Ladies, We Need To Talk ABC listen

Having sex can be exposing, nerve wracking. When we strip down, we reveal ourselves – and not just our bits. No wonder we sometimes reach for courage in a bottle.  

For some women, a few shots can make them feel comfortable enough to go home with that hottie from across the bar, for others the relationship between alcohol and sex can be more toxic.  

Yumi Stynes chats to women who are putting the lid back on the bottle and embarking on sex...stone cold sober.  

Featured in this episode:  
Tawny Lara, author of Dry Humping  
Faye Lawrence, grey area drinking coach 

Yumi has been on an adventure down to the depths of the ABC archives to uncover an absolute banger of an episode.  

On every form you ever fill out, there’s always a tick box about your romantic status — de facto, married, single. Why are we only judged on romantic relationships rather than some of the most important bonds in our life — our friendships? 

In this love letter to our friends, Yumi Stynes invites herself into the joyful friendship between Jamila Rizvi and Clare Bowditch and celebrates the deep platonic love we can only get from our besties. 

Is the soundtrack to your life a ticking baby-making clock?  

What if you’re desperate to be a mother but the other half of the baby-making equation just hasn’t become available? 

Yumi Stynes meets women who have given the middle finger to the idea of the nuclear family and become solo mums by choice. 

From swiping for sperm; turkey-basting and solo sleep deprivation – find out what it’s really like to choose to parent on your own.  

Featured in this episode: 


Alexandra Collier – Author of Inconceivable 


Dr Karin Hammarberg - Senior Research Fellow, Monash University

If you’re having trouble getting hot for your long-term partner? You’re not alone. 

Domestic bliss, smelling our partner’s farts, demanding kids – it feels like it’s all part of a worldwide conspiracy to shrivel our sex drive. 

So come hang with Yumi Stynes and sex nerd Emily Nagoski to get some practical advice on how to brush off the cobwebs, bring back our lady-boners and actually want to have sex with our life mate again. 

Featured in this episode: 


Emily Nagoski PhD – Sex researcher and author of books, Come As You Are; Burnout and Come Together

Does your vagina give off a bit of a questionable waft? 

The smells emanating from our undies can be embarrassing and some women end up feeling massive shame about their malodorous pudenda. 

We want to know, do you have a chronic problem with a pongy vagina? What lengths have you gone to to remedy it? Or have you embraced the waft?  

Do you have a friend or workmate with a smelly vagina but you can’t bring yourself to tell them? 

We are looking for your deepest, most shameful, funniest and most embarrassing tales of when it’s all wrong down there. 

You can be anonymous but we are looking for people to be recorded for the podcast.

If this is you, flick us an email: ladies@abc.net.au

Yumi Stynes has pinched the keys to the ABC podcast dungeon and has pulled out her absolute fave episodes for you. 

Are you team Dolphin or team Pubus Maximus? 

Pubic hair — it's one of the most scrutinised patches of hair on our bodies. Research says 80 per cent of women groom their Map of Tassie regularly. But why do we feel the need to pluck, shave, scrape, or zap our pubes at all? Yumi Stynes find out the meaning behind our pubey grooming choices. 

Featured in this episode:  


Mona Chalabi - Data journalist  


Maeve Marsden - Podcaster  


Christina Zheng – Comedian