Stuff Mom Never Told You

Classic Episode: Beyonce's Feminism

03 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The release of Beyonce's secret "visual album" in December 2013 was hailed as her feminist manifesto, setting off an internet-wide discussion about th...

Classic Episode: How Estrogen Works

29 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Estrogen comes up ALL the time in the podcast, so what's the science behind the hormone? Does estrogen really turn women into emotional chocolate-eate...

Classic Episode: The Revenge Porn Wars

27 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes termed "cyber rape," revenge porn refers to sexually explicit images and videos nonconsensually shared on the internet. Cristen and Caroline...

Classic Episode: What's the difference between gender and sex?

22 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Three of the most defining attribute people have are their gender, sex and sexual orientation. Cristen and Caroline offer an easy-to-understand guide ...

Classic Episode: Trailblazing Lesbians You Should Know

20 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Guess what? Awesome, history-making lesbians aren't limited to Ellen and Rachel Maddow. This episode covers famous lesbians you might not know about, ...

Classic Episode: A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 2

15 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Raised during the Progressive Era crusade against abortion, Margaret Sanger devoted her life to making birth control and familiy planning accessible t...

Classic Episode: A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 1

13 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In colonial America, early-term abortion was a way of life for many women. But by 1900, it had become criminalized across the country -- but not for r...

Classic Episode: The Secret History of International Women's Day

08 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

International Women's Day, celebrated every March 8, is a holiday inspired by factory women going on strike for better wages and working conditions. C...

Classic Episode: Were mediums the first feminists?

06 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What are mediums, and what did they have to do with the early suffragists? Join Caroline and Cristen as they explore the role of women in the spiritua...

Classic Episode: Women in Science: They Exist!

01 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Why don't more women pursue science careers? Join Caroline and Cristen as they look at 4 female scientists you've probably never heard of, including R...

Classic Episode: Living Dolls: A History of Fashion Modeling

27 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When did models begin strutting down the catwalk? Cristen and Caroline size up the history of modeling and how it's influenced beauty culture at large...

Classic Episode: Social Justice Warriors

22 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Can social media change the world? So-called social justice warriors, slactivists and hashtag activists think so. In this episode, Cristen and Carolin...

Classic Episode: Transgender 101

20 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What does "transgender" mean? Is it the same as gender identity disorder? Join Cristen and Caroline as they explore the history of sexology, sex chang...

Classic Episode: A Controversial Woman

15 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Who really was Susan B. Anthony, figurehead of American women's suffrage? In celebration of her birthday, Cristen and Caroline explore Anthony's fasci...

Classic Episode: Hey, Ladies!

13 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The word "lady" has undergone a reclamation of sorts in recent years, but it still carries a lot of baggage, thanks to its gender-loaded etymology. Cr...

Classic Episode: The Body Shaming Epidemic

08 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Weight bias, also known as fat-shaming, has serious real-world impacts on overweight and obese women. Now, thin women are making their voices heard ab...

Classic Episode: Crazy Women

06 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Why are women so commonly written off as "crazy"? Caroline and Cristen dig into the "crazy women" verbal tick and how it undermines people actually de...

Classic Episode: A Skeptic's Guide to Women & Islam

01 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Cristen interviews skeptic blogger and Muslim-turned-atheist Heina Dadabhoy about women and Islam. Is Islam inherently patriarchal? What is Islamic fe...

Classic Episode: 6 Black Feminist Pioneers You Should Know

30 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Does feminism have a race problem? How have black women shaped abolition, civil rights and women's rights? Join Cristen and Caroline as they recount t...

Classic Episode: Are female politicians better for women?

27 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

As Margaret Thatcher's legacy demonstrates, female politicians don't always support women's issues, feminism or other women in leadership. Caroline an...

Classic Episode: Does birth control affect future fertility?

25 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Do oral contraceptives make it harder to get pregnant down the road? Do IUDs increase pregnancy risks? Does abortion endanger long-term fertility? Tun...

