Stuff Mom Never Told You
Episodes
The Legal History of Sexual Harassment
28 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The term "sexual harassment" didn't exist before the 1970s. Cristen and Caroline investigate the legal history of this occupational hazard and why it ...
Sexism and Science Communication LIVE
23 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
2015 was the year we started caring about sexism in science, WIRED magazine recently declared. In this live Stuff Mom Never Told You conversation at S...
Disabled Sexuality
21 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
People with disabilities are frequently erased from conversations about sexuality because of deeply ingrained stereotypes and marginalizing assumption...
ChangeMAKERS: See It to Be It
19 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Dyllan McGee is one of the world's most important storytellers. Founder of the MAKERS online docuseries, McGee and creative director Sammi Leibovitz c...
Sexist Emoji?
16 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Emoji are revolutionizing the way we communicate while also communicating gender stereotypes about women. Cristen and Caroline decode the gendered pat...
Adult Coloring Books
14 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Coloring book sales have soared as adults rediscover the calming effects of this childhood pastime. Cristen and Caroline sketch out how the grownup co...
ChangeMAKERS: Motivation Matters
11 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Confidence is not a problem for U.S. women's soccer star Abby Wambach; the gender wage gap is. Recently retired, the gold medalist and top internation...
Iceland's Women on Strike
09 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
On Oct. 24, 1975, women in Iceland went on strike to protest gender inequality. Cristen and Caroline go to work on how the strike happened, its impact...
ChangeMAKERS: Dignify Your Work
04 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and one of TIME's Most Influential People, Ai Jen Poo has dedicated her life to advocating tir...
Bossed Up
02 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Professional ambition, wellbeing and relationships can feel impossible to personally negotiate. Bossed Up founder and CEO Emilie Aries talks to Criste...
Babysitting
29 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
By the time The Babysitters Club hit bookshelves, amateur childcare already had a buckwild history. Cristen and Caroline chart the invention, gender p...
Lady Truckers
24 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The trucking industry is recruiting women like never before. Cristen and Caroline get behind the wheel of what life is really life out there on the ro...
Lady Mechanics
22 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Auto mechanics is a decidedly male-dominated field, with women comprising less than 2 percent of the profession. Cristen and Caroline get under the ho...
Ghosting
17 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Are more people breaking up without saying goodbye? Cristen and Caroline discuss the not-so-new phenomenon of ghosting -- or abruptly ending a relatio...
Cuddle Puddle
15 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Cuddling permeates many of our closest relationships, whether platonic or romantic - but why? Cristen and Caroline investigate the nature and nurture ...
NASA's Hidden Computer Women
10 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When NASA was formed in 1958, its prized pool of all-female "computers" desegregated. Until then, mathematicians of color -- including Presidential Me...
The Queer Saint Who Invented Intersectionality
08 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Pauli Murray is greatest intersectional trailblazer - and saint - you've never heard of. Cristen and Caroline marvel at the life, love and genius of t...
Infertility's Global Stigma
03 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Infertility affects million of women and men around the world, but cultural stigma has kept it in the shadows. Cristen and Caroline talk about the cau...
I Had a Miscarriage
01 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
After experiencing a miscarriage at 16 weeks, clinical psychologist Jessica Zucker started the hashtag #IHadaMiscarriage, which went viral. Cristen an...
Very Close Veins
27 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Why do more than half of all lady legs develop varicose and spider veins? Cristen and Caroline provide a rarely offered anatomy lesson on why they hap...
Wrinkles in Time
25 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
From bathing in donkey's milk to injecting our faces with fat and neurotoxins, our wrinkle-fighting regimens have been evolving for millennia. But are...
Knitting
20 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Knitting was originally a job for the menfolk. Cristen and Caroline stitch together the mysterious history of the craft, how it transitioned to women'...
Street Art Sisterhood
18 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The history of graffitti and street art have been tagged with men's names, but not anymore. Women around the world are turning public spaces into thei...
A Feminist Marriage
13 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Feminist marriages can take as much planning as feminist weddings. Meg Keene, A Practical Wedding founder and author of the new "A Practical Wedding P...
A Practical Wedding
11 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
When did weddings become so impractical, costing more than $26,000 on average? Meg Keene, A Practical Wedding Founder and author of the new "A Practic...
