Circling the Drain
A podcast about the period BEFORE you stop getting your period. The concept of a woman "circling the drain" conjures up negative imagery for some, but the origin of this as the name of the podcast has a story. A friend, in her 30's at the time, was listing her ailments to a male physician who clearly had a terrible bedside manner, because he responded to her complaints by shrugging his shoulders in a dismissive fashion and saying something like, "I don't know what to tell you. From now on, you're basically just circling the drain!" Co-hosts Ellie and Julia have been laughing at the audacity of this tone-deaf interaction ever since, and when they decided to start this podcast about the plight of the aging woman, they chose to reclaim and repurpose the phrase in the spirit of humor. Every human on the planet is circling the drain from the moment we are born. The question is, how slowly and gracefully can we spiral? And can we minimize the discomfort while we whirl? Perimenopausal co-hosts Ellie and Julia take a deep dive into the sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, and always bewildering issues of the hormonal changes that take place in midlife. Through honest accounts, thoughtful interviews, and group panel discussions, their mission is to make you chuckle, make you nod your head in recognition, and hopefully make some scientific progress.
Episodes
71 episodes
Bad Fish and Good Farts (pilot episode of our brand new podcast, Open Up and Say HA!)
It's the very first episode of our brand new podcast, Open Up and Say HA!: Stories from Underneath the Paper Gown. Have you ever had a bizarre encounter with a medical practitioner? An ER visit gone awry? A weird thing you foun...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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30:13
Life in the Pause with Monique Cupid and Dixie Lincoln-Nichols
Monique Cupid and Dixie Lincoln-Nichols are menopausal women who met up during the pandemic to talk about work for a project. Without fail, at every weekly meeting, the conversation drifted to menopause, the symptoms each of them was experienci...
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Season 3
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Episode 69
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1:03:49
The Ambassador of Fun with Robin Gelfenbien
Lately, as we have gotten older and our preferences have changed, we have been wondering, "What is fun?" Robin Gelfenbien, the self-proclaimed Ambassador of Fun, is the perfect person to answer that question. Right out of college, Robin was cho...
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Season 3
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Episode 68
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59:02
Age Out Loud with Katie Fogarty
Katie Fogarty will make you feel like turning 50 is the best thing that could ever happen to you. She is the host of A Certain Age, an age-positive podcast that helps you live your best evolving midlife—loud and proud. She is ...
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Season 3
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Episode 67
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42:53
Life's Tough. Laugh More. with Kambri Crews
How does a child of deaf adults who grew up in a tin shed with no running water or electricity witness her father commit a violent crime and then grow up to be the joyful owner of a comedy venue? Kambri Crews will tell you how! Author of the ac...
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Season 3
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Episode 66
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1:00:34
ENCORE: Twice a Week Until Death Do You Part with Dr. Rachel Rubin
We chose this episode with Dr. Rachel Rubin as our final encore of the year because she is the person who has given us the most practical, valuable, and easily shareable information to help women with their genitourinary functions as they age. ...
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Season 3
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Episode 65
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1:03:11
ENCORE: Like Daughter, Like Mother with Michelle MacDonald and Joan MacDonald
For our first encore episode, we chose the inspiring pair of Michelle and Joan MacDonald. Not only are they glorious examples of what a healthy body can achieve after midlife, they seem to have an enviable mother-daughter bond that is beautiful...
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Season 3
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Episode 64
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57:21
The Larry David of Pilates with Meghann Koppele Duffy
Meghann Koppele Duffy is a cofounder of the Neuro Studio, a premier education and movement company helping people living with neurological conditions move better, and teaching movement professionals the best cutting edge techniques to work with...
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Season 3
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Episode 63
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1:09:32
Sad Vagina with Abigail Paul
Germany-based comedian Abigail Paul says that co-host Ellie is her oldest friend. Not her most elderly friend, but the friend she has known the longest. She met co-host Julia a few years later, making all three of them VERY ELDERLY/OLD FRIENDS....
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Season 3
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Episode 62
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1:06:31
Going Commando with Blaire Postman
Blaire Postman is a comedian who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and then embraced it as a super-power. She created a solo show called Lady ADHD: Hilariously Mind Blowing Observations from a Hyper-Insightful Brain. Due to a current...
