One nerd’s quest to find out why we know next to nothing about period pain. Tired of suffering from "death cramps" with no diagnosis for 20 years, Kate Downey has to look for her own answers. She interviews top doctors and researchers, and delves into topics from Greek history to sitcoms to TikTok wellness scams, all to figure out why menstrual pain is so often dismissed and untreated. What she finds will change how you think about your own body and the medical system. Because having a microphone gets you more answers than having a uterus.
Season 1 launches weekly episodes starting February 2025.
Just how bad are Kate's "really bad cramps"? And what could be causing them?
In the first of ten episodes, host Kate Helen Downey describes what happens when "death cramps" strike at work. Gynecologist and author Dr. Karen Tang explains what she looks for when a patient has severe period pain, and why someone might spend years in diagnosis limbo.
Transcript & citations available here:
https://www.katehelendowney.com/episode-1
Editorial Producer: Kelsey DiLanzo
Sound Design & Mixing: Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media
Associate Producer: Katelyn Sabater
Theme song: Farideh
Podcast art: Nicholas Scheppard
This podcast is supported by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture
Division
Fiscal partnership is provided by the Arkansas Podcast Collaborative
This publication is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not represent itself as medical advice.
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