Martha Kempner was Rewire News Group’s first sex columnist. One of her first columns for RNG, published back in 2010, derided Tiger Woods for using “sex addiction” as an excuse for bad behavior. Talk about a throwback!

She returned to Rewire this year to reboot her sex column for the modern era—one full of massive health misinformation and shrinking reproductive rights. Since returning to RNG in January 2026, Kempner has documented why the HPV vaccine is basically an anti-cancer shot; dug into the Epstein Files to discuss the relationship between age and consent; and explained that, no, abortion pills aren’t poisoning our drinking water. 

In her monthly RNG columns, weekly Sex on Wednesdays newsletter, and video explainers for the group Sex Ed for Social Change, Kempner is fearless, funny, and unabashedly “blunt” about all aspects of sex. Her zero-judgement, fully-informed answers make her particularly approachable to teens, who swim in a sea of sex myths and social stigma, as well as their parents.

To reintroduce Kempner to RNG readers, I interviewed her about good sex, the power of birth control, and why parents shouldn’t be shy about discussing sex with their kids.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Stay tuned to RNG’s socials for video outtakes—and if you have questions for Martha Kempner, email editorial@rewirenewsgroup.com or message us online!

Martha, I’m so excited to be interviewing you. You’ve been writing sex-health columns for Rewire since I think, forever. You also wrote a book, 50 Great Myths of Human Sexuality. What’s your favorite myth to bust for people?

I’m constantly busting myths about birth control, because the rhetoric around birth control is so bad. Literally, there’s this [message] like, “this is poison, don’t put it in your body,” and it’s absurd. 

[That rhetoric is] dovetailing with all the wellness influencers [saying], Everything natural is good and Chemicals are bad. It is so reductionist, and … one of the things that gets lost in that debate sometimes is how important birth control was to women in general. It’s really how we got into the workforce. … When the pill came out, suddenly you could plan your career. You could plan your family, which meant that you........

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