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Stimulated: How Vibrators Became America's Favorite Sex Toy

By Kaia Findlay,

Anita Rao

Published March 17, 2023 at 6:12 AM EDT

An illustration featuring the word "Stimulated" in the center surrounded by different kinds and colors of vibrators. There is an orange dot pattern around the edges of the illustration.

True or false? Victorian doctors invented the vibrator to cure women's "hysteria" by bringing them to sexual climax. The answer may surprise you ... as it did Anita! She gets the truth about vibrator history from journalist Hallie Lieberman and meets Anna Lee, the engineer behind the first-ever “smart” vibrator that can help you better understand your arousal patterns.

Meet the guests:

Hallie Lieberman, author of "Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy," shares the history of the vibrator and debunks myths and misconceptions around how this sex toy evolved
Anna Lee, co-founder and head of engineering at Lioness, talks about how her company designed their smart vibrator, how they collect data and what they've learned from their users so far

Read the transcript | Review the podcast

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Kaia Findlay

Kaia Findlay is the lead producer of Embodied, WUNC's weekly podcast and radio show about sex, relationships and health. Kaia first joined the WUNC team in 2020 as a producer for The State of Things.

See stories by Kaia Findlay

Anita Rao

Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.

See stories by Anita Rao