Welcome (back) to Cosmic Clowns, a podcast about exploring consciousness, surviving chaos, and finding the comedy in it all. After a tiny hiatus, we kick off our second “season” with an episode all about the erotic (just in time for Valentine’s Day). In this episode, we explore the multifaceted nature of an erotic that includes all sensual experience within its definition. We center Audre Lorde's ovular essay, “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic As Power” where she emphasizes the erotic as a source of empowerment, resistance, and (especially) joy–a key insight for these times.

Her/our take on the erotic includes sex, of course, but also recognizes how everyday moments can be infused with sensuality (even sticking our feet in a potted plant!). We discuss how personal challenges and societal pressures can impact our connection to pleasure and joy, as well as the crucial (and often dismissed) role of beauty as the erotic in everyday life attuning us to what feels right and good within and around us. As Adure said: “The erotic is the nurturer or nursemaid of all our deepest knowledge.”

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Time stamps:

04:08 The Role of the Body in the Erotic

09:51 The Power of Sensual Awareness

25:09 The Impact of Capitalism on Well-Being

29:42 The Dismissal of the Feminine and the Erotic

31:48 Beauty as an Expression of the Erotic

34:54 The Sensuality of Everyday Activities

39:25 The Power of Words and Movement

45:22 The Flow of Love and Connection

48:14 Reframing Love Beyond Romantic Contexts

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Links & Credits

Audre Lorde reading her essay, “The Uses of the Erotic.”

adrienne marry brown on Hurry Slowly

Sense Writing

“The Tune of Things: Is consciousness God?”, Harper’s Magazine, December 2025

Kristin Wiig as Triangle Sally

Jocelyn’s Substack: radiate

Sebene’s Substack: remind me to love

Podcast website: www.cosmicclowns.me

Theme music: “Wow” by Charm School