Log in

goodpods headphones icon

To access all our features

Open the Goodpods app
Close icon
headphones
The Second Circle

The Second Circle

The Second Circle

The Second Circle is the podcast that takes sex seriously. Hosted by journalist Franki Cookney.

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

bookmark
Share icon

All episodes

Best episodes

Seasons

Top 10 The Second Circle Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Second Circle episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Second Circle for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Second Circle episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Second Circle - S03E04: Sex… for money

S03E04: Sex… for money

The Second Circle

play

12/10/19 • 61 min

Welcome to The Second Circle. A sex podcast for overthinkers.

Franki talks to sex worker and co-curator of Objects of Desire Rory about having sex for money and what kinds of stories get left out of conversations about sex work. In The Overthinkers Guide To Sex, we hear how a university hookup made Heather re-evaluate her approach to kink.

We also discuss the ways sex work gets talked about in the mainstream media. We talk about Amnesty International’s policy on protecting sex worker rights and the backlash it faced as a result. We touch on the damage done by SESTA-FOSTA, mention the Decrim Now movement and recommend the book Revolting Prostitutes as a starting point for anyone interested in the subject of sex work and decriminalisation.

Objects of Desire runs at the Schwules Museum in Berlin until 01 June 2019.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast produced and hosted by journalist Franki Cookney. It seeks to bring some (okay, a LOT) of the nuance back into discussions of sex, relationships, and gender and challenges the idea that sex doesn’t deserve the same thought and attention that we give to the rest of our lives.

Series 3 of The Second Circle is supported by That’s The Spot.

Get in touch on Twitter @The2ndCircle or email us [email protected].

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please visit the Patreon page to find out more about how you can support sex-positive content AND get rewarded for your loyalty! Or if you just want to low-key share the love, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S03E09: Sex… with multiple partners
play

12/10/19 • 66 min

Welcome to The Second Circle. A sex podcast for overthinkers.

This week Franki talks to bisexual polyamorous woman L about opening up her marriage and managing multiple relationships. In The Overthinkers Guide To Sex, Frankie Wells and Anouszka Tate of sex podcast Project Pleasure tell us how some of their best and worst sexual experiences shaped them.

In the intro Rob and Franki also talked about the BBC drama Wanderlust as well as Louis Theroux’s documentary about polyamory, Love Without Limits. L and Franki referenced research which shoes that polyamorous people tend to practice safer sex and also mentioned the book Enjoy Sex: How, when, and if you want to by Meg-John Barker and Justin Hancock.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast produced and hosted by journalist Franki Cookney. It seeks to bring some (okay, a LOT) of the nuance back into discussions of sex, relationships, and gender and challenges the idea that sex doesn’t deserve the same thought and attention that we give to the rest of our lives.

Series 3 of The Second Circle is supported by That’s The Spot.

Get in touch on Twitter @The2ndCircle or email us [email protected].

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please visit the Patreon page to find out more about how you can support sex-positive content AND get rewarded for your loyalty! Or if you just want to low-key share the love, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S03E07: Sex… with yourself
play

12/10/19 • 57 min

Welcome to The Second Circle. A sex podcast for overthinkers.

In episode seven, Franki talks to sex educator Ruby Stevenson about why wanking gets a bad rap and whether masturbation it could ever be considered as important as partnered sex. In The Overthinkers Guide To Sex we hear how a disappointing sexual encounter turned out to have unexpected benefits for Rory.

To enter the competition to win a Womanizer Premium please tweet us @The2ndCircle or email us [email protected] and tell us what wanking advice you’d give your younger self.

In discussing Rory’s pigeon story, we talk about the rates of erectile dysfunction among young men. We also point out that almost half of men in their 30s report having trouble getting hard at times (and that this is NOT the same as erectile dysfunction) and that this can be for a number of reasons, as outlined here.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast produced and hosted by journalist Franki Cookney. It seeks to bring some (okay, a LOT) of the nuance back into discussions of sex, relationships, and gender and challenges the idea that sex doesn’t deserve the same thought and attention that we give to the rest of our lives.

Series 3 of The Second Circle is supported by That’s The Spot.

Get in touch on Twitter @The2ndCircle or email us [email protected].

