The V Word

By Dr. Jenn & Dr. Erica

What's The V Word about?

Lady bit talks by lady docs. Two badass gynecologists tackling relevant women's health and reproductive policy issues. Vagina, vagina, vagina.

DISCLAIMER: This show is not meant to substitute actual medical advice.

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The V Word episodes:

08.13.2021
Whitney Cummings & The Vaginal Ring
In this episode of In Their Shoes, Dr. Jenn talks with, hands down, one of the funniest comedians you'll ever hear, Whitney Cummings, about her campaign with Annovera birth control, called, "Just Say Vagina." That's right, they made a...
04.13.2021
ITS: Fidji Simo
In this special episode of In Their Shoes, Dr. Jenn and Executive Producer, Beth Bonilla, interview Fidji Sumo, Vice President and Head of Facebook App, as she talks about building a stronger kind of leadership through chronic, often stigmatized health...
04.08.2021
COVID Vaccines In Pregnancy & Lactation
It's a long awaited episode: COVID vaccines in pregnancy & lactation, and why Dr. Jenn & Dr. Erica 100% support you getting that vax! We'll dive deep into everything we know and don't know so far, and even bring in...
10.25.2020
Repro Rights & The Election
There are just DAYS left until the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and we want to be 100% crystal clear that there is only one correct way to vote if you care about reproductive health, which is connected to literally EVERYTHING....
08.10.2020
Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL
In this episode, Dr. Jenn & Executive Producer, Beth Bonilla, talk with NARAL Pro-Choice America President, Ilyse Hogue, about anti-choice politicians’ ongoing efforts to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic in order to restrict reproductive healthcare and ban abortion. Ilyse’s perspective on...
07.13.2020
In Their Shoes: Francine Coeytaux
Francine Coeytaux is a GIANT in the field of reproductive health- there's no easier way to say that. Among other things, she's the Co-Creator and Co-Director of Plan C--an organization of veteran reproductive health advocates, researchers, and modern age digital...
07.06.2020
AALD: COVID & Maternal Mental Health w/ Dr. Pooja Lakshmin
In the midst of a global pandemic, we MUST support and uplift pregnant, postpartum, and parenting folks. Producer Aysha Choudhary sits down with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, a board-certified psychiatrist and freelance writer specializing in women's mental health and perinatal psychiatry....
06.29.2020
Ariana & Abortion Bans
The Supreme Court has likely already announced its decision re: June Medical Services v. Russo by the time you're listening to this, and the horrific implications of a loss are heart-stopping. To help you realize the real implications that laws...
06.22.2020
COVID and Breast Screening with Dr. Anjali Malik
This week we talked with Dr. Anjali Malik who is a breast imaging radiologist in Washington DC about Covid's impact on screening and how to navigate moving forward. Dr. Malik serves a Medical Advisor for Bright Pink--an organization that educates and empowers...
06.19.2020
Reproductive Justice with Dr. Jamila Perritt
This week we want to talk about what's going on in the world and challenge you to think about it from a Reproductive Justice framework. Not sure what that is? Don't worry- Our friend, Dr. Jamila Perritt is here with...
05.25.2020
The Speculum
It's that thing that goes in your vagina to do your pap smear, check for infections, put in your IUD, monitor bleeding, and everything else in gynecology: your friend, the speculum! Cold, metal (sometimes plastic), rachety, pinchy... you know the...
05.18.2020
Postpartum Psychosis
Postpartum Psychosis is a rare but very real illness that affects approximately 1 to 2 out of every 1,000 postpartum people. We don't talk about it as much as other postpartum mood disorders like depression and anxiety, and perhaps because...
05.11.2020
AALD: Telemedicine for Menopause with Dr. Leslie Meserve
In this episode of Ask A Lady Doc, we talk with Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of CurieMD, Dr. Leslie Meserve. After seeing her own mother struggle to find a doctor qualified to treat menopause, Dr. Meserve recognized that a...
05.04.2020
COVID-19 & Abortion
Abortion care is time-sensitive essential health care. Even just a few days can make a difference in what options are available - and even if the option is available at all. A global pandemic is not the time to push...
04.27.2020
AALD: Menopause with Dr. Amy Voedisch
In this episode of Ask A Lady Doc, we talk with Dr. Amy Voedisch, who specializes in family planning and menopause care at Stanford University, about all the ins and outs of mid-life women's healthcare. This is a no-nonsense, tell...
04.20.2020
Climate Change & Womens Health
In so many ways, climate change disproportionately affects women's health, from increased exposures to heat, poor air quality, extreme weather events, altered vector-borne disease transmission, reduced water quality, and decreased food security. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change...
04.15.2020
COVID-19 & Pregnancy
Let's be honest, this is a scary time to be pregnant, but despite the uncertainty of unprecedented times and a global pandemic, people everywhere are starting and building families, bravely. Here is everything you need to know about pregnancy and...
02.09.2020
In Their Shoes: False Paternity, PART 2
This is PART 2 of a special two-part In Their Shoes episode about donor conceived individuals in the age of commercially available genetic testing. This is the idea that, for example, the parent you thought was your parent your whole...
01.20.2020
In Their Shoes: False Paternity, PART I
This is PART 1 of a special two-part In Their Shoes episode about donor conceived individuals in the age of commercially available genetic testing. This is the idea that, for example, the parent you thought was your parent your whole...
01.09.2020
Cesarean Sections
Here's your C-section primer on all things surgical delivery: why people have them, why they don't have them, and some detailed personal stories from women who've experienced them firsthand. Dr. Jenn & Dr. Erica cover it all, including how to...
12.13.2019
In Their Shoes: Cleo Stiller
Cleo Stiller is a Peabody and Emmy Award Nominated reporter and author. Her first book, Modern Manhood: Conversations About the Complicated World of Being a Good Man Today, is already #1 on the Amazon Book List and it's no surprise....
11.11.2019
Hymens
Hymens: a vestigial skin tag that has absolutely nothing to do with virginity or a female bodied person's worth, yet somehow (this week especially) we continue to ruminate on their meaning. The doctors dive into recent news of rapper T.I.'s...
10.19.2019
Mammograms
It's breast cancer awareness month & the perfect time to start being more aware of your own breasts. The docs talk all about normal and not normal when it comes to breast exams, and everything you need to know about...
10.11.2019
Period Poverty
Not all periods are created equally and on this upcoming National Period Day, 2019, we're focusing our lens of de-stigmitization on the more recently acknowledged concept of Period Poverty. Depending on your socioeconomic status and resources, having your period can...
09.10.2019
Ask A Lady Doc: Sexual Assault on Campus w/ Dr. Jessi Gold
