Have you been at it like rabbits in Lockdown 3 or have you found sex is the last thing on your mind? Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams discuss the trials of lockdown love, why Anniki wants a chin-lift, sexy new TV – from Lover's Rock to Bridgerton – and the now-legendary BBC dildo appearance. There's also a guest spot from Dr Karen Gurney, who offers her top tips for reviving a long-lost libido. Recorded via Zoom (please forgive some minor sound issues) Edited and produced by Alex Graham Host...
Feb 23, 2021•23 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Good sex starts with doing the recycling, Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams have always maintained. To develop this thought, they discuss what socialist ideals – more free childcare, laundry and food services - would lead them to having better sex, prompted by Lisa reading Professor Kristen R Ghodsee’s book Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism. Lisa then speaks to Prof Ghodsee about what we can learn from socialism, what the pitfalls of past systems have been, why women in East Germany h...
Jun 03, 2020•42 min•Season 6Ep. 8
Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams record a special socially-distanced episode to talk about the lives under lockdown, the BBC Three adaptation of Sally Rooney's Normal People, and how they're feeling about their lockdown looks. There's also a guest spot by Dr Karen Gurney, giving advice on living such at close quarters with your partner, why this time has been make or break for some couples, and what to do when you're feeling the tension rising. Recorded from home, produced by Alex Graham. Th...
May 27, 2020•40 min•Season 6Ep. 7
The Hotbed welcomes its first-ever co-host: Karen Arthur of #WearYourHappy to talk about menopause, mental health and things we’re too old to care about any more. Lisa also interviews Dr Philippa Kaye about what the perimenopause is, what treatment there is for menopause symptoms, and how female pleasure is important for women of all ages. Recorded at Acast, produced by Alex Graham. This series of The Hotbed has been kindly sponsored by Mooncup, the original silicone reusable menstrual cup. Visi...
May 20, 2020•46 min•Season 6Ep. 6
The Hotbed Collective's book More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters is out in pretty paperback now: Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams talk about how they wrote it and why they wrote it, give their tips on getting a book published and their thoughts on why female pleasure matters. Anniki's novel Motherwhelmed is also out and she talks about sexism in the corporate world, balancing parenting with the demands of a job, and why she decided to fictionalise her experience to help other wo...
May 13, 2020•29 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams talk about vulvas: cervical screenings, gynae cancer, thrush and nicknames for ‘vulva’. They set up a folk duo and do an impromptu song about incontinence, while Lisa interviews the ever-calm and ever-clever Dr Anita Mitra, AKA Gynae Geek about The Eve Appeal's Get Lippy campaign, and gynae conditions, the taboos around women's health, and the worrying rise in labiaplasty (cosmetic surgery to the vulva) . This series of the Hotbed is kindly sponsored by Moonc...
May 06, 2020•42 min•Season 6Ep. 4
At a special live show of The Hotbed, recorded live at Soho Radio pre-lockdown, Hotbed favourite Dr Karen is here to explain why everything you believed about desire is WRONG! We talk about the 237 reasons we have sex, what (and who!) makes us feel sexy, how contraception can mess with your mood, why you should get listening to some audio porn, and how to make trying-to-conceive sex hotter than hell. We also have the multi-talented Kelly Ford, AKA Book of Mum, to talk about girl-crushes and to d...
Apr 29, 2020•38 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Jacqueline Gold CBE is the chief executive of Ann Summers and estimated to be the UK’s 16th richest woman. She talks to Cherry Healey and Anniki Sommerville about the sex toy made famous by Sex in the City, how she turned the chain around to make it more welcoming for women, and her experience of sex and body image after cancer. This episode is kindly sponsored by Mooncup, the original silicone reusable menstrual cup. Go to mooncup.co.uk and use the code HOTBED to get 10% off until the end of Ju...
Apr 22, 2020•36 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Cherry Healey and Anniki Sommerville are back with the first episode of the sixth series! Recorded in COVID-19 free times, this is stress-free listening that may be particularly appropriate now we’re living in lockdown. If you’re in a long-term relationship and struggle sometimes, you will love listening to their interview with Cat Sims, the blogger behind 'Not So Smug Now', who reveals all about marriage counselling and the strategies she has learnt to keep her relationship on track even when l...
Apr 15, 2020•27 min•Season 6Ep. 1
The Hotbed Collective are back with series six of their hit podcast The Hotbed. Life is weird but stick in your headphones and listen to Lisa Williams, Cherry Healey and Anniki Sommerville discuss topics such as sex shops, perimenopause and marriage counselling with a variety of brilliant guests. This series is kindly sponsored by Mooncup, the original reusable menstrual cup . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 11, 2020•55 sec
In this the finale episode in the series, ‘The Hotbed’ trio are reunited: with Lisa, Anniki and Cherry taking on Camp Bestival in a special LIVE podcast also starring Carrie Anne AKA @mre.soeur and Kate from @lesbemums. They discuss why relationships are so hard after kids, how communication can be reduced to who defrosted what for dinner and the importance of talking about the ‘emotional load’ and finding ways to divvy up tasks. The show needed to be more child-friendly than usual (Camp Bestiva...
