Polyamory Weekly podcast added to The Kinsey Institute

In the fall 2012 issue of their newsletter, The Kinsey Institute announced that the archival episodes of Cunning Minx's Polyamory Weekly podcast has now been added to their Kenneth R. Haslam Collection on Polyamory.

Founded in 1947, The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University promotes interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Kenneth R. Haslam Collection, developed by Dr. Haslam in order to further public and academic understanding of polyamory, contains a wealth of materials, including books, conference materials, research articles, newsletters, archives of web-based discussion groups, and more.

With over 340 episodes to date, Cunning Minx has been hosting and producing the Polyamory Weekly podcast since 2005. It is, indeed, becoming a historic bit of polyamory-focused media.

I talk kink and poly on Poly Weekly podcast

I was recently a guest on two parts of the Polyamory Weekly podcast!

In the first part, episode #334, I chat with podcast host Cunning Minx about my book, The Ultimate Guide to Kink. I talk about why I decided to write it, why I chose an anthology format, who should read the book, and what I'm hoping they'll get out of it. We also talk about the different sections of the book -- skills/techniques and fantasies/fetishes -- and what each one offers to the reader.

The second part, episode #335, is an advice segment in which I answer listener questions about poly and kink. Here's what was asked:

  • Ian asks: please explain the multi-partner dynamic as it exists in the kink world, and how it is different (or similar) to the poly. (There are many polys who are not kinky, many kinky who are not poly, and many many monogamous people who are kinky and have issues participating in the kink community.)
  • Emma asks: I’ve been asked to do scenes with people who are "sexually monogamous" with their partners. Lots of conversation about what activities count as sex ensues, but I'm still nervous to play with monogamous people. What if something is improvised in the moment and crosses that line? What if something feels sexual to me but not to them?
  • Herb asks: Have you actually seen or heard of a fetish that surprised you?
  • James asks: What if someone wants to try something scary (breath play) but is worried about past sexual abuse issues it could bring up?

Listen to both episodes here and here, browse the past archives here, and follow Polyamory Weekly on their site and Facebook!

Handling the holidays while poly

This time of year can be difficult for anyone in a non-traditional relationship, which is why this recent Polyamory Weekly podcast is so important and helpful. The description reads:

Sometimes it's tough to be poly over the holidays. Which relatives are you out to? Can you introduce your lover to your auntie May? How do you schedule family time? Listeners wrote in via Facebook and Twitter to ask the toughest holiday-related poly issues, and cohosts Joreth and Puck help Minx to sort them out . . .

The discussion topics include:

  • How to introduce non-spouses
  • How to prevent your poly-aware daughter from letting closeted poly relationships slip in front of the "in-laws"
  • Is being closeted OK to certain relatives?
  • How do you handle feeling secondary and isolated?
  • How do you manage economic disparities?
  • How do you deal with missing some and disappointing others?

Listen to the podcast for some great tips and advice!

Pedestrian Polyamory podcast debuts

A new polyamory podcast has hit the internet! Pedestrian Polyamory, hosted by Shira B. Katz and her husband, Gavin Katz, is a Life on the Swingset spin-off that focuses on discussing polyamory in a down-to-earth manner. As they describe it:

We are normal, skeptical, logical and slightly geeky poly folk who have nearly 20 combined years of polyamory under our belt. We're certainly not sages or experts but we aren't novices and we aren't trying to sell you anything. We just want a realistic and normalized viewpoint on polyamory out there because, truly, after all these years polyamory is kind of pedestrian.

In the first episode of Pedestrian Polyamory, Shira interviews Gavin about his views on polyamory, and they discuss topics such as "turning vanillas to polyamory, dealing with a partner who dates more than you, gender inadequacies in online dating, and being an introvert in an extroverted lifestyle."

Pedestrian Polyamory can be found on iTunes and FeedBurner.