Doing Sex

What happens to sex and intimacy when your brain doesn’t switch off? In this episode of Doing Sex, Sahar explores how ADHD shapes desire, attraction, attention, and long-term relationships with Dr. Ari Tuckman, psychologist, certified sex therapist, and author of ADHD After Dark. Drawing on research and stories from hundreds of couples, they unpack how ADHD affects arousal, emotional connection, c...

Masturbation is something most of us do, but almost no one talks about. Is it healthy? Can it improve your sex life? Or could it quietly be getting in the way of intimacy? In this episode of Doing Sex, Sahar sits down with Danielle Bezalel (DB), host of Sex Ed with DB and public-health researcher, to talk about the science of self-pleasure, myth-busting decades of shame and misinformation along th...

How do you reclaim your sexual freedom in a world that’s tried to take it from you through trauma, culture, or even motherhood? In this episode of Doing Sex, Sahar speaks with activist and campaigner Payzee Mahmod, whose life is a powerful story of survival and reclamation. Born in Iraqi Kurdistan, Payzee is a survivor of FGM, child marriage, and devastating loss. Her sister, Banaz Mahmod, was mur...

They’ve been married for seven years — but haven’t had sex in six. For Gus and his husband, it’s not a sign of failure, it’s just part of how their open marriage works. In this episode of Doing Sex, Sahar talks to her good friend Gus, a gay man whose relationship flips almost every traditional idea of love and desire on its head. He’s deeply in love with his husband, but their sex life exists enti...

These days, it feels like everyone is talking about open relationships—whether as a fix, an experiment, or a new kind of freedom. But can they actually work? And can they really improve your sex life? In this episode of Doing Sex, Sahar sits down with Ana Kirova, CEO of Feeld, the app that’s helped redefine modern intimacy and champion ethical non-monogamy. Ana shares what open relationships have...

What happens when Sahar turns the microphone on herself? In this intimate episode of Doing Sex, Sahar sits down with sex and intimacy therapist Dr. Lori Beth —with no producer, no safety net, and nothing off limits. This is your invite to join Sahar as she digs deep in this first of many therapy episodes. Raw, unfiltered, and deeply human, Sahar lets us in on her search for answers to her own ques...

This week, Sahar meets Dr. Margie Holmes, a pioneering Filipino clinical psychologist, sex therapist, author, media personality, and educator whose career has spanned more than 45 years—all about sex and relationships. Dr. Holmes began her journey writing newspaper columns, where she quickly became the Philippines’ resident Agony Aunt. Readers wrote in with questions and confessions about love, in...

Data, engineering, numbers? Sexy thoughts are not normally the first thing that comes to mind. Until you meet Anna Lee. Anna's job as a sex toy engineer goes beyond the toy itself and into the data behind when, why and how we orgasm. As the the co-founder of sex toy company Lioness, the toys collect data and continue the cycle of helping people with better orgasms! Doing Sex: https://www.instagram...

The formidable Dominatrix, Eva Oh joins Sahar on this week's episode of Doing Sex. London based Dominatrix Eva Oh uses kink as a method of connection, healing and empowerment. Speaking to Sahar about her clients’ desires, she explains that sessions are often ritualistic, psychologically rich and carefully orchestrated. When Sahar opens up about her struggles with intimacy, Eva Oh encourages her (a...

Mahmoud Baydoun — a queer Lebanese-Brazilian sexologist — talks to Sahar and, with refreshing honesty, pulls back the curtain on the reality of his online sex empire. Mahmoud has built a booming online business by sharing bold tips for better sex and cheeky tricks for handling penises. Whether it’s naughty Instagram and TikTok posts that flirt with platform guidelines or ebooks and online courses...

This is part two of a two-part series with Fatou Badjie, an activist and FGM survivor. In this episode, Fatou discusses the broader impacts of FGM, including challenges related to pregnancy, childbirth, and understanding her own pleasure. Content warning: This episode contains themes that some listeners may find distressing. Below are links to FGM support clinics: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fem...

Pleasure and pain are rarely spoken about together, but for Fatou Badjie they are deeply connected. In this episode, Sahar talks with Fatou, a UK-based Gambian activist who went from the pain of undergoing FGM as a child to reclaiming her body and embracing the joy of sex and pleasure. In part one of two episodes, Fatou explains the types of FGM, the beliefs that sustain it, and her own experience...

In Episode 2 Sahar talks to Catherine De Noire, a PhD student in Organisational Psychology as well as the manager of one of Europe’s largest legal brothels. Sahar and Catherine speak about Catherine’s mission to fight misinformation and stigma about sex workers, the reason she decided to study Organisational Psychology as a way to provide support and learning for sex workers as well as the day to...

Welcome to the first episode of Doing Sex with Sahar Zand. In Episode 1 Sahar is joined by Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, an award winning author and intercultural advisor with a PhD in Social Psychology specialising in Sexuality and Relationships. Both born in Iran, Sahar and Dr Sara talk about their own sex education rooted in a specific religious and political regime. Dr Sara’s experience led her to sta...

Coming soon to all platforms, July 29, 2025 Hosted by award-winning journalist Sahar Zand (@saharzand5) and produced by Vespucci @vespuccigroup, Doing Sex peels back the layers of what we think we know about intimacy and identity.  Part confessional, part investigative, part therapy, and entirely honest, Sahar will be turning the lens inward — exploring desire, shame, and silence through her own s...