Doing Sex – Details, episodes & analysis

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 day life of sex workers in the brothel. Catherine advocates for legalisation of sex work, a better support system for sex workers and a narrative change which results in less moral panic around the profession. She strongly believes that a reform of laws and policies led and shaped by people within the industry would increase sex workers’ safety and result in a more open dialogue. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/ Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/ Catherine De Noire: https://www.instagram.com/catherine_de_noire/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 starting underground sex workshops in Iran, while Sahar, who escaped Iran as a teen, started a podcast, all about sex. Dr Sara has spent two decades working at the intersection of sexuality, relationships, and cultural fluency — guiding individuals and couples across more than 40 countries. Raised in Tehran, the capital of the Islamic republic of Iran, in a multilingual household, Dr Sara's perspective is deeply global — but her mission is profoundly personal: to help us move beyond superficial notions of love, and toward something deeper. Something more intentional. A love that’s not by chance but by design. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh: https://www.instagram.com/dr.saranasserzadeh/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 story and those of others daring to talk about how we “do sex.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 the Gambia in the 1990s. Today she works with Care for Women and Girls in Birmingham and the Sundial Centre for Education in Oxford. A warning, this episode contains themes that some may find distressing. Below are links to FGM support clinics: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/national-fgm-support-clinics/ https://www.sundialcentre.org/ Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/female-genital-mutilation-fgm/national-fgm-support-clinics/ https://www.sundialcentre.org/ Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 that have sold over 250,000 copies, Mahmoud has millions of followers — and he knows exactly how to capture their attention and keep it. On top of that, he has starred in not one, but two of Brazil’s biggest reality TV shows. Behind all the buzz and bravado is someone thoughtful — not a fan of social media at all — but also a total sex nerd. He holds a Master’s in Psychology, is pursuing a PhD in Human Sexuality, and has a deep passion for academia and the human psyche. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Mahmoud Baydoun: https://www.instagram.com/mahmoudbaydoun_/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 (and others) to explore solo pleasure as a way to dismantle shame and build one’s own version of sexuality. Sahar’s background as a journalist and her curious questions as to which services Eva Oh offers and how she herself experiences pleasure lead to an open discussion about the ethics of bondage, humiliation and more extreme requests such as medical play and anesthetics. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Eva Oh: https://www.instagram.com/youwillplease_me/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, intimacy, and desire. Through her platform, she challenged taboos, dismantled stereotypes, and opened up conversations about topics often considered unspeakable in Filipino culture. With 16 best-selling books, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, talk show host and advice columns that have reached millions, she is a true trailblazer, Dr. Margie Holmes has helped transform the national conversation on sex, mental health, and sexuality in the Philippines, making her one of the most influential voices in her field. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Dr. Margie Holmes: https://www.facebook.com/drmargieholmes/?locale=en_GB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Anna Lee: https://www.instagram.com/annaisaverage/ Lioness: https://www.instagram.com/lionesshealth/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 questions around sex. Sahar and Lori explore how childhood experiences, toxic relationships, and struggles with sexual dysfunction have shaped Sahar’s relationship to sex. If you’ve ever wondered how our past can echo through our sex lives, or what it takes to truly confront our own patterns, then maybe a sex therapy session is in order. Doing Sex: https://www.instagram.com/doing____sex/?hl=en Sahar Zand: https://www.instagram.com/saharzand5/?hl=en Lori: https://drloribethbisbey.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices