We are elevating our consciousnesses by connecting to Mother Earth. In this essay, Lei Wann, Director of Limahuli Garden and Preserve on the island of Kauai in Hawaii—one of the five National Tropical Botanical Gardens in the world—helps us honor our connection to the Earth and explore the mythology of nature and sexuality.

2021 is the reset we all need. The cosmos will bring a fresh start our way. Embrace the energetic change and learn how the Age of Aquarius will affect your zodiac sign.

When speaking about reproductive issues, it’s unnecessarily exclusive to always say “pregnant women” and never say “pregnant people.” It’s not just women that are affected by these policies.

Abortion is as old as pregnancy itself. The world before safe, legal abortions was a dark and bloody place and has much to teach us about why abortion was legalised in the first place. One of the earliest descriptions of abortion can be found in the ancient Ebers Papyrus (1550 B.C.), which recommends using a plant-fibre tampon coated with a compound of honey and crushed dates to terminate a pregnancy.

Prolific music producer and record executive Rick Rubin co-founded his first label, Def Jam, out of his 1984 dorm room at New York University. Rick helped hip-hop reach mainstream in the late 1980s through his stable of artists, including Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Run DMC. He was also present during the recording of N.W.A’s seminal album, Straight Outta Compton.

Beyond dispelling the myths of the last century, how does our current understanding of cannabis’ action in the brain inform how it can be used for a healthy sex life? For one, we now recognize that there’s far more to cannabis than just THC, and there’s an extensive array of targets in the brain and body that the cannabinoids act upon to convey their therapeutic and wellness benefits.

Throughout history, women have had to be inventive when it came to sanitary products. In ancient Rome, women created makeshift tampons from…

Mythology around menstruation integrates sacred rites spanning centuries and cultures. Egyptian pharaohs were believed to become divine by drinking the blood of Isis, while Celtic kings sought immortality by drinking the “red mead” of Mab, the fairy queen— both of which were thought to be menstrual blood.

What does sex, love, intimacy and consciousness look like in the digital age? For the Season 2 finale, Liz talks to three experts about where sex and artificial intelligence intersect, and where we’re going: Gray Scott, a techno-philosopher; Stephanie Dinkins, a visual artist interacting with AI as part of a revolutionary ongoing project; and Bruce Duncan, the managing director of the innovative and mysterious Terasem Movement Foundation.

Joey Soloway is the creator, writer, and director of the groundbreaking Amazon series TRANSparent, I Love Dick, and more. Liz and Joey talked about Hollywood power dynamics, the importance of being awkward; navigating their own #MeToo moment on set - and, of course, toppling the patriarchy.

*In June of 2020, Soloway announced a preference to be referred to as Joey rather than Jill.*

This week’s guest is Alice Little—likely the top earning legal sex worker in America, where she isthe #1 luxury companion at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Nevada. Alice holds degrees in psychology, sociology, physiology, and anatomy and is an advocate for legalized sex work and education. Alice and Liz talk about the logistics of legalized sex work, from licenses to law enforcement; the cornucopia of services she offers and clients she sees, and why we need to take down the whorearchy. Liz also asked her for tips on some of the most requested topics from the Sex Ed community!

On the podcast this week is Rebecca Sugar-animator, writer, musician and creator of the groundbreaking animated series Steven Universe. Rebecca is the first non-male in Cartoon Network history to create their own series, which featured the first ever engagement and wedding between same-sex characters. In this episode, Rebecca and Liz discuss the importance of making wholesome LGBTQ+ content; their role in educating children—and their parents—via entertainment; the censorship an internationally syndicated animated kid’s show faces, and the upcoming Steven Universe: The Movie, out September 2.

This week’s podcast features activist and journalist Ashlee Marie Preston. Ashlee is the first openly trans person to run for state office in California, as well as the first trans person to become editor-in-chief of a nationwide publication. Ashlee and Liz talk about how tattoos have been a source of empowerment for her; life as a survival sex worker; abstinence and how transitioning, by its very definition, doesn’t follow a linear path.

