Stuff Mom Never Told You

Knitting was originally a job for the menfolk. Cristen and Caroline stitch together the mysterious history of the craft, how it transitioned to women's domestic work and how third-wave feminists reclaimed it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of graffitti and street art have been tagged with men's names, but not anymore. Women around the world are turning public spaces into their canvases, challenging gender norms and the art world at large. Just don't call them "female Banksys." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feminist marriages can take as much planning as feminist weddings. Meg Keene, A Practical Wedding founder and author of the new "A Practical Wedding Planner" offers indispensable advice for newlywed transitions, egalitarian relationships and redefining what it means to be a wife. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When did weddings become so impractical, costing more than $26,000 on average? Meg Keene, A Practical Wedding Founder and author of the new "A Practical Wedding Planner" shares her insights and advice what an affordable, feminist wedding looks like and how to pull it off gracefully. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of tarot cards is as tantalizing as the mystical insights they promise to reveal. Cristen and Caroline deal out how tarot evolved from a game into a divination tool and why two women living worlds apart are to thank for tarot's popularity today. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are most psychic readers women? Cristen and Caroline examine how crystal balls, fortunetelling, palm reading and other mystical pastimes became women's work and whether females are the psychic sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A pair of special HowStuffWorks guests join Cristen and Caroline to look back at the highlights and lowlights for women and representation in 2015. From the Supreme Court to Star Wars, it was a major year for equality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cristen and Caroline look back at their favorite 2015 Stuff Mom Never Told You episodes and this year's important events and heroines we didn't cover on the podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a long, tough day, sometimes all you want to do is blow off steam by complaining. But is venting worth the emotional toll that getting trapped in a negativity spiral can take? Cristen and Caroline discuss the pros and cons of complaining and dissect why women are stereotyped as nags. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acne isn't just a teenage rite of passage. Grown-up women with jobs and bank accounts struggle with chronic pimples as well. Cristen and Caroline examine why adult acne happens, how birth control affects it and other treatment options. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you ask a young girl who her beauty idol is, chances are, she'll name one of the mega-famous YouTube stars who make a living putting on makeup in front of the camera. Cristen and Caroline take a look at the women -- and men -- who just might be changing the digital beauty game with the stroke of a blush brush. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you think it's a lot of work to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, just imagine the average day of your favorite glam fashion blogger. Outlining the industry's evolution from grassroots passion projects to massive money-making Instagram empires, Cristen and Caroline discuss how successful fashion bloggers monetize the artifice of effortless femininity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you're alone or partnered up, using personal lubricants is nothing to be ashamed of. Cristen and Caroline outline the history, use, and benefits of women using lube and dispel sex-shaming expectations about how female bodies ought to ready themselves for sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the sexual health statistics, anal sex is more popular -- and pop culturally relevant -- among women than ever before. Cristen and Caroline discuss how consent, safety and pleasure factor into this formerly taboo intimate territory. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With help from Gilmore Guys podcast hosts Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe, Cristen and Caroline take a stroll through Stars Hollow, discussing the highs and lows -- and feminist leanings -- that continue to make 'Gilmore Girls' a cultural touchstone. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are #blessed and #lucky just another way for women to downplay success -- or to humblebrag? Cristen and Caroline dive into why so many ladies on social media seem to feel the need to portray themselves as effortlessly perfect. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visual effects artists combine art, math and tech to create the stunning imagery you see onscreen - but they're not immune from the gender gap that plagues other STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) jobs. Cristen and Caroline discuss why an absence of women in special effects is just one difficulty for Hollywood's ailing VFX industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood's first makeup artists were exclusively men. Cristen and Caroline highlight how Max Factor and the Westmore boys revolutionized movie makeup artistry and why the industry could use a facelift today. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perfectionism is assumed to be a female trait, but what does that mean, exactly? Cristen and Caroline explore how perfectionism isn't what you think it is and whether women actually are perfectionists in their appearance, career and relationships. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are women twice as likely to experience chronic anxiety? Cristen and Caroline share their own experiences with long-term anxiety, whether female anxiety is more nature or nurture and how to manage its persistent symptoms. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1963, Julia Child made an omelet on Boston public television and changed culinary history forever. Cristen and Caroline cook up how television cooking gave rise to celebrity chefs who brought a new generation of cooking women into our homes for better -- or burnt. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women leading professional kitchens is a relatively new dish. Cristen and Caroline cook up the history of how chef became a man's job and how women today are taking the culinary industry by storm. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Bewitched to American Horror Story: Coven, Hollywood has loved casting women as witches. In this Halloween episode, Cristen and Caroline discuss why witches are arguably the best female archetype on screen and their ideal witch squad members. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some argue that all feminists are witches by default and mean it as a compliment. Cristen and Caroline explore the not-so-spooky relationship between feminism, witchcraft and modern-day Wicca. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boyfriends and girlfriends are so passe. In a romantic era that knows no age, marital or gender identity bounds, Cristen and Caroline search for the ideal couple label that aptly communicates modern commitment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Couples with cutesy pet names and intimate code language may be nauseating, but research finds those are signs of a healthy relationship. Cristen and Caroline parse out the particulars of how and why couple-speak happens. