Vicious Cycle

We're calling this a breakthrough episode because we have to laugh through the pain, right blisteners?! We've got a great ep for you, with special guest Liv Vasquez, who is suing the city of Portland, Oregon for the adverse effects police tear gas had on her menstrual health. Liv was living in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2020 during the demonstrations sparked by the murder of George Floyd, in which tear gas was used against protesters daily. We talk with Liv about how her period has changed, the importance of cases like this setting a precedent, and - of course - we cover some new crazy questions that will definitely make you chuckle. Slap on a gas mask and an overnight pad and get cozy with your blosts.

Ok, we know at this very moment everything may not be *totally* fine — maybe you're getting a root canal, a colposcopy, a subpoena... we know life gets messy and sometimes you need to tune out. That's why we recorded another Everything Is Fine episode as our finale to season five! We needed it, and we figured you might, too. Join us for songs, quizzes and dramatic readings from the most ridiculous abstinence-only book that scarred Catholic school kids for years and years. And then continue to bleed everywhere. We love you, blisteners!

We've got another episode dedicated to a reusable period product — you know we love those!! This week we're covering menstrual discs with special guest Rachael Newton, who created the reusable Nixit disc. We reminisce with Rachael about our first meeting (at a party with a boob-ball pit of course), talk about where Nixit came from, and get into her menstrual journey. We also break down what menstrual discs are, how they work, and the many benefits (ya know, like helping the earth AND mess-free period sex). So join your hosts for some chat, some laughs and a surprise song!

If you're like the blosts, you were insanely curious about what the other room learned about puberty when they split up the classes for sex ed. We've joked about it and even wagered some guesses, but Meg Hayes did the dirty work to get some real answers. This week's episode is all about puberty for kids assigned male at birth. We find out what we have in common (spoiler: A LOT) and cover the giggle-inducing differences (spoiler: we have not matured since puberty). Hide your erection and hit that play button! (Psst: there was so much bleedsearch, we couldn't contain it in one episode! Check out our Patreon for the video clips that didn't make it in.)

The blosts were honored to have DivaDelux herself on the pod this week — that's right, we talk with Danielle Perez about comedy, periods and all the various ways the comedy world (and hey, the world in general) really need to up their accessibility game. Danielle is also a Catholic-education survivor from SoCal, so she and MeyHay had a lot to unpack together. Pop in an OB, pray it doesn't get lost, and press play!

After five seasons of talking about uteri, it has come to our attention that one of our very own blosts has had a very special uterus this whole time! Meg T walks us through various uterine anomalies — how they form, their various shapes and diagnoses, and exactly what is going on with her baby box. It's a classic bleedsearch episode with lots of interesting info and even more follow-up questions. From the half-uterus folks to those with two cute lil utes, give this week's episode a listen.

WARNING: After listening to this episode, you will never think about your period the same way! The blosts were delighted to talk with the Cycle Magic Sisters (AKA Rachel LaForest and Angie Ilg), two bad ass VIBs who started Cycle Magic, a program all about harnessing the natural power of our menstrual cycles and tapping into our 'womb wisdom.' It sounds witchy and it IS! Hunker into those hormones and tune in. (And check out their program here: cyclemagic.co)

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE! We've fantasized about swag for a long time and now that day is here. You can wear, carry, lay on, write in and drink out of stuff that has our logo on it - and we hope to do more designs soon. First, we just want to give people what they want - a big ol' uterus.

We enjoy nothing more than digging into retro period product ads and this time we do it with our friend and fellow podcast host Aviva Siegel! Aviva hosts the pod Ad Wizards (Kate was on her show a few weeks ago talking about compilation CD commercials - check it out wherever you get your podcasts!), so we wanted to bring her on to help break down some classic tampon ads. Oh, and Meg H introduces us to our new favorite character actress — we know you'll love her, too. Tease your hair and get ready to dance in some white shorts, it's tampon ad time! Here are some of the commercials we watched! Courtney Cox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHCtQfFn7E Brenda Vaccaro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCwqyO4hPQo Brenda Vaccaro again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpmPWI3wZE That weird rap battle: https://youtu.be/9zj4NhC8ahM

