What does it really mean to be “kink curious”—and is kink as niche as we’ve been led to believe?

In this episode, Gigi Engle a psychosexual therapist and author of Kink Curious, and I unpack the language we use around sex; from kink and fetish, to vanilla, safewords and boundaries. We discuss how labels can both support and limit our understanding of ourselves, and explore the spectrum of desire, and the role of curiosity and play in adult sexuality.

This conversation also gently guides listeners through the practical side of exploring kink — from communicating with partners and navigating mismatched desires, to understanding consent, boundaries, aftercare, and the importance of self-awareness in what Gigi describes as Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK).

Gigi talks about why she felt it was important to focus on kink as the topic of her book and what she thinks people so commonly misunderstand about it and its practices. She also discusses the role of shame and 'shoulds' when it comes to sex, and how it shapes a lot of what she sees people presenting as challenges in her therapy room, and how she helps them to work through it.

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New Episode Every Friday

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Divorce is a process that is often spoken about in absolutes - whether it be failure, freedom, grief, blame, conflict or closure; but unsurprisingly the reality is far more nuanced and complex.

My guest for this episode is someone highly experienced with all of the above - divorce lawyer Lucy Stewart-Gould from Stewarts Law; and in this conversation we explore what really happens when a relationship comes to an end—not just legally, but emotionally, practically, and relationally. Together, we unpack the space between decision and action: the build-up, the moments of realisation, and the often uneven pace at which two people arrive at the same ending, alongside the legal stages and proceedings that people have to go through to get divorced.

We talk about divorce statistics including the rise in later-life divorce; and unpack the emotional and practical undercurrents that sit beneath legal processes, from questions of value and contribution, to the invisible weight of roles carried over years of partnership.

Lucy walks us through the reality of divorce as a process—demystifying what it actually looks like, from initial conversations to final orders—while also reflecting on the human experience inside it that she sees as a lawyer. We also consider the idea of a “good divorce”— and whether that language serves us at all. Instead, we explore what it might mean to move through separation with awareness, respect, and support, even when things feel at their most difficult.

This conversation holds space for the complexity of endings: for the imbalance of emotions, the reshaping of family life, and the possibility that something can end without it being a failure.

- New Episode Every Friday

From dating apps to AI companions, our relationships are increasingly mediated through screens, algorithms, and carefully curated versions of the self. But what does this mean for intimacy, desire and our capacity to tolerate the messiness of human relationships? In this episode Dr Aaron Balick draws on over two decades of clinical experience and psychodynamic thinking to unpack the idea of the digitally mediated self and how projection, fantasy, and validation can play out in online spaces. We explore why quick hits of connection, and what Dr Aaron describes as “relational doughnuts”can feel good in the moment, but leave us emotionally undernourished over time. We also discuss the rapidly changing landscape of both looking for love and connection, and maintaining relationships. This is a conversation about intimacy beyond ease and the difference between feeling seen and being known. We examine how relationships are changing as technology and AI play increasingly larger roles in our lives, and the similarities, differences and contradictions between relationship simulation and interpersonal connection.

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New Episode Every Friday