This is a guided meditation to help with chronic pain.  

Endometriosis hurts. It can be a gnarling, twisting, stabbing, relentless source of pain. Finding a way through that pain can be overwhelming at times. Meditation can help.  

Gynaecological surgeon and endometriosis specialist Dr Pav Nanayakkara guides you through a series of breathing exercises to shift your relationship with pain.  

This isn’t a standard Ladies, We Need to Talk episode, it’s a tool for your mindfulness toolbox. One you can come back to any time you need.  

These meditations aren't designed to replace medical pain relief or the advice of a good doctor, rather to compliment them.

What to listen to next:

Endometriosis: Pain, periods, medical gaslighting

The rage in my pelvis

When sex hurts

Perimenopause: WTF is happening to our bodies

Free to bleed: escaping menstrual shame

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to read next:

Shame and disgust: Why we find this STI so hard to talk about

What happens to your sex life during perimenopause?

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

This episode contains references to endometriosis, gynaecology, period pain, chronic pain, pain management, meditation, attention, acceptance, mindfulness, breathing, breath work. 

Around one million Australian women live with endometriosis. That's around one in seven, so chances are you know someone dealing with debilitating pain, medical misogyny and fertility issues because of the disease.

Awareness about endometriosis has expanded in the last few years, but there's still a long way to go. Yumi Stynes meets women who've spent a lot of time and money seeking a diagnosis and fighting to be heard.

She also sits down with Professor Caroline Ford from the Ainsworth Endometriosis Research Institute at UNSW who offers hope for a future with tailored treatments and less BS.

Helpful links:

Endometriosis Foundation  (these folks run support groups)

National Endometriosis Clinical and Scientific trials registry

Endometriosis Australia

Pelvic Pain foundation

Endo Zone

What to listen to next:

The rage in my pelvis

When sex hurts

Perimenopause: WTF is happening to our bodies

Free to bleed: escaping menstrual shame

Shedding the shame of herpes

The new way to date

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to read next:

Shame and disgust: Why we find this STI so hard to talk about

What happens to your sex life during perimenopause?

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

This episode will answer questions like:

• What is endometriosis?
• How can you tell if you have endometriosis?
• Is it normal to have painful periods?
• What are the treatment options for endometriosis?
• Does endometriosis affect your fertility?
• Does endometriosis affect your sex life?

This episode contains references to endometriosis, gynaecology, period pain, chronic pain, painful sex, medical, gaslighting, medical misogyny, cancer, fertility, infertility, IVF, uterus, lesions, laparoscopy, endo, endometrial tissue, chronic pelvic pain, adenomyosis, dysmenorrhea, chocolate cysts, blood, National Action Plan for Endometriosis.

Artificial Intelligence is supercharging a new era of misogyny. There are more weapons than ever for men to use against women to silence and shame us, chief among them deepfakes (AI generated images and videos). And tech companies and regulators are not doing enough to fight this abuse, which is affecting everyone from schoolgirls to prime ministers.

After her book Men Who Hate Women dropped, academic Laura Bates was sent an AI-generated nightmare. It was her face, used in a sexually violent doctored image.

Her new book, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny dives into this wild collision of technology and hate, from deepfake pornography to cyber brothels, chatbots and robot girlfriends.

Laura calls out a future where women are easy targets and the rules don't apply. The tech might be new, but the misogyny is old and crusty —and Laura says it's time to fight back and protect women now.

Come to our next live show:

How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves

What to listen to next:

Are our boys ok? Fighting online misogyny with Kate Scott

Falling for a narcissist

Calling out wellness bullsh*t with Dr Jen Gunter

Sashi Perera on reinvention

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to read next:

Shame and disgust: Why we find this STI so hard to talk about

What happens to your sex life during perimenopause?

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

The dark side of being a perfectionist

This episode will address questions like, what does AI mean for women and women's rights? How is technology being used in gender-based violence? What is a deepfake? What is the psychological impact of online abuse? What can I do if there's a deepfake using my image?

This episode contains references to pornography, metaverse, online, deepfake, discrimination, inequality, harassment, reddit, social media, sexual assault, abuse, AI, Artificial Intelligence.

Trying to find a life partner on a dating app who's not a gun toting, fish wielding weirdo can be like trying to find a needle in the haystack. But according to Professor Jennie Young, there's a much more empowering way of sorting through all that hay. She's come up with a technique to hack the apps called 'The Burnt Haystack Method' to help women wade through the online swamp.

Jennie never thought she would use her academic background to become a dating influencer. She was 50 when she first started online dating and was struck by the onslaught of stilted, mundane, and rude conversations. She kept getting the same advice — make yourself as appealing as possible and give men the benefit of the doubt. But Jennie, along with her army of followers, is turning that advice on its head. She's giving women permission to be as judgemental as possible and be totally yourself along the way.

Jennie chats with Yumi Stynes about how to hack the apps and win at dating. Think of this episode as a tool in your arsenal if you're dating, or a trusty guide if you're close to someone who is.

What to listen to next:

Ditching dating apps

Paying for sex at 70

How to have better sex, with Emily Nagoski

Rosie Waterland and Jamila Rizvi's broken brains

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

What to read next:

The women staying single by choice in a world of relentless dating pressure

Sugar babies give rich, older men the 'full girlfriend experience' at a price

This episode will address questions like, why are conversations so weird on dating apps? How can I have a better time on dating apps? Who should I avoid on the dating apps?

This episode contains references to burned haystack dating method, BHDM, B2B, block to burn, block2burn, Jennie Young, dating apps, couples, partner, love, relationships, dating events, Match Group, Hinge, Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, divorce.

