Episode

Sex is Weird 5: Why does it feel good, anyway?

Podcast
What The Duck?!
Published
Jun 5, 2026
Duration seconds
1544
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/what-the-duck/reproduction-pleasure-evolution/106694970
Audio
https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/l0/Z/2h.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/what-the-duck-4814167/episodes/sex-is-weird-5-why-does-it-feel-good-anyway
Markdown
/podcast/what-the-duck-4814167/sex-is-weird-5-why-does-it-feel-good-anyway.md

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Summary

What is the role of pleasure in successful reproduction? Evolution says it's mightily important: every female vertebrate has a clitoris. Snakes have two! Female pleasure has been selected for. Making sex fun and pleasurable is a biologically sensible thing to do, more sex means more potential babies. Some studies of pigs and dairy cows have found an increase of up to 6% in successful conception when the females are stimulated during artificial insemination. Sex is Weird is a series of What the Duck?! with Dr Ann Jones following the sexual evolution of the animal kingdom. Please note that this program contains adult themes and explicit language. Parental guidance is recommended. Featuring: Dr Bruno Buzatto, Flinders University, South Australia Lynette Greenwood, Dairy farmer, Victoria Associate Professor Andrew Durso, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Lucy Cooke, Author and Film maker Associate Professor Patty Brennan, Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, US Emeritus Professor Susan Suarez, Cornell University, New York Production: Ann Jones, Presenter / Producer Petria Ladgrove, Producer Additional mastering: Isabella Tropiano This episode of What the Duck?! was originally broadcast in 2024 and was produced on the land of the Wadawarrung and the Kaurna people. Find more episodes of the ABC podcast, What the Duck?! with the always curious Dr Ann Jones exploring the mysteries of nature on ABC Listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll learn more about the weird and unusual aspects of our natural world in a quirky, fun way with easy to understand science.