The Art of Tarot
06 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The history of tarot cards is as tantalizing as the mystical insights they promise to reveal. Cristen and Caroline deal out how tarot evolved from a g...
Psychic Women
04 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Why are most psychic readers women? Cristen and Caroline examine how crystal balls, fortunetelling, palm reading and other mystical pastimes became wo...
2015 Women's Year in Review
30 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A pair of special HowStuffWorks guests join Cristen and Caroline to look back at the highlights and lowlights for women and representation in 2015. Fr...
Best of SMNTY 2015
28 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Cristen and Caroline look back at their favorite 2015 Stuff Mom Never Told You episodes and this year's important events and heroines we didn't cover ...
Are women bigger whiners?
16 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
After a long, tough day, sometimes all you want to do is blow off steam by complaining. But is venting worth the emotional toll that getting trapped i...
Adult Acne
14 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Acne isn't just a teenage rite of passage. Grown-up women with jobs and bank accounts struggle with chronic pimples as well. Cristen and Caroline exam...
YouTube Beauty Gurus
09 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask a young girl who her beauty idol is, chances are, she'll name one of the mega-famous YouTube stars who make a living putting on makeup in f...
The Hidden Lives of Fashion Bloggers
07 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
If you think it's a lot of work to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, just imagine the average day of your favorite glam fashion blogger. Outlining...
Lube 101
02 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you're alone or partnered up, using personal lubricants is nothing to be ashamed of. Cristen and Caroline outline the history, use, and benefi...
Anal Sex For All?
30 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
According to the sexual health statistics, anal sex is more popular -- and pop culturally relevant -- among women than ever before. Cristen and Caroli...
Gilmore Girls and Guys
25 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
With help from Gilmore Guys podcast hosts Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe, Cristen and Caroline take a stroll through Stars Hollow, discussing the...
#blessed
23 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are #blessed and #lucky just another way for women to downplay success -- or to humblebrag? Cristen and Caroline dive into why so many ladies on socia...
Hollywood's STEAM Women
18 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Visual effects artists combine art, math and tech to create the stunning imagery you see onscreen - but they're not immune from the gender gap that pl...
Max Factor and Hollywood's Makeover Men
16 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Hollywood's first makeup artists were exclusively men. Cristen and Caroline highlight how Max Factor and the Westmore boys revolutionized movie makeup...
Little Miss Perfect
11 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Perfectionism is assumed to be a female trait, but what does that mean, exactly? Cristen and Caroline explore how perfectionism isn't what you think i...
Anxious Women
09 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why are women twice as likely to experience chronic anxiety? Cristen and Caroline share their own experiences with long-term anxiety, whether female a...
Cooking Shows
04 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 1963, Julia Child made an omelet on Boston public television and changed culinary history forever. Cristen and Caroline cook up how television cook...
The Gendered Chef
02 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Women leading professional kitchens is a relatively new dish. Cristen and Caroline cook up the history of how chef became a man's job and how women to...
Hollywood Witches
28 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
From Bewitched to American Horror Story: Coven, Hollywood has loved casting women as witches. In this Halloween episode, Cristen and Caroline discuss ...
Feminist Witchcraft
26 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Some argue that all feminists are witches by default and mean it as a compliment. Cristen and Caroline explore the not-so-spooky relationship between ...
Significant Others
21 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Boyfriends and girlfriends are so passe. In a romantic era that knows no age, marital or gender identity bounds, Cristen and Caroline search for the i...
Couple Speak
19 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Couples with cutesy pet names and intimate code language may be nauseating, but research finds those are signs of a healthy relationship. Cristen and ...
Juiceheads
14 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What's up with the juice cleanse trend? Cristen and Caroline sip on how Scientology helped reintroduce juice cleansing to the masses and why the promi...
Athleisure
12 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Sweatpants are the new slacks, and high tops are the new heels. Cristen and Caroline dissect the rise and resilience of the athleisure trend and wheth...
Girls Who Lift
07 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why are many women scared of weightlifting? Cristen and Caroline flex the gendered history of women lifting heavy things and debunk the myth that girl...
