Welcome back to Season 3 of I Came For Science. If you are just joining us as a listener, we encourage you to listen back to Seasons 1 and 2 to hear our episodes on a range of topics including pubic hair, polyamory, spider sex, reproductive losses, and queer family building.

Whether you like it or not, your children are going to learn about sex. Wouldn't it be good if they learn accurate information from a trusted adult?

In this episode, we hear from Sarah Dahlston, senior director of education at Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. Sarah explains to us what scientific studies of sex education tell us about the relative effectiveness of abstinence only education and comprehensive sex education. She also debunks common misconceptions about sex education and informs us about the current laws regulating the teaching of sex ed in Ohio.

In our final episode of Season 2, we explore the science of sperm storage. Sperm storage occurs when sperm viability is maintained outside of the male reproductive tract. This process happens, at least for some time period, naturally in all internally-conceiving animals. Sperm storage is also used by humans for assisted reproduction and fertility preservation. We learn about both processes through interviews with Dr. Teri Orr who studies bat reproduction and Matthew Hudnall who is the director of a sperm bank and a fertility preservation center.

This episode follows up on Episode 12 which explored reproductive losses in humans. In this episode, Laura interviews primatologist and endocrinologist Dr. Jacinta Beehner about reproductive losses in non-human animals. Jacinta explores this topic through the lens of female reproductive strategies, using non-invasive techniques to track the reproductive physiology of wild primates.

This episode follows up on our last episode about family building. In this episode, Laura talks with Dr. Christa Craven about reproductive losses, especially as they are experienced by people who are LGBTQ+. These losses come in a variety of forms and times during the family building process and can be impacted by environmental and social stresses. Laura and Christa also discuss how the causes of reproductive losses in humans relate to reproductive losses in non-human animals, which is the focus of our next episode.

Are you curious about polyamory? If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this episode, Laura discusses scientific and personal aspects of polyamory with Amanda Anastasia Paniagua. Amanda is a graduate student in

There has been a lot of talk this year about sex and gender. In this episode, Laura interviews Dr. Gita Kolluru who studies variation in sexual morphology and behavior across non-human animals. Dr. Kolluru explains the difference between sex and gender. Then, she explains the tremendous variation that occurs in sexual traits in humans and how this variation comes about.

Welcome back to Season 2 of I Came For Science. This episode is a follow-up to Episode 6 from Season 1 about the clearing of Ohio's backlog of sexual assault testing kits. In this episode, Laura interviews forensic nurse, Joey Compton, of Aultman Serenity Program about what survivors of sexual assault and their supporters need to know about sexual assault evidence collection.

In this last episode of Season 1, Laura is interviewed by her former student and current co-host, Natalia, about her winding journey of studying the science of sex and reproduction. They discuss Laura’s lows as she struggled with not feeling like she belonged as well as her highs as she realized her “outsider” status often made her ask questions that no one had thought to ask before. Natalia and Laura discuss how important it is to have people with different lived experiences contribute to scientific knowledge and end by encouraging everyone to come for science!

Imagine if you were sexually assaulted, decided to get evidence collected from your body, and then that evidence sat uninvestigated for decades. In 2010, this was the reality for about 14,000 victims of sexual assault in Ohio alone. In this episode, Laura interviews criminologist Dr. Rachel Lovell of Cleveland State University. They discuss how Ohio cleared the sexual assault test kit backlog over a five year period and how the results have been used to prosecute perpetrators in Cuyahoga County, becoming a role model for other parts of the country. In addition, Dr. Lovell shares how the results of these analyses have resulted in new findings about patterns of sexual assault and new approaches to caring for victims.