Free Sex

Would sex robots be good for us?My guest in this episode is Heather Parry, who’s been wondering why we need sex robots. Heather is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and she wrote a book called Electric Dreams: On Sex Robots and the Failed Promises of Capitalism. It’s a fascinating bipedal stroll through the growing industry of pimped-up sex dolls and the dreams of imagineers who predict a world with fleshy human-like sex robots.In researching the book Heather found that there are several factors connecting the people who want to have sex with robots, and that led her into an analysis of capitalism, gender,  heterosexuality, and individualism. So that’s what we talked about in our conversation, with a mini diversion into whether or not Data from Star Trek produces semen.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Can you be intimate with 200 people?My guest in this episode is Nick Woof, the founder of London’s edgiest erotic party, Bator Bros. The party is centred on the idea that we can enjoy intimacy and community in a sexual context. Imagine an orgy, but where you’re only allowed to use your hands (sorta). Nick explains how he developed the ideas that led to him to create this new type of sex party, and what we can all gain by thinking about intimacy and community differently. In Nick’s free sex world, community can involve erotic interaction, and intimacy can involve more than one person. It’s a really fascinating conversation with someone who is both a deep thinker and an action man (Nick also runs workshops to facilitate healing through creativity).Ready? 3, 2, 1, let’s go...To listen to Nick and some of the Bator Bros talk more about the party, listen to the recent Bator’s Journey radio broadcast.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Does age matter?My guest in this episode is Hayley Conyers, who has been working as a research assistant at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and specifically on a study into the sexual health of older adults. Many people assume that older people aren’t having sex, or that if they are, that’s gross. Well, both of those things are wrong, aren’t they? A free sex world is a world where we can have and enjoy healthy sex well into old age, if we want.The project Hayley worked on encouraged lots of older and disabled people to talk about their experiences, together with doctors, medical researchers and social scientists. They came up with five recommendations for how sexual health services could be made better for older people — and some of the results may surprise you!The novel I mentioned in the episode is One Last Song by Nathan Evans.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

How can we overcome slutshaming?My guest in this episode is Beth Ashley, author of Sluts: The Truth about Slutshaming and What We Can Do To Fight It. It’s a wide-ranging book that pulls together history, politics, class, identity, gender and activism, to try to understand the resurgence of slutshaming. Thankfully Beth also has tons of actions that we can all take to fight back.I remember telling my mum once that I like sex with different people, and she called me a slut. I laughed it off but, of course, I also remember the way she shamed me, don’t I? Slutshaming sticks, and we all need a shower. So let’s get wet, with Beth.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Should we show off our kinky selves in public?My guest in this episode is Pup Davey, who is a pornstar and all-round kinky queer person. He makes a living from kinky sex videos and he wants the freedom to share them. Davey and I talked about the limits in society on our freedom to express ourselves sexually (especially if we’re kinky). This includes battling online censorship and wearing kinky clothes in the street. One of Davey’s stories is about a day he was wearing a pup collar in public, and a friend told him to hide it—should Davey have done that?That’s the question we explore in this episode. Enjoy it. Woof!A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Is it possible to have too much sex?My guest in this episode is Mark Walton, who thinks the answer is yes. Mark has a history of compulsive sexual behaviour. This wasn’t healthy for Mark, so to move forward he used a combination of therapy, groups, and the book Overcoming Sex Addiction by Thaddeus Birchhardt.Mark is very sex positive, and wants everyone to have the sex they want. But when it leads to negative behaviour patterns, he thinks we need to take care of each other better. Because of what he’s been through, Mark has plenty of ideas—ideas that will help us build a free sex world, with chances for self-reflection, peer support and good communication between partners. I’m really grateful to Mark for sharing his story in this very intimate and personal episode.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Will ‘body positivity’ actually end fatphobia?My guest in this episode is Gina Tonic, who is a writer and the host of The Polyester Podcast. Gina tells me that free sex would mean pleasure without limitation—and we talked a lot about how fatphobia limits us all. Gina walks me through fat liberation, why queer spaces are fat-friendly pioneers, the personal politics of fetishisation... and why ‘body positivity’ is usually just a buzzword to sell razors. Thanks to my listener Gianluca for recommending the topic of ‘fatness and sex’. I went straight to Gina with it, because I knew that as the editor of @thefatzine she would be all over it. If you want to recommend a topic or guest, please get in touch: adam@auntnell.com.A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production

Should doctors be prescribing orgasm?My guest in this episode is Dr Elliot Justin. Elliot has a background in emergency medicine, but recently he’s been busy inventing a pretty fancy cock ring. Elliot is really into men’s erectile fitness, because it can tell doctors like him a lot about the patient’s overall health. So the cock ring developed by his company, FirmTech, claims to be comfortable enough to be worn for long periods AND smart enough to collect data on things like blood flow. Elliot and I also talked about why doctors are shy about asking patients about their sex lives. Sexual function is correlated with sexual fitness, of course; and both can be powerful indicators of other things like cardiac fitness. Oh, and if you’re not a penis owner and don’t play with someone who is, I’d totally understand if you wanna sit this episode out ;)A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com. Hosted, produced and edited by Adam ZmithMusic: Translife by OthonArtwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka ÖbergExecutive Producer: Tash WalkerAn Aunt Nell Production