Dr. Jessi Gold is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Dept of Psychiatry at Wash Univ in St Louis School of Medicine who specializes in college mental health. She writes regularly in the popular press about mental health and stigma,...
08.20.2019
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
PID, or pelvic inflammatory disease, is just what it sounds like: a nasty infection of all your lady bits all at once essentially (the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries...). PID is most commonly associated with STDs like chlamydia and gonorrhea,...
08.16.2019
In Their Shoes: Shannon Watts
There have been at least 17 deadly mass shootings in the US so far in 2019. In epidemiological terms, that’s a public health crisis. Today we speak with Shannon Watts, the Founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement of Americans...
07.29.2019
Pap Smears + HPV
What even IS a pap smear and where does HPV come into the picture? Listen in for a basic run-down of cervical cancer screening 101 (i.e. Pap smears) + Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing.
07.22.2019
In Their Shoes: Antonia Michaels
Antonia Michaels is the host of The Wine Down podcast and the Founder of Mommy Matters, an online community of mothers supporting one another through their journey. She created the blog, podcast, and connect groups to help others build their tribe...
07.18.2019
Fibroids
Everyone and their mom has fibroids, but we still push this issue under the rug like it's shameful. Why? The medical field has long stigmatized heavy bleeding and pain, especially for women of color. Dr. Jenn & Dr. Erica break...
07.08.2019
AALD: Female Genital Mutilation with Dr. Nawal Nour
Dr. Nawal Nour is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Global Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Born in the Sudan and raised in Egypt and England, Dr. Nour...
06.25.2019
In Their Shoes: Brittany Daniel
Brittany Daniel is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Jessica Wakefield in the 1990s syndicated teen drama Sweet Valley High and Kelly Pitts on the CW/BET comedy-drama The Game. In 2011, she was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and...
06.18.2019
A Menopause Primer
It's time we stop stigmatizing the very thing that commemorates our life as women. Menopause isn't something to be feared, shamed, embarrassed by, or ignored. We should be celebrating this reproductive life milestone just like we celebrate puberty and pregnancy....
06.10.2019
In Their Shoes: Angela Garbes
Angela Garbes is the best-selling author of the book, Like A Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy, which was the NPR Best Book of 2018. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New...
06.04.2019
At Home Fertility Testing
In start-up land, there's no end to advances in healthcare technology, but what really IS at-home fertility testing, should you be doing it, if so-when, and what are the potential down sides? Special interviews with Afton Vechery, CEO and Co-Founder of...
05.31.2019
Crazy Abortion Bans
Does it feel real enough for you yet? In this special episode on abortion bans, we break down the brief history of how we got here; review the new, very evil types of abortion laws that old white male governors...
05.22.2019
In Their Shoes: Megan Koester
Megan Koester is a comedian, writer, actress, and activist. She recently wrote an article for Experience Magazine on her decision to get sterilized and all the hurdles she faced in accessing this care. Tune in for some real...
05.15.2019
Transmen
In the much awaited sequel to our Transwomen episode, we again visit gender affirming treatments and the overall welfare of transgender individuals, focusing this time on transmen or transmasculine people. Special interview with Sam, a transman who recently completed his gender...
05.10.2019
Ask A Lady Doc: UTIs w/ Dr. Aviva Weinberg
UTIs, or urinary tract infections, are SUPER common in vagina-owning people, and most womxn will experience at least one in their lifetime. Listen in & get all your burning (get it) questions answered as Executive Producer, Bethney Bonilla, talks with...
04.30.2019
In Their Shoes: Gina Gutierrez
Gina Gutierrez is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dipsea, a female-founded tech company and story studio that creates audio stories and experiences to set the mood and spark imagination. As Gina says, feeling turned on is more than a wing...
04.22.2019
PCOS
What even IS PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and why is it so dang hard to diagnose/understand. The doctors break down everything you need to know about this super strange but super common syndrome, including how to get pregnant and how...
04.18.2019
Ask A Lady Doc: Heart Disease w/ Dr. Abha Khandewal
Here is literally EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about heart disease and why it's so crazy common in women. Producer Aysha Choudhary has this interview Dr. Abha Khandelwal, Chief of the Cardiovascular Medicine Clinic at Stanford University.
04.09.2019
Times-Up Healthcare
Guess what's right behind the entertainment industry in filed TimesUp claims? You guessed it--healthcare. Turns out the medical field has a wicked history of gender/race/age/ethnicity/sexual orientation discrimination among its employees, and people are FINALLY doing something about it. Interview with...
04.02.2019
In Their Shoes: Caitlyn Barlow
Caitlin Barlow is a producer, writer, and actor on the television series, Teachers. She's a member of the six-woman comedic troupe, The Katydids, and a new-ish mom who talks openly on social media about all the hilarious truths of motherhood....
03.26.2019
Breast Health
Time for a little love up north. Let's discuss all things boobs and why, outside of breast feeding and breast cancer, there isn't much discussion in medicine about breasts as they affect sexual and mental health. Special interview with internationally...
03.20.2019
In Their Shoes: Sofia Arellano
She calls herself an Endo Warrior and on social media, the @Endo_Goddess_, and for good reason. Sofia Arellano tells her first hand account of what it's like to live with the notorious pain that is endometriosis. As she says, "Endo is...
03.19.2019
In Their Shoes: Candiace Dillard Bassett
Candiace Dillard is an all around badass. You may know her as a cast member of Real Housewives of Potomac or from her year at Miss United States 2013. She's also held leadership roles at the White House under the...
03.18.2019
Ask A Lady Doc: Endometriosis w/ Dr. Deirdre Lum
Here is literally EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about pelvic pain caused by endometriosis. Why is it such a mysterious diagnosis and why can it be so hard to treat? Producer Aysha Choudhary interviews Dr. Deirdre Lum, Director of...
03.11.2019
History of Birth Control
In honor of International Women's History Month, let's do a deep dive into where, how, and from whom your birth control came. The pill specifically has a crazy story, involving (surprise surprise) racism, misogyny, and some accidents! Stay tuned.
02.25.2019
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking includes sexual slavery and forced labor, and is a lot closer to home than you may have thought. Let's dig deep into all the ways this pervades women's health, and talk one-on-one with a survivor of child sexual...