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please visit the Patreon page to find out more about how you can support sex-positive content AND get rewarded for your loyalty! Or if you just want to low-key share the love, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S03E05: Sex… without sex drive
play

12/10/19 • 55 min

Welcome to The Second Circle. A sex podcast for overthinkers.

On this episode Franki talks to sex and libido blogger Laura about her experiences with low sex drive. In The Overthinkers Guide To Sex we hear from disabled sex writer Finn about how a period of singleness taught them more about what they want from sex and relationships than being coupled up.

We also reference Franki’s article on whether the pressure to be “sex positive” can sometimes have negative effects. We shout out Esther Perel’s podcast episode on “sexlessness” as well as her writing on sexual desire in long term relationships. We also recommend The Apple Tree in London for all your queer and alternative lifestyle events.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast produced and hosted by journalist Franki Cookney. It seeks to bring some (okay, a LOT) of the nuance back into discussions of sex, relationships, and gender and challenges the idea that sex doesn’t deserve the same thought and attention that we give to the rest of our lives.

Series 3 of The Second Circle is supported by That’s The Spot.

Get in touch on Twitter @The2ndCircle or email us [email protected].

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please visit the Patreon page to find out more about how you can support sex-positive content AND get rewarded for your loyalty! Or if you just want to low-key share the love, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S02E08: Coconut ice cream and a Panama hat
play

04/27/18 • 36 min

There’s a lot of vagina news this week including a discussion about summer vaginas... so we ask what a summer penis might look like. Franki interviewed sex and relationships therapist Dr Lori Beth Bisbey about how sexuality develops and changes throughout our lives and Rob has a lot of thoughts about that. Plus, we have a look at a question about polyamory and have a go at unpicking it ourselves.

LINKS

This Teen Vogue piece about “summer vaginas” has come in for a lot of flak, not least from a canadian gynaecologist who has debunked its claims.

The Mail Online says this woman is calling for designer vaginas to be available on the NHS but she’s not actually talking about aesthetics at all, she’s talking about curing incontinence and boosting sexual pleasure for women which seems pretty worthwhile.

This week Rob stole an Everyday Sex question from The Guardian’s sex column. It was about polyamory and monogamy.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast hosted by Franki Cookney. Get in touch @The2ndCircle or via our contact page. If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S01E10: Me time

S01E10: Me time

The Second Circle

play

10/28/16 • 32 min

The Second Circle has been transformed into a women-only space this week as I’ve banished Rob in favour of two fabulous guests: Jannette Davies and Sarah Beilfuss of London-based sex-positive members club Scarlet Ladies. We’ll be tackling Jannette’s favourite subject, masturbation, and sharing our porn and sex toy habits. We also touch on what it means to identify as a woman, discussing changing sex drives and whether it’s ever OK to leave immediately after a hook up. If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?

LINKS

Is it ever OK to leave immediately after sex? This GQ article lists the times when it is although personally I’m a fan of sleeping over, as I wrote in this piece for The Debrief last year.

Journalist and broadcaster Jenni Murray wrote in The Sunday Times that trans women cannot truly know what it’s like to be a woman.

Jannette has tried a LOT of sex toys but nothing can replace her favourite: The Metal One from Ann Summers.

Find out more about Scarlet Ladies events, workshops and membership at Scarletladiestalk.com

The Second Circle is the podcast that takes sex seriously. Created and hosted by freelance journalist Franki Cookney (with help from her husband Rob) it seeks to make sex a subject we engage with as fully, openly and enthusiastically as we do with politics, art, fitness, food and fashion. To get in touch tweet @secondcirclepod or email [email protected].

Support the Show.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S01E03: Your hi-tech boomerang looks good on top
play

09/08/16 • 27 min

Did you know the clitoris is shaped like a hi-tech boomerang? You do now! Also this week: why it’s important to talk about pleasure in sex education, a Sexy Olympics update, questions about going on top, and we chat about sex toys and how important it is for a guy to be able to ‘go again.’ If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?
LINKS

A French researcher has created a 3D model clitoris to use in sex education lessons

This Brazilian Olympian was shut out of her bedroom the night before her event because her roomate was shagging a canoeist

Imagine having your Olympic dreams trashed by your errant penis. It happened to this guy
The Second Circle is the podcast that takes sex seriously. Created and hosted by freelance journalist Franki Cookney (with help from her husband Rob) it seeks to make sex a subject we engage with as fully, openly and enthusiastically as we do with politics, art, fitness, food and fashion. To get in touch tweet @secondcirclepod or email [email protected].

