Hey, it's Zach.

Before we start the show, I just want to let you know that we're covering some adult topics in this episode.

If you listen to the show with kids kids you might want to skip this one.

Okay on with the show.

A few years ago while working on the HBO TV show The Deuce, Alicia Rodis was assigned the sex scene of a lifetime.

There is a scene where one of the characters went into this warehouse and it was filled with folks having sex.

And this was a massive day on set where I think we had around 38

background performers who were in different various states of undress and this director was very specific of like I

think I want a threesome I think I want a couple of group sex scenes I want to pass by a couple of group sex scenes. I want to pass by a couple people maybe getting

oral sex. I spent days leading up to the shooting of the scene calling each one of these performers going through what exactly was expected

of them, how we were going to shoot it, making sure there were barriers between the folks that

were simulating sex, and it ended up being just a very large strategic

dance that we all set in motion that day.

Choregraphing that kind of dance is Rodis's job.

She is what the film and television industry calls an intimacy coordinator.

She oversees sex scenes, or really scenes involving any kind of intimacy,

from a simple kiss to a 38-person orgy. And these days, producers for movies and TV shows

are increasingly hiring people like her

to make sure everyone on set feels comfortable and safe.

It's a job that involves prosthetics, pubic hair wigs, body doubles, emotional counseling, and some very explicit contracts.

There's no or very little romance involved in most of these scenes.

For the Freak economics radio network, this is the economics of everyday things.

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