Released: December 31. 2013

In this episode Dan tries to reconcile his romantic ideals with his baser instincts. Is it okay to be a hedonist? Is romance dead? Is monogamy tenable? What does sex mean? Take a break from all the porn and think it over…

intro

Theme includes sample of Run For You by Buke & Gase. Check them out! Intro background music is a song by Múm.

dirty, shameful

An excerpt from Norm MacDonald’s latest album, which is brilliant. Get it here.

sacred

Cartoonist extraordinaire Chester Brown, author of Paying For It, talks about whether sex is sacred. Then Tracy Quan, author of Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, lends her keen insight to the question.

kissing

Dan’s goes to the movies and decides he wants to stop being a dog. More with Chester and Tracy on the subject of smooching. A little Randy Newman and Nick Kroll follows.

casual

Dan and Tracy talk about the pleasures and perils of a hedonistic life. News Flash: It seems that men and women are different!

sex in a city

Fiction by Daniel Kaufman. A young woman has a one-night stand. Performed by Eileen Hsi. Original scoring by Lee Rosevere.

empty feeling

Dan and Chester and Tracy talk about what’s going on when we feel bad after sex. Tracy explains why sex workers prefer married men.

pretty woman

Tracy talks about how sex work and romance differ, and how the clients sometimes get caught up in the illusion.

bowm chika boww!

The power of YES. Dan talks porn with a little help from Cayne Collier and Bill Hicks. Song is “Does That Turn You On” by Lemon.

ryan returns!

Contract disputes have finally been ironed out and Ryan Ridley is back for more fun!

the power of no

Uncle Marty tries to persuade Dan of the virtues of deprivation.

monogamy

More from Chester, Tracy and Ryan on the pros and cons and tenability of fidelity. Playboy Party Girl Suzy McCopin and Melissa Lefton argue about whether repression is a good thing. Dan Savage (in clips) gets to the heart of the matter.

futuresex

From the vault! A bit of Ryan and Dan’s first go at podcasting. Dan wonders whether we’re headed to utopia or hell and Tracy says neither.

plane crash follies

A passenger goes for one last score. Performed by Mike McCafferty and Rachel Adams.

cigarette

After a year and a lifetime of thinking it over, Dan still doesn’t know much! Music is “Latchbox 1” by Hang Glider followed by “Let’s Do It” by Maggie Mull

thanks

Production assistance by Mark Hutchison and Bryan Lotz. Thanks to all the nice people who wrote to make sure I was still alive.

discuss!

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Written, performed and edited by Daniel Kaufman. (Except where noted.)

Photograph: Rodin’s The Kiss, by Daniel Kaufman

Site/Podcast © 2014 Daniel Kaufman. All rights reserved.

Brief music and film audio excerpts are included under the Fair Use Doctrine for educational purposes only. All copyrights retained by their respective owners. See the bibliography for more details.