The Hotbed – Details, episodes & analysis

Have you been at it like rabbits in Lockdown 3 or have you found sex is the last thing on your mind? Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams discuss the trials of lockdown love, why Anniki wants a chin-lift, sexy new TV – from Lover's Rock to Bridgerton – and the now-legendary BBC dildo appearance. There's also a guest spot from Dr Karen Gurney, who offers her top tips for reviving a long-lost libido. Recorded via Zoom (please forgive some minor sound issues)

Edited and produced by Alex Graham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good sex starts with doing the recycling, Anniki Sommerville and Lisa Williams have always maintained. To develop this thought, they discuss what socialist ideals – more free childcare, laundry and food services - would lead them to having better sex, prompted by Lisa reading Professor Kristen R Ghodsee’s book Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism. Lisa then speaks to Prof Ghodsee about what we can learn from socialism, what the pitfalls of past systems have been, why women in East Germany had more orgasms than their counterparts in the West, and why the huge amount of unpaid work women do can have a negative impact on their sexual satisfaction and relationships. Recorded at home, produced by Alex Graham. This series of The Hotbed has been kindly sponsored by Mooncup, the UK’s original silicone reusable menstrual cup. If you’d like to try one, you can use the code HOTBED at mooncup.co.uk to get a 10% discount (until the end of June 2020).

If you would like to hear more from Prof Kristen R Ghodsee she hosts the podcast A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this the finale episode in the series, ‘The Hotbed’ trio are reunited: with Lisa, Anniki and

Cherry taking on Camp Bestival in a special LIVE podcast also starring Carrie Anne AKA

@mre.soeur and Kate from @lesbemums. They discuss why relationships are so hard after

kids, how communication can be reduced to who defrosted what for dinner and the

importance of talking about the ‘emotional load’ and finding ways to divvy up tasks. The

show needed to be more child-friendly than usual (Camp Bestival is a family festival) so

there are some interesting euphemisms along the way.

We hope you enjoyed this season and we’ll be back soon with more chat, more laughs and

more tips on how to stay sexy and sane.

Resources:

Buy The Hotbed book ‘More Orgasms Please’ here

Couples counselling information can be found here

And the waiting list for tickets to Camp Bestival 2020 can be found here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cherry Healey talks to ‘the fit feminist’ Shona Vertue about the many reasons to be fit and strong (none of which

are to look a certain way), they talk about Cherry has been doing her pelvic floor squeezes all wrong until now,

and Shona answers some listeners’ questions about diastasis recti and getting into fitness at an older age. In the

studio, Lisa Williams talk about the Nike mannequin, body positivity and Lisa reviews Wuka period pants.

Recorded at Acast. Produced by Alex Graham and Lisa Williams. Thanks to the two people who have reviewed

our book on Amazon. Yeah two people. If anyone wants to be a mate and leave us a review we will thank you in

next week’s show notes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hotbedder-at-large Cherry Healey is back in the fold for this episode, which centres on sex and ageing, and what that can mean for a relationship, the stairpile and your orgasm rate. She interviews comedian Tova Leigh about the midlife crisis which led to her rediscovering her sexuality, confidence and personality, and about how, when your partner has a lower sex drive than you, you have to take matters into your own hands. Meanwhile, Lisa Williams reviews Wuka menstrual pants, designed to be worn instead of tampons, pads or cups, or as well as, if you have heavy periods. Recorded at Acast, London. Produced by Alex Graham and Lisa Williams. Thanks to John at Acast for the studio support.

Don’t forget that our book More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters is out now (it was listed by Stylist magazine as one of the top non-fiction books of 2019), and if you review it on Amazon we will find you and give you a biscuit.

And if this episode made you think, please follow us on Instagram @thehotbedcollective and let us know your thoughts. Or tell us what the last messages you and your partner, if you have one, sent to one another.

