Do We Know Things?

Do you remember when there was a media frenzy about oral sex and cancer after actor Michael Douglas said his oral cancer was caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) that he contracted from cunnilingus? Is it true that oral sex causes cancer? I am joined today by Julia Kaufmann, a Mount Allison University Bell Scholar Intern who is working with me this summer. She dug up all the dirt on the Michael Douglas drama. After we get to the gossip, I will also get into the research to cover the info that you actually need to know about HPV, a virus that’s gotten a lot of attention over the past decade and a half, but is still widely misunderstood

HPV! What do we know? Do we know things? Let’s find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Link to Pubmed (doesn't exactly work like google): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe

Thank you to Sheilanova Cornelio for sharing her story.

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

Often when someone is victimized in some way, we hear cries for justice. In some cases, and for some people, the legal system will work for them. For many, many people, the criminal justice system does not feel just at all. While the problems with the system are pervasive and affect many people in negative ways, for this episode, I am focused on survivors of sexual assault and abuse. This is the third episode in the three-part series on sexual assault.

The way the legal system is designed absolutely does not work for survivors. Dealing with the police and lawyers can be a traumatizing nightmare. Even if the person committed the assault is punished in some way through the legal system, to me it doesn’t feel like justice if everyone involved is re-harmed during the process. On today’s episode, I want to talk about the problems with dealing with sexual assault in the current legal system, discuss alternatives through restorative justice, and think about what justice actually is. I am joined by restorative justice educator David Castro-Harris from Amplify RJ and a Mia Hunte, a circle keeper with Hidden Water NYC.

Read the Unfounded series by Robyn Doolittle

Links for David Castro-Harris and Amplify RJ:

Website: https://www.amplifyrj.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amplify.rj/

Eventbrite link: https://amplifyrj.eventbrite.com

YouTube link

Links for Mia Hunte and Hidden Water:

Mia's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyriarae/

Hidden Water website: https://hiddenwatercircle.org/

Hidden Water Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiddenwaternyc/

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe.

Thank to Julia Kaufmann for transcribing the interviews.

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

These days, talk of consent and consent education is increasingly common. I would argue that it is the most important part of school-based sex education, even though it is still not explicitly included as part of some provinces’ curricula. Of course, it’s one thing to tell people that they need to get consent about sexual activity, but having conversations about sex is hard! Kids and adults often don’t know how to have conversations about sex, or they are afraid that asking for consent just sets them up for rejection.

In this second episode in the 3-part series on sexual assault, I interview Karen BK Chan, an emotional intelligence, diversity, and sexuality educator from Toronto. BK talks about learning to feel our feelings, developing strategies to deal with rejection, and guilt resiliency. Everyone needs to hear what BK has to say! Find BK at http://www.fluidexchange.org/

Check out BK's video, Jam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgd3m-x46JU

Want more of this? Take BK's online course on Emotional Intelligence http://www.fluidexchange.org/eicourse.html

Consent and rejection! What do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe.

Thank to Julia Kaufmann for transcribing the interview with BK Chan.

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

Sexual assault is a highly charged topic of discussion. With the popularization of the #MeToo movement, these discussions and arguments are happening more publicly with increased polarization. One of the things people argue about are the statistics around how many women are sexually assaulted, with common estimates being 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted. When I started this episode, I thought I could dig into the numbers and come up with irrefutable evidence that sexual assault is a big problem that we need to take more seriously. But I soon realized numbers are not the answer.

Join me as I dive into the stats but also talk more about the culture that breeds sexual assault and some of my personal stories of dealing with sexual assault. This is the first in a 3-part series on sexual assault.

Sexual assault. What do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe

Research Assistance by Elizabeth Stregger

Links mentioned in the show:

Trigger Warning: Breakfast comic https://medium.com/the-nib/trigger-warning-breakfast-c6cdeec070e6

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

It is such a weird time in the world, and I don’t know about you, but I am definitely having challenges with concentration. So in that spirit, something a little different this week. Instead my usual deep-dive into a single subject, this episode will focus on three separate questions that don’t require a whole show to answer, but are still topics I wanted to investigate.

First, I talk about the rumour I first heard as a teenager that a sneeze is 1/10 of an orgasm. In researching this topic, I got way more interested in sneezing than I ever thought I would and so will also share my new sneezing knowledge.

Second, I explore research on erogenous zones to find out what body areas are erogenous and if we can develop new erogenous zones over time.

