A thousand people. Three weeks. One question science rarely asks outright: what does daily pleasure actually do for you? In this 6-part audio series, hosted by veteran sex educator Danielle Bezalel, Pleasure People follows eight participants of a first-of-its-kind intervention study that tracked pleasure's impact on sleep, stress, relationship satisfaction, and so much more. You'll hear directly from these participants about what it was like to have pleasure assigned and the lasting impact the study had on their lives. The findings will surprise you. Danielle is joined by Magic Wand study lead researcher Dr. Candice Hargons and legendary sex researcher Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. to unpack the layered effect pleasure has on quality of life, and why self-pleasure has gotten such a bad rap.
Ep. 5 What's pleasure got to do with chronic pain, illness, and aging?
Contrary to popular opinion, pain and pleasure can co-exist in the body and this episode explores treating pleasure as a teammate when navigating chronic pain and illness.
Emily Nagoski returns, now living with long COVID herself, to talk pleasure and chronic illness, aging, and disability, including research on people with serious health conditions who report some of the most fulfilling sex lives on record.
Three participants share their experiences navigating illness, pain and aging in their own bodies. Mary Lou, diagnosed with lichen sclerosis, finds the Magic Wand does what her steroid prescription couldn't. Julie, in active treatment for multiple myeloma, describes the importance of pleasure even on her worst pain days. And Robbie explains how an orgasm can push arthritis pain to the background, at least for a little while.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
Thank you to sex educator and author Emily Nagoski, phD for appearing on this episode as our expert guest.
And a huge thank you to the participants in the Magic Wand study who shared their experiences in this episode.
4 Nov 2026
Ep 4: Is stress keeping pleasure away?
Episode four of Pleasure People asks how stress effects our ability to feel good at all and makes the case for pleasure as a stress reliever.
Sex Researcher Emily Nagoski breaks down the brakes and accelerator running in every brain (the dual control model), explains why stress doesn't cancel out pleasure so much as slam the brakes on it entirely and covers what dopamine, orgasm brain scans, and warm socks have to do with it.
Four participants track their own stress: Binx leaning on her vibrator through wildfire season and grief, Mary using masturbation to regain a sense of agency in her body, Sueann treating her pleasure as a stress gauge, and Julie Rae treating pleasure as ritual to get through cancer treatments and grief.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
Thank you to sex educator and author Emily Nagoski, phD for appearing on this episode as our expert guest.
And a huge thank you to the participants in the Magic Wand study who shared their experiences in this episode.
28 Oct 2026
Ep 3: How does your identity impact your pleasure?
Your name. Your job. Where you're from. That's the version of you most people get. In this episode, host Danielle Bezalel asks deeper questions about identity.
Danielle turns to Dr. Candice Hargons for what research shows about how identity impacts pleasure, the orgasm gap by gender and sexuality, why queer couples report better sex than straight ones, and what "pleasure worthiness" means when you don't feel entitled to it.
Three participants from the Magic Wand study share how the study reshaped their sense of self: Binx working through years of not feeling worthy of pleasure, Stanley navigating shame about what "counts" as sex, and Sueann tracing a lifetime of respectability politics tied to her height, her hair and her desirability.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
Thank you to Magic Wand Study principal researcher Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons and sex educator and author Emily Nagoski, phD for appearing on this episode as expert guests.
And a huge thank you to the participants in the Magic Wand study who shared their experiences in this episode.
21 Oct 2026
Ep 2. Why is the US so obsessed with abstinence?
In episode 2, we continue to follow participants of a 3-week pleasure study, diving into the week where they were not allowed to have any.
Host Danielle Bezalel traces abstinence-only sex ed back to its Reagan-era origins with legendary sex researcher Emily Nagoski, unpacking the politics, and the decades of research showing it has not achieved its desired outcomes. Then, Danielle and Magic Wand study lead Dr. Candice Hargons revisit a question neither of them saw coming: what does "abstinence" even mean, and why couldn't 1,000 participants agree on it?
Participants Mary, Robbie, and Liz share what the week actually looked like for them, from religious guilt to counting down the minutes to a masturbation session, to a week that collided with a news cycle no one could have planned for.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
Thank you to Magic Wand Study principal researcher Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons and sex educator and author Emily Nagoski, phD for appearing on this episode as expert guests.
And a huge thank you to the participants in the Magic Wand study who shared their experiences in this episode.
21 Oct 2026
Ep 1. What happens when 1,000 people sign up for a pleasure study?
What happens when pleasure gets assigned? A weekly regimen, a daily set of questions, and a vibrator. Pleasure People introduces you to the very people who signed up for the assignment.
In the opening episode of this limited series, host, Danielle Bezalel, a.k.a. DB, lays out the Magic Wand study — a three-week intervention that followed 1,000 people who agreed to turn their most private moments into data. You'll meet eight of them: a retired theater professor, an organic chemist, a slide-whistle champion, spanning ages 22 to 71. Real people who signed up to let researchers run their sex lives for three weeks.
This episode introduces listeners to how taking part in a pleasure study impacted their lives.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
Thank you to Magic Wand Study principal researcher Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons for appearing on this episode as an expert guest.
And a huge thank you to the participants in the Magic Wand study who shared their experiences in this episode.
6 Oct 2026
Introducing Pleasure People
Pleasure People is the series that uncovers the science of pleasure through real research and the people who lived it. A thousand people. Three weeks. One question science rarely asks outright: what does daily pleasure actually do for you?
In this 6-part limited audio series, hosted by veteran sex educator Danielle Bezalel, Pleasure People follows eight participants of a first-of-its-kind intervention study that tracked pleasure's impact on sleep, stress, relationship satisfaction, and so much more. You'll hear directly from these participants about what it was like to have pleasure assigned and the lasting impact the study had on their lives. The findings will surprise you.
Danielle is joined by Magic Wand study lead researcher Dr. Candice Hargons and legendary sex researcher Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. to unpack the layered effect pleasure has on quality of life, and why self-pleasure has gotten such a bad rap.
Subscribe now. Episodes coming October 21st.
Pleasure People is hosted and produced by Danielle Bezalel
Executive Producer: Sarah Tomchesson
Lead producer: Kate Helen Downey
Music supervision, sound design, and mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Our theme music was composed by Julie McCarthy
Other music cues courtesy of APM Music
Pleasure People was made possible by the financial support of Vibratex, Inc.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
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