Until next week!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we resist the pressure to get 'beach body ready' as summer holiday season approaches? Lisa Williams quizzes Natalie Lee, AKA Style Me Sunday, about how to be a warrior woman on the beach and by the pool, how being a midwife helped her become body positive, and how body positivity compares to body neutrality. They also discuss their favourite sex toys and how some self love helps sleep and mood, and how self-image can affect sexy time. Anniki Sommerville and Lisa also talk about "fanny flutters", holiday romances and banishing bad sex memories.

To order the Hotbed Collective's brand new book: More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters, click here.

Don't forget to message us your thoughts on this episode via Instagram @thehotbedcollective

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode The Hotbed talk frankly about what they’ve been up to since season 4

ended (for a start they’ve got a BOOK coming out called ‘More Orgasms Please,’). They also

discuss Love Island, and what their favourite sexual position is (as an ode to More

magazine’s 'Position of The Fortnight') . Anniki interviews the lovely Lisa Smosarski, Stylist

magazine editor and they talk about sex, relationships and how on earth you edit a

magazine, have 3 kids, a husband and have your fingernails still intact! Recorded at

Acast Studios. Produced by Lisa Williams, Anniki Sommerville and Alex Graham.

Useful links:

To order The Hotbed’s fabulous new book released July 4th 2019 click here

For The School of Life video about sex-starved relationships:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSs2dXDf1Zs

Please subscribe, rate and review our show if you like it, and send any feedback to

thehotbedcollective@gmail.com

You can also follow us on Instagram @thehotbedcollective

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Trigger warning: This episode makes references to self-harm and suicide** To round off the fourth series we interview a MAN for the first time on the podcast! Buck Angel is an LA-based activist who is known in the trans community as ’Tranpa’ because he enjoys teaching and preaching about self-acceptance and love. He tells Lisa Williams about his journey to transition, what it’s like to live as a man versus as someone with a female body, what cis-women can learn about self-acceptance about their bodies from him, and how he has learnt to banish body shame. In the studio, Anniki and Lisa talk about if they enjoy being women, Dolly Parton and Instacrushes. They also reveal a bit more about their forthcoming book More Orgasms Please… Why Female Pleasure Matters. Produced by Alex Graham and Lisa Williams. Recorded at Great Big Owl Studios and via Skype.

If you are feeling suicidal, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 or see their website [https://www.samaritans.org/]

To find out about how to access more information about trans rights, see Stonewall. [https://www.stonewall.org.uk/]

Follow Buck Angel on Instagram @buckangel [http://bit.ly/2XybfSk]

To see Buck's sex toy range at Sh! Women's Store click here [http://bit.ly/2PpecC1]

Follow the Hotbed Collective on Instagram @thehotbedcollective

You can pre-order The Hotbed Collective book’s More Orgasm’s Please from Waterstones [http://bit.ly/2UztAN2] 

or Amazon [https://amzn.to/2JH3tDE]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Anniki and Lisa discuss what happens to your relationship after you have kids. Why is it that we often get locked into the same arguments and are there any strategies to break free? Why do some new mothers resent their partner when they try to help and then hate them when they don’t? They also discuss the joys of Lidl and why it's often Anniki's friends want to talk about. There’s also an interview with US author- Jancee Dunn, who wrote the brilliant book, 'How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids'. She offers up lots of advice on practical things you can do to improve your relationship including some tips she picked up from FBI hostage negotiators. Finally, The Hotbed will be appearing at this year's Camp Bestival so hear details of that too! Keep your eyes on our Instagram account - @thehotbedcollective - for details of a prize draw to win a copy of Jancee's book.

Resources:

Jancee Dunn’s book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hate-Your-Husband-After-Kids/dp/1784754773/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=jancee+dunn&qid=1554576013&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell

More info on how to communicate more effectively with your other half:

https://www.hprc-online.org/articles/performance-strategies-basic-training-for-couples-communication

Counselling info:

https://www.relate.org.uk

Camp Bestival line up and tickets:

https://www.campbestival.net

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.