This week’s podcast guest is Carrie Goldberg— victim’s rights attorney and founder of C.A. Goldberg; a cutting edge law firm that helps victims fight pervs, assholes, psychos and trolls. Carrie details how her own experience with a vengeful ex changed the course of her career; why the internet is outpacing law enforcement; what to do if you are being harassed online and her new book, Nobody’s Victim, which is out now!

This week’s podcast guest is Dr. Rachael Ross, sexologist, family physician, mother and founder of the Dr. Rachael Institute where she certifies other sexologists. Dr. Rachael and Liz chat about the importance of age appropriate sex education, giving kids ownership over their bodies, getting back to the pleasure potential of sex, and how labels can confine us. Dr. Rachael also answered some questions submitted by our Sex Ed community!

This week’s guest is Imani Gandy, lawyer, senior legal analyst for Rewire Dot News and co-host of their Boom! Lawyered podcast. Imani is a self-described recovering attorney who founded and writes the award-winning blog Angry Black Lady Chronicles. Imani and Liz discuss the capitalistic history of abortion laws in the United States going back to the 1850s; the nuances of how our government can and does legislate abortion, and actionable ways we can support others as reproductive justice becomes increasingly restrictive.

Today, our guest is Liz’s brother, Tony Goldwyn. Tony is an actor, director, producer and activist, most notably known for playing The United States President Fitzgerald Grant on ABC’s SCANDAL for 7 seasons. Tony and Liz discuss male privilege; their father’s sometimes “tough love” advice; appearing nude onstage and on screen; what it was like to become a sex symbol at 50 and how intimacy evolves with age.

A practitioner of BDSM, Mistress Velvet often made their straight, white male clients read and write essays about Black feminist theory. In 2019, Liz spoke with Mistress Velvet about the “whorearchy,” their post-work self care routine, why sex workers are being excluded from traditional sex ed, and how their academic studies have overlapped with their professional life.

Our guest for this episode is Sahar Pirzada, a social worker, organizer and educator. In this episode, Sahar and Liz talk about their own experiences of Islamophobia in the reproductive health care system; how to meet people where they’re at with sex education needs; and why faith and sexuality are not mutually exclusive.

Erica Chidi is a doula, author and co-founder of LOOM— a center in Los Angeles that provides empowered education from periods to parenting. She has guided thousands of people in their transition from pregnancy to parenthood in her practice and through her book, Nurture: A Modern Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Early Motherhood. Erica and Liz discuss doula care for patients through birth and abortion, how pregnancy effects sex drive and why there’s no such thing as the “best way” to give birth.

Catherine was involved in sex work from a very young age, at her family’s direction. Catherine talks about the life of a young sex worker, the sacrifices that she made for her family, and her journey out of alcohol addiction.

Harvey Guillén is a GLAAD award-winning actor and producer who currently stars as Guillermo on the FX TV show, What We Do In The Shadows. Harvey joined Liz to discuss pansexual vampires; fatphobia in the LGBTQ community; sneaking into the 18+ section of Circus of Books as a teenager; and what his dream Hollywood project is.

Justin Simien is the creator of the incredible film and Netflix series Dear White People, which is now in its third season, and the upcoming film Bad Hair. Liz spoke to this renaissance man about queer black cinema; being the target of alt-right trolls; how he learned to market films before he made one; Buddhism; Carl Jung, Terence Nance and more.

Dr. Kate Lister is a historian and author of A Curious History of Sex, a new book that covers her years of research into the history of sex and sexuality. She is also the brains behind the popular website and twitter account, Whores of Yore. In this week’s episode, Kate and Liz discuss their favorite historical slang; masturbating medieval gargoyles; and how the Victorians used bicycles to get off.

