The Great Mysteries of Sex with Mary Roach
3/26/202654 min
Today, best-selling author and nerd Mary Roach joins us to talk all about sex. We’ll uncover the secrets of the female orgasm (does “upsuck” exist?), detail the bizarre methods of pioneering sex researchers like Masters and Johnson (including a famous penis camera), and get into the nitty-gritty of how to sexually stimulate a pig in Denmark. Plus, Mary tells us what it's like to have sex while getting an ultrasound — all in the name of science. Mary’s new book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, is out now. Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsMaryRoach In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Meet Mary Roach, one of our favorite nerds (22:31) The masturbating fetus (27:53) Mary bonks in the lab (47:31) Oddball questions This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Video editing and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wylie, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thanks to Skyline Studios and Humdinger Studios. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Clips
Showing 10 of 12Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMary Roach· Guest0:00
If you're gonna have sex in front of a researcher with an ultrasound wand, Dr. Dung would be a good... You know, he's just so kinda matter-of-fact.
Wendy Zukerman· Host0:08
He, he did offer to play some music, right, as well? So he- Oh, God, yeah, he did.
Mary Roach· Guest0:13
He, yeah, he goes... I, and I was kidding and I said, "Where's the romantic lighting and music?" [laughs] And he goes, "Oh, wait, [laughs] on my laptop, I have the soundtrack to Les Mis." [laughs] [laughs] Okay. Okay.
Wendy Zukerman· Host0:29
[singing] Science Chats With Our Favorite Nerds. Yeah. [percussive music] Hi, I'm Wendy Zukerman, and today on the show we are talking about the science of sex, and in particular, how scientists have desperately and awkwardly tried to study sex for decades. Yes. Today, we bonk, which is possibly the best word for sex, followed closely by shtup. But Bonk is also the title to Mary Roach's bestselling book on this very topic, and even though Bonk was written a hot minute ago, it is still this fabulous, highly relevant book. The science is still mind-blowing. So today, we are talking to Mary about her book. We uncover the mysteries of orgasms. We'll tell you how to