The Good In Goodbye

28 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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Do Women's Marches Matter?

26 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The 2017 Women's March on Washington will be another chapter in women's rich, though often hidden, history of rallying for change. Cristen and Carolin...

Man Haters

21 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

By shooting Andy Warhol, Valerie Solanas embodied the reviled stereotype of the feminist man hater. Cristen and Caroline unpack the etymological root ...

IUDs FYI

19 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

IUDs and implants are among the most effective contraceptive options, but their popularity in the US is only now spiking. Cristen and Caroline explain...

Maternal Mental Health

14 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly one fifth of pregnancies and births are associated with mental health disorders. Cristen and Caroline detail why antenatal and postpartum anxie...

The Politics of Adoption

12 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Adoption has always been fraught with stigmas surrounding sexuality, single motherhood, race and immigration. Cristen and Caroline decode the underlyi...

Retail Hell

07 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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The Cost of Fast Fashion

05 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Brands like Zara and H&M churn out mass-produced fashion at an astounding rate, but the true cost is left off the price tags. Cristen and Caroline...

Bury Your Gays

30 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For LGBTQ characters on TV, it's been an especially deadly year, and fans are fed up. Cristen and Caroline unpack the Bury Your Gays trope, how it aff...

Weather Girls

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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Thank a Social Worker

23 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Cristen and Caroline trace the intersectional origins of social work, celebrate unsung African-American women social workers and why the job has grown...

Charitable Burnout

21 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The nonprofit sector is made up of 74 percent women, but men tend to fill organizations' highest ranks. Cristen and Caroline donate an episode to nonp...

Mansplaining

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What is mansplaining, and why are millennial women complaining about it all the time? Cristen and Caroline unpack its origin, meaning and why you don'...

Boy Geniuses

14 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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Election Hangover

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madam Presidents

07 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What happens after America elects its first female President? With history as their guide, Cristen and Caroline forecast to what extent a gender revol...

Buffy the Feminist Vampire Slayer

02 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been hailed as one of the most feminist shows in TV history. Cristen, Caroline and HowStuffWorks galpal Lauren Vogelbaum ...

Villainesses

31 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Evil women and villainesses are the spice of pop culture life. Cristen and Caroline mine the dark side for what Ursula, Catwoman, Cersei and other mav...

Oprah Wasn't Built In a Day

26 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

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Mothers of Invention

24 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Until recently, invention and patenting have been guy things, though not for women's lack of innovation. Cristen and Caroline discover the American hi...

Fighting Shirley Chisholm

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Shirley Chisholm didn't want to be known solely as the first African-American woman in U.S. Congress and to run for the Democratic nomination for pres...

The Ghost of Phyllis Schlafly

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Empowertising

12 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ads selling empowerment might depict women in a better light than sexist ads of yore, but do they actually contribute to equality? Cristen and Carolin...

Why Yogurt Loves Women

10 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Yogurt is one of the most gendered foods in the grocery store -- but why? Cristen and Caroline cook up the uncanny marketing history of how the soured...

Uber Privilege

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Uber, AirBnb and others are reshaping how we work, but they leave loopholes to discrimination and abuse. Cristen and Caroline look at sharing economy ...

Sex Objects in the Sky

03 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As commercial airlines took off, so did the fetishizing of the white, eligible stewardesses on board. Cristen and Caroline discuss the original stewar...

The Menstrual Cups Revival

28 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Period Tracker Apps

26 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There are more than 40,000 period apps, some of which claim to help you get pregnant or prevent pregnancy. Cristen and Caroline explore the apps' effe...

Pantsuit Power Dressing

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

From suffragists to Grace Jones to Hillary Clinton, the pantsuit has been a symbol bucking feminine norms. Cristen and Caroline trace the power suit's...

Feminist Fight Club

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lunch Ladies

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A century ago, lunch ladies were on the front lines of giving kids the nutrition they needed. Today, many are rewarded with poverty-level wages. Crist...

