Actress, singer, and author Gina Gershon talks about her new memoir AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs with Laura Federico, psychotherapist and host of The Desire Question. Gina resists the idea of AlphaPussy as a guidebook, saying the real message is to know and be honest with yourself. She turns the tables and asks Laura about sex in this climate of swipe culture, sex robots, and a shrinking appetite for soul connection. The episode ends, as the book does, with a rallying cry for self-knowledge.

***

AlphaPussy by Gina Gershon

The Cycle Book by Laura Federico

***

02:31 — Is it better to desire or be desired?

06:01 — Gina tells a younger woman who couldn't confront a harassing guru: "Until you can do that, you're always gonna be in a subservient position"

07:38 — "Some people say follow the money, but I say listen to my gut"

08:00 — Growing up without social media gave Gina an advantage in reading people

11:37 — Gina describes being so empathic she sometimes couldn't leave the house

12:54 — "People are scared, and you know what? They should be. It's a weird time."

13:32 — Gina asks Laura: are people's sex lives diminishing?

14:26 — Sex robots, swipe culture, and the shrinking soul connection

17:21 — How the book actually came together

18:36 — The gap between what we say we want and what we actually believe

21:28 — To thine own self be true

***

Our music, Hit Her Up, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.