Private Parts Unknown: Sex & Love Around the World

For the 78th episode of Private Parts Unknown, hosts Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra are sending a love letter to Sofiya’s homeland: Ukraine — more specifically Odessa, the pearl of the Black Sea.  Sofiya grew up in Odessa, Ukraine, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1994, when she was in middle school. Now, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sofiya revisits the place she first called...

For the 77th episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak wades deeper into our Mind Trip series about the modern psychedelic renaissance as a new wave of decriminalization, legalization, and corporatization has begun to swell in the United States. For the 4th episode of Mind Trip, Courtney interviews Jesse Jarnow, author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, about the gravitation...

For the 76th episode of Private Parts Unknown, hosts Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra bring you a Galentine’s Day special about the history of a gal’s best friend: the vibrator.  This episode is a horny romp through the ages, from Cleopatra to Sex and the City — and beyond. Primary sources for this episode: A short history of the vibrator by Jen Bell for Hello Clue  (Almost) Everything You Know...

For the 75th episode of Private Parts Unknown, hosts Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra wade deeper into our Mind Trip series about the modern psychedelic renaissance as a new wave of decriminalization, legalization, and corporatization has begun to swell in the United States. For the 3rd episode of Mind Trip, Sofiya interviews Courtney about her first ayahuasca experience (two ceremonies over th...

For the 74th episode of Private Parts Unknown, hosts Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra wade deeper into our series about the modern psychedelic renaissance as a new wave of decriminalization, legalization, and corporatization has begun to swell in the United States. For the 2nd episode of our Mind Trip series, Courtney and Sofiya discuss the cultural origin of ayahuasca and how the psychoactive...

For the 73rd episode of Private Parts Unknown, hosts Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra kick off a new series about the modern psychedelic renaissance as a wave of decriminalization, legalization, and corporatization begins to swell in the United States. In this episode, Courtney and Sofiya share their previous experiences and touchstones with psychedelics, including psilocybin (aka magic mushroo...

For the 72nd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra bring you a very special episode to honor & defend Roe v. Wade on its 49th anniversary. This episode was inspired by an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court by We Testify & Advocates for Youth — 26 actors, comedians, podcasters & activists voice real-life abortion stories from the court filing, which i...

For the 71st episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak interviews some of our favorite local sex workers to get the scoop on the current state of sex work in LA & their predictions for 2022. In this episode, we hear from Megan Rippey & Nats Honey. Listen to last week's episode for Part 1. For more from today's guests: Follow Megan Rippey on Instagram @meganrippey Follow Cyber Clown Gir...

For the 70th episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak interviews some of our favorite local sex workers to get the scoop on the current state of sex work in LA & their predictions for 2022. In this episode, we hear from Onyx Black, AM Davies & Adrienne Airhart. Tune in next week for Part 2. For more from today's guests: Follow Onyx Black on Instagram @onyxblackhappy & @onyxblackvirgo...

For the 69th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra bring you the perfect 69 — a marriage of new & old travels — featuring Sofiya's recent trip to Portugal & Morocco, as well as the "happy ending" finale to our Tokyo, Japan series. First, Sofiya shared the highlights of her recent travels to Lisbon, Portugal, & Marrakesh, Morocco. Then, it's time to revisit...

For the 68th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Dena Goldberg, a genetic counselor specializing in breast cancer. This is a continuation of our breast cancer awareness series, with Dena filling us in on the difference genetic testing can make on breast cancer diagnosis & treatment, the genes beyond BRCA1 & BRCA2 that impact breast cancer risk, co...

For the 67th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra do something a little different... In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Courtney interviews Sofiya about her experience as a breast cancer survivor. In this episode, we explore what it was like to battle Stage 1 “triple positive” breast cancer, including finding the lump & getting the diagnosis, some...

For the 66th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome 80-something author Joan Foor, whose latest book recalls her experience traveling alone across Europe on a motor scooter in 1964. We dig into why she decided to finally write about this trip of a lifetime during the pandemic, what it was like to solo travel as a woman, her frequent encounters with m...

For the 65th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome TV writer and former sex worker Jaclyn Moore to talk about transitioning during the pandemic.  We dive into her decision to transition, the emotional effects of hormones, coming out as bi (or rather, not really having to), the religious imprint of shame, her experience as a sex worker, and how sex w...

For the 64th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Diet for Great Sex Author Christine DeLozier for a (very necessary) sexual-dietary realignment. You may not think food has much to do with your sex life, but Christine teaches us that healthy eating and libido are linked. Not only that, but certain foods, like leafy greens, led to stronger nerve con...

For the 63rd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome comedian & sex worker turned sex worker rights activist Kaytlin Bailey. She founded Olds Pros to tell more accurate sex worker stories & also hosts The Oldest Profession podcast.  We talk about Kaytlin's experience with sex work (both from a place of privilege, as well as really needing the money),...

For the 62nd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra drop the 10th episode of our "Comedians of OnlyFans" series. First, we get the postmortem about the recent OnlyFans debacle with sex workers on their platform from previous guests Meredith Jacqueline and Selena the Stripper. Then we interview Los Angeles-based burlesque performer, comedian & OnlyFans creato...

For the 61st episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome former Jumbo's Clown Room dancers Coco Ono & Megan Rippey, who are both brilliant performance artists and activists, as well. This episode explores the intersection of sex work, workers' rights & COVID-19. Read Megan's "Jumbos Exposé(d)" essay. Sign the petition to Stop Strip Clubs From Firing Strip...

For the 60th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome sexual health researcher Ashley Townes for her expert advice on how vulva-owners (& everyone, really!) can experience more pleasure during intercourse. We dig into incorporating sex toys into your repertoire with a partner, navigating the awkwardness of sex positions that don’t feel good, the import...

For the 59th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Zoë Noble, Berlin-based photographer and We Are Childfree creator for a discussion about living your best childfree life, bodily autonomy as a human right & the motherhood expectation faced by many women around the world. For more Zoë Noble: Read Zoë's NYT debut "Women Who Said No to Motherhood" Fol...

For the 58th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome John McWhorter, linguist & author of the new book Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever for a deep dive on the history of swear words. For more John McWhorter: Buy John's newest book Nine Nasty Words Follow John on Twitter @JohnHMcWhorter Sign up for John's Substack It Bear...

For the 57th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Los Angeles-based comedian Savannah Manhattan, who originally hails from Minnesota, to talk about transitioning during the pandemic. Savannah gives us the 411 on what it's been like to come out in three separate stages — first as non-binary, then gay & most recently, trans. She also shares her paren...

For the 56th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Sara Langdon & Natalie Roberts, two of the co-founders of Loving Difference, a new relationship-focused online membership community bringing together people looking for new ways to live in neurodiverse relationships. In this interview, coaches (& sisters-in-law!) Sara (based in Philadelphia) & Natal...

For the 55th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Ian Kerner for a relationship sex rut reboot. Dr. Ian Kerner is a nationally recognized sex therapist, and author of the smash hit She Comes First and the recently released So Tell Me About the Last Time You Had Sex. He's also a Sherlock Holmes of the bedroom—a sexual detective helping individuals a...

For the 54th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome Ester Steinberg, a hilarious comedian & new mom. This episode is all about Ester's experience of having a baby during the pandemic, along with some newfound body acceptance... what a beautiful side effect of CREATING A LIFE! For more Ester Steinberg: Watch or listen to Ester's comedy album Burning B...