Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino

Continuing Sex Out Loud's commitment to profile the most innovative, inventive, and ethical people in the sex toy industry, this week we have Metis Black, the founder and president of Tantus, Inc., the largest producer of silicone sex toys in America. Founded in 1997 with the intent to create art house sexual products, Black soon changed her mission to educate everyone on the use of silicone, the safest sex toy material around when created properly. The popularity of Tantus toys grew quickly and continues to expand to this day. Black will share stories from her 15+ years in the industry and answer your questions live about sex toy safety and upkeep.

Swedish filmmaker Erika Lust comes to Sex Out Loud this week, all the way from Barcelona. Erika Lust will discuss how she saw a void for women’s voices in a male-driven mainstream porn industry and set out to create waves in adult cinema by envisioning a different kind of porn. She'll discuss her popular first film The Good Girl, the erotic documentary Barcelona Sex Project, as well as Cabaret Desire, her most ambitious and personal film to date. Lust will discuss why she believes in the importance of porn that is produced and directed by women and give us details about her new project coming soon, XConfessions.

This week features our final interview from the CatalystCon series with Francisco Ramirez, known for giving Free Sex Advice on the streets in NYC every week, answering questions about relationships, sex, and dating. He'll discuss the inspiration for his project, how he's turning people's stories into a podcast, and the phone app he's developing. Then, Airial Clark, known for her site TheSexPositiveParent.com, will be interviewed live in the second half of the show. Clark has created sex education curriculum and led workshops where she provides parents and caregivers the tools they need to become the resident sexuality expert for their families.

Internationally accredited, widely-published investigative reporter Eric Francis Coppolino offers a clear, original analysis of world events through the lens of astrology. He’s been reporting on breaking news stories as an astrologer since 1995 and last year Francis called on astrologers at the United Astrology Conference to start including more sex and relationship education to their work. Tristan will talk to Eric Francis about his work, sex-positive chart readings, polyamory, and more. Be prepared to have your views and assumptions on astrology expanded and challenged!

Planet Waves

One year ago, Sex Out Loud radio began with Tristan interviewing Dan Savage for the very first episode. Join her this week for an hour revisiting that first show as well as favorite moments from the past 50 episodes, including talking with one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta Kandi Burruss, adult legend Nina Hartley, gender outlaw Kate Bornstein, sex start-up powerhouse Cindy Gallop, rockstar academic Jack Halberstam, and many more. With highlights and behind-the-scenes stories, Tristan looks back on a year of talking about sex out loud and takes us forward into season two of the show.

Sex educator and author Ducky Doolittle is interviewed live at Catalystcon. Over the years Ducky has used her writing and sense of humor to pursue her deep lust for knowledge and understanding in regard to sexuality, class, race, gender, culture, compassion and human rights. She'll talk about her blog, Lipstick Stains on Your Pillow, and how her counseling experiences has informed her work as an sex educator. Then, we have Malay Vannouvong from Aneros discussing how she came to work for the company that transformed the manufacturing of prostate stimulators, and Tom Stewart, the founder and CEO of Sportsheets, who will discuss how his products have broken out of the dungeon to great sales success, mainstream media attention, and numerous industry and mainstream awards.

This week on Sex Out Loud we feature jessica drake: writer, director, producer and host of jessica drake's Guide to Wicked Sex. This series of educational DVDs from Wicked Pictures is inspired by her experiences and observations as one of the industry’s legendary Wicked Girls. She'll talk about how she helps men and women become more sexually aware in Sex for the Wicked Woman, a series of seminars illuminated by her vast expertise and passion for research. With a lifetime of rigorous analysis coupled with years of peerless professional experience, jessica drake will also discuss her journey from a performer to one of the leading voices in progressive sexual education. This interview was recorded live in front of a studio audience at CatalystCon in Washington DC.

This Friday is our third interview from the CatalystCon series and the second time we talk with relationship geek Reid Mihalko. This time he brings along his creative collaborator, Cathy Vartuli aka the Intimacy Dojo. They discuss coaching, communicating, and why being relationship geeks can lead to better sex. Reid discusses how he's improving people relationships by 10 and Cathy shares how she creates a place where people can learn, practice and play the art of intimacy.

Join us Friday for a discussion with sex educator and author Felice Shays on the topic of rough sex. We'll discuss the misconceptions and assumptions around the topic, as well as how she came to be one of the foremost experts on the issue and how she instructs couples and individuals on bringing this type of play to their sex lives in safe and sexy ways. Shays is the author of Brutal

Affection: The Joys of Rough Sex, which is rich in gorgeous photos, instruction, erotica, and smut, and she recently relaunched the companion site, BrutalAffection.com. This episode is the second in our CatalystCon series, recorded live in front of a studio audience at the conference.

The founders of the famed Babeland, Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning, come to Sex Out Loud to share stories from

20 years of owning and running their successful sex toy shop that has become a worldwide phenomenon. We'll learn about how they got started, what ways they've expanded to bring their message of sexual vitality to the world, and they'll even share stories from the time when Tristan herself worked at the store.