Frequently Asked Questions, Answered:
Q: Who is Jane Fleishman and who is Ashley Mader?
Dr. Jane Fleishman is a sexuality educator and Dr. Ashley Mader is a licensed therapist who both received their doctorates at the Widener University Center for Human Sexuality Studies and concentrated on sexuality and aging. Q: What happened to our venerated founder Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh, the woman of many names and many ideas? A: Laura is on to a new career and was looking for someone to continue her “baby”. She proposed the idea of hosting the show last summer by the pool at the Victoria Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit to Drs. Ashley Mader and Jane Fleishman, who were the co-chairs of the Sexuality and Aging Training Institute in 2015 and 2016. Laura is continuing on the podcast as our producer and host emeritus. Q: Who is this Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh and why does she have so many names? A: Laura is an author who instead of a midlife crisis facing an empty nest after 25 years at home with kids decided to get way out of her comfort zone and create a podcast. She wrote under a pseudonym, Laura Collins, for a decade before combining her two names. It does not fit onto name tags when she attends events. Her favorite troll comment: "really? did she leave out her paternal great-grandmother's nickname?" Q: Sex? Really? Sex over 50? A: Yes. Laura found it curious that people think sex and sexuality are unexpected, even silly, topics for those in the second half of life. In fact, it makes her a little angry. "Sex is a natural part of life throughout the journey. We should stop laughing and start thinking about how to enhance and improve sex throughout life. And then start laughing, because without humor all is lost." Q: Who pays Laura and Jane and Ashley to do this? A: No one. The podcast is free to listeners and they do all the work and uses her own equipment and resources. Sweet gig, huh? Q: Who is Alberta Knish? A: She's a mysterious and very clever academic. Her contributions are filed by phone, so who knows? There are many guesses about her identity but Laura isn't saying. Q: Who is Dr. Rosalind Baculum? A: Rumor is that her name is Carrie Arnold and she is a science writer who tweets under the name @EDbites. Q: Who is Marina Machlos? A: A young woman with warrior hair and the ability to translate youth culture and language to grandmas and grandpas. Q: Aren't "knish," "baculum," and "machlos" words that mean vulva and penis and lascivious? A: Exactly. Your command of Yiddish, and Greek, and your knowledge of whale anatomy impress us. Q: How long will this podcast series last? A: The plan was for six months: from January through June 2016. Laura continued a bit longer until she found Ashley and Jane. Laura’s still considering a future career as a lion tamer. No, that is not a sex reference. Q: Where do Laura, Ashley, and Jane get her guests? A: They invite people they find interesting. Some of them are experts, others just those with insights and wisdom. They especially likes the ones who make her laugh. Q: Where is the podcast taped? A: In Ashley’s office or Jane’s kitchen. Q: What equipment and software do they use? A: Laura uses a MacBook Pro running Audacity open source audio editing software. Jane and Ashley tape interviews with on Ashley’s iPhone 5S. The podcast is hosted on Libsyn and available on iTunes and most podcast software and apps, plus available here on the ourbetterhalf.net website. Q: Where do those nifty cartoons of Laura come from? A: Laura's friend, Erica, taught her how to Bitmoji. She may never appear as a real human again! Q: Laura called herself a "prude." What did she mean? A: Laura is pretty buttoned up. Her friends and family can attest to her blushing over the mildest of sexual content and her disapproval of crudeness. She is not known for talking about sex in public. But that's the fun. When Laura asks questions she really is curious about the answers and isn't trying to seem all-knowing or worldly. She knows that she is like many of her listeners: not someone who has spent a lot of time delving into the sexier corners of the Internet or hanging out in places where sex is discussed openly. She thinks there is a place for people who want to learn without being turned off by too much vulgarity or explicit content. Sex, after all, is for everyone -- but the modern ubiquity of over-shared and often crude information is not. If you are interested, check out Episode 33 when Laura's husband Mark, who isn't a prude, interviews her at the end of her run as host. |
Who is Alberta Knish, our really really old sex correspondent?She's a woman of mystery, wisdom, and a very hot browser...
Who is Dr. Rosalind Baculum, our sexy science correspondent?Who is Marina Machlos,
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