A podcast about the ins and outs of the latest research about everyone’s favorite topic hosted by Dr. Zhana and Joe Pardavila.Looking to have your sex questions answered? Send them over to scienceofsexpodcast@gmail.com!
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
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 decision-maki...
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 walke...
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 someone ...
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 Pl...
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 of th...
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 enliste...
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. Jessica W...
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 enable st...
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 in hi...
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 nonconf...
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 guys li...
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 on why ...
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 how s...
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 finger l...
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 beliefs a...
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 misreporting pla...
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 stud...
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 fan...
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 on Facebook , Twitter...
Dr. Zhana and Joe host Dr. Tierney Lorenz to discuss her groundbreaking research on how sexual activity influences the immune system. They delve into surprising sex differences in antibody production, how the immune system balances defense with reproductive needs, and the distinct effects of arousal and orgasm on fighting infections. The episode also debunks myths about contraception, clarifying the science behind birth control and the concept of pregnancy.
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. Furthermore, most of the app’s users are under 24 and most non-users assume the app is used sexually. Do people really use snapchat for sexual purposes? How common is this? Finally, what’s the difference between men and women’s use of...
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 implicatio...
In episode 35, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Amy C. Moors about her research on non-monogamy! Non-monogamy often gets a bad rep in our society, but also in academia. A lot of research conducted on polyamory has been biased, showing stigma even among researchers. Hence, this makes it difficult to have clear and accurate statistics about non-monogamy and open relationships. Thankfully, there are some studies out there that attempt to analyze this bias and why it occurs. About Our Guest Amy C. Moor...
In episode 36, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Patrick Jern about the romantic side effects of hormonal birth control! We often talk about the physical side effects of hormonal birth control methods (i.e. the pill, the IUD, the patch, the shot, the ring…) like weight gain, acne, cramping, spotting, headaches, and so on. But we rarely talk about how the emotional side effects of these hormones can affect relationships. Turns out, hormonal birth control may have an influence on mate preference and r...
In episode 36, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Christian Grov about his research on coming out in America and how it might have changed. Coming out as gay and bisexual has changed over the years, but there is also another layer to coming out and that is coming out as HIV-positive. Due to modern advancements in medicine, an HIV-positive status no longer implies a death sentence, so coming out becomes more complex. This week, we spoke to Dr. Christian Grov on the studies he has conducted about comin...
In episode 34, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Kirstin Mark about how couples can keep desire alive in long-term relationships! Earlier this year, the Journal of Sex Research published a paper that reviewed research from 64 empirical articles all of which tried to answer the question of how to maintain sexual desire in long term relationships. To discuss the results of this research, we spoke with one of the lead authors of the paper, Dr. Kristen Mark. About Our Guest Dr. Kristen Mark is an Associ...
In episode 33, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dulcinea Pitagora about what marks the difference between abuse versus consensual kink in a relationship. Many believe that because BDSM is founded upon consent, communication, and negotiation that abuse cannot make its way into a kinky relationship. However, just like vanilla relationships, BDSM dynamics are not immune to the possibility of abuse. It can sometimes be even harder to identify abuse in kink-oriented relationships. It is extremely important ...
Dr. Emily Rothman discusses her study on the benefits of educating young people about pornography through "porn literacy" programs. These programs teach teens a realistic understanding of porn, its production, and its relationship to real-life sex and bodies. The study found that such education effectively improves knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding porn, challenging misconceptions and fostering critical thinking.
This episode with Dr. Lori Brotto explores low sexual desire in women, clarifying its definition and prevalence, and debunking common myths about its causes and demographics. The discussion covers the complexities of evaluating treatments, reviewing pharmaceutical options like Addyi and Bremelanotide, and emphasizing the effectiveness of psychological therapies such as Sensate Focus, mindfulness, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The hosts also touch on low sexual desire in men and provide resources for finding professional help.
In episode 30, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Dylan Selterman about the motivations for infidelity! There are many factors that play into the cause of infidelity including anger, stress, neglect, a general lack of love or passion, and more. Infidelity and cheating is interesting to study on the quantitative side. We can look at how many people cheat, the demographics of cheaters, etc., but what about the psychological motivations for cheating? What exactly drives a person to cheat? This week we s...
