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. Season 1 launches weekly episodes st...
Bonus · Mon, April 28, 2025
You Might Like: The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women
While we're on a break from releasing new CRAMPED episodes, we're recommending some other fantastic podcasts to check out. Today we're featuring an episode of The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, from Foreign Policy and Good Trouble Productions. According to the World Bank , as many as 500 million people every month lack access to menstrual products or facilities. This cuts across all countries, including big pockets of the U.S. and the UK. The inability to afford period products is often called “period poverty.” Not only does period poverty make many girls’ lives harder; it also affects their ability to stay in school. Many miss school days during their period and it can contribute to them leaving entirely. In India, for example, around 23 million girls drop out of school every year because they do not have a bathroom at school where they feel comfortable managing their period. On this episode from Season 6 of The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women , hear about the solutions to period poverty and how truly transformational it would be for girls. First, reporter Elna Schutz talks to activists who have successfully advocated for affordable period products in South Africa, including students . Then host Reena Ninan speaks with Sia Towo, director of the nonprofit Femme International , about how to end period poverty. Her organization offers menstrual health education, conducts research, and distributes period products in East Africa. The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women is a podcast from Foreign Policy, supported in part by the Gates Foundation. Follow and listen to more episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hidden-economics-of-remarkable-women-hero/id1572532247 . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at <a href="
Tue, April 08, 2025
Why Do We Even Get Periods?
In season 1's final episode, Kate calls up biological anthropologist Kate Clancy to find out why we're even in this pain to begin with. Then Kate throws a period party, and gives the details on how she's been treating her period pain and endometriosis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, April 01, 2025
Why Doesn't Media Talk About Period Pain?
If 51% of the population has a uterus, and 91% of menstruating people experience period pain, why do we literally never hear about it in the media we consume?? Whether its TV, film, podcasts (aside from this one), or social media, it's practically impossible to find stories of periods and period pain. Why?? And how does this lack of visibility affect all of us? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, March 25, 2025
What Happened to Feminism and Body Literacy?
Kate talks to her mom about joining the Boston Women's Health Movement in the 1970s. Why was body literacy such a big part of feminism in the 70s, but when Kate became an active feminist in Boston in the 2000s, she didn't get information about body literacy? To learn more, Kate talks to Laura Prieto, program director of Our Bodies, Ourselves. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, March 18, 2025
Do I Have Medical Trauma?
Kate checks in with comedian and recent hysterectomy patient Max Gross, as well as therapist Suzanne Garrison to figure out - what is medical trauma, and do we have it? How does undiagnosed and untreated pain affect mental health? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, March 11, 2025
I Got a Diagnosis. Now What?
Kate sees a specialist and finally gets a diagnosis for the condition causing her severe period pain. But instead of relief and a clear treatment plan, she just has more questions. She interviews her doctor, Dr. Iris Kerin Orbuch, and influencer Emma Maxwell. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, March 04, 2025
How Do I Balance My Hormones?
Kate gets sucked down a rabbit hole of "hormone balancing" content on TikTok, and wonders...this whole time, have her cramps just been due to a hormone imbalance? She talks with Alex Sujong Laughlin (Normal Gossip, Defector) about her experience trying to balance her hormones with info from TikTok, and then gets real answers from Dr. Thara Vayali on hormone function, cortisol, and how our hormones ACTUALLY work. Transcript at: www.katehelendowney.com/episode-5-transcript See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, February 25, 2025
Who’s Researching New Treatments for Period Pain?
Kate takes a field trip to Evanston, Illinois to visit the Gynecology Research Laboratory, where a team of doctors and researchers are doing groundbreaking studies to understand period pain and find new treatments. What can they tell us about what causes severe dysmenorrhea, and is there hope for relief? Episode transcript and citations: https://www.katehelendowney.com/episode-4-transcript 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 Initiative Fiscal partnership is provided by the Arkansas Podcast Collaborative Published in partnership with Multitude. Contact them for advertising inquiries at https://multitude.productions/ads This publication is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not represent itself as medical advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, February 18, 2025
How Many People Have Severe Period Pain?
It seems like a simple question, right? How many other people out there are experiencing "death cramps"? It turns out...not so much. Kate brings on her sister Maeve, who also gets death cramps, to figure out why they never talked about the horrible pain they were both in. They look at a meta-study of the prevalence of severe period pain, and bring in data scientist Andrea Jones-Rooy to explain why the data on this is so bad. Episode transcript and citations: https://www.katehelendowney.com/episode-3-transcript 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 Published in partnership with Multitude. Contact them for advertising inquiries at https://multitude.productions/ads This publication is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not represent itself as medical advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, February 11, 2025
The ER: Why Isn't Period Pain Treated Like Other Kinds of Pain?
When you're in severe pain and can't figure out how to make it go away, you might seek help at an ER or Urgent Care. But if you're experiencing severe PERIOD pain, you may not get what you need. Kate and guest Sydney Battle trade stories of ER visits gone wrong, then Kate brings their questions to ER doctor and Good Morning America medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton for some answers and advice. Episode 2 Transcript & Citations available here: https://www.katehelendowney.com/episode-2-transcript 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 Published in partnership with Multitude . Contact them for advertising inquiries at https://multitude.productions/ads This publication is for entertainment and informational purposes only, and does not represent itself as medical advice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, February 04, 2025
Death Cramps: Is This Normal?
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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Tue, January 21, 2025
A Preview of Period Pain Answers
A sneak peek at what's to come in the 10 episodes of CRAMPED - first episode dropping Tuesday February 4th, with new episodes weekly for 10 weeks. See more info at https://www.katehelendowney.com/cramped See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Trailer · Mon, November 04, 2024
Introducing 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. Season 1 launches weekly episodes starting February 2025. CREDITS: Host & Show Creator: Kate Downey Editorial Producer: Kelsey DiLanzo Associate Producer: Katelyn Sabater Theme song: Farideh Podcast Art: Nicholas Scheppard Sound Design & Engineering: Kelly Kramarik Published in partnership with Multitude Productions This podcast is supported by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture Division Fiscal partnership provided by Arkansas Podcast Collaborative See 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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