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What It’s Like

“What It’s Like” was a series of in-depth interviews with people who lead atypical lives, from 2014-2016 it ran regularly on New York Magazine’s Science of Us.

what it's like

About That Interview I Did With a Zoophile

 In this excerpt, writer Alexa Tsoulis-Reay revisits her infamous conversation with “Paul,” a man in a romantic relationship with a horse. By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay

Our Most Popular Stories From the Series

All the Rest

  1. What It’s Like to Free BleedAccording to a woman who hasn’t used tampons or pads in seven years.
    By Olivia Dreizen Howell As told to Alyssa Shelasky
  2. What It’s Like to Have a Flesh-eating Bacteria“When my mom arrived, they told her that they might have to amputate my leg below the knee.”
    As told to Amanda Arnold
  3. What It’s Like to be Addicted to Sex and Porn“Shame made me feel awful about myself, but it was also a sexual necessity.”
    By Samantha Lee and Erica Garza
  4. What It’s Like to Have a Body That’s Literally Falling Apart“Having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is like being trapped in a house on fire.”
    By Samantha Lee and Katryna Kofton
  5. What It’s Like to See 100 Million Colors“I see rainbows in water and snow and fog.”
    By Concetta Antico and Samantha Lee
  6. What It’s Like Having Lifelong Insomnia“It’s a condition of profound loneliness.”
    By Marina Benjamin and Samantha Lee
  7. What It’s Like to Have Mirror Touch SynesthesiaJoel Salinas is a doctor who can literally feel your pain.
    By Joel Salinas and Samantha Lee
  8. What It’s Like to Have Incurable, Unrequited LovePsychologist Frank Tallis details his experience treating a woman with erotomania, a rare, delusional condition.
    By Frank Tallis and Samantha Lee
  9. What It’s Like to Detest the Sound of People EatingChewing, lip smacking, and even loud breathing can trigger deep anxiety and rage in people with misophonia.
    By Samantha Lee and Emma Taubner
  10. What It’s Like Being a Relationship AnarchistAccording to two people who practice it — with each other, and others, too.
    By Katie Heaney
  11. What It’s Really Like to Be Black and Work in FashionFrom Tracee Ellis Ross, Virgil Abloh, Tyra Banks, Dapper Dan, Adwoa Aboah, and many more.
    By Lindsay Peoples
  12. What It’s Like to Be Married to a Very Attractive Man“He’ll take a bite out of a cookie and throw it away because he can’t possibly eat the whole thing. I just think, ‘bite me.’”
    As told to Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  13. What It’s Like to Go Through Life As a Really Beautiful Woman“I look back over my life and think, What did my looks do for me?”
    As told to Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  14. What It’s Like to Visit ‘Dr. M,’ New York’s Erotic Masseur for Women“It’s so vanilla, and yet so kinky.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  15. What It’s Like to Be a Victim of the ‘Fertility Disaster’Three patients on what it means to lose their eggs or embryos.
    By Diana Kapp
  16. What It’s Like to Be a Legal Sex Worker in New Zealand“Because my work is legal, if anything goes wrong, the police have to help.”
    By Bubbles As told to Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  17. What It’s Like Being a Teacher During a School ShootingTwo Sandy Hook teachers look back on how they survived, and what came after.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  18. What It’s Like To Experience Gay Conversion Therapy“The pastor was inches away from my face, screaming for the demon to get out.”
    As told to Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  19. The Intriguing Potential of a Little-Known Plant From Southeast AsiaThree people share their stories.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  20. When Your Child Eats Magnets And Other Things That Are Definitely Not Food“He’d get Happy Meals and eat the entire meal. The box. The wrappers. The straws. The lids. The toys.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  21. What It’s Like When Your Daydreams Are Just As Real As LifeA maladaptive daydreamer describes just how overwhelming it can be.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  22. What It’s Like to Be a Celibate Pedophile“There are a lot of pedophiles who never offend. It’s understandable that people have never heard of us, because we must remain hidden.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  23. What It’s Like to Be Unable to Bear the Sound of Someone Eating“Any time I hear someone chewing with their mouth open, I lose my mind.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  24. What It’s Like to Periodically Collapse and Pass Out for Several Hours“I know nothing is going to happen to me, I know I will wake up and I won’t die — but it’s so totally and utterly humiliating.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  25. What It’s Like to ‘Wake Up’ From Autism After Magnetic Stimulation“I just thought my inability to read people had held me back my whole life. And if there is something that could change that, I should try it.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  26. What It’s Like to Be a Stoner Who’s Allergic to Marijuana“I’d kept an old joint, and sometimes I’d light it and have a fake little religious ritual where I would waft it like a sage stick around the room.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  27. What It’s Like When Your Spouse TransitionsMany straight men don’t stay through a partner’s transition. But for the ones who do, it can spark an identity crisis.
