PERIOD Podcast

In my first full episode, I interview Dr. Elizabeth Rowe about her research on menstruation, and why we have periods. Dr. Rowe shares broad evolutionary insights about why people menstruate, as well as quirky tidbits about how researchers have studied periods over the years. Learn how scientists discovered how much monkeys menstruate, and which region of Europe seems to enjoy wringing out sanitary products.

Next week, I’ll interview Dr. Alma Gottlieb, a cultural anthropologist who also studies periods, to look at the other side of the menstrual pad on matters periodic.

Subscribe to PERIOD so you don’t miss an episode! Once we are in iTunes you can of course subscribe there, there are also lots of Android-friendly ways to subscribe. You can also find information about the podcast at Period Podcast on Facebook.

Welcome to PERIOD! PERIOD is a podcast where I explore anything and everything to do with the menstrual cycle, most especially the bloody bits. I am a biological anthropologist whose research focuses on the ways in which stress, lifestyle, and environment affect women’s health. I also wrote for Scientific American for a few years and do a fair bit of science outreach online and on my campus, the University of Illinois. PERIOD is my chance to spend some time with my favorite topic, hang out with people I admire, and learn more about the social, political, and biological aspects of menstruation.

I’m really excited to share with you interviews with researchers, activists, and parents and kids just trying to make their way in the world. I hope this podcast becomes a place where you can share your experience, learn from people who are different from you, and engage in period science and activism.

This first run of PERIOD will be twelve episodes long. I hope you’ll be giving me tons of feedback along the way to shape the last episodes of this season, as well as future seasons.

Subscribe to PERIOD so you don’t miss an episode! Once we are in iTunes you can of course subscribe there, there are also lots of Android-friendly ways to subscribe. You can also find information about the podcast at Period Podcast on Facebook.

Return guests Drs. Jodi Flaws and Jessica Brinkworth help us understand why disposable menstrual pads as masks should NOT be a thing (see example here)... but that some cloth masks may do at least a little something. One of the better options is from Suay LA. And see Dr. Brinkworth's page on cloth masks more generally.

This week we put aside the scholarly tone this podcast usually takes in order to speak to a patient living with endometriosis. I've known Chris, and her experiences with endo, for over a decade. Chris had a hysterectomy recently to see if she could put an end to all of the pain she has had, but it wasn't the straightforward resolution she hoped for. I hope you'll join me in listening to this experience and learning more about this condition.

Dr. Christian studies how epilepsy’s effects on the brain have consequences beyond that organ, like on reproductive hormones and the menstrual cycle. We had a wide-ranging and really interesting discussion about whether and when to study the effects of the menstrual cycle on whatever thing you are interested in studying in your lab. Also, no, it's really not that hard to study female mice so more scientists should get over themselves and do so.