In this episode, Emma-Louise sits down with journalist and author, Olivia Petter, to discuss Petter's debut book of fiction, Gold Rush.

The book covers so many vital and indeed urgent themes surrounding sexual abuse, trauma and the toxicity of celebrity culture, all of which they delve into during what is a totally fascinating interview.

“We give celebrities a power they don’t deserve," Petter writes, "a Power they haven’t earned. What happens when they exploit it?”

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*Trigger warning: this episode discusses themes around sexual abuse and assault. Please see below for resources and where you can access support if you've been affected by anything discussed.*

For more information about reporting and recovering from rape and sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222.

If you have been sexually assaulted, you can find your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre here. You can also find support at your local GP, voluntary organisations such as Rape Crisis, Women's Aid, and Victim Support, and you can report it to the police (if you choose) here.

If you are worried that you or someone you know is being groomed, you can access Victim Support’s Children and Young People Services. You can contact your nearest Victim Support office, call the 24/7 Supportline, contact them via live chat, or if you are 16 or older, you can create a My Support Space account.

In the second solo Sex Talks pod Emma-Louise delves into the topic of last week's newsletter: new research on the orgasm gap, what it reveals about our broken sex culture, and, importantly, how we fix it.

Touching on the work of sex educator and author, Emily Nagoski, Emma discusses how we can re-write our sexual script in order to foster a better, individual relationship to sex, and why this is so important in improving our overall sexual landscape.

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Sofie Hagen is a multi award winning, queer, non-binary comedian, author and podcaster.

Their debut book was called Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You and they have just published their second book ‘Will I Ever have Sex Again.’ In it, they examine our broader sexual landscape in an attempt to understand why they haven’t had sex in some 3000 days and counting.

Sofie joins Emma to discuss everything they’ve learned from over nine years of (involuntary) celibacy, what it’s taught them about their own body, boundaries, and queerness, and why they’re not all that bothered if they go another nine-years without sex. Plus, find out what Sofie learned about 1800 other people’s sex lives, not to mention the lessons imparted by a renowned flirtologist.