Mykki Blanco is an internationally renowned performance artist, LGBTQ activist, and musician who’s worked with the likes of Bjork, Kanye West, Madonna, Kathleen Hanna, Major Lazer and more. Liz sat down with Mykki in Milan in February shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak to chat about how transitioning has changed their sex life; sending letters to their heroes; being HIV positive and touring in the Middle East.

Peggy Orenstein is the author of the groundbreaking NY Times bestseller Girls & Sex, and its followup, Boys & Sex. Her byline has appeared in the NY Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post and more. Liz talked to Peggy about “feminist fuckboys”; teaching boys to embrace their vulnerability and process complex emotions; why hookup culture isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, regardless of gender; and what we can do to raise boys away from the shadow of toxic masculinity.

Liz spoke to Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General about being the Condom Queen of Washington, DC; entering the White House shortly after the Anita Hill trial; growing up in Dust Bowl-era Arkansas; the potential benefits to passing out vibrators in nursing homes; and why she’s optimistic about the future of sex education.

Selected Poems is the classic volume by the distinguished and celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize, and recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This compelling collection showcases Brooks's technical mastery, her warm humanity, and her compassionate and illuminating response to a complex world. This edition also includes a special PS section with insights, interviews, and more—including a short piece by Nikki Giovanni entitled "Remembering Gwen."

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A writer, activist, and mother of two, Audre Lorde grew up in 1930s Harlem. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University, received a National Endowment for the Arts grant for poetry, and was New York State’s Poet Laureate from 1991 to 1993. She is the author of twelve books, including ZAMI and THE BLACK UNICORN. Lorde died of cancer at the age of fifty-eight in 1992.

Zami is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author’s vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde’s work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her . . . Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page.

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This book redresses the balance, revealing the history of the sex trade through the eyes of sex workers. These tales are brought to life by Whores of Yore creator Kate Lister’s witty and authoritative text, and illuminated by a rich archive of photographs, artworks, and objects offering insight into sex workers’ lives, challenging assumptions about this age-old trade.

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How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Adrienne Maree Brown finds the answer in something she calls "pleasure activism," a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work.

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There is still a shocking lack of accurate, accessible information about pussies and many esteemed medical sources seem to contradict each other. Pussypedia solves that with extensive reviews of peer-reviewed science that address old myths, confusing inconsistencies, and the influence of gender narratives on scientific research–always in simple, joyful language.

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Some Men explores the promise of men's violence prevention work with boys and men in schools, college sports, fraternities, and the U.S. military. It illuminates the strains and tensions of such work-including the reproduction of male privilege in feminist spheres-and explores how men and women navigate these tensions.

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Unbound is the story of an inimitable woman’s inner strength and perseverance, all in pursuit of bringing healing to her community and the world around her, but it is also a story of possibility, of empathy, of power, and of the leader we all have inside ourselves. In sharing her path toward healing and saying "me too," Tarana reaches out a hand to help us all on our own journeys.

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A journey into the Big Questions that will turn you into a thinking person about sex and consent, with the ability to wrestle towards the answers that work for YOU and continue to wrestle towards them for the rest of your life. What is the meaning and purpose of sex? How does it intersect with who I am? Why are people so afraid of it? What does a healthy and joyful approach to sex look like for me? Why is consent so much more than a yes or no question?

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In a world that thrives on aggression and physical force, male violence has become an all-too-frequent response to the frustrations and anxieties that fill men's lives. Men's Work gives back to men the power and responsibility they need to unlearn the lessons of control and aggression. Going beyond the mythology of the current men's movement, this revolutionary work identifies and develops the social and political framework on which to place men's individual efforts to recover their humanity.

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In Love Without Reason: The Lost Art of Giving a F*ck, activist and filmmaker LaRayia Gaston shares an inspiring and actionable guide to help us connect with our hearts, reawaken our innate desire to make a difference, and then actually make that difference in a way that nourishes our souls.

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Reproductive Justice is a first-of-its-kind primer that provides a comprehensive yet succinct description of the field. Written by two legendary scholar-activists, Reproductive Justice introduces students to an intersectional analysis of race, class, and gender politics.