Rowdy Ronda
05 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Ronda "Rowdy" Rousey is the world's most successful women's MMA fighter and has even been called a feminist icon. Cristen and Caroline discuss her jud...
Breastaurants
30 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 1983, the first Hooters restaurant opened, unofficially inventing the "attentive service sector" restaurant industry. Colloquially known as breasta...
The Waitress Workforce
28 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Waitresses are a cornerstone, though often underappreciated and underpaid, of the food industry. Cristen and Caroline serve up a history of this femal...
The Birth of Maternity Fashion
23 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Compared to pregnancy, the history of maternity clothes is in its infancy. Cristen and Caroline strut through the timeline of maternity fashion and wh...
Why America Hates Maternity Leave
21 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the United States the only developed nation that offers no federally mandated paid maternity leave? Cristen and Caroline trace the origin of Am...
Bye Felipe
16 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Online dating offers documentary proof of men not handling women's sexual rejection gracefully. Cristen and Caroline talk about what happens when masc...
The Dead Ladies Project
14 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In her new book, author Jessa Crispin travels the world solo, following in the footsteps of artists who've come before. Caroline and Cristen chat with...
Feminist Transphobia
09 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
"Trans-exclusionary radical feminists," or TERFs, is considered a slur. Yet, some radical feminists who define womanhood through biology rather than g...
The Lavender Menace
07 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique," once infamously referred to radical lesbian feminists as a "lavender menace" that threatened the cre...
Margaret Mead
02 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Nicknamed Mother to the World, Margaret Mead was an icon of cultural anthropology who laid an academic foundation for the sexual revolution and second...
Feminist Anthropology
31 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Anthropology, or the study of past and present humans, was a discipline largely developed by and focused on men. Cristen and Caroline examine how pion...
Samurai Women
26 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Did women samurai exist in ancient Japan? Cristen and Caroline uncover the truth about Japanese women warriors and how their uncommon backstories beca...
The Asian Fetish
24 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The fetishization of East Asian women, derisively referred to as "yellow fever," is as old as the Silk Road. Cristen and Caroline unpack the history a...
Free the Nipple
19 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why are women on social media intentionally letting their nips slip? Cristen and Caroline discuss the history and celebrity-fueled rise of the Free th...
Why can't women go topless?
17 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know it's legal in most states for women to go topless? Cristen and Caroline explore the history of men and women taking off their shirts in p...
The High Priestess of Soul
12 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Nina Simone was a musical prodigy and civil rights activist whose iconic voice and style shaped the sound of modern jazz and soul. Cristen and Carolin...
Borderline Personality Disorder
10 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What is borderline personality disorder, and why did doctors think it disproportionately affected women? Cristen and Caroline examine the history and ...
Period Pride
05 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1970s, Germaine Greer encouraged women to taste their own menstrual blood. These days, artists are creating work about periods to help erase th...
Podcasting Women: Chicks Who Script
03 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Chicks Who Script is a hilarious and insightful podcast focusing on women and the film industry. Screenwriters Lauren Schacher, Maggie F. Levin and Em...
Podcasting Women (and Bryan Safi): Throwing Shade
29 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Throwing Shade is podcasting's funniest weekly commentary on feminist and LGBT issues. Cristen and Caroline talk to comedians and hosts Erin Gibson an...
Waist Training
27 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Women across Instagram are wearing corsets while they work out. No really. Cristen and Caroline take on the waist training exercise fad by consulting ...
Podcasting Women: Black Girls Talking
22 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Black Girls Talking is a must-hear podcast on pop culture, representation, and feminism hosted by Alesia, Fatima, Ramou and Aurelia. Cristen and Carol...
How to Pee Standing Up
20 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to bathroom hygiene, access and safety, peeing standing up is a legitimate concern for many women and trans men. Cristen and Caroline ta...
The $10 Woman
15 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Treasury announced a woman will be featured on a new $10 bill, which got Cristen and Caroline wondering about women on currency around the wo...
Podcasting Women: The Longest Shortest Time
13 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Bedridden following a difficult childbirth, radio producer and author Hillary Frank started a podcast as a "3 a.m. bedside companion" for parents like...
