Welcome to Episode 11, where NICOLE PRAUSE and I discuss, among other things, the scientific study of orgasm, the pernicious effects of social discomfort about sex on those trying to study it, and her journey from sleepy little Beaumont, Texas to sparkly, cutting-edge Los Angeles. Life hasn’t always been easy for Nikky, but that’s just made her scrappy—a determined problem solver. Nikky Prause is an expert psychophysiologist and neuroscientist. She trained among other places at the KINSEY INSTITUTE for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, at Indiana University in Bloomington. She’s an associate research scientist at UCLA and a licensed clinical psychologist. Recently, she founded LIBEROS, LLC, which is her very own private research institute and biotech company. I don’t have a Nicole Prause book to link to here, but I do have things for you to check out if you’re interested in learning more (see links below). And I do want to say this: Nicole Prause is doing vitally important work—work that for all kinds of bad reasons has been made unreasonably difficult for her to do. She has been subject to threats, lies, attempts to derail her career…it goes on and on. So she has fashioned an unorthodox approach that seeks to overcome the various and relentless impediments she’s had to face. This makes me think at least two things: 1) She really is going to win these battles. Don’t let her good humor and warmth deceive you—she’s a real fighter. 2) We owe Nikky a tremendous debt of gratitude. She’s fighting to do her work, yes, but when the ultimate accounting is done—when we realize the fruits of her labor—we’ll realize that WE are the real beneficiaries. So thanks Nikky. Keep up the fight. We’re standing with you. And here are those links I promised! Check them out:
- Nicole Prause in the Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers
- Studying Sexual Rewards: It May Not Be Orgasm: TEDx Boulder