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's up with the juice cleanse trend? Cristen and Caroline sip on how Scientology helped reintroduce juice cleansing to the masses and why the promise of detoxing is fresh-squeezed quackery. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sweatpants are the new slacks, and high tops are the new heels. Cristen and Caroline dissect the rise and resilience of the athleisure trend and whether it signals mainstream women's fashion moving sidestepping the male gaze and gendered clothing altogether. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are many women scared of weightlifting? Cristen and Caroline flex the gendered history of women lifting heavy things and debunk the myth that girls who lift will bulk up. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ronda "Rowdy" Rousey is the world's most successful women's MMA fighter and has even been called a feminist icon. Cristen and Caroline discuss her judo-fueled rise to fighting fame and why she's attracted feminist adoration and scrutiny. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1983, the first Hooters restaurant opened, unofficially inventing the "attentive service sector" restaurant industry. Colloquially known as breastauarants, these man cave-themed eateries trade on young women's sex appeal to serve up booming profits. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waitresses are a cornerstone, though often underappreciated and underpaid, of the food industry. Cristen and Caroline serve up a history of this female-dominated service sector and why gender is always on the menu. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Compared to pregnancy, the history of maternity clothes is in its infancy. Cristen and Caroline strut through the timeline of maternity fashion and what those prenatal outfits then and now tell us about how we view pregnant bodies. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why is the United States the only developed nation that offers no federally mandated paid maternity leave? Cristen and Caroline trace the origin of America's paltry postnatal care to World War II and the business behind the American Dream. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Online dating offers documentary proof of men not handling women's sexual rejection gracefully. Cristen and Caroline talk about what happens when masculinity constructs and swiping left collide and why straight guys sometimes can't take 'no' for an answer. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her new book, author Jessa Crispin travels the world solo, following in the footsteps of artists who've come before. Caroline and Cristen chat with the writer and Bookslut founder about trading complacency for carrying your own bag. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Trans-exclusionary radical feminists," or TERFs, is considered a slur. Yet, some radical feminists who define womanhood through biology rather than gender identity exist. Cristen and Caroline explore how this transphobia has impacted feminism, women's colleges and public perceptions of what radical feminism means. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique," once infamously referred to radical lesbian feminists as a "lavender menace" that threatened the credibility of the National Organization for Women. Cristen and Caroline revisit the homophobic rift within second-wave feminism and the development of lesbian feminism in the 1970s. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicknamed Mother to the World, Margaret Mead was an icon of cultural anthropology who laid an academic foundation for the sexual revolution and second wave feminism. Cristen and Caroline explore Margaret Mead's fascinating backstory, love life and intellectual legacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthropology, or the study of past and present humans, was a discipline largely developed by and focused on men. Cristen and Caroline examine how pioneering women anthropologists and the rise of feminist anthropology changed mainstream ideas about gender, sex and women's roles. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did women samurai exist in ancient Japan? Cristen and Caroline uncover the truth about Japanese women warriors and how their uncommon backstories became the stuff of legend. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fetishization of East Asian women, derisively referred to as "yellow fever," is as old as the Silk Road. Cristen and Caroline unpack the history and Hollywood perpetuation of stereotyping Asian women as either submissive lotus flowers or cunning dragon ladies, defined only by their exoticism and sexuality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are women on social media intentionally letting their nips slip? Cristen and Caroline discuss the history and celebrity-fueled rise of the Free the Nipple movement and what bare nipples have to do with gender equality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know it's legal in most states for women to go topless? Cristen and Caroline explore the history of men and women taking off their shirts in public and why toplessness is a feminist issue. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nina Simone was a musical prodigy and civil rights activist whose iconic voice and style shaped the sound of modern jazz and soul. Cristen and Caroline explore the tempestuous woman behind the artistic legend and how racism compelled and complicated her career. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is borderline personality disorder, and why did doctors think it disproportionately affected women? Cristen and Caroline examine the history and emerging treatments of this mental health condition that continues to puzzle practitioners. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1970s, Germaine Greer encouraged women to taste their own menstrual blood. These days, artists are creating work about periods to help erase the menstruation stigma. Cristen and Caroline look at the evolution of period pride and discuss whether the in-your-face attitude is actually helping. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chicks Who Script is a hilarious and insightful podcast focusing on women and the film industry. Screenwriters Lauren Schacher, Maggie F. Levin and Emily Blake talk with Cristen and Caroline about sexism, staying motivated and their own writer role models. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Throwing Shade is podcasting's funniest weekly commentary on feminist and LGBT issues. Cristen and Caroline talk to comedians and hosts Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi about how they met at Current TV, how comedy intersects with their activism and the importance of listening to your inner witch. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women across Instagram are wearing corsets while they work out. No really. Cristen and Caroline take on the waist training exercise fad by consulting corset history, waist training-wary doctors and studies suggesting shapewear should be worn with caution. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.