Justice for Janitors

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Custodians keep our schools, work places and public spaces clean, but they're often treated downright dirty. Cristen and Caroline cover the distinct g...

Welfare Queens

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ronald Reagan made "welfare queens" a household epithet during his unsuccessful 1976 presidential campaign. Considering the 20th anniversary of so-cal...

Women's War with Heroin

05 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Cristen and Caroline trace why heroin is more popular among suburban, white women than ever before. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.i...

Mad Women, Part 2

31 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women work nearly half of all ad jobs, but the industry remains rife with sexism. Cristen and Caroline spotlight the discrimination, harassment and cu...

Mad Women, Part 1

29 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In the early advertising industry, career-minded white women were copywriters, department heads and even agency owners. But their very mission of sell...

Unicorn Legends

24 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The associations between unicorns and all things feminine is nothing new, but where did it come from? Cristen and Caroline dive into unicorns' history...

Finding Lisa Frank

22 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa Frank is a real person, and she has a stable of sad unicorns and wilted rainbows hidden away in her closet. Cristen and Caroline explore Lisa Fra...

Sports Boobs

17 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Studies have found that breasts have a significant impact of if and how girls and women exercise. Cristen and Caroline work out how breast variety, bo...

Saggy Boob Science

15 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Breast ptosis -- the fancy name for sag -- has way more to do with aging and genetics than gravitiy. Cristen and Caroline explore what's "normal" in i...

Fighting for Women's Olympic Boxing

10 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

At the 2016 Summer Olympics women's boxing event, all eyes are on U.S.A. phenom Claressa Shields. Cristen and Caroline share Shields' inspiring backst...

Gymnastics Gold

08 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

American Simone Biles is possibly the most talented gymnast in history. Cristen and Caroline somersault across the history of the OIympic event from i...

NOW & Then: A Feminist Movement Matures

03 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Betty Friedan's homophobia has haunted the National Organization for Women. In the second part of their up-close look at the early years of NOW, Crist...

NOW & Then: Women's Liberation Begins

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For 50 years, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has been championed feminist initiatives and gender equalizing political policy. But much of i...

Emotional Affairs

27 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When is it cheating if there's no sex or physical contact? Welcome to the murky world of emotional cheating. Cristen and Caroline confront its warning...

The Work Wife

25 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Over our working lives, we encounter plenty of pals, acqaintances and even enemies, but the beloved work spouse is rarer -- and, it turns out, more pr...

Tattoo Artist Women

20 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women tattoo artists were a rare sight until recently. Cristen and Caroline uncover the history of these ink lovers, stylistic gender stereotyping and...

Tattooed Women

18 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

More American women have tattoos than men as of 2012. Cristen and Caroline retrace the body art history from spiritual Native American women to sidesh...

Lesbian Bed Death

13 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The term "lesbian bed death" has become a persistent negative stereotype about the allegedly passionless sex lives of women in relationships with wome...

Libido Liberation

11 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women's sex drives and expression shift in response to a wide range of factors. So when libido dips, why are we so quick to pathologize it? Cristen an...

Librarians, Part 2

06 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Almost as soon as public libraries began flourishing, librarian quickly became one of the most female-dominated jobs in the country. Cristen and Carol...

Librarians, Part 1

04 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Being a librarian was originally a man's job. Then Melvil Dewey and his book-loving bros came along and changed all that. But while the feminization o...

The Unfinished Business of Working-class Equality

29 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Anne-Marie Slaughter left the U.S. State Department to spend more time with her family and declared, "Women can't have it all," she faced both re...

Queering Romantic Comedies

27 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

According to the romantic comedy canon, only straight people fall in love. In the final installment of their rom com podcast series, Cristen and Carol...

The United State of Women

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In June 2016, the White House Council on Women & Girls brought together 5,000 changemakers from all over the country for the first-ever United Sta...

