About This Episode

StarTalk Radio trades the cosmic for the orgasmic in “The Science of Sex (Part 1).” Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Kristen Schaal, author of The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex, tread not so lightly into taboo territory with guests Mary Roach, author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, famed sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and astrophysicist Charles Liu. But it’s still StarTalk, so the focus is on the science, not the lasciviousness, of sex. You’ll learn that females can have nocturnal clitoral erections just like the male equivalent, what the other erectile tissue in the human body is (it’s not the nipples!), and why pharmaceutical research has moved beyond Viagra™ to developing pills for post-menopausal women with flagging sex drives. Dr. Ruth explains how Fifty Shades of Grey changed perceptions of female sexuality, while on a more humorous note, Kristen discusses sex in labs and “the worst STD of all.”

(Note: Portions of this podcast appeared previously in a StarTalk Radio video on The Nerdist Channel.)

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: The Science of Sex (Part 1).