I Came For Science

Laura Sirot
  • 5.0 (4)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to I Came For Science: a show that explores all things sex, reproduction, and inclusion in STEM! Your host is Laura Sirot, a professor of Biology who has been studying animal sex for over 30 years. Join us as we normalize talking about the intersections of sex and science, as well as hearing about the lived experiences of the scientists that study it. To get in touch, email us at icameforscience@gmail.com or message us on X or Instagram @icameforscience. Visit our website at: https://www.icameforscience.org/

  1. Episode 25: Masturbation: An Evolutionary Perspective

    12/23/2025

    Episode 25: Masturbation: An Evolutionary Perspective

    In the spirit of normalizing talking about topics related to sex, we give you "Masturbation: An Evolutionary Perspective". In this episode, Laura interviews evolutionary biologist Matilda Brindle about her research in which she uses evolutionary methods to test hypotheses about when and why masturbation evolved. Matilda shares with us how she came to this area of research, what is known about masturbation in other animal species, what her research has unveiled about the topic, and how her work has been received by colleagues and the general public. Happy listening!

    34 min
  2. Episode 24: The Science of Adolescent Porn Use

    11/21/2025

    Episode 24: The Science of Adolescent Porn Use

    Most tweens and teens have been exposed to porn, whether intentionally or unintentionally. What are the impacts of porn use on adolescents? How should parents or guardians respond to adolescent porn use? These are some of the important questions being addressed by our guest in this episode, Dr. Megan Maas. Laura and Megan discuss the challenges of studying adolescent porn use and what has been found in this area so far. More resources for parents and guardians about porn use, sex education, and more is available at her website: https://www.meganmaas.com/

    29 min
  3. Episode 23: Cetacean Clitorises: How they were discovered and why they matter

    11/04/2025

    Episode 23: Cetacean Clitorises: How they were discovered and why they matter

    After Episode 22 where we discussed the diversity and evolution of male genitalia, we had lots of questions. One thing we were left wondering was why we know less about female genitalia and what is the current state of this field. To dig into this topic more, Laura interviewed Dara Orbach who studies the reproductive biology of cetaceans with a focus on understanding the genitalia of both males and females, and how they interact. Together with her collaborators, Dara's work has broken new ground on our understanding of the functions of cetacean clitorises.

    34 min
  4. Episode 22: Wild and Wacky Penises: More than just sperm transporters

    10/16/2025

    Episode 22: Wild and Wacky Penises: More than just sperm transporters

    Did you know that animal penises come in a wide variety and that some animals have bones in their penises? In this episode, Laura talks with biologists Dave Hosken and Matt Dean about the wide variety of penises found in different animal species. We discuss some of our favorite examples and then explore hypotheses for why such variation evolved. Matt shares his lab's research findings on the evolution, function, and development of the penis bone (a.k.a., the baculum).

    37 min
  5. Episode 21: Plan M: The Past, Present, and Future of Male Contraceptives

    09/18/2025

    Episode 21: Plan M: The Past, Present, and Future of Male Contraceptives

    Did you ever wonder why there are not more male contraceptives? In this episode, team member Daphne Trillana asks the question "where are the promised new male contraceptives"? Laura and Daphne discuss this issue and then Laura talks with two experts in the field: Logan Nickels of The Male Contraceptive Initiative and Dr. Stephanie Page, an endocrinologist who develops and studies new methods of male contraception. Together, they explain the history of the development of male contraceptives, current research and promising directions, and what the future of male contraceptives looks like.

    42 min
  6. Episode 20: Sexy conservation: How the science of sex is saving pygmy rabbits and pandas

    09/01/2025

    Episode 20: Sexy conservation: How the science of sex is saving pygmy rabbits and pandas

    Welcome back to Season 4 of I Came For Science. In this episode, Laura interviews Dr. Meg Martin about her research on conservation breeding. Conservation breeding is a method of increasing the populations of endangered and threatened species by having them breed in captivity and then releasing the resulting offspring into the wild when they are old enough. Traditionally, breeding pairs were chosen to maximize the genetic diversity of the population. However, until relatively recently, the important role of mate choice was not considered. Dr. Martin's work has changed this approach to use the science of sex to improve reproductive outcomes.

    33 min
  7. Episode 19: The State of Science Funding in the U.S.

    05/15/2025

    Episode 19: The State of Science Funding in the U.S.

    In this episode, we embrace a different meaning of our title "I Came For Science" by standing up for science funding. One of our production team members, Lain Patton, interviews our host, Laura Sirot, about how science funding works in the U.S. and what the recent changes mean for the current and future states of science, scientists, and the general public.

    31 min
  8. Episode 18: Y is a crooked letter: A curious scientist's deep dive into asexuality, sexual cannibalism and dealing with criticism

    04/11/2025

    Episode 18: Y is a crooked letter: A curious scientist's deep dive into asexuality, sexual cannibalism and dealing with criticism

    Were you that kid who always kept asking "But, why?" after adults in your life answered questions. Or, do you know a kid like that? Our guest for this episode, Dr. Nathan Burke, was that kid. His parents and teachers would get annoyed by all his questions until he found "his people" among evolutionary biologists. Evolutionary biologists persistently ask "But, why" questions about the way the biological world works. In this episode, Dr. Burke explains how his questions led to new hypotheses about asexuality, sexual cannibalism, and, even, dealing with criticism.

    35 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

Welcome to I Came For Science: a show that explores all things sex, reproduction, and inclusion in STEM! Your host is Laura Sirot, a professor of Biology who has been studying animal sex for over 30 years. Join us as we normalize talking about the intersections of sex and science, as well as hearing about the lived experiences of the scientists that study it. To get in touch, email us at icameforscience@gmail.com or message us on X or Instagram @icameforscience. Visit our website at: https://www.icameforscience.org/

Information

  • Creator
    Laura Sirot
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Laura Sirot
  • Show Website
    I Came For Science