Dating apps are a drag. And women are ditching them in droves. Beyond the swiping, more of us are daring to date in real life. Yumi Stynes chats to women moving away from the apps and towards in-person singles events.

From post-divorce blind dates to queer speed dating, dinners with strangers and exercise classes, all in the name of finding love. Or at least a little lust.

Plus, friend of the pod and Lifestyle Editor at Guardian Australia, Alyx Gorman helps us understand why more women are dating IRL.

What to listen to next: 

Loneliness — you're not alone Relationship resuscitation — coming back from the brink 

'All Women Want' — how to have great sex, with Alyx Gorman

Digital dating despair

What to read next:

The women staying single by choice in a world of relentless dating pressure

Sugar babies give rich, older men the 'full girlfriend experience' at a price

Global study shows online dating does not always lead to happy relationships

This episode will address questions like, why are people logging off the dating apps? Where did dating apps go wrong? Why are single in-person events on the rise?

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode contains references to dating apps, single events, couples, partner, love, relationships, dating events, in-person, running clubs, pickle ball, paddle, boxing, Match Group, Hinge, Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, divorce.

As part of Women's Health Week we're bringing back our episode on Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and the difficulty of getting a diagnosis. 

Weight gain, bristly hairs, no period. Welcome to Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome.  

PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility worldwide and it can cause debilitating physical and psychological symptoms. 

1 in 8 women have PCOS, so that’s at least a couple of friends in your group chat. So why do we still know so little about it?  

Yumi Stynes catches up with ladies who’ve been battling PCOS for years and finds out how they get on top of it. 

Featured in this episode: 

• Professor Helena Teede, female endocrine specialist from Monash University

This episode will answer questions such as: 

• What is PCOS? 
• Why does PCOS cause weight pain?
• What is the link between PCOS and infertility? 
• How is PCOS diagnosed?  

What to listen to next: 

Has Ozempic killed body positivity? 

Calling out wellness bullsh*t with Dr Jen Gunter

Perimenopause: but aren't I too young? 

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This episode contains references to PCOS, weight gain, excess hair, medical misogyny and infertility. 

Stand-up star Sashi Perera called off her wedding at the last minute. There were tears and tantrums but that wasn't the final time the lawyer-turned-comedian blew up her life.

Moving to a country in the middle of civil unrest? Tick. Dating a series of duds? Tick. Quitting a well-paid job for stand-up comedy? Tick.

Sashi's redefined what success means to her through career changes, relationship breakdowns and IVF struggles. Yumi Stynes sits down with Sashi to find out how she's learned to run her own race.

What to listen to next:

How to give zero f*cks with Gina Chick, Jessie Tu and Anna Broinowski 

Jessie Tu, on miscarriage and doing motherhood her way 

Emotional labour with Rose Hackman 

The price of perfectionism 

What to read next: 

The price of perfectionism for women

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

Sandy seemingly has a perfect marriage, but she’d never been lonelier

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. 

This episode contains references to marriage, wedding, runaway bride, comedy, stand-up, dating, Tinder, online dating, shame, depression, mental health, immigrant, immigration, family, IVF, pregnancy, miscarriage, relationships. 

A herpes diagnosis can come with a whole lot of stigma, but it shouldn't. Around 15% of us carry the antibodies to genital herpes, making it one of the most common STIs in Australia.

Yumi Stynes finds out what it's like hearing you have herpes for the first time and how to best manage. From itching to tell partners to soothing your symptoms and how to keep sex humming. 

Plus, STI expert Dr Ellie Freedman explains the science behind the virus and how it changes over time.

You might also like:

The secret lives of vaginas

Esther Perel — how to have a hard conversation

This episode contains references to genital herpes, herpes simplex virus type one, herpes simplex virus type two, antibodies, sexual health, womens health, shame, stigma, mental health, vagina, vulva.

Approaching her 70th birthday, Gail Rice booked herself an appointment with a sex worker. She'd never done anything like it in her life. As a younger woman, Gail had enjoyed a string of sexual and romantic partners. As the years passed, her sexual currency dwindled and she was hungry for intimacy. But exchanging money for sex taught Gail much more about herself than she was expecting. This is a story about erotic power, ageing and finding the courage to ask for what you want. 

You might also like:

Loneliness – you're not alone 

Sugar babies – dating men for money 

This episode contains references to sex work, escort, ageing, older Australians, older women, eroticism, sex, orgasm, erotic massage, people pleasing, gender, orgasm gap, relationships, monogamy, dating apps, online dating.  

Correction: this episode describes Gail Rice approaching Mitch's escort agency for a refund. However, Gail contacted Mitch directly and got him to agree to a refund.

Ozempic has entered the group chat. Since GLP-1 agonist drugs burst onto the scene, they've been hailed as a weight-loss game changer, but they've also raised uncomfortable questions about what bodies are acceptable, or not.

For years, the body inclusivity movement pushed back against the idea that only thin bodies can be 'healthy' but Ozempic & co are drowning out this message.

So, what do these drugs mean for fat liberation? And how can we shift our collective thinking around weight and morality?

Yumi Stynes chats to a panel of amazing women about the impact of this new generation of weight-loss drugs and how we can all find ways to be kinder to our bodies.

Featured in this conversation:

• Dr Emma Beckett, nutritionist
• Evie Gardiner, size inclusivity advocate
• Nat Atkinson, Mum, taking Wegovy

You might also like:

The Ozempic era

I'm fat, don't hate me—Aubrey Gordon

Fat talk

This episode contains references to fat, fatphobia, weight stigma, Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, GLP-1 agonists, semaglutide, obesity, diet, diet culture, women, body image, self-esteem, bullying, weight loss, Serena Williams.