    By Roni Jacobson
  28. What It’s Like to Be Chemically Castrated“It hurt. It took at least two shots before I noticed my sexual thoughts slowing down.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  29. A Male Model on What It’s Like to Be Pretty‘‘One of  the first comments I remember getting back in high school was ‘You have amazing eyebrows.’’’
    By Ian Mellencamp As told to Erica Schwiegershausen
  30. What It’s Like to Be Allergic to Water“When you find out that you are allergic to water, that’s an internal crisis beyond anything else.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  31. What It’s Like to Be an Intersex Nudist“I don’t have to deal with the politics of sex and gender and men and women. You guys are welcome to all that crap.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  32. What It’s Like to Lose 350 PoundsAnd be blind. And be a carnival worker.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  33. What It’s Like to Be Single With Tourette Syndrome“I’m terrified of airports because as soon as I walk through the door my mind tells me to say bomb or gun: Say bomb. Shout it. Shout it. Shout gun. Shout bomb. It’s just torturous.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  34. What It’s Like to Have Severe Sleep ParalysisHe thought he was being personally haunted by a ghost.
    By Melissa Dahl
  35. What It’s Like to Be Profoundly Face-Blind“I’ve walked right past my husband, my own mother, my daughter, my son, without being able to recognize them.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  36. What It’s Like to Have Severe Lyme Disease“If I had not been an insider and if I had not been able to push for the information I needed, there’s no question I’d be dead.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  37. What It’s Like to Have Severe Vaginismus“It’s like having an ob-gyn exam every single week for three months, and each time they’d introduce a different size dilator.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  38. What It’s Like to Be Allergic to Wi-FiA conversation with a woman who says she is suffering from a disorder that many scientists believe doesn’t exist.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  39. What It’s Like to Ask People Really Awkward Questions“I don’t think there’s been a single subject who I haven’t ‘connected’ with.”
    By Jesse Singal
  40. Ask Our ‘What It’s Like’ Interviewer AnythingShe certainly has some stories to tell.
    By Science of Us
  41. Atypical: What It’s Like to Live on the Margins of ExperienceWhat it means to see yourself as different. And to be seen that way.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  42. What It’s Like to Be an Expert Lucid Dreamer“The last time I saw a godlike figure in a dream I told him to get out of my way.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  43. What It’s Like to Need Hardly Any Sleep“I have so many more hours in the day to get things accomplished.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  44. What It’s Like to See 100 Million Colors“I can tell if someone is sick just by looking at them. Their skin gets gray, it gets yellow, and there’s some green.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  45. What It’s Like to Be a Polyamorous Genius“I have learned that sometimes I have to acknowledge someone’s feelings even though they are stupid in my mind.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis Reay
  46. What It’s Like to Be a Really Hairy Woman“The hair is thick and dark, and it goes from my sideburns to my neck and my chin.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  47. What It’s Like to Crave Amputation“I strongly feel that my left leg just shouldn’t be on my body. I’ve thought about it obsessively every single day of my life.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  48. What It’s Like to Date Your Dad“We discussed whether it was wrong and then we kissed.”
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  49. What It’s Like to Slowly Lose Your EyesightWatching the darkness close in for years and years.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
  50. What It’s Like to Be a 58-Year-Old VirginYears and years of loneliness.
    By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay
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