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CRAMPED: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Kate Helen Downey
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.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 days ago1h 2m
Is There a Conspiracy to Keep Women in Pain? with Unladylike
The more we learn about period pain, the less sense it makes that it's so under-researched and under-treated. Am I paranoid or is it almost...suspicious? I invited Cristen Conger of the Unladylike and Conspiracy, She Wrote podcasts to help me pull this thread. Who was in charge of our pain in the Middle Ages and the colonial era, and why did our care providers change? Why was menstrual pain seen as in important issue to address in the 1930s and 40s, and then dropped? Why were amphetamines first tested for dysmenorrhea?? And is there a shadowy cabal plotting to keep our uteruses hurting? CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Join the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedListen to Unladylike: https://www.unladylike.co/episodes and Conspiracy, She Wrote: https://www.conspiracyshewrote.com/Thank you to Magic Wand for sponsoring CRAMPED this month! Visit magicwandoriginal.com to find where to buy. Legendary power since 1968!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 1 weeks ago11 min
Guillotines, Axe Murders, and Menstrual Blood: A CRAMPED Halloween
Join the Patreon (even at the free tier) to listen to the full episode! https://www.patreon.com/CRAMPEDDid Lizzie Borden get away with murdering her father and stepmother in 1892 partly because Victorian investigators were too squeamish about menstrual blood to examine a bucket of bloody rags found in her basement? This Halloween episode traces the surprisingly rich history of menstrual blood and crime, from French Revolution prisoners faking pregnancies to escape the guillotine to the current state of forensic science on distinguishing period blood from murder blood, which is more complicated than you might hope.CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Thank you to Magic Wand for sponsoring CRAMPED this month! Visit magicwandoriginal.com to find where to buy. Legendary power since 1968! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 2 weeks ago29 min
You Might Like: Pleasure People (produced by Kate!)
This whole year, I've been secretly working on a 6-episode audio series about the Magic Wand Study - and now it's out!I teamed up with DB from Sex Ed with DB, and CRAMPED Season 1's sound designer Kelly, to make this deep dive into Magic Wand's 1000-person IRB-approved pleasure study, one of the biggest studies ever done on pleasure in people with vulvas.Here's episode 1 for your aural pleasure - head over to the Pleasure People feed to listen to episode 2 (out now as well!) and subscribe to listen to whole series. About Pleasure People: Pleasure People is the series that uncovers the science of pleasure through real research and the people who lived it. A thousand people. Three weeks. One question science rarely asks outright: what does daily pleasure actually do for you?In this 6-part limited audio series, hosted by veteran sex educator Danielle Bezalel, Pleasure People follows eight participants of a first-of-its-kind intervention study that tracked pleasure's impact on sleep, stress, relationship satisfaction, and so much more. You'll hear directly from these participants about what it was like to have pleasure assigned and the lasting impact the study had on their lives. The findings will surprise you.Danielle is joined by Magic Wand study lead researcher Dr. Candice Hargons and legendary sex researcher Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. to unpack the layered effect pleasure has on quality of life, and why self-pleasure has gotten such a bad rap. Listen to Episode 2 & the rest of the series here: https://pod.link/6819871177Check out the Magic Wand Study here: https://magicwandstudy.com/Join the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 2 weeks ago56 min
Wulf Women: The Endo Surgeon Directory Built by a Patient Who Got Burned
Deb's story sounds like a lot of crampers' stories: she was on birth control, started having pain and GI issues, and sought answers from her doctor. Despite doing her research, she ended up getting a surgery that not only didn't help...it made her pain and other symptoms worse. After finally getting the help she needed, she created a resource to empower endo patients to choose an experienced excision specialist - the Wulf Women directory. Wulf Women website: https://wulfwomen.com/Deb's IG: https://www.instagram.com/wulfwomen/Deb's Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wulfwomenJoin the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedCRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Want to participate in endometriosis research AND get paid to send your tampons in the mail?? Join the NextGen Jane study at https://www.nextgenjane.com/clinical-studies to get up to $500 over the course of the study, and tell them CRAMPED sent you!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- 3 weeks ago36 min
Rediscovered: The Rete Ovarii, Not So Vestigial After All!