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Season 3
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Episode 61
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39:48
ADHD? Could it Be? with Dr. Kimberly Mangla
Dr. Kimberly Mangla is a reproductive psychiatrist who works collaboratively with the obstetrics department at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. She is involved in the teaching and supervision of psychotherapy and medication management during pregnanc...
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Season 3
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Episode 60
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58:34
Women's Health Needs a Revolution with Dr. Maria Uloko
Dr. Maria Uloko is fired up, and we are right there with her. As the first ever Black female Urology student at her university, she has been trailblazing for the entirety of her career. Dr. Uloko specializes in comprehensive sexual health which...
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Season 3
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Episode 59
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1:02:16
Vagina Science with Rachel E. Gross
Rachel E. Gross is an award-winning science journalist who wrote an incredible book called Vagina Obscura which was a finalist for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Exce...
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Season 3
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Episode 58
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1:03:41
We Finally Got You a Pro Dom with Leoh Blooms
Leoh Blooms is a queer, fluid, and nonbinary-trans trauma-informed mentor and Pro Dom. Everything they do in their practice focuses on intimacy, mental health, gender, sex, and practical self-care. They help clients aged 21 and up to create liv...
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Season 3
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Episode 57
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59:10
A Bubble Bath for Your Brain with Dr. Wendy Suzuki
Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a professor of Neural Science and Psychology and author of two incredible books, Good Anxiety and
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Season 3
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Episode 56
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59:22
My Hot Flashes Could Power Brooklyn with Dr. Aiesha Turman
Dr. Aiesha Turman does so many things and she does them with JOY. She is the kind of teacher that students keep in touch with for the rest of their lives, which is a rare and special thing. We totally get the appeal, because we had the best tim...
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Season 3
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Episode 55
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1:02:48
Single People Deserve Good Knives with Shani Silver
Singlehood is not a broken state that requires fixing. This is the core message of our guest, Shani Silver, who deleted her dating apps in 2019 and has been infinitely happier ever since. Shani reminds us that dating apps are a for-profit indus...
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Season 3
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Episode 54
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1:03:00
Tap That with Sarah Louise Lilley
Have you ever heard of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) also known as "Tapping"? Sarah Louise Lilley became an EFT Practitioner after her husband's stroke, and she is here to tell us more about that life-changing day, to explain EFT, and dispe...
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Season 3
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Episode 53
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57:47
Where is the Menopause Section? with Jamie Phillips
Jamie Phillips is a mensch. A seasoned nonprofit professional, she is grateful to have had the opportunity to provide services to uplift immigrants, refugees, isolated older adults, returning citizens, people who are unhoused, those experiencin...
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Season 3
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Episode 52
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55:15
I Choose Me with Dr. Stacia Alexander
When we met Dr. Stacia Alexander at a menopause symposium, we were instantly drawn to her energy, magnetism, and hot-pink-suit-wearing confidence. A seasoned psychotherapist, she has worked with professional women helping them understand that t...
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Season 3
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Episode 51
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57:32
They're Coming for Our Vibrators with Lizz Winstead
It's our 50th episode and we are celebrating in style! Lizz Winstead is a name that we have had on our "dream guest" list since we first brainstormed this podcast, and wonder of wonders, our dream came true. Co-creator of The Daily Show
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Season 3
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Episode 50
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59:47
We Finally Got You a SEX Therapist with Dr. Elisabeth Gordon
Our loyal listeners know that Ellie has been fretting about her low libido ever since the first episode of this show. She continues to search for answers because she knows she's not alone, and that many of YOU are also grappling with this issue...
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Season 3
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Episode 49
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1:05:49
Aging is Not an Inevitable Decline with Dr. Vonda Wright
When we saw Dr. Vonda Wright's medical specialty - orthopedic sports medicine surgeon specializing in shoulder, hip and knee arthroscopy for athletes and active people of all ages - we knew that she would have a lot to contribute to our ongoing...
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Season 3
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Episode 48
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1:00:47
Do What Makes Your Balls Sing with Sabina Vajraca and Flora Natalia Diaz
Sometimes we bring you medical experts or health and wellness specialists, and other times we interview women with fascinating backgrounds and unique experiences in hopes that you might relate, feel seen, and if something funny comes up, laugh....
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Season 3
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Episode 47
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1:17:52