Judy Blume Forever
08 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most beloved and banned authors, Judy Blume wrote adolescence like no other. Cristen and Caroline investigate how Judy Blume's real life in...
Empresses of Science Fiction
06 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know a woman wrote what many consider the first science-fiction novel? Cristen and Caroline explore women who've shaped science fiction's past...
How to Skate Like a Girl, Part 2
01 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Since skateboarding arrived in the 1950s, women like Patti McGee, Peggy Oki and Elissa Steamer have proven that skating like a girl isn't second-rate....
How to Skate Like a Girl, Part 1
29 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Since skateboarding arrived in the 1950s, women like Patti McGee, Peggy Oki and Elissa Steamer have proven that skating like a girl isn't second-rate....
Bisexual Erasure, Part 2
24 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Is the concept of sexual fluidity erasing bisexuality? Cristen and Caroline continue their discussion of bisexual erasure happening everywhere from ac...
Bisexual Erasure, Part 1
22 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why does the B in LGBT often get overlooked? Cristen and Caroline examine America's history of bisexual erasure and how bisexual people face prejudice...
Dad Bods
17 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Dad bods broke the Internet in spring 2015. How did a college nickname for a beer-swilling physique spark a national debate about body image and mom b...
Man Caves
15 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Do men need domestic sanctuaries to escape the pressures of modern manhood? Welcome to man caves -- also known as mantuaries and manspaces -- for guys...
Life as a Lady Music Producer
10 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Do women music producers bring something different to the recording studio? Sylvia Massy thinks so. Cristen and Caroline ask the platinum-record-earni...
Electronic Women
08 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Whether playing the theremin or crafting soundscapes for your favorite TV shows, women have shaped the electronic music industry from the beginning. C...
The Laverne Cox Effect
03 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Laverne Cox's breakout role in "Orange Is the New Black" was a watershed moment for transgender representation on television. Cristen and Caroline tal...
Transgender TV
01 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Transgender characters are beginning to come alive on television. Cristen and Caroline talk to trans activist and writer Raquel Willis about the pop c...
All the Single Ladies
27 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Why do people fear the single woman? In this episode, Cristen and Caroline talk to researcher Kinneret Lahad about why singledom is seen as so disrupt...
Single by Choice
25 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Who needs marriage these days? Cristen and Caroline discuss the record number of Americans choosing to stay single and why single women tend to spark ...
The Many Lives of Bettie Page
20 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Pin-up queen Bettie Page is more popular today than she was at the height of her career in the 1950s. Cristen and Caroline explore Bettie's biography,...
Pinup Girls
18 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
During World War II, pinups were the ultimate American sex symbols. Cristen and Caroline discuss the history and evolution of pinups, female pinup art...
Designing Women
13 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Interior design has been considered 'women's work' ever since Elsie de Wolfe became America's first famous decorator in the early 20th century. Criste...
How to Become a (Woman) Carpenter
11 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Nina McLaughlin's carpentry memoir "Hammer Head" is about so much more than woodworking. Cristen and Caroline chat with the writer and carpenter about...
The Baby Weight-Loss Race
06 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Celebrities' post-childbirth weight loss has become a standard feature of tabloids. Cristen and Caroline examine our collective fixation on these new ...
Baby Bumps
04 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In 2002, tabloid editor Bonnie Fuller coined the term "bump watch" that stoked our pop cultural obsession with celebrity pregnancies. Cristen and Caro...
Dolores Huerta's Grassroots Legacy
29 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Labor and Chicano civil rights activist Dolores Huerta made history organizing underpaid farmworkers and exposing the plight of the people who feed Am...
Farmer Janes
27 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Being a farmer's wife used to be the pinnacle role for women in agriculture, but that's changing fast. As more women reclaim land and run farms, Crist...
Divorced Women
22 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Society has always been a little suspicious of the divorced woman: Is she a gold-digging threat or a pitiful, jilted wife? Most likely, she's neither....
Trophy Wives
20 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Do beautiful women marry for money? Cristen and Caroline unpack the gender- and race-loaded stereotype of the Trophy Wife and investigate whether she ...
Can science fiction save the world?
13 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Science fiction writers like Octavia Butler and Ursula K. Le Guin have long used this otherworldy genre to confront discrimination and inequality. Cri...