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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why don’t some women want to date bisexual men?

My guest in this episode is Lewis Oakley, a bisexual activist. Lewis has experienced prejudice from women who tell him to his face that even if they like him, they won’t date him due to his history of gay sex. This is one of the many ways that biphobia not only endures, but seems to go unchecked. So Lewis is on a mission to change that attitude, through writing and speaking on the subject, and hosting the Bisexual Brunch podcast.

He tells me about how UK equality and hate crime laws might be OK, but we still have a long way to go to treat bi people with the respect they deserve. A ‘free sex’ world is nothing without flourishing bisexuals! And thankfully Lewis has a bagful of suggestions of how we build a life free of biphobia. His book, Bisexuality: The Basics, is out in May.

A transcript of this episode is available on freesex.substack.com.

Hosted, produced and edited by Adam Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Zmith

Music: Translife by Othon

Artwork: photo of Borneo mealworm by @DamasterCarabus / design by Adam Zmith and Rebecka Öberg

Executive Producer: Tash Walker

An Aunt Nell Production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.