Vicious Cycle

It's our last episode of the season and part two of our deep dive into 10 sometimes scary, often funny, and always meaningful abortions on screen. This episode is fully set in the 2010's, and we get into some of our favorite shows: CW darlings Jane the Virgin and Crazy-Ex Girlfriend, Shonda's soapy magnum opus Scandal, animated delight BoJack Horseman and thoughtful, funny Netflix original Dear White People. We also have our final Why I Cried of the season (featuring a blistener's submitted musical accompaniment!) and a surprise song because why not!? Thank you for joining us for season 6, dear blisteners. We loved making it for you. Enjoy this episode and PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER FOR CANDIDATES WHO SUPPORT BODILY AUTONOMY FOR BLEEDERS AND TRANS PEOPLE! Much love, the VC gals.

We had such a blast when we covered periods on television, so we knew we HAD to get into how abortions have been portrayed on screen. We cover a century of TV shows and films, and talk about some of our favorites, some of the funniest, and one of the creepiest movies we've ever seen. In part one, we run the gamut, from a 1916 silent film, a show from 2012 set in the 50's, and a 90's classic. Enjoy this ep, and catch part two (and our final episode of the season) later this week!

We know our blisteners love a good story (don't all podcast lovers?) so we KNOW you'll love Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. Maggie joined us for our Bleeding Rainbow episode about her graphic novel Squad — a story centered around four teen girls who have a unique, yet very effective way of fighting the patriarchy — and have a strong relationship to the moon... (they're werewolves, get it?). Maggie talks periods, the power of feminine anger, hashtag author life, and oh so much more. Haven't read Squad yet? Take a listen and then get to your library or local indie bookstore to grab a copy! And then read while you're collecting your blood for future blood magik. Enjoy!

Alternative title to this episode: The Church of Jesus Christ ANOTHER UTI?! We were lucky enough to talk with Sasha Piton a few months back about Mormon undergarments and how they are NOT conducive for vaginal health and menstruation — which she made clear to the LDS church leaders (and even got some press - hello NYT!). We talk periods, divine femininity, and that old chestnut we know so well: religion + bodily shame. Sasha has since left the church, but our convo is still so relevant for the Mormon faith and other religions that continue to silence femme voices. So go on — take off those undies, find a cool breeze and tune in.

Did you know that one form of a uterine anomaly is having no uterus at all? It's crazy but it's true! This is known as MRKH syndrome (named after the four doctors who discovered it) and we had the privilege to talk to Riddhi Patel about their experience with this rare disorder. They tell us all about their diagnosis, symptoms they've experienced, and the struggle finding a doctor in a small California town. We also relish in the fact that your three Millennial blosts got to chat with a very cool Gen Z-er about bodies and sex. So, give your pad wings a middle part and start listening.

It seems like only yesterday we were joking on the podcast about tubal litigators (lol - sometimes our words not good!), and now here we are, devoting a whole episode to the various forms of sterilization a uterus-haver can consider! Kate brings us surprise bleedsearch and we are truly SURPRISED by what we learn in this episode. We talk procedures, bad doctors, outdated societal norms AND we've got a song! Grab your Fallopian tubes like little horse reigns and giddy-up to that play button! (I'm really stretching with these body metaphors, folks.)

This week we are so lucky to have Cera Merrick on the pod to tell us about being an abortion doula — including what kind of support someone can expect when they work with a doula and why that kind of support is so important for someone getting an abortion (no matter their circumstances). Cera also tells us how they ended up in this line of work, and (of course) answers our three crazy questions. Set up your stock-pile of abortion pills like a cute little armchair, settle in and press play! Learn more about Cera here!: ceramerrick.com

It's still summer! And your three co-blosts continue to enjoy our various summer adventures (read: hoping our tampon strings aren't poking out of our swimsuits). So we thought we'd rerun our first ever interview with a VIB from way back in 2018. Enjoy this episode with writer and comedian Allison Page, who tells us all about her struggles with endometriosis. There's laughs, poems, a song and more. So chase that Midol with some ginger tea and enjoy this episode!

Picture it: It was January 2020. The three co-blosts were holed up in a downtown San Francisco hotel room for a one-night retreat. We had wine, gummy bears and DayQuil (Kate had a cold), and we were recording our first Everything is Fine episode. Fast forward to 2.5 years later: It's the year of our lord-who-is-a-man 2022 and those very same co-blosts are all on a brief summer break away from the pod. So in honor of that magical wintry night, we're re-releasing this episode, full of fun quizzes, songs and staged readings. So relax those Kegels and take a trip down memory lane with us. Enjoy!

(Re-uploaded to fix audio glitch!) Welcome to the pod Adam Segal — abortion advocate, breaker-down of toxic masculinity, and our first cis man guest! Adam brings his own perspective to the fight for abortion rights, having had a partner go through it. Knowing how important it is for cis men to be a part of the conversation, we wanted to talk to Adam about his experience, and talk about ways other cis men can join the fight, including his mens' group New Masculinities. And don't worry, we also ask him our 3 krazy kwestions. So, go on and hit play already!