We've got some good ol' fashioned bleedsearch for ya this week! Kate did a bit of a deep dive into emergency contraception (aka, the morning after pill, aka Plan B). She tells us how it works, the various brands out there (we see you Option 2), and adamantly reminds us IT IS NOT AN ABORTION PILL, MARJORIE. And then Kate destroyed us with a quiz that you are not ready for. Throw on an expired condom and learn with us! Oh, and here is a resource on emergency contraception! https://ec.princeton.edu/questions/dose.html#dose

We've had the pleasure of knowing this gem-of-a-human since college and she's been a blistener since episode one... and now you're very lucky to get her in your ear holes — it's NADIA VAZQUEZ! Nadia joined us to talk about one of the best shows on television today: PEN15. We get into the episodes that cover menstruation and then gush about the creators, being a teen in the 90's and early aughts, Nadia's menstrual journey and oh so much more. Nadia hosts one of our fave pods Prolly Shoulda Known Better, where she and cohost Tony examine the comedies we loved that have aged poorly - check them out here (your fave blosts were guests on their pod this week!): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prolly-shoulda-known-better/id1403156777

Carla Lee is back, blisteners! Our dear friend and hilarious human returned to fill us in on what's terrifyingly coined as the "fourth trimester," aka, the first three months post-birth. When Carla was last on the pod, she was unknowingly pregnant with her second baby — now she's on the other side with stories of placenta pills, vagina care after labor, and just general insights into how super easy and care free it is to be a parent LOLOLOLOL. Seriously, hold someone else's baby close and press play.

Karla Welch and Sasha Markova were sick of the toll disposable period products were taking on the environment — and society's general attitude towards our cycles. So, they founded The Period Company and made affordable, size-inclusive, cute period undies while embracing and celebrating our bleed. We talk origins, menstrual journeys, and hear some of the most badass leak stories of our lives. Go find a white chair to bleed on and blisten in.

Soooo, the past 15 months have been rough, huh? And to pour lemon juice into our very fresh, deep 2020 paper cut, we're learning that some folks have noticed that COVID, the vaccine and tear gas (which we can't BELIEVE is still used by police on it's own people JFC RAAAAGE...ahem) have altered periods. So, we thought an 'On the Bleedia' episode was in order — we did a some bleedsearch and dug into the news to get to the bottom of all of this. We also manage to laugh through the pain and you can, too. Just slap a pad on and hit play.

We had the distinct honor of having comedian and musician Marcia Belsky on the pod! We dig into her hit song 100 Tampons, the space program, cis-dude reactions, first periods, recent periods, writing musical comedy, and selling out to any period brand that is hiring. Throw some loose tampons in your bag and join us on our rocket ship of laughs.

Kate had a baby! And we've got every detail about that experience right here in this episode. Kate leads us through what the day was like, what contractions actually feel like (including recording herself going through one!), the various bodily functions that let rip when you're in the throws of labor, and her c-section (aka, baby came out through the sun-roof). Also relive the day via our text messages to get a taste of what it is like being three best friends deeply engrossed in each other's bodies. Take a deep breath and PUSH... play.

This has been a LONG. TIME. COMING. After getting fully vaxxed, Kate and The Meg's got together in THE SAME ROOM to hold each other's damn hands and talk about their periods. We cover Kate becoming a mom (more on that in next week's episode), Meg T's cystecomy, and Meg H's beast of a new period. Also love, laughs new crazy period questions and our very own PATREON to ring in season five! So get together with your Pfizer Pfriends, hold hands and turn up this episode! You can check out our Patreon at www.patreon.com/viciouscyclepodcast

JUNE JUNE JUNE! 9TH 9TH 9TH! Vicious Cycle season five will PREMIERE PREMIERE PREMIERE! We've got another great season coming at ya, with hilarious guests, lots of bleedsearch, and TOUCHING BECAUSE WE CAN BE IN THE SAME ROOM AGAIN. Stock up on heating pads and products, bleeders, we're back!

Join us for our last episode of season four!

It's no surprise that we had LOTS to talk about with OBGYN Dr. Kate White, so here is part two of our interview. We bring back questions from previous episodes, like how worried should we be about exploding ovaries, and do we stop bleeding in swimming pools? But, Dr. Kate also shares her experience with pregnancy loss and what spurred her to start a miscarriage clinic for those suffering a loss. Live-laugh-love with us in this week's episode - and then go back to cursing your period...it knows what it did. --> Here is the Glamour article where Dr. Kate details her miscarriage: https://www.glamour.com/story/recovering-after-a-miscarriage-the-baby-i-lost-and-the-life-she-gave-me