Finally, I share my frustration about a menstrual cycle fact that I found was not to be as set in stone as I was taught! I am joined this episode by Dr. Shelly Colette who makes the whole thing more fun, and offers her expertise about rituals!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe

Special guest: Dr. Shelly Colette

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

Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) are the greatest thing ever created, according to Lisa Dawn Hamilton. It is the most effective method of preventing pregnancy that has ever been created, and it lasts up to 10 years! It’s amazing! But the IUD was not always held in such high esteem. There was a period of time in the in the U.S. and Canada, when they were not so great. Have you heard the rumors about the dangers of the IUD? They fell out of favour in the 70s, and I wanted to find out what actually happened! What was the issue in their sordid past that made them cause so much harm? I heard the rumours but had never investigated what actually happened in the 70s where IUDs were apparently killing people! Listen now as I satisfy my curiosity about IUDs, figure out where they went wrong, and talk about why they are so right (for me at least).

IUDs! What do we know? Do we know things? Let’s find out!

Check out pictures and info about tons of different IUDs at the Museum of Contraception and Abortion https://muvs.org/en/contraception/spirals/

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe

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

Yet another episode on messages women get from the media! This time I am looking at whether or not people with vaginas need to pee after sex to prevent urinary tract/bladder infections. Most people I know are aware of the peeing-after-sex rule for the care and keeping of the urinary tract. But, is this true? Does peeing actually help stave off the agonizing hell of a UTI? If you have ever read any sort of media targeted at women, you will definitely think the answer is yes! But what does the research say? Listen now to find out. I will also delve into to other UTI-related topics like what causes them? And can you drown a UTI in cranberry juice to cure it?

Urinary tract infections! What do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

Script assistance by Matt Tunnacliffe

Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Tomes for consulting on cognitive biases.

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

It seems like all anyone can talk about these days is the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. One way I thought I could add a voice of reason to the discussions about COVID-19 is to talk about some of the information about COVID-19, sex and relationships that I have seen circulating around on the internet. Like things about sex boosing your immune function. Spoiler alert, we don't actually know! I will also talk about New York City’s safer sex memo, and some research on relationships and on loneliness.

Before I dive into the research, I talk about studies on COVID-19 sex and relationships that you can participate in right now! And also Jeremy and I talk about our pandemic and social-isolation coping.

Sex and Immune Function! What do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Links to research studies mentioned in the show:

• Kinsey Sex and Relationships study: https://knsy.in/COVID-19  
• Love in the time of COVID: https://loveinthetimeofcovid.me/
• The COVID-19 Interpersonal & Social Coping Study https://copingstudy.com/covid

NYC Health PDF on Safer Sex https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-sex-guidance.pdf

Other awesome podcasts and people mentioned in this episode in order of appearance:

• Feminist Survival Project https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feminist-survival-project-2020/id1485281031
• Clementine Morrigan https://www.clementinemorrigan.com/
• Polyvagal Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/polyvagal-podcast/id1452037362
• Atlantic Podcast Summit https://atlanticpodcastsummit.com/
• Pickle Planet Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pickle-planet-podcast/id1426985559
• Constellate Stories Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/constellate-stories/id1496662547
• Turn Me On Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/turn-me-on/id1200938612
• Momgasm Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/momgasm/id1457742717
• Serena Haines https://www.instagram.com/sdh_rewilding/

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

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

Media targeted at women, including magazines, YouTube channels, and TV shows, seem to regularly trumpet the importance of doing Kegel exercises. Raise your hand if you have been told to or felt like you should do Kegels at some point in your life!

Kegel exercises are the flexing and releasing of the muscles a specific set of muscles in your pelvic region. These exercises are supposed to strengthen the area around the vagina so you don’t pee when your sneeze, so your uterus doesn’t fall out of your vagina after you give birth, and so you can tightly grip a penis inside of you.

Are Kegels the miracle exercise they are made out to be? And are cisgender women the only ones who are supposed to Kegel? Find out on this episode of Do We Know Things? where I talk to Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Katie Kelly about all things pelvic floor, including if we really need to do Kegels, childbirth, and peeing when we sneeze.

Kegel exercises, what do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Interview with Katie Kelly. Her websites are: https://katiekellypt.ca/ and https://motherhoodlink.ca/

She also posts great content on her instagram accounts @ptkatiekelly and @motherhoodlink

Comment from Amanda Boss

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

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

What are the feelings people have after having an abortion? In the sex education field, we say that abortion is part of mental health care and that most people are relieved after the have an abortion. Anti-choice groups want us to think that abortions are psychologically harmful. It is important that the misinformation be addressed with the actual research with actual people. On this episode of “Do We Know Things?” I will dig into the data of some well-designed studies that address feelings and outcomes after abortion, and I will also talk about the harm caused by abortion stigma. Tune in to Episode 8 of Do We Know Things? Also, make sure to check out Episode 7 on what you need to know about abortion, which is the prelude to this episode.

Abortions and feelings, what do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out!

Find the script for this episode with notes and references at https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes

Commentary from Richard Wassersug

Music and editing Jeremy Dahl www.palebluedot.ca

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