logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
37m 29s

Gen X? More Like Gen Sex.

The New York Times
About this episode

Mireille Silcoff recently wrote an article for The New York Times Magazine titled “Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex.” At a time of life when many women describe feeling less visible and less desirable, Silcoff said, her life instead “exploded in a detonation of sex confetti.”

On today’s episode, Silcoff shares the juicy back story to her popular article, from her coming of age in Montreal to the surprising sexual resurgence she experienced after her divorce. Silcoff reflects on what it feels like to be a highly sexual person in her early 50s and tells us how being part of Gen X is central to her newfound freedom.

For an upcoming episode about location sharing, the Modern Love team wants to hear your location-sharing story. Did something happen that made you regret sharing your location with someone? Was there a moment when you were thankful that you had? Where were you? What happened? How did your relationship change as a result? The deadline is May 1. Submission instructions are here.

Here’s how to submit a Modern Love essay to The New York Times.

Here’s how to submit a Tiny Love Story.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Up next
Aug 20
Bridget Everett Says a Best Friend Can Be Your Greatest Love (Encore)
Stories of romantic love are everywhere, but the actor, singer and comedian Bridget Everett says that friendships deserve our attention, too. Onscreen and in everyday life.Last Fall, Everett appeared on Modern Love to talk about her HBO Original series “Somebody Somewhere,” which ... Show More
38m 9s
Aug 13
Where Did All My Male Friendships Go?
Sam Graham-Felsen never imagined being lonely. Throughout his childhood and as a young man his life revolved around his friends. But when Sam got married and then had kids, going out with his friends almost felt like a luxury. After years of focusing on everything in his life exc ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 6
The Kind of Pain She Wanted
For her entire life, Grace Hussar has been an overthinker. No matter how much she wanted to be in the moment, she always felt as if she was just outside it. But when she took up endurance running, she realized something: Extreme pain turned her thoughts off. She wanted more of th ... Show More
46m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Episode 336: Not Having Sex Is The Latest Sex Trend
A growing number of people seem to be hitting the pause button on their sex lives, which is why terms like “volcel” (short for voluntary celibacy) and “boysober” are trending on social media. So what’s this all about? Why is not having sex the hot new sex trend? Let’s talk about ... Show More
35m 30s
Nov 2024
What Every Woman Needs To Hear From Her Ex
There’s never been more in life to distract us, but we’re more bored than ever before. We unpack why we’re all so damn bored… and whether or not it’s a good thing. Plus, our recommendations, including some funny women talking about Holly’s favourite subject, a new podcast baby in ... Show More
45m 54s
Sep 2024
Sex in Ancient Mesopotamia
How sexually liberated were the people of Ancient Mesopotamia? In what is modern day Iraq and dates back to around 3000 BC. The answer may surprise you, with gender fluidity and sexual diversity quite commonplace. Look no further than their frisky goddess, Ishtar. Taking us back ... Show More
50m 40s
Sep 2024
Rediscovering sexual desire and eroticism with Esther Perel
Few people offer greater insight, sensitivity, and expertise on human relationships and sexuality than Esther Perel. Born and raised in Belgium, Perel’s studies took her from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, to the United States where she built a career in couples and family thera ... Show More
53m 25s
Sep 2024
Episode 326: Sex Tips For Women
Female sexual pleasure is a topic that is not often covered in traditional sex education. In fact, it’s extraordinarily rare for the word “clitoris” to even be mentioned in sex ed! The unfortunate result is that many women (and their partners) never learn the information they rea ... Show More
33m 20s
Oct 2024
Sex Boundaries & Gen Z's 'Oprah'
Subscribe to Mamamia She’s just like Oprah except she’s blonde, white and 30 years old. Who is Alex Cooper, what’s her Daddy Gang and why did Kamala Harris choose her podcast to start her media blitz of America just weeks before the election? Plus, what happens when a world-respe ... Show More
43m 9s
Sep 2024
Article Review: The Troubling Trend in Teenage Sex
Today's episode is a review of an interesting article that I just had to share with the community. It touches on young people navigating their sex lives & how society tends to push sexual trends that can be harmful, especially to young women. It makes me wonder, how many of our b ... Show More
29m 30s
Jul 2023
Episode 207: The History of Kinky Sex
It turns out that for as long as humans have been having sex, they’ve been having pretty kinky sex! So let's talk about our kinky history. In today's episode, we’re going to explore the history of BDSM, the origins of the dildo and vibrator (and how they came to be so popular), t ... Show More
34m 24s
Apr 2025
2571: Are Millennials Really the "Hook-Up Generation" by Dr. Gary Lewandowski of Luvze
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 2571: Luvze challenges the stereotype of Millennials as the "hook-up generation," revealing research that paints a more nua ... Show More
11m 51s
May 2021
Be a Better Gen-S*Xual by Tackling These 7 Relationship Issues!
Gen X is often referred to as “the forgotten generation”. In spite of being forgotten, WE are the generation that invented the internet and laid the groundwork for the world as we know it. Our generation marked the transition from an analog world into a digital one. Our generatio ... Show More
57m 20s