Black Romantic Comedies

20 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Romantic comedies remain one of Hollywood's most segregated film genres. In part four of their rom com podcast series, Cristen and Caroline compare th...

Feminism for Sale

15 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The feminist movement has sold its activist soul to bodywash companies, maxi pad providers, pop stars and a host of other commodities hoping to cash i...

Romantic Comedy Sidekicks

13 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Sidekicks are an integral part of any romantic comedy. In part three of their rom com series, Cristen and Caroline examine the ways these sometimes ne...

Surfer Girls

08 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women have been slaying waves ever since surfing was invented. Cristen and Caroline coast the history of Hawaii's sport of queens, its colonialist dem...

Romantic Comedy's Working Girls

06 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women's careers have been central romantic comedy conflicts since the 1940s. In this second installment of their rom com series, Cristen and Caroline ...

Lady Friends With Benefits

01 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women's romantic friendships and lifelong partnerships were common -- and acceptable -- in the Victorian era. Cristen and Caroline discuss how and why...

Romantic Comedies 101

30 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Rom coms were invented thanks to Hollywood censorship. In this introduction to a five-episode series exploring the vintage screwballs to the modern sc...

Queer Fashion as Activism

25 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For many LGBTQ folks, the personal takes on an element of the political when it's time to get dressed. Caroline chats with designer Leon Wu, style exp...

The Prince of Queer Fashion

23 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When Prince died April 21, the tributes came pouring out, centering especially on his genderbending fashion that gave plenty of kids someone to look u...

Who is Hillary Clinton?

18 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Hillary Clinton has been one of the most successful women in American politics, but ever since she became the First Lady of Arkansas, people have both...

Where are the women in political campaigns?

16 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Women are a rare sight in the upper echelons of political campaign management and strategy. Cristen and Caroline put on their detective hats to figure...

When America Sterilized Women of Color

11 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Forcible sterilizations of black women in the South were so frequent in the 1960s, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer nicknamed them Mississippi a...

The Mothers of Gynecology

09 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

J. Marion Sims is hailed as the father of gynecology, but his legacy is tainted by his experimental surgeries on enslaved women. Cristen and Caroline ...

The Future of STD Testing

04 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The future of sexual health may be in at-home STD testing. Cristen and Caroline talk to My Lab Box startup founders Lora Ivanova and Ursula Hessenflow...

The Misgendering of HIV

02 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since the 1980s epidemic, HIV and AIDS have been misunderstood as exclusively affecting men who have sex with men. Cristen and Caroline discuss t...

A Buffer of Whores

27 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Wartime prostitution is American as Uncle Sam and apple pie. Cristen and Caroline shares the hidden history of military STDs, government-sanctioned br...

Japan's Comfort Women

25 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

During World War II, Japanese military life included sexual slavery. Cristen and Caroline trace the traumatic history of "comfort women" survivors and...

The Lesbian Wage Bump

20 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why is the gender wage gap narrower for lesbians? Cristen and Caroline investigate why those bigger paychecks happen but probably don't buy an easier ...

Spill Your Salary Secrets

18 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Salary talk with coworkers is becoming the new "do" in digital workplaces. recruitHER founders Gina Helfrich and Ashley Doyle share their insights on ...

Colorism

13 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Why does lighter skin improve women's chances of getting through school, getting a job and getting married? Cristen and Caroline explore the historica...

Spray Tan Politics

11 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Suntanned skin became a seasonal beauty standard for wealthy white women in the 1920s. Cristen and Caroline explore the class and colorism behind our ...

Ann Friedman's Ladyswagger

06 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Ann Friedman is one of the most important feminist and millennial voices you should know, listen to and read. Tune in to hear Cristen and Caroline cha...

The First Lady of the Black Press

04 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

When trailblazing reporter Ethel Payne died, The Washington Post eulogized that had Payne "not been black, she certainly would have been one of the mo...

The Anita Hill Effect

30 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In 1991, Anita Hill testified before the U.S. Senate that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her when they worked together. ...