D Is For Desire

Period sex happens. Many have it. Some even crave it. So, why don’t we talk about it? On the final episode of season one, host Noah Michelson opens the line to listeners, period sex fetishists and a digital sex worker who reframed her relationship with menstruation through sex. He also speaks with menstrual historian Elissa Stein, the author of Flow, who explains why periods ― and period sex ― are still so scary to so many people and what it’ll take to change that.If you have ideas you’d like to share with the D is For Desire team – maybe what you’d like to hear in season two – email us at desire@huffpost.com, or leave a voicemail at 732-660-8030. We’d love to hear from you.Until next time, remember: it's not taboo if it turns you on.

To say that Mark S. King has been busy during the 59 years he’s been on this planet would be an understatement. Not only has he spent much of his life working as an award-winning HIV/AIDS activist and journalist, but he’s also slept with close to 10,000 men.On this episode, Mark walks us through his journey from sexual neophyte coming of age in the South during the 1960s to connoisseur of all that New Orleans' bathhouses had to offer in the ’70s to, finally, his current life as a happy husband in a monogamous relationship. He also tells how contracting HIV in the ’80s and watching his community be ravished by the disease affected his sex life ― but maybe not in the way you might expect.

CannaSexual: [adjective/noun] describing one who mindfully combines cannabis and sex. That’s according to Ashley Manta, the sex educator who coined the term. But dive into her dank work and you’ll find it’s a sensual, stoned choose-your-own-adventure. here’s no one way to bring weed into the bedroom.On this episode, host Noah Michelson talks with Ashley about why combining cannabis and sex can be so revolutionary, what folks can expect if they sign up for one of her workshops and a few do’s and don’ts for experiencing the ultimate sex high. He also speaks with Dr. Becky Lynn, an OBGYN, who is doing groundbreaking research into the ways cannabis may affect women’s bodies and sexuality.

In and out of her online chatroom, Lindsay Dye makes a big sexy mess ... by sitting on cakes. She calls them “temporary sculptures.” Cakesitting, like any performance of kink, is an art. On this episode host Noah Michelson dives deep with the artist herself to learn exactly what goes on during one of her cakesitting sessions, what happens when she takes her show out of the cam room and into the real world and some of the occupational hazards of rolling around in all of that sugar and butter.

Roses are red, violets are blue, romance isn’t always everything. Sorry, boo. For people who are aromantic, the heart-pumping pull to find what society deems “the one” is hardly felt – if at all. What can we learn about love from people who identify this way? On this episode, host Noah Michelson deconstructs romance – and our culture’s obsession with it – with one woman who studies it and another who lives without any desire for it.

Dr. Evan Goldstein is a surgeon dedicated to making the world a more beautiful place – one anus at a time. And when it comes to the humble asshole, the way it looks and the way it works are intimately joined.The doctor is in on this inaugural episode of D Is For Desire. Why are assholes wrinkly? What does anal surgery entail? And how does a doctor find himself in the business of empowering the bottom? Host Noah Michelson chats with Dr. Goldstein and two of his patients, David and Tom, to learn how seeking medical attention for your sex life can be nothing short of life-changing.

D Is For Desire is a new podcast from HuffPost that explores sex, sexuality, relationships and love from angles you could have never imagined in health class. It’s personal storytelling plus conversations with experts and a whole lot of voyeuristic yet vital information.On each episode, host Noah Michelson introduces listeners to individuals who are willing to open up about their longings, predilections and relationships in order to inform others about who they are, what they want, what satisfies them and why it matters — which could have implications for the rest of us.