Excerpt: Kate interviews cultural anthropologist Dr. Alma Gottlieb about the cultural meaning of periods.
Summary: I interview Dr. Alma Gottlieb about what periods are, culturally – what they mean to us, what they do to us, how they fit or don’t fit into the dominant cultural paradigm. Dr. Gottlieb shares insights into menstrual taboos, in the United States and cross-culturally. She also talks about what it means that 20-25% of the reproductive-aged women you meet are menstruating, even though they are hiding it. What does it mean to hide something fundamental about yourself for a quarter of your lifespan from menarche to menopause?
Dr. Alma Gottlieb.
Dr. Gottlieb has a new edition of her book World of Babies coming out shortly – check out her Facebook page here.
Two other things: here is a link to the latest edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves, which we discussed on the podcast. I also couldn’t resist sharing one of my favorite period jokes by comedian Carmen Esposito. I share a clip on the podcast, but you can find the whole thing here:
Next week, I share the interviews of almost a dozen kids and parents, talking about what they think a period is. Despite sampling from a very hippie, educated group of moms who willingly show their kids menstrual blood at every opportunity, many of the kids had no idea what I was asking them about.
Subscribe to PERIOD so you don’t miss an episode! Subscribing, especially on iTunes, helps with promoting the podcast and getting the word out to more people. You can also find information about the podcast at Period Podcast on Facebook.
Want to be on PERIOD? I am collecting first period stories! Leave me a voicemail with your story at 262-PERIOD-2. Don’t forget to tell me how to contact you if I want to follow up.
Excerpt: Kate interviews menstrual researcher Dr. Elizabeth Rowe about why we have periods.
Summary: In my first full episode, I interview Dr. Elizabeth Rowe, a PhD in biological anthropology and grantwriter at Purdue University, 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.
Dr. Elizabeth Rowe, being awesome.
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.
Excerpt: Kate introduces her new podcast PERIOD, and shares a few of her favorite clips from the first few episodes.
Summary: 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.