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Today's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues.

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Killing the Black Body exposed America’s systemic abuse of Black women’s bodies. From slave masters’ economic stake in bonded women’s fertility to government programs that coerced thousands of poor Black women into being sterilized as late as the 1970s, these abuses pointed to the degradation of Black motherhood—and the exclusion of Black women’s reproductive needs in mainstream feminist and civil rights agendas.

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A powerful study of the women's liberation movement in the U.S., from abolitionist days to the present, that demonstrates how it has always been hampered by the racist and classist biases of its leaders. From the widely revered and legendary political activist and scholar Angela Davis.

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Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding New York Times bestseller transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.

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In defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another—and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own.

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A is for Activist is an ABC board book written and illustrated for the next generation of progressives: families who want their kids to grow up in a space that is unapologetic about activism, environmental justice, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and everything else that activists believe in and fight for.

Ages: 3-5

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Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression. The only limit is your imagination.

Ages: 12-17

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From Rob Sanders comes this powerful and timeless true story that will allow young readers to discover the rich and dynamic history of the Stonewall Inn and its role in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement—a movement that continues to this very day.

Ages: 5-8

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In luminous paintings and arresting poems, two of children’s literature’s top African-American scholars track Arturo Schomburg’s quest to correct history. Where is our historian to give us our side? Arturo asked. Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro–Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk’s life’s passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages.

Ages: 9-12

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A powerful, vibrantly illustrated story about the first day of school—and two sisters on one's first day of hijab—by Olympic medalist and social justice activist Ibtihaj Muhammad. Paired with Hatem Aly's beautiful, whimsical art, Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad and Morris Award finalist S.K. Ali brings readers an uplifting, universal story of new experiences, the unbreakable bond between siblings, and of being proud of who you are.

Ages: 4-8

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Almost 10 years before Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California. Mendez, an American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, was denied enrollment to a “whites only” school. Her parents took action by organizing the Latinx community and filing a lawsuit in federal district court. Their success eventually brought an end to the era of segregated education in California.

Ages: 6-9

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This sweet #ownvoices picture book celebrates the changes in a transgender boy's life, from his initial coming-out to becoming a big brother. When Aidan Became a Brother is a heartwarming book that will resonate with transgender children, reassure any child concerned about becoming an older sibling, and celebrate the many transitions a family can experience.

Ages: 4-7

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Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of forty trailblazing Black women in American history. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash.

Ages: 8-11

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This is modern Native American life as told by an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences. Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah.

Ages: 3-7

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50 Real Heroes for Boys teaches young boys everywhere that being a man only requires being yourself―but your best self. Bright, colorful portraits by over a dozen international artists accompany true stories of men who knew that character―things like integrity, kindness, empathy, courage, respect for women, and more―mixed with their own unique gifts―art, athletics, creativity, dance, music, curiosity, and more―could make the world a better place.

Ages: 7-10

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Based on the rich collection of interviews and documentaries from MAKERS, this book introduces pioneering women from all walks of life. Readers will get to know these women's hopes, dreams, challenges, and accomplishments in chapters filled with personal stories, historical information, inspiring quotes, and much more.

Ages: 8-12

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An important book for readers of all ages, this beautifully illustrated and engagingly written volume brings to life true stories of black men in history. Among these biographies, readers will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include writer James Baldwin, artist Aaron Douglas, filmmaker Oscar Devereaux Micheaux, lawman Bass Reeves, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, and musician Prince. The legends in Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History span centuries and continents, but each one has blazed a trail for generations to come.

Ages: 8-12

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Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school. Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. Now Malala is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Ages: 12+

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Kid Activists tells these childhood stories and more through kid-friendly texts and full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. The diverse and inclusive group encompasses Susan B. Anthony, James Baldwin, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Alexander Hamilton, Dolores Huerta, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Iqbal Masih, Harvey Milk, and more.

Ages: 9-12

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