Life's Tough. Laugh More. with Kambri Crews Artwork

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.

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Circling the Drain

Life's Tough. Laugh More. with Kambri Crews

February 07, 2024 • Ellie Dvorkin Dunn & Julia Granacki with Kambri Crews • Season 3 • Episode 66

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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 acclaimed New York Times best selling book Burn Down the Ground and sole owner and operator of Q.E.D. which was voted #1 comedy club in NYC by Time Out NY, Kambri is a damn delight. Her message, "Life's Tough. Laugh More." is evident as she chuckles about light things such as restaurant staff seeing her use sign language and then ignorantly handing her a menu in Braille, and heavy things such as her father attempting murder not once but twice. As Julia says, "If at first you don't succeed...". We also discuss gross habits like picking at your skin and chewing the inside of your own mouth, having to read the instructions for how to boil rice at least fifteen times, and how ice skating in midlife can result in the ass of your dreams. Thanks to all our listeners for your generous donations - we're thrilled to be back and we can't wait to tell you what's next.

Topics and timestamps
12:29 - Menopause and then breast cancer
14:35 - Kambri's autobiographical book, Burn Down the Ground, in which a child of impoverished deaf parents witnesses her father trying to kill her mother
23:48 - Processing trauma without traditional therapy
26:00 - How to laugh yourself back from rock bottom
30:20 - How an imaginitive child grows up to run her own events space
36:15 - Ice skating in midlife to optimize joy (and a tight butt)

Handles and sites
Q.E.D. Astoria
Buy books through Q.E.D. instead of other places
Kambri's website
Kambri's Insta
QED Insta
QED Facebook
Kambri facebook

List of Resources Mentioned
Cheek biting: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment
Something Was Wrong podcast
Flaco the Owl’s Year of Freedom From the Central Park Zoo

Other Links
Erin's Faces Affiliate Link
Julia G Wellness

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People on this episode

Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Co-host

Julia Granacki

Co-host