. Her research has attempted to address gaps in the scientific literature regarding the neural basis of human sexuality, and has as a result, garnered international attention. Dr. Wise has recently published two scientific papers, Activation of sensory cortex by imagined genital stimulation an fMRI analysis (2016)" and "Brain Activity Unique to Orgasm in Women: An fMRI Analysis (2017) and is the coauthor of Peripheral and Central Neural Bases of Orgasm in The Textbook of Female Sexual Functioning (2018). She is the author of Why Good Sex Matters: Understand the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose Filled life. Sex therapist and neuroscientist Dr. Nan Wise talks about her incredible book Why Good Sex Matters: Understand the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose Filled Life. Dr. Wise was a well-regarded sex therapist when she decided to go back to school to become a neuroscientist! She did an infamous study where she put people in fMRI machines, asked them to orgasm, then studied what parts of their brain lit up. This woman knows more about the sex and brain connection than anyone I know Quote: "Although we know our brains are involved in and contribute to sex, my research suggests that our brains largely control sex and pleasure." Dr. Nan Wise is a licensed psychotherapist, cognitive neuroscientist, certified sex therapist, board certified clinical hypnotherapist, and certified relationship specialist with three decades of experience. Driven by an intense desire to understand how the brain operates to create moods and behaviors, she returned to academia in 2009 to purse a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at Rutgers-Newark where completed her dissertation project, "Genital stimulation, imagery, and orgasm in women: an fMRI analysis" in August of 2014. Her research has attempted to address gaps in the scientific literature regarding the neural basis of human sexuality, and has as a result, garnered international attention. Dr. Wise has recently published two scientific papers, Activation of sensory cortex by imagined genital stimulation an fMRI analysis (2016)" and "Brain Activity Unique to Orgasm in Women: An fMRI Analysis (2017) and is the coauthor of Peripheral and Central Neural Bases of Orgasm in The Textbook of Female Sexual Functioning (2018). She is the author of Why Good Sex Matters: Understand the Neuroscience of Pleasure for a Smarter, Happier, and More Purpose Filled life.

Writer & philosopher Simon(e) van Sarloos talks about their book, Playing Monogamy, newly translated into English. They discuss how to understand the world through structures, imagining what love can look like, and writing history in real time. Simon(e) van Saarloos is a writer and philosopher based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They published several books in Dutch including a novel and a collection of columns. In Enz. Het Wildersproces, Van Saarloos shares a feminist and queer report of the trial against the Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders. To learn a bit more about this book, check out a recent essay on the Gezi Park Trial in Turkey. In Het monogame drama, Van Saarloos critiques monogamous living and false notions of safety, proposing a nonmonogamous love life and a different take on ownership and property. The book was recently translated into English and published by Publication Studio, titled Playing Monogamy. Their most recent book, Herdenken herdacht, is a non-fiction work about queer forgetfulness, whiteness and embodied commemoration.Van Saarloos curates collaborations between artists, activists and scholars and regularly appears on stage as a lecturer, interviewer and performer.

For the first time in Sex Out Loud history, Tristan covers a topic that is taboo among the BDSM/kink community: Adult Baby & Diaper Lovers. Our expert is Dr. Rhoda, a therapist in private practice and the author of the book No More Hiding: Permission to Love Your Sexual Self. Dr. Rhoda Lipscomb has been counseling and coaching individuals and couples in human sexuality for over 28 years. She is an AASECT certified sex therapist, clinical sexologist, and sexuality coach specializing in areas of alternative sexuality. She has been in private practice for over 14 years. She frequently speaks at AB/DL events such as CapCon, TeddyCon, and US Littles, has been a guest expert on multiple podcasts regarding AB/DL acceptance and educates therapists to understand and work with the AB/DL community.

Therapist and author Jan Dworkin talks about her work examining sex, relationships, and communication through the lens of power & dreaming, both systemic and individual. She uses case studies from her practice and pulls from her own experience with sex and relationships. Tristan opens up about the topics as well. Jan Dworkin, PhD, has more than 25 years of international, cross-cultural experience as a couples therapist and leadership coach. She is a co-founder of the Process Work Institute (PWI), a not-for-profit graduate school dedicated to research and training in process-oriented psychology. She served as its academic dean for over a decade and continues to teach training workshops worldwide. Jan coaches leaders and teams across sectors, specializing in conflict facilitation and leadership development in creative industries. She is the author of Make Love Better: How to Own Your Story, Connect with Your Partner and Deepen Your Relationship Practice (Belly Song Press, 2019). Based in Portland, Oregon, she lives with her partner, Jerry, and their Corgi, Mattie.

Tristan realized she's interviewed not one, but TWO former contestants on the TV show The Masked Singer - so we went deep into the Sex Out Loud vault to find the shows from 2012 and 2013 and edited them together, commercial-free. Topics include: anal sex, non-monogamy, embracing your body, clitoral vs g-spot stimulation, favorite sex toys, and much more.

