Friday, November 18th 2016
PERIOD Episode 9: Ladybugs
Excerpt: Dr. Roxana Hickey joins Kate to talk ladybugs – or rather, the vaginal microbiome.
Summary: It’s been a rough week for everyone. As a white woman, I have to say I feel there are a lot of white women right now who need to do some serious soul-searching. A majority of us voted for the racist, misogynist lizard monster. Forty-nine percent of college-educated white women voted for him.
I have so many more thoughts about this, but I’m saving them for a separate episode.
In the meantime, I have found solace in creative work like this podcast, and in enjoying the podcasts of others. New to me? Check out my archives! I love them all, but if you want to talk politics I’d especially recommend Episode 6 where I interview Periods for Politicians founder Sue Magina.
This episode is also great fun. Like episode 8, I’ve interviewed a scientist – in this case, Dr. Roxana Hickey, a microbiome data scientist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oregon. Dr. Hickey will be teaching us all about the vaginal microbiome, particularly how it relates to puberty, menstrual cycles, and even pad and tampon use. You can find Dr. Hickey at roxanahickey.wordpress.com, and on Twitter at @roxana_hickey.
The great Dr. Roxana Hickey, vaginal microbiome expert.
Dr. Hickey and I discuss several articles in this episode. Want to read them yourself? Here they are:
- Article on puberty and the microbiome (this one’s open access!): Hickey et al 2015
- Article on pad and tampon use and the microbiome: Hickey et al 2013
Finally, Dr. Hickey and I discussed one other article off the air about making yogurt… vagina yogurt. One of Dr. Hickey’s collaborators was interviewed for this article. Check it out!
Subscribe to PERIOD so you don’t miss an episode! Subscribing, especially on iTunes, helps us a ton with promoting the podcast and getting the word out to more people. So does leaving a review, so please do that too! You can also find information about the podcast at Period Podcast on Facebook.
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Call or write me! I am collecting two things right now: your period questions, and first period stories. Leave me a voicemail with either or both at 262-PERIOD-2 (262-737-4632). Don’t forget to tell me how to contact you if you don’t mind my following up.
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- Email me at periodpodcast2 at gmail dot com
- Find me on Twitter at @periodpodcast2 and @kateclancy
I can’t wait to hear what you think! Thanks for listening!
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