Aug 07, 2019•41 min•Season 5Ep. 6
Cherry Healey talks to ‘the fit feminist’ Shona Vertue about the many reasons to be fit and strong (none of which are to look a certain way), they talk about Cherry has been doing her pelvic floor squeezes all wrong until now, and Shona answers some listeners’ questions about diastasis recti and getting into fitness at an older age. In the studio, Lisa Williams talk about the Nike mannequin, body positivity and Lisa reviews Wuka period pants. Recorded at Acast. Produced by Alex Graham and Lisa W...
Jul 31, 2019•34 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Hotbedder-at-large Cherry Healey is back in the fold for this episode, which centres on sex and ageing, and what that can mean for a relationship, the stairpile and your orgasm rate. She interviews comedian Tova Leigh about the midlife crisis which led to her rediscovering her sexuality, confidence and personality, and about how, when your partner has a lower sex drive than you, you have to take matters into your own hands. Meanwhile, Lisa Williams reviews Wuka menstrual pants, designed to be wo...
Jul 24, 2019•39 min•Season 5Ep. 4
We have a juicy chat with sex educator, YouTuber and all-round good egg Hannah Witton about hormones, sex education and masturbation, in which we reveal orgasm tips, what we’d wished our parents has taught us about sex, and why talking about sex is important work. Hannah’s book The Hormone Diaries is out now, as is our book More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters . Produced by Alex Graham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 17, 2019•36 min•Season 5Ep. 3
How do we resist the pressure to get 'beach body ready' as summer holiday season approaches? Lisa Williams quizzes Natalie Lee, AKA Style Me Sunday, about how to be a warrior woman on the beach and by the pool, how being a midwife helped her become body positive, and how body positivity compares to body neutrality. They also discuss their favourite sex toys and how some self love helps sleep and mood, and how self-image can affect sexy time. Anniki Sommerville and Lisa also talk about "fanny flu...
Jul 10, 2019•36 min•Season 5Ep. 2
In this week's episode The Hotbed talk frankly about what they’ve been up to since season 4 ended (for a start they’ve got a BOOK coming out called ‘ More Orgasms Please ,’). They also discuss Love Island, and what their favourite sexual position is (as an ode to More magazine’s 'Position of The Fortnight') . Anniki interviews the lovely Lisa Smosarski, Stylist magazine editor and they talk about sex, relationships and how on earth you edit a magazine, have 3 kids, a husband and have your finger...
Jul 03, 2019•37 min•Season 5Ep. 1
*Trigger warning: This episode makes references to self-harm and suicide** To round off the fourth series we interview a MAN for the first time on the podcast! Buck Angel is an LA-based activist who is known in the trans community as ’Tranpa’ because he enjoys teaching and preaching about self-acceptance and love. He tells Lisa Williams about his journey to transition, what it’s like to live as a man versus as someone with a female body, what cis-women can learn about self-acceptance about their...
Apr 24, 2019•44 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In this episode Anniki and Lisa discuss what happens to your relationship after you have kids. Why is it that we often get locked into the same arguments and are there any strategies to break free? Why do some new mothers resent their partner when they try to help and then hate them when they don’t? They also discuss the joys of Lidl and why it's often Anniki's friends want to talk about. There’s also an interview with US author- Jancee Dunn, who wrote the brilliant book, 'How Not to Hate Your H...
Apr 17, 2019•36 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Our lives are getting increasingly stressful and the overwhelm is real, so how do we carve out time for self-love and what does it look like? For this special live episode, recorded at White City House, we explore self-love in all its forms. Co-hosts Lisa Williams and Anniki Sommerville haven’t had much time for self-love recently, hear about their paltry efforts. Dr Karen Gurney answers the question, ‘If you don’t love yourself, can you love anyone else?’, Nadia Deem advocates masturbation as s...
Apr 03, 2019•57 min•Season 4Ep. 3
*Trigger warning: This episode contains mild references to consent* Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams were over the moon to host Charmed and Grindhouse star Rose McGowan in the Hotbed. She talks about the male gaze, the #MeToo the movement, growing up in a cult and her book Brave, her frank evisceration of what she calls ‘the cult of Hollywood’. Also, big news, people, the Hotbed Collective have a book out this July! It’s being published by Penguin Square Peg and it’s called More Orgasms Plea...
