The Ambassador of Fun with Robin Gelfenbien 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

The Ambassador of Fun with Robin Gelfenbien

March 06, 2024 • Ellie Dvorkin Dunn & Julia Granacki with Robin Gelfenbien • Season 3 • Episode 68

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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 chosen out of thousands of people to drive the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, and her experience provided excellent fodder for her acclaimed solo show "My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey”. She has had several other fun jobs from creator and producer of the storytelling series and podcast "Yum's the Word" to co-hosting the podcast "Hello Menopause" to producing Isaac Mizrahi's podcast "Hello Isaac". Robin inspires us with her stories of involving strangers in all kinds of fun, but we also talk about things like thinning hair and anxiety, two very common and un-fun symptoms of perimenopause. If you are like us and are re-defining your definition of fun (there is nothing wrong with skipping that party!), this episode is for you.

Topics and timestamps
12:35 - Thinning hair is not fun
23:18 - Anxiety is also not fun
31:12 - Driving the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile is the most fun
40:44 - Hosting and producing podcasts is also fun
42:52 - In midlife, what is the definition of fun?

Handles and sites
Robin's website
Robin's Insta
Yum's the Word Youtube
Yum's the Word Podcast
Robin's Facebook
Robin's Tik Tok

List of Resources Mentioned
Midlife Doesn't Have to Be a Crisis by Jancee Dunn
Robin telling her airplane story on YouTube
No, YOU Tell It! "Fly By" featuring Ellie as host and Robin as a writer/storyteller
An Old Medicine Grows New Hair for Pennies a Day, Doctors Say
Oscar Meyer Wienermobile and Hot Dogger Community
Hello Menopause Podcast
Hello Isaac Podcast

Other Links
Erin's Faces Affiliate Link
Julia G Wellness
https://circlingthedrainpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

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People on this episode

Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Co-host

Julia Granacki

Co-host