Sex is pleasurable. It should feel safe too.
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From feeling comfortable with your partner to access to public health and medication, "safety" comes up a lot in sex. But, having the tools you need to feel confident in your own sexual health is an essential part of the pursuit of pleasure. Today, Brittany is joined by Dr. Leisha McKinley-Beach, founder and CEO of the Black Public Health Academy, and Dr. Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, to give us a New Year's booster on how to live our best sex lives — and explore how to feel safer in bed.
Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.
Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse
For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You know, we've been talking open about sex and pleasure. |
| 0:04.3 | I don't want you to be thinking about disease, right? |
| 0:08.2 | I want you to be thinking about this is about to be the best three minutes and 12 seconds of your life. |
| 0:15.0 | Right? |
| 0:18.1 | That's what it's supposed to be about. |
| 0:21.0 | But in order for it to be about that, you got to know what feels good for you. |
| 0:28.0 | It's a new year. |
| 0:29.6 | So that means many of us are taking time to check in with ourselves and our health, from mental to dental. |
| 0:35.7 | But I've been curious about how people are thinking about one particular kind of health, |
| 0:42.0 | sexual health. |
| 0:43.5 | My producer, Corey Antonio Rose, walked around downtown Oakland to ask how people are thinking |
| 0:48.4 | about safer sex in the new year, from the things they do to keep themselves and others |
| 0:52.8 | safe to whether or not they knew about |
| 0:54.7 | PrEP, a daily pill taken to prevent HIV. |
| 0:58.2 | Safe sex means for me being cautious of who you lay with and abstaining. |
| 1:03.6 | It means for me to think five steps ahead before I get two sex. |
| 1:08.4 | Obviously using protection and I want to say also having consent and making sure that you |
| 1:13.6 | guys both know that that's what you guys are about to do. |
| 1:16.6 | For me it's about being choosy with who my sex partners are, but definitely condoms. |
| 1:21.6 | I don't want no kids. |
| 1:22.6 | And it also means like I want to be more protective about my own health as a woman in this day and age |
| 1:28.8 | because you never know what people are carrying around. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.