Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 1928-2024

Sex-talk is not hard to find these days. There are more podcasts, YouTube channels, TED Talks, and TV series devoted to sex than you could consume in a single lifetime, even if you lived as long as Methuselah. And so many books have now been published about sex that you could stock an entire Library of Alexandria-sized collection with sex-related volumes alone. But there was once a time when reliable, science-based, compassionate discussions about sex were as rare as a snowball in the summer. One woman changed all that, and, in doing so, helped create the guilt-free sex-talk culture that we now take for granted. Her name was Ruth Westheimer — or, as she was known to her millions of grateful fans, “Dr. Ruth.”