Mar 27, 2019•42 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The Hotbed Collective kicks off the fourth series of the Hotbed podcast by talking to midwife and Instagram star Clemmie Hooper, aka Mother of Daughters. We interview her about the wonderful world of vulvas, body knowledge, post-birth recovery and how Clemmie herself manages to get her leg over despite having four kids in the house. Anniki is particularly interested in the topic as she’s just had a baby herself, and she talks through what’s made her bits a bit better. Recorded at Soho Studios. P...
Mar 20, 2019•42 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Why do women have such rubbish words to describe their sex drive, rude bits and nice things that can be done to us? We talk to poet Hollie McNish about why sexy words are often super-cringe and what we can do about it (Oxford English Dictionary, are you listening?). We also talk about the orgasm gap, how only 20% of women can orgasm via intercourse alone, and how to have a coregasm (it’s a real thing, ask Hollie and Lisa!). We leave you over the festive break with a test to write a sexy poem (or...
Dec 19, 2018•45 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Rebecca Humphries hit the headlines when her then-partner Seann Walsh was papped snogging his Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones. Rather than sell her story, she released a powerful statement on Twitter, reframing herself not as a victim, but as a woman strong enough to leave - taking the cat with her. She talks to Lisa Williams and Anniki Sommerville about her life since, why she’s actually pleased it happened so publicly, and how she’s coped in the aftermath. We then speak to the Hotbed...
Dec 12, 2018•55 min•Season 3Ep. 7
What is the sexuality spectrum and where on it would you put yourself? Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams discuss the Kinsey Scale, the 'girl crush' and the 'wand' sex toy. Lisa speaks to Alright For A Mum podcaster Remi Sade (@booksbabyandback) about dating a woman for the first time and why she doesn't agree with the concept of 'coming out', and Clinical Psychologist and Psychosexologist Dr Karen Gurney talks about different definitions of sexuality and how the new acceptance of fluidity is ...
Dec 05, 2018•37 min•Season 3Ep. 6
This week, we are joined by body positivity campaigner Megan Jayne Crabbe, otherwise known as Instagram phenomenon @BodyPosiPanda (she has a million followers, and there’s a good reason for this!). She tells us how ditching diet culture for good has meant amazing things for her body confidence, relationship and sex life. Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams also talk about Nineties phone culture (do you remember Call Waiting and the game Dream Phone?), positive ageing accounts, and why we don’t ...
Nov 28, 2018•38 min•Season 3Ep. 5
When you’re in a relationship, how long between shags is too long? Anniki Sommerville discusses sex droughts and the ‘maintenance shag’ with beauty journalist Sali Hughes. They offer up tips on how to make sex a fun and easy part of living together, why it’s unfair to decide that you’re just not going to have sex with your partner any more, and what to do when you’re living through a sex drought. Recorded at Soho Studios. Produced by Alex Graham. Thanks to Acast, and to our episode sponsor Moonc...
Nov 21, 2018•32 min•Season 3Ep. 4
A very special live edition of the Hotbed, recorded at Sh! Women’s Store in London. Cherry Healey, Anniki Sommerville, Lisa Williams, and their gaggle of gorgeous listeners hear store manager Renee demonstrate the sex emporium’s best-selling toys, including the ‘sucker’, the male masturbator and the anal plug. There’s also a little spanking demo, with Cherry as the ‘spankee’, and a Q&A with clinical psychologist and psychosexologist Dr Karen Gurney (@thesexdoctor). Produced by Alex Graham an...
Nov 14, 2018•39 min•Season 3Ep. 3
We head to the Houses of Parliament to speak to Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, about sex and relationships education in schools: why kids should learn about pleasure as well as pregnancy, how growing up in an open 'naked' household paved the way for her career in politics, and which member of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers she fantasised the most about when she was a teenager. In the episode, which is sponsored by the original reusable menstrual cup the Mooncup, we also discuss naming our...
Nov 07, 2018•38 min•Season 3Ep. 2
In our first episode in the new series, Lisa Williams and Anniki Sommerville focus on the pressing issue of confidence and how to have more presence and VA VA VOOM in your life. This might be when attending an intimidating event, getting ready for a speaking opportunity, or broaching a difficult conversation with your other half about your own desires (versus ‘making do’). We also interview the fab author, stand-up comedian and broadcaster Viv Groskop about her new book ‘Owning the Room: The Art...
Oct 31, 2018•31 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Do the words 'let's talk about sex' make you cringe? Join Cherry, Anniki and Lisa of the Hotbed Collective for funny, frank, non-cringey sex chat, with help from sex experts, comedians and confidence coaches. We're making the world a better place, one orgasm at a time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 28, 2018•25 sec•Season 3Ep. 1
