The V Word

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.

Her book sheds light on all the gray areas that have emerged through the #MeToo movement, using conversations that real men and women are having with their friends, their dates, their family, and themselves. "Free of judgment, preaching, and sugarcoating, Modern Manhood is engaging, provocative, and, ultimately, a great resource for gaining a deeper understanding of what it means to genuinely be a good man today."

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 reported "virginity testing" & accompanying his daughter to the gynecologist to ensure her purity with this made up medical test. Here's everything you need to know about hymens and the repulsive idea of a "virginity test."

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 mammogram screening.

Special interview w/ Cristin Gardner, Director of Consumer Solutions at Mammosphere, a secure digital platform focused on breast health that empowers women with their medical history.

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 either be a quick blip in the month where you go through tampons/pads/menstrual cups as you go about your day, or it can be an all-consuming stressor with limited menstrual product, water, and sanitation resources. 

According to UNICEF, 2.3 million people globally live without basic sanitation services and in developing countries, only 27% of people have adequate handwashing facilities at home. Not being able to use these facilities makes it harder for women and young girls to manage their periods safely and with dignity.   

Special interview with Nadya Okamoto, Founder of Period.org and author of the book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement.

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, and with this a new academic school year starting, we reached out to her to talk about something that happens a lot more often than we like to admit on college campuses all around the country: sexual assault. 

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, but def happens to people who've never had sex or never had STDs as well, so what's the deal? Dr. Jenn & Dr. Erica dive deep into PID with all the facts you'll need to know to have a stimulating cocktail hour convo about gonorrhea in your eye, for example.

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 fighting for public safety measures that protect people from gun violence. She started the organization the day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, with a Facebook group and the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun violence. The online conversation turned into the larger organization, Moms Demand Action, which now has chapters in every state of the country and is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, with nearly 6 million supporters. 

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.

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 and become the best version of themselves. Dr. Erica interviews her about her own personal reproductive health journey and why she created her Mommy empire.

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 down all the basics and talk with special guest, Dr. Erica Marsh, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Michigan. If ever there was a queen of fibroid research and policy change, this is she! You won't want to miss this episode.