Doing Sex
Vespucci · Video Podcast Series
Podcast Host
Doing Sex is a video podcast series exploring intimacy, identity and the forces that shape how we understand sex — from culture, religion and politics to trauma, technology, relationships and desire.
Part confessional, part investigative and part therapy, the series sees journalist Sahar Zand turn the lens inward as well as outward, combining candid personal conversations with interviews spanning sex researchers, therapists, activists, campaigners and people whose experiences challenge conventional ideas about sexuality.
Across the series, Sahar explores subjects including sex education in Iran, FGM and pleasure, sex work, kink and power, open relationships, forced marriage, sexual health, ADHD and intimacy — asking what the way we “do sex” reveals about who we are.
2025 - 26 · Limited Series
Watch/Listen: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
The Mosque for Bangladesh’s Transgender Women
In Bangladesh, hijras - once a revered community - have long lived on the margins. Also known as the third gender, hijras form a diverse group, including those born intersex - meaning their physical traits don’t fit neatly into ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories - and transgender individuals. Traditionally seen as spiritual figures with the power to bless or curse, they are now outcasts, denied homes, jobs, and opportunities. But in a quiet village in Mymensingh, a spiritual revolution is taking place.
Decriminalising brothels - with Catherine De Noire
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.
Listen/ Watch: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
Sex education in Iran - with Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh
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.
Listen/ Watch: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
How I Found Pleasure After Female Genital Mutilation with Fatou Badjie
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.
Listen/ Watch: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
How to give the perfect bl@w j@b from a Lebanese-Brazilian sexologist
Fatou Badjie is a UK-based Gambian activist who survived female genital mutilation as a child. In this powerful conversation, she speaks with Sahar about her experience of FGM in 1990s Gambia — and how, years later, she began the journey of reclaiming her body, her voice, and her right to sexual pleasure. In this first of two episodes, Fatou breaks down the different types of FGM, the cultural beliefs that sustain the practice, and the long-term impact it’s had on her life. Fatou now works with Care for Women and Girls in Birmingham and the Sundial Centre for Education in Oxford, helping others affected by FGM and gender-based violence. A content warning: this episode contains discussions of abuse and sexual trauma, which some viewers may find distressing.
Listen/ Watch: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
Sex and marriage - with Dr. Margie Holmes
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.
Listen/ Watch: YouTube · Spotify · Amazon Music · Apple Podcasts
Credits
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Sahar Zand
Presenter & Producer
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Stephen Hughes
Series Producer
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Rebecca Stratford
Executive Producer
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Simon Pitts
Commissioning Editor