The overturning of Roe v. Wade has severely restricted how doctors can access training in abortion care and it’s already having a devastating ripple effect on patients seeking all kinds of reproductive care. Two medical residents in abortion-restricted states fight for training and for the future health of their patients. Plus, the centuries-long battle over who gets access to abortion training in the first place. Transcript at kcrw.com/bodies. 

From This is Uncomfortable, we bring you the story of Ashleigh Griffin. She hoped the fertility industry could put her on the road to financial stability. But the decision to donate her eggs had some unexpected costs.

This week, the FDA will make a decision on whether or not to approve the first ever treatment for achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. But not everyone is celebrating. This controversial treatment is forcing parents of children with achondroplasia to grapple with an age-old question: What’s best for my child?

When River was first told that something was wrong with their body, they didn’t think it was that big a deal. But the medical system and their parents disagreed. Outside pressure to make River “normal” would cause them tremendous pain and turmoil — until they discovered there’s more than one right way to be a human. 

An elementary school in L.A. County was built on a contaminated site and made its community sick — How that community came together to demand change, and a controversial plan to build a new school.

On today’s indie spotlight, we share “Infinities,” by Boen Wang. It’s about mental illness, toxic workplace environments, Egyptian Rat Screw, and the nature of infinity. Find more of Boen’s work at Boen.cool.

Lill lives in Appalachian West Virginia — it’s coal country, and it’s also the overdose capital of the United States. An increasingly dangerous drug supply and a lack of safe supplies like clean syringes leave people who use drugs vulnerable to disease and death. Lill is trying to fill that gap, providing safe supplies and care all over West Virginia — even as the government tries to stop them.

Kelly was in her 20s in the 1980s and she was determined enjoy sex without shame...until she got an STI she’d never heard of. And so she married the first person who accepted her. When stigma is all around, it can take decades to  break free and find pleasure.

Trailer: Season 3

KCRW’s Bodies podcast is a documentary show about medical mysteries. Each episode follows one person’s story to uncover the forces that shape their health. Host Allison Behringer guides us through two stories in this one hour special.

From the brand new podcast Appearances, by Sharon Mashihi, we bring you “Episode 04: Last Ditch Effort.” Appearances is an audio mind trip about an Iranian American woman, the family she carries around in her head, and the family that she wants to have. Listen and subscribe.

Nico is obsessed with counting calories. But this compulsion to monitor food doesn’t line up with how they see themself. Why does Nico want parts of their body to disappear? Why isn’t eating disorder treatment working?

Jess was overjoyed when she got pregnant. But after giving birth, her reality spiraled out of control. She didn’t know it, but she had postpartum psychosis, a mental health condition that occurs after about 1 in every 500 births.

Read the full transcript here.

Angelina was a journalist living in Brooklyn when she was diagnosed with ALS. She now lives with her parents. How do you stay true to yourself when you rely on others to keep you alive?

More of the episode here.

Is your body more like a machine or a body of water? An excerpt from Here Be Monsters, a KCRW podcast about fear and the unknown.

Stacie escaped her abusive partner. But eight years later, her inner world was still in disarray. Why wasn’t she better? And why did it take her so long to leave? 

ShiShi was in labor for 12 days. She gave birth, only to find herself at home in isolation during a pandemic. She’s also a doula, so her job is to support people through pregnancy and postpartum. What’s her advice for parents? How is she coping herself? 

Johnson & Johnson knew its baby powder contained asbestos but kept selling it and specifically marketed the product to Black women. Krystal is one of thousands of women who claimed J&J’s baby powder caused their ovarian cancer. How did normal body odors become racialized? Who determines if our products are safe?

Why did it take doctors years to figure out that a medical device was the cause of Melynda’s debilitating pain? How did this dangerous vaginal mesh get implanted in millions of women? 

Orgasms are supposed to feel good. But for Angie, they’re painful and spontaneous. Anything can trigger the horny feelings: Bumpy bus rides, loud music, even a hug from her mom. What’s causing Angie’s body to go haywire? This episode of Bodies is about the connection between desire and arousal. 

Bodies is coming back! Season 2 will launch on March 4, 2020.

Join Bodies Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/
Email us: allison@bodiespodcast.com
Follow us: @bodiespodcast

In a lot of ways, menopause is like puberty. Your hormones are changing and setting off a whole host of bodily changes. It’s something that happens to half the population, but still, it’s full of mysteries. In this episode we hear from Lisa Hartman and another woman who you’ve heard from once before. To learn more and to share your own story, visit our Facebook group. 

Puberty is starting younger and younger, especially estrogen-dominant puberty. We talk to three kids and one teen about extra early puberty and the funny, scary, embarrassing and joyful experiences that come with it. Transcript at kcrw.com/bodies. 

New parents have one job: keep the baby alive. But what happens when the baby won’t eat? Vivian Chen is a trained family doctor, but when she can’t figure out what’s wrong with her own newborn, she must reckon with the shortcomings of her medical training. To learn more and to share your own story, visit our Facebook group here. Nothing is off the table and everyone is welcome.

Host Allison Behringer plays the three finalists from the KCRW Radio Race “Bodies Award.” She takes us behind the scenes and explains why she chose these short stories. Each piece was created by independent producers in just one day as part of KCRW’s 24-Hour Radio Race. To learn more and to share your own story, visit our Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/. Nothing is off the table and everyone is welcome.

Jeromey is sixteen when the hair appears on her cheeks. She thinks she’s transforming into a monster. Stuck in a world where beauty begets womanhood, Jeromey creates her own sexuality and power. To learn more and to share your own story, visit our Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/. Nothing is off the table and everyone is welcome.

For Reese, the hum of daily life isn't a hum at all. It's exhausting, disorienting and always out of her grasp. What people assume about her work as a stripper is just one of the false assumptions that she must overcome. It isn’t until she starts talking to women in an online forum that she begins to find answers. Join the conversation in our Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/

KalaLea has terrible, awful periods. But don’t a lot of women? Well, yes and no. After more than a decade of suffering, KalaLea discovers that the cause of the pain is common for Black women like herself, but far from normal. Join the conversation in our Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/

For Bodies host Allison Behringer, sex suddenly becomes painful. This is her journey to find out why. 

Join the conversation in our Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/groups/BodiesPodcast/. Nothing is off the table, and everyone is welcome.

From the Embodied podcast, we bring you “Decided: Child-Free not Childless.” Embodied host Anita Rao has interrogated many aspects of parenthood. But how about the decision to become a parent at all? She talks with three women about making their child-free decisions and meets a psychotherapist who's devoted her career to helping people find clarity in that choice.

Angelina Fanous has been living with ALS for nearly a decade. She is almost fully paralyzed and losing her ability to speak. As she prepares for death, she’s thinking about the story she’ll leave behind. Transcript at kcrw.com/bodies.

No matter how hard producer Hannah Harris Green tried, there were certain areas of life where she found herself to be deficient. Until she realized that a diagnosis could help relieve her shame instead of adding to it. Transcript at kcrw.com/bodies. 

A vending machine ritual, a life-changing massage, a spiffy velvet outfit and a belly full of caterpillars. Four stories of touch. Transcript at kcrw.com/bodies. 

Sneak peek: Bodies, new season 4 is full of medical mysteries and self-discovery. New episodes coming April 19.

Growing up and going through puberty, the only thing many of us learned about the menstrual cycle was the period part. But there’s so much more to it. How charting the cycle’s fertile signs can be the basis for an effective method of contraception. And, how it saved a woman’s pregnancy.