Beyond Condoms!

Contraceptive research has historically prioritized women because they bear the burden of pregnancy and most contraceptive options available today are for women. But there are efforts to widen the contraceptive responsibility.

Researchers are looking into both hormonal and non-hormonal male contraceptives. They hope that at least one of the products will hit the market in the next decade. "An optimistic but still realistic timeline is in the order of 7 to 10 years," says Dr. Stephanie Page, a researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine and lead investigator within the Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network.

Today, Scientist-in-Residence Regina G. Barber talks to host Emily Kwong about the state of research into male contraceptives and which method is expected to hit the market first.

We're always excited to hear what's on our listeners' minds. You can reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.or tweeting us @NPRShortWave.

This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Gisèle Grayson and fact-checked by Abē Levine. Tre Watson was the audio engineer.