Why? with Emma Kennedy

Since the first contraceptive pill came out in 1961, the burden of birth control has fallen overwhelmingly on women. While women have numerous birth control options – each with its own long list of dizzying side effects – men only have two, and there hasn’t been a new commercial contraceptive for men in decades. So, why isn’t there a male pill yet? And would men even take it if there was?     Emma Kennedy talks to two experts on contraception – endocrinology professor Stephanie Page and associate sociology professor Krystale Littlejohn, author of Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics – to find out why the uneven burden of contraception isn’t just a medical issue, but a sociological one.     • Buy Krystale’s book Just Get on the Pill: The Uneven Burden of Reproductive Politics through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? by earning us a small commission from every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.    WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.    Instagram | X | Threads | Bluesky  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crying is a universal human experience. We can shed tears of joy, laughter, and sorrow - some of us even weep cutting onions. But what exactly are tears, and why do some of us cry more than others?    Emma Kennedy talks to Ad Vingerhoets, author of Why Only Humans Weep and Emeritus Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Tilburg University, and Tom Lutz, Professor and Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside and author of Crying, to find out.     Buy Ad’s book Why Only Humans Weep through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? By earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.    Check out Tom’s website.     WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.     Instagram | X | Threads | Bluesky    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you can think of it, someone probably has a fetish for it. Whether you’re into feet, balloons, chair legs or latex, one thing’s for sure – fetishes are still a taboo subject, and not something we often discuss with others. But how do fetishes develop, and how can people partake in fetishes in a safe and ethical way?     Emma Kennedy delves into the science and sociology of fetishes with Justin Lehmiller, Research Fellow in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at the Kinsey Institute, and award-winning clinical sexologist and sexuality educator Sunny Megatron.   Buy Justin’s book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How it Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund WHY? By earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.    Listen to Sunny’s American Sex Podcast here.    WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.     Instagram | X | Threads | Bluesky  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You might not consider smell to be that important compared to some of your other senses. But, it’s intrinsic to our sense of taste, place, memory and desire. To uncover the surprising importance of our sense of smell, Emma Kennedy is joined by Professor Stuart J. Firestein, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, and Professor Barry C. Smith, director of Philosophy at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study.    WHY? is presented by Emma Kennedy. Produced by Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production and theme music by Jade Bailey. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. Artwork by James Parrett. Additional music is from Artlist.io. WHY? is a Podmasters Production.    Instagram | X | Threads | Bluesky   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices