Reproductive Left

Welcome to our second episode of the Fall 2026 season! Join our host Aspen as they chat with Margaret Grace Myers, historian of sex education in America, about her book "The Fight for Sex Ed" and how the past has shaped the present when it comes to how we approach sex education. What influenced ideas around sex ed in the past? What has changed about current understanding? Why does shame have such a chokehold on sexual health and sex education still today, and how can we shake it off? Join Aspen and Margaret as they strive to answer these questions and more on this episode of Reproductive Left!

You can learn more about Margaret and find her book by visiting her website at https://www.margaretgracemyers.com/.

Image: cover of "The Fight for Sex Ed"

Hello, and welcome back to Reproductive Left as we kick off our Fall 2026 season! Join our host Aspen (they/them) as they are joined by the ever fabulous and always sweet Becca Rea-Tucker, aka The Sweet Feminist. The two dive into Becca's powerful and essential book "The Abortion Companion: an affirming handbook for your choice and your journey," how we can all support abortion seekers, and more.

Interested in learning more about Becca's work, including how to snag a copy of "The Abortion Companion" for yourself or your local clinic? Check out her website here-> https://www.thesweetfeminist.com/

Other discussed resources:

Dr. Shelley Sella "Beyond Limits" -> https://www.shelleysella.com/

Labor and Delivery Nurse Jen Hamilton "Birth Vibes" -> https://www.jenhamilton.co/birthvibes

Image: cover of "The Abortion Companion"

Welcome back for our final episode of the Summer 2026 season of Reproductive Left! Join our host Aspen for a conversation with Kris of MaineTransNet (MTN) to talk about trans advocacy. What is the current state of trans rights and protections in Maine? What about federally? In the face of attacks against the trans community, how do we find joy in the work? Answer these questions and more by listening today!

Image: MaineTransNet's logo

MTN website -> https://www.mainetrans.net/

Welcome back for our second episode of the Summer 2026 season of Reproductive Left! Join our host Aspen for a conversation with Destie Hohman Sprague of Maine Women's Lobby to talk about feminist advocacy and fighting for gender justice.

As mentioned in the caption of our last episode and in this conversation with Destie, the anti-trans ballot question that was expected to be on the ballot in November here in Maine is no longer set to be on the ballot. Hooray! Illegal/improper signature gathering can have that effect. That ruling has been appealed, but we're not expecting to see that ballot question reinstated, what with it never having had enough valid signatures to qualify in the first place. You can keep up to date on this and other gender justice topics through the Maine Women's Lobby website and newsletter, along with the folks at the Free and Fair Schools Campaign, all linked below.

https://www.mainewomen.org/

https://www.freeandfairschools.com/

Image: Maine Women's Lobby logo

Join us as we kick off our 2026 Summer Season with an interview with Gia Drew (she/her) of EqualityMaine! In this episode, we chat LGBTQ+ advocacy in Maine, finding joy in movement work, and fighting against attacks on the trans community.

Speaking of attacks on the trans community--as of the airing of this episode, the anti-trans ballot question is now slated to no longer be on the ballot this November. Hooray! Those who are advocating for this ballot question (boo) are trying to appeal this decision as over 12,000 signatures were invalidated, leaving the initiative without enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. We will keep you up to date as this situation develops, but this update is good news.

Learn more:

https://www.equalitymaine.org/

https://www.freeandfairschools.com/

Image: EqualityMaine logo

Join our host Aspen for the final episode of our Winter 2026 season! This month, we're diving into the history of the hormonal birth control pill and how it was created. Big heads up for medical racism, medical sexism, and eugenics. How was the first birth control pill created? What does colonialism and the mistreatment of Puerto Ricans have to do with it? How did Catholicism play a factor? How do we balance the history of harm with the benefits birth control provides? While we don't have enough time to touch on everything around this important history, answer these questions and more in this episode of Reproductive Left!

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179378121/the-story-of-how-the-birth-control-pill-was-invented-and-tested

https://www.history.com/articles/birth-control-pill-history-puerto-rico-enovid

Image: Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition via Unsplash

We're back for our second episode of the Winter 2026 season, and we're diving into long-acting reversible contraceptives (aka LARCs)! How do LARCs work? How many kinds are there? What kind of pain management is available? Speaking of pain management, what is the deal with pain and IUD insertions? Answer these questions and more as our host dives into LARCs!

Image: Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition via Unsplash

Information about Nexplanon being expanded to 5 years efficacy-> https://www.organon.com/news/organon-announces-us-food-and-drug-administration-approval-of-supplemental-new-drug-application-extending-duration-of-use-of-nexplanon-etonogestrel-implant-68-mg-radiopaque/

Join us as we kick off our Winter 2026 season with an episode about condoms! How long have they been around? How useful are they? How many kinds are there? How will our host sneak in a pasta analogy? Answer these questions as we dive into the world of condoms!

Image: Deon Black via Unsplash

Join us for our last episode of the Fall 2025 Season! Our host Aspen is back with more hot takes--this time, focusing on body hair and its removal, particularly through a gendered lens. When did it become common for women in the US to remove their body hair, and why? Why do so many razor commercials targeted at women feature a woman shaving her already hairless legs? What makes so many men insist that women having body hair is unhygienic? Join Aspen as they strive to answer these questions and more on this episode of Reproductive Left!

Image: Billie via Unsplash

Join us for our Fall 2025 season kick-off as our host Aspen shares their hot takes on online fetish content. More specifically, they'll be diving into "trad wife" content as fetish content, along with talking about how some real "go-getter" misogynists trick other people online into fulfilling their kink. We hope you enjoy this wild start to the season!

Image: Glenn Carstens-Peters via Unsplash