Maybe you've heard - if you've got ovaries, you've got a whole new organ! Well, "new" as in "recognized by science for the first time since the 1800s". It's been in there, doing stuff, this whole time. So what's the deal with the Rete Ovarii? What's it doing in there? Why did this organ get "mysteriously orphaned" after its discovery? And how do you minimize coffee jitters when dissecting a fetal mouse's ovary with tweezers and a microscope? I ask all these questions and more to Dilara Anbarci, PhD post-doc and author of the research paper that's going viral. Rediscovering the Rete Ovarii - Dilara's paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10659334/Dilara's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somethingaboutdilara/Dilara's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dilaraphd?lang=enJoin the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedCRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Want to participate in endometriosis research AND get paid to send your tampons in the mail?? Join the NextGen Jane study at https://www.nextgenjane.com/clinical-studies to get up to $500 over the course of the study, and tell them CRAMPED sent you!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Oct 6, 202631 min
PCOS is now PMOS: Why Did It Take 20 Years of Debate To Get A Medically Accurate Name?
You probably saw the news: the condition formerly known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is now Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovary Syndrome (PMOS). So...what does that mean exactly? Why did the name need to be changed? And why did it take 20 years to actually make it happen? Dr. Helena Teede, the Director of the Monash Centre for Health Research Implementation in Australia, has been leading this effort. She gives us the lowdown on why PCOS was a medically inaccurate name, how the name of a condition can make it harder to diagnose patients, and how she lead 22,000 people worldwide in a collaborative process to re-name a condition that hundreds of millions of people experience. More info on PMOS at: https://www.askpmos.org/Join the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedCRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Want to participate in endometriosis research AND get paid to send your tampons in the mail?? Join the NextGen Jane study at https://www.nextgenjane.com/clinical-studies to get up to $500 over the course of the study, and tell them CRAMPED sent you!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Sep 29, 202618 min
Endo Excision Surgeon Dr. Iris Orbuch: Why She Can't Take Insurance
Join the Patreon (even at the free tier) to listen to the full episode! https://www.patreon.com/CRAMPEDWhy do so few endometriosis excision surgeons take insurance? In this 2024 interview with leading endo excision surgeon Dr. Iris Kerin Orbuch, we get a transparent look into the finances behind a surgical practice, and what's causing insurance companies to undervalue an extremely complicated and skilled surgery. Dr. Orbuch also opens up about why she went 16 years with endometriosis symptoms and pain before getting diagnosed and treated FOR THE DISEASE SHE WORKED ON EVERY DAY! CRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Want to participate in endometriosis research AND get paid to send your tampons in the mail?? Join the NextGen Jane study at https://www.nextgenjane.com/clinical-studies to get up to $500 over the course of the study, and tell them CRAMPED sent you! Thank you to Beducated for sponsoring CRAMPED! Take the Beducated Quiz: https://beduc.at/pd2637-crampedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Sep 22, 202645 min
Your Uterus Sends a Monthly Report. Someone's Finally Reading It! w/ Ridhi Tariyal
I talk to co-founder and CEO Ridhi Tariyal about the information in menstrual effluent that's missing from a regular blood draw, and how NextGen Jane is using it to come at endometriosis from both ends: a non-invasive diagnostic using a tampon, and the hunt for new drug targets to help treat it. We also talk about rats chewing through menstrual cups, the "menstrual defense" for murder, and how our periods are the key to understanding immune system dysfunction. She blew my mind with menstrual science!Oh, and NextGen Jane will pay you to send them your tampons, and they're looking for multiple categories of participants:Sign up for the NextGen Jane studies: https://www.nextgenjane.com/clinical-studiesOr email the team at research@nextgenjane.comCRAMPED episodes are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only, and are not medical advice.Join the CRAMPED Patreon: https://patreon.com/crampedThank you to Beducated for sponsoring CRAMPED! Take the Beducated Quiz: https://beduc.at/pd2637-crampedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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About CRAMPED
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.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's CRAMPED daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of CRAMPED as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the CRAMPED podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official CRAMPED product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Kate Helen Downey.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts, any in the catalog. Basic raises that to 15, Pro to 40 and Max to 100. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does CRAMPED release new episodes?
CRAMPED publishes weekly. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does CRAMPED cover?
CRAMPED covers topics including Science, Fitness, Documentary, Culture, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
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