The Hook Up

When you’re on a date, you’re usually sweating about what to say next. But do you ever think about what your body is saying? Body language can communicate a lot about yourself, and being able to better interpret it can tell you a lot about your date, their interest in the situation and how they’re receiving you. Body language expert Dr Louise Mahler joins Nat to break it down and help translate yo...

To begin with Nat from Perth called her break-up a ‘traumatic rejection story’. But down the line, she realised there was a lot more to it than that. Nat found herself in the incredibly hard situation, a relationship she wanted to leave, but felt had to stay in when her partner threatened to take her own life. Threatening self-harm and suicide can be a form of emotional abuse, and is more common t...

For many people, having an abortion is not an easy thing to go through.  Even though it’s now decriminalised around Australia, the stigma around terminating pregnancy is still very real, and going through it can be tough for many uterus owners… especially when you don’t fit the ‘typical’ picture of an abortion case.  The experts join Nat to discuss how having an abortion can impact a relationship,...

New South Wales recently became the last state in Australia to decriminalise abortion — that means abortion is accessible in some shape or form throughout the country.  So what do these changes actually mean, and is it as clear-cut as it sounds? Jenny Ejlak, President of Reproductive Choice Australia, joins Nat to break down what the new abortion laws mean, and what still needs to be done.

Do you have a pet name for your partner? For some of us, melting into baby babble and pet names around our significant others makes us feel all gooey and loved-up inside. But for others, it's just a whole lotta cringe. Psychotherapist Jacqueline Hellyer joins Nat to chat about why we do it, how to tell your partner if you hate it, and whether you should try to embrace it.

Have you ever been called "too emotional" in a relationship?  When one member of a relationship is more emotional than the other, and no one knows how to handle that, it can cause all sorts of problems. Clinical psychologist Dr Jarrod White joins Nat to discuss why being emotional gets such a bad wrap, how different levels of emotionality can impact a relationship, and how to be emotionally health...

For trans people, trying to get the right help when reproductive medicine is filed under ‘men’s and women’s health’ is straight up tough.  This episode, Nat chats with Freddy McConnell, a journalist and self-described Seahorse — he's a dad who gave birth to his own son. After that, the experts join Nat to discuss what fertility care looks like if you're trans or gender diverse, and learn how to na...

Trying to navigate the medical system when you’re trans is already a minefield, but it’s particularly hard when you’re a guy going to a gyno, or a woman getting a prostate check.  Since reproductive care is so often segregated into ‘men's’ or 'women’s' health, it can be really tough getting the right care when you’re trans or gender-non-conforming. This episode, hear Bridget Hustwaite from triple...

It's Bisexual Visibility Day but bi+ people in relationships that look straight can feel totally unseen.

Have you ever wanted to be tied up and suspended from the ceiling?  As with most things, there’s a kink for that. Shibari is the art of Japanese rope bondage, which is often paired with suspension — being hung from frames and swings. Nat heads to Oz Kink Fest to check it out for herself, and chats with suspension expert Avalon about why it's becoming so popular.

How do you feel about marriage? And do you feel differently about it to your parents, your family or your friends? For many of us, especially those of us who have culturally diverse or religious families, the people around us might be starting to put the pressure on to find 'the one'. Psychologist Alicia Franklin joins Nat to discuss how to cope when you're feeling the pressure from every angle.

If you’re the kind of person who’s always working, it might be hard to find time for love.  And while ambition can be a huge turn on, it doesn’t mean you want to be your partner’s lowest priority. Sex therapist Lauren White and expert in performance pressure Dan Caprar join Nat to talk about how burnout can affect your relationship, how to be an understanding partner, and how to find a work-love b...

When was the last time you got tested? With World Sexual Health Day just passed, it’s a timely reminder that you should be getting tested regularly for STIs. But if you’ve never done it before, it can be daunting knowing where to start. So we’re here to help! Nat goes inside a sexual health clinic and takes a look at when to get a check, what happens during and how to get your results. Guests: Sam...

It might sound like an issue you won’t have to worry about until you’re older, but did you know there’s a bunch of young Australians living with incontinence? In fact, there's about 60,000 of them.  It’s something we don’t talk about nearly enough — even though we definitely should — because incontinence can really impact a person’s life. This episode, we learn how to navigate love, sex and your o...

On triple j, we asked What's Up In Your World. And you told us — about 71 per cent of you watch porn. And while the vast majority of you said porn had no impact on your relationship, 12 percent of you said it had a positive impact in some way. That's almost double the amount of you who said it had a negative one. So sit back and relax, because you're about to learn how to use porn as a positive fo...

We've just finished Porn Week on triple j, where we looked at what 15,000 of you told us about your porn habits in the What's Up In Your World survey. So this episode, we’re picking apart your most searched genres. Why are you so into lesbian porn, amateur and threesomes — and does watching porn of it mean you want it IRL? We get to the bottom of what your porn tastes say about you.

It’s hard to work out what you should do with the bits and pieces left over after a broken relationship. But before you go trashing your ex’s old hoodie, or flogging their coffee maker online, STOP. Because it might just belong in a museum. In this episode, Nat chats with the creators of the Museum of Broken Relationships, who came up with the idea of putting that break up stuff on display after t...

Do you find yourself constantly falling for people who are bad for you? It can be a vicious cycle, but why do some of us keep going for people who aren’t good for us in the long run? Psychologist Stephen Andrew and family violence social worker Krysia Heron join Nat to discuss why we get stuck in these patterns, how to recognise it in yourself, and how to break the cycle once and for all.

You read the words 'sex noises' and you're instantly imagining moans, screams, pants and groans. Right? But have you ever thought about why we make so much noise when we're getting down and dirty? In this episode, Nat finds out if our sex noises come from our animal ancestors, how much of an impact porn has on our volume, and how to deal if your partner's noises are turning you off.

Would you and your partner ever have sex on camera?  It may seem a little daunting, but did you know it can be amazing for spicing up your relationship, your self-confidence and even improving your game? Nat chats with one couple who does it regularly, and hears from sex therapist Lisa Torney about how it can be great for your relationship... if you do it safely.

Imagine if your mum started making porn... but it was like, Berlin, kinky stuff, knives, ropes, wax play. Well that's exactly what Morgana Muses did. She went from sad Albury housewife to award-winning alt pornstar — and she's helping change the way we see diverse bodies in porn. Now her remarkable story is being told in a documentary, so Nat's chatting with Morgana and the film's co-directors Jos...

We do performance reviews as part of our jobs, we have house inspections, and we get our cars serviced on the reg. So why don’t we assess our relationships in the same way? We're looking at how to health-check our relationships, why we should, and how clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller's CPR model can prevent our love from flat-lining.

Let’s talk about boners.  Erections, or the lack thereof, are pivotal to a lot of people’s sex lives. But they don’t have to be.  Whether you have trouble getting it up, or you’re always in tentpole mode, it’s important to understand what’s going on with your dick. Sex therapist Dr Christopher Fox joins Nat to help answer everything you ever wanted to know about hard-ons.

Say you’re getting really into someone you’ve been dating, only for them to tell you, "Sorry, I just want to keep it casual..." But what the f**k does that actually mean? Relationships counsellor Clinton Power and sexologist Chantelle Otten join Nat to suss out what it really means to be casually seeing someone, when it works, when it doesn't, and what to do if someone catches feels.

For the past four years, Jamie Morton has been reading the porno his dad wrote to the world through the wildly successful podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno. Ahead of their second Australian tour, Nat chats with Jamie about knowing your parents’ kinkiest fantasies, the cringe and fascination with bad erotica and why we shouldn’t take sex so seriously.