Cramped by Kate Downey
Your new favorite podcast just came out.
I’m amazed at the mysteries we focus on vs. the ones we ignore.
Drones fly over New Jersey--we all pay attention.
Half of every population in every country everywhere experiences pain every month--nothing.
If you know a woman or uterus-having person, more than likely, you know someone who every single month is in pain due to their period. Do you know why?
The answer is surprisingly elusive.
Why is period pain treated differently than other kinds of pain?
Enter Kate Downey and her new podcast, Cramped.
Kate is a relentless detective.
Honestly, I think if Kate wanted to find Bigfoot, she could do it in a long weekend. She’d probably find Bigfoot and then say, “Leave Bigfoot alone! She’s just trying to live in the forest! Oh, did you think Bigfoot was a boy?!? She’s not! She has a period and she said she’d come hang out once the American Healthcare System gets its shit together.”
I’m not unbiased here. I’m a huge fan of Kate’s.
It’s one of the reasons I married her.
I’ve had a front row seat to the pain that her period cramps cause her and to the lengths she’s gone to get answers. The sheer amount of effort she’s put into creating Cramped and the accompanying substack deserves your attention.
I’ll admit to being a typical guy in this area. I used to think periods were gross.
But after talking with Kate about her discoveries, her research, her interviews with experts, I now know that periods are gross.
Not for the reasons you think:
It’s gross how bad the data is on women’s health.
It’s disgusting how convoluted the process is for women in pain to receive an accurate diagnosis, and not one that sounds like it came from a 1930s sanitorium.
It’s straight-up repulsive how much it costs to just not be in crippling pain every few weeks.
Kate understands what I consider to be the most important lesson of our time: When we allow people in our lives, in our communities, in our world, to be in pain, we all suffer. When we make space for people to feel more at home in their bodies, everyone benefits.
You should listen to Cramped.
And then you should leave a review and share it with everyone you know.
You can subscribe to her Substack too.
The most galling mysteries are the ones that everyone can see, but that no one investigates. Whether you experience pain from period cramps every month or not, your life and the lives of the people around you will improve if you listen to what Kate and her amazing team have been working on for the past year.
I’ll be listening too.