We're back with part two! We've got more abortion stories, ways you can support people seeking abortions, and general venting about the state of the world, mixed in with laughs and love. We're so grateful for Carla joining us and sharing her story, and for everyone who called in with their stories.

One of our favorite guests, Carla Lee, is sitting in for Meg Hayes this week as we take phone calls from blisteners shouting their abortions. As you can tell from the title, we had enough calls, stories and things to talk about that we had to split it into two parts! Keep an eye out for part two later this week, and then press play to laugh, cry and NORMALIZE abortion with us. Much love, bleeders.

We're coming at you with more bleedsearch! You got a taste of it last week with Meg Hayes' abortion history segment, and now here's the main course. Learn about when abortions first entered the annals of history, play games along with Meg T and Kate, and learn about another new patron saint of the podcast (we're collecting enough to start our own church)! Smash the play button while smashing the patriarchy, blisteners! Links from Meg H's research: https://daily.jstor.org/abortion-remedies-medieval-catholic-nun/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-complex-early-history-of-abortion-in-the-united-states https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/abortion-central-history-reproductive-health-care-america#:~:text=Leaders%20didn't%20outlaw%20abortion,around%20four%20months%20of%20pregnancy https://www.feminist.com/resources/ourbodies/abortion.html

We're 100 episodes old! We celebrated with a live show at PianoFight in San Francisco and we talk ABORTION(FYI - this was recorded on June 18, before Roe was officially overturned). MeyHay brings us a taste of her bleedsearch on the history of abortion, Kate plays a fun new game where we guess which state is truly the worst (there are so many!), and Meg T covers resources you can turn to if your access to abortion just disappeared. BUT WE ALSO LAUGH AND SING. We bring back some of our favorite games, bits and have two fresh parodies you're going to get stuck in your head immediately. We're mourning and raging with you in this post-Roe world, blisteners.

This week we're covering the topic that you (like the blosts) may know very little about – abortion pills! And contrary to what you may have heard, abortion pills are effective, safe, and even used among racehorse breeders to stop their horses from having foals. If it's good enough for Seabiscuit, it's good enough for us! Renowned reproductive justice advocate Susan Yanow joins us to tell us all the details of this (once again) very safe and effective method of terminating a pregnancy, and gives us a little hope in these dark AF times. abortionpillinfo.org plancpills.org aidaccess.org

Raise your hand if you use a period tracking app! All three blosts certainly have (we talked about it in episode 7 of the pod!), but over the past few years, we've heard more and more about how the way these apps handle data is less than ideal. So, in this episode, Meg T dives deep into what these tracker apps know about us, what they do with that info and who they sell it to. Especially as Roe v. Wade may soon be gutted and the government may insert itself deeper into our bodies, it's important to know the ways your very private data may be at risk. Open a pad and your phone settings and settle in! The copious articles Meg T referenced: Will My Period Tracking App Betray Me? Menstrual Surveillance in a Post-Roe World https://msmagazine.com/2022/05/09/period-tracking-app-menstrual-surveillance-roe-v-wade-abortion/ Spotty privacy practices of popular period trackers https://blog.mozilla.org/en/internet-culture/privacy-practices-period-trackers/ What Your Period Tracker App Knows About You https://www.consum

We are once again blessed with the presence of Dr. Kate White, this time to ask her all about her first book, "Your Guide to Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss." We talk about the impetus behind this book, who this book is for, and how cool it is that she is now a bonafide published author whose book is going to help a lot of people. We also take phone calls and discover a new segment we like to call "Fill Our Love Taint," which, of course, is where we discuss what's lifting us up these days. Throw on a heating pad and smash that play button. Links to Dr. Kate's books: Your Guide to Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss https://www.drkatewhite.com/miscarriage-book/ Your Sexual Health https://www.drkatewhite.com/yoursexualhealth/

Your blosts are back — and we. are. ANGRY! We kick off this season during a real bleak month (millenium?) reminding us that society is still a hot pile of steamy garbage. That's why we're so glad to have each other this season — and you, dear blisteners — to process, rage and ACT (hint: upcoming live show to rally the troops around abortion rights). Catch up with us as we cover Where We Bled, take some phone calls from our extended meno-PAUSE, and hear what's to come this season. Oh, and laugh! Pop in a light day just because and hit play!

Tickets and more information at viciouscyclepodcast.com

It's a movie that COULD NOT be more up our alley: a tale of tweens in the early aughts livin' life, gettin' horny & startin' their periods, all while stanning boy bands. We reviewed Pixar's latest masterpiece, TURNING RED, for our Patreon supporters — but we're giving ALL the blisteners this sneak peek of the episode. If you want to hear our entire review, hop on over to Patreon.com/viciouscyclepodcast and get more cool content while supporting our show! Vicious Cycle merch!: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/vicious-cycle-podcast?ref_id=21954