Author and artist Cooper Lee Bombardier talks about his new memoir, Pass With Care, unpacking masculinity, transitioning in community 20 years ago, facing demons, and exploring accountability. Cooper Lee Bombardier is a queer, trans American writer and visual artist living in Canada. His writing appears in The Kenyon Review, The Malahat Review, Ninth Letter, CutBank, Nailed Magazine, Longreads, BOMB, and The Rumpus; and in 13 anthologies, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology, The Remedy–Essays on Queer Health Issues, and the Lambda-nominated anthology, Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Speculative Fiction From Transgender Writers, which won a 2018 American Library Association Stonewall Book Award. His memoir-in-essays, Pass with Care, is available now from Dottir Press.

Sex educator & author Marla Renee Stewart returns to the show to talk about her new book, The Ultimate Guide to Seduction & Foreplay, co-written with Dr. Jess. This interview continues the conversation on seduction and building your sex skills by examining your learning style and figuring out how to seduce yourself. Marla Renee Stewart, MA is a sexologist and a sex coach who runs her own sexuality education company, Velvet Lips. She is also a Co-Founder of the Sex Down South Conference and the Sexual Liberation Collective. She has studied human sexuality for more than 19 years and has been featured on a variety of media outlets, as well as spoken to various audiences around the world.

Christina Crosby, Professor of English and Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University, is the author of A Body, Undone: Living on After Great Pain, a memoir written in the wake of spinal cord injury, pain and paralysis. At once deeply personal and deeply unsentimental, the book is her effort to "create something of an otherwise confounded life [by] 'diving into the wreck' of my body."

Gene Demby, journalist and co-host of NPR's Code Switch, talks with Tristan about how racism and the environment in America informs sexual education, religion, interracial dating, fetishization, swinging while Black, and other issues that impact us today. (This special 90-minute episode was recorded before the uprisings & protests that began in late May 2020.)

TV personality, author, podcast host Dr. Jess O'Reilly joins us to talk about her new book on the topics of seduction, foreplay, core & elevated erotic feelings. Jess O'Reilly (@SexWithDrJess) is a sex and relationship expert with a background in education. Her research and passion involves teacher training in sexual health and she volunteers in schools and universities to help bring better sex & relationship education to students across Ontario. Jess is also a television personality, author, podcast host (@SexWithDrJess Podcast) and international speaker who has facilitated hundreds of corporate workshops and retreats in 35 countries from Lebanon to Costa Rica.

Kevin A. Patterson & Alana Phelan, the authors of the For Hire series, join us to talk about their new books featuring queer polyamorous heroes and magicians. It's a world like our own, but the emergence of superhumans has created shifts in culture that play out in changes both subtle and monumental. They chat about what inspired the characters, the story, and whether shadow government conspiracy theories are real. Kevin Patterson, M.Ed has been practicing ethical nonmonogamy since August of 2002. In April of 2015, Kevin was inspired to start Poly Role Models, a popular interview series blog. The blog extended into speaking engagements about how race and polyamory intersect and the writing of the book, Love's Not Color Blind. Kevin took a month-long break from Love's Not Color Blind to write the first draft of For Hire: Operator. Alana Phelan is a librarian, writer, editor, and community organizer. She lives in South Jersey with her family, two cats, and a surprisingly large Dorbz collection. You can find her online as The Polyamorous Librarian, where she writes a weekly advice column and offers workshops and relationship support. She wasn't supposed to be a co-writer on For Hire: Operator, only an editor, but here we are.

Author Carley Moore talks about the new gritty, sexy, queer novel The Not Wives. Tristan talks with her about writing queer characters and hot sex scenes in fiction, telling stories from The Occupy Movement, and what New York City in 2011 has in common with today. Many publishers said they didn't know these characters, but for many queer people, the depictions reflect our real life in ways not often seen in mainstream books. They chat about bisexuality, pansexuality, coming out, and when it feels like when a threesome could happen at any moment.

A personal interview with Tristan Taormino about a recent experience she had a sex-positive event that made her reconsider her work and career. She tells her story and discusses the outcome, what it means going forward, and how communities can be better prepared for dealing with these scenarios. Content note: boundary-crossing, harassment, interpersonal conflict.

Tristan talks with Tina Horn (and producer Raymond) about how we're coping with staying sane and finding room for pleasure and connection while living through COVID-19. They discuss how to broaden your idea of intimacy, give space for complicated feelings, try new techniques, and how to eroticize anything.

In 2019 Tristan went to Cancun for Swingset Takes Desire, along with Matie Fricker of Self Serve Toys. They recorded a live episode on the beach with audience discussion on accessibility for all bodies in sex spaces, creating community that intentionally welcomes everyone, navigating rejection, and what bisexual men's paradise looks like. Topics include: polyamory, swinging, sexual fantasy, body acceptance, self-love. (This is Part Two of the discussion which took place before the global pandemic.)

Last year Tristan went to Cancun for Swingset Takes Desire with Matie Fricker of Self Serve Toys. They recorded a live episode on the beach with audience discussion on body appreciation, struggling to be evolved, managing your triad, and more. Topics include: polyamory, swinging, sexual fantasy, body acceptance, self-love. (This is Part One of the discussion which took place in 2019, before the global pandemic.)