What's The V Word about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The V Word episodes:

Whitney Cummings & The Vaginal Ring

ITS: Fidji Simo

COVID Vaccines In Pregnancy & Lactation

Repro Rights & The Election

Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL

In Their Shoes: Francine Coeytaux

AALD: COVID & Maternal Mental Health w/ Dr. Pooja Lakshmin

Ariana & Abortion Bans

COVID and Breast Screening with Dr. Anjali Malik

Reproductive Justice with Dr. Jamila Perritt

The Speculum

Postpartum Psychosis

AALD: Telemedicine for Menopause with Dr. Leslie Meserve

COVID-19 & Abortion

AALD: Menopause with Dr. Amy Voedisch

Climate Change & Womens Health

COVID-19 & Pregnancy

In Their Shoes: False Paternity, PART 2

In Their Shoes: False Paternity, PART I

Cesarean Sections

In Their Shoes: Cleo Stiller

Hymens

Mammograms

Period Poverty

Ask A Lady Doc: Sexual Assault on Campus w/ Dr. Jessi Gold

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

In Their Shoes: Shannon Watts

Pap Smears + HPV

In Their Shoes: Antonia Michaels

Fibroids

AALD: Female Genital Mutilation with Dr. Nawal Nour

In Their Shoes: Brittany Daniel

A Menopause Primer

In Their Shoes: Angela Garbes

At Home Fertility Testing

Crazy Abortion Bans

In Their Shoes: Megan Koester

Transmen

Ask A Lady Doc: UTIs w/ Dr. Aviva Weinberg

In Their Shoes: Gina Gutierrez

PCOS

Ask A Lady Doc: Heart Disease w/ Dr. Abha Khandewal

Times-Up Healthcare

In Their Shoes: Caitlyn Barlow

Breast Health

In Their Shoes: Sofia Arellano

In Their Shoes: Candiace Dillard Bassett

Ask A Lady Doc: Endometriosis w/ Dr. Deirdre Lum

History of Birth Control

Human Trafficking