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S02E04: Cunnilingus pants

S02E04: Cunnilingus pants

The Second Circle

play

03/02/18 • 32 min

Are there any parts of sex that you find a bit disgusting? And is it OK to skip the bits you don’t like? We discuss straight men’s attitudes to female orgasms and why a pair of pants that shields you from bodily fluids while giving head is NOT empowering. Plus to do when you get a pube stuck in your mouth and Rob gets the lowdown on male masturbators.

LINKS

This person wants to know why his girlfriend masturbates after sex. Sex blogger Girl On The Net has some suggestions.

Meanwhile this bloke reckons he has never failed to give a female partner an orgasm. Sure, mate.

Oh, and here are some pants to wear during cunnilingus.

Charlotte Roche’s 2008 bestseller Wetlands is available here.

The Second Circle is a sex and gender politics podcast hosted by Franki Cookney. Get in touch @The2ndCircle or via our contact page. If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S01E08: Sexting with James Joyce
play

10/13/16 • 32 min

More women than men say they regret casual sex... but why? We learn all the secret sexting codes that teenagers are using today and how virtual reality is going to take our sexual fantasies to new and surreal heights! We also discuss the language of sex and why context is everything when choosing how to talk dirty. If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?

LINKS

One night stands: according to this study, women are more likely to regret them. We discuss why.

A police force in Northern Ireland has shared this guide to help parents decipher their teenagers’ secret sexting codes. We find out what NIFOC means.

Should you teach kids the proper names for their genitals? Read the case for doing so here.

If you haven’t read James Joyce’s dirty letters to his wife Nora, you really need to!

Learn about how virtual reality could let you have sex in all manner of surreal and fantasy scenarios (what would yours be?!)

The Second Circle is the podcast that takes sex seriously. Created and hosted by freelance journalist Franki Cookney (with help from her husband Rob) it seeks to make sex a subject we engage with as fully, openly and enthusiastically as we do with politics, art, fitness, food and fashion. To get in touch tweet @secondcirclepod or email [email protected].

Support the Show.



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

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Second Circle - S01E09: Do you rut like a goat god
play

10/20/16 • 30 min

Should we get paid breaks from work to have sex? And is it ever OK to “out” somebody as a former porn star? We discuss the so-called “golden trio of moves” that are said to result in female orgasm (*sceptical face*) and Rob learns what all the different sex and gender identity labels mean... and why they matter to people. We also talk about sex and consent and reveal whether we’ve ever been caught masturbating. If you enjoyed the show today, why not buy me a coffee?

LINKS

The Sun outs a nurse as a former porn star but is forced to delete the story after complaints.

Franki discovers a town in Sweden where local authorities recommend people take paid “sex breaks” from work.

The Guardian reports on a “golden trio of moves” said to be more likely to result in female orgasm.

More than half of young people don’t identify as straight, says this report. Sex writer Alix Fox looks at exactly what the term ‘sapiosexual’ means to people in this article. And Franki sets out some of her own thoughts on what it means to be ‘pansexual’ in this blog post.

In Autumn 2015 Thams Valley police put out this cartoon using tea to explain sexual consent.

A woman caught her husband watching virtual reality porn. Check out the story (and pictures!) here.

The Second Circle is the podcast that takes sex seriously. Created and hosted by freelance journalist Franki Cookney (with help from her husband Rob) it seeks to make sex a subject we engage with as fully, openly and enthusiastically as we do with politics, art, fitness, food and fashion. To get in touch tweet @secondcirclepod or email [email protected].

Support the Show.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Show more best episodes

Toggle view more icon

FAQ

How many episodes does The Second Circle have?

The Second Circle currently has 37 episodes available.

What topics does The Second Circle cover?

The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Sex, Lgbtq, Podcasts, Relationships and Sexuality.

What is the most popular episode on The Second Circle?

The episode title 'S04E03 Why is it so hard to feel good?' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Second Circle?

The average episode length on The Second Circle is 42 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Second Circle released?

Episodes of The Second Circle are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Second Circle?

The first episode of The Second Circle was released on Aug 11, 2016.

Show more FAQ

Toggle view more icon

Comments