Stuff Mom Never Told You

Not long ago, a Canadian woman went to the hospital intending to deliver quintuplets. But it turned out she had never been pregnant at all, despite her bulging belly. Cristen and Caroline look into the mystery of pseucocyesis, better known as phantom pregnancy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A majority of teachers around the world are women -- why? Cristen and Caroline chart the feminization of the teaching profession and how gender at the front of the classroom affects student learning. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" premiered in 2010, the cartoon attracted a surprising new fan base: men, aka bronies. Cristen and Caroline explore the brony origin, who they are and what it means that a group of men, young and old, are proudly embracing their love of an animated show for little girls. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being married to the military comes with unique challenges, including deployment, frequent moves and stereotyping as a frivolous "Army wife." Cristen and Caroline examine what life is really like for military spouses, LGBT military families and female soldiers with civilian husbands. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around 245 million women around the world are widows. Cristen and Caroline examine the history of widowhood, societal treatment toward widowed women, and how men and women process spousal loss differently. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do women really go crazy for chocolate? Cristen and Caroline unpack the old stereotype of women's chocolate obsessions, one of advertising's greatest confections. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's it like for women who play video games, having to deal with gamer girl stereotypes, in-game harassment and a shortage of strong female characters to play? In part two of their series on video games, Cristen and Caroline take a look how video games and gaming culture treat women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's it like for women in video games who comprise just 12 percent of the industry? Cristen and Caroline kick-off their two-part series on video games by looking at women making their way in the industry and the challenges -- and sometimes death threats -- they face. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celebrity studies PhD and new Buzzfeed features writer Anne Helen Petersen stops by the show to talk about the rise of Hollywood scandal, female stars, celebrity gossip and feminism. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has online dating made it easier to meet people and find long-term romance? Cristen and Caroline trace the fascinating history of people using technology to find love, romance in the mobile dating app era and whether Tinder and Grindr are threatening monogamy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, but why? Cristen and Caroline examine the ADHD gender gap, how the disorder impacts girls' lives differently and why so many young women are taking Adderall. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beard popularity has led some razor companies to promote more "manscaping" below the neck. Caroline and Cristen explore how men are becoming more invested in hair removal and grooming than ever before. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's the sociocultural deal with men and cars? Cristen and Caroline take a drive through the gendered history of car advertising, early electric cars for women and why guys are still behind the wheel more often. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Along with the rise of craft beer has come the revival of women brewmasters who challenge the stereotype of beer as a man's drink. Caroline and Cristen chart the ancient history and return of women to craft beer brewing. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To mark the anniversary of the first-ever tweet in March 2006, Cristen and Caroline take a look at how women use Twitter in greater numbers than men -- except when it comes to running the powerful social media enterprise. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Lamb-Shapiro, author of "Promise Land," stops by the show to share her insights on the history of self-help, its particular appeal to women and whether it can really improve lives. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nuns meowing like cats. School girls laughing uncontrollably. People dancing in the streets until they die from exhaustion. Cristen and Caroline dig into the fascinating history of mass hysterias, why some think it's on the rise today and how it seems to affect more girls and women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When people think of women and Mardi Gras, they probably imagine bare breasts and beads -- but that's certainly not the extent of women's participation in the Fat Tuesday fest. Cristen and Caroline laissez les podcast bon temps rouler in this parade of gender, race and class at Mardi Gras. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of the women's movement for suffrage was written by white women and largely overshadows the African-American feminists who worked alongside them, battling not only gender inequity but also racism, disenfranchisement and segregation from mainstream suffrage organizations. Cristen and Caroline highlight Ida B. Wells and other black women integral to winning the vote for all American women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since it first began its westward expansion in the 16th century, coffee has been a distinctively male drink. Even today, while plenty of women work behind the coffee counter, many wonder whether a bro-rista culture continues to dominate the rapidly expanding specialty coffee industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miscarriage is one of the most common pregnancy experiences, though rarely talked about openly. Cristen and Caroline provide an overview of what miscarriage entails, what causes it, what doesn't and its psychological repercussions of pregnancy loss for women and men. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where do celebrity crushes, affections for fictional characters and hero worship come from? Cristen and Caroline shed light on the fascinating spectrum of parasocial relationships we develop with people in books, television and tabloids. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedy hasn't always been an especially welcoming space for women. Cristen and Caroline highlight the hilarious female trailblazers who've been honored by MAKERS, an historic initiative that aims to be the largest and most dynamic collection of women's stories ever assembled. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swearing and use of profanity is has long been a considered a masculine habit, while women are the "experts of euphemism." Cristen and Caroline unpack the sociolinguistic danger of women swearing and whether the profanity gender gap is closing at home and in the workplace. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recent Vanity Fair article detailed the potentially fatal side effects of certain types of birth control. Cristen and Caroline unravel the science of birth control risk factors, how to minimize birth control risk and what the Vanity Fair story leaves out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the Super Bowl, the only women on the football fields will be on the sidelines. Cristen and Caroline highlight historical landmarks of women in sports journalism and American football's troubling tradition of relegating women reporters to the sidelines to serve as on-camera "eye candy." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thyroid disorders are eight times more likely to affect women. Cristen and Caroline break down how thyroids function -- and malfunction -- and why these "meat butterflies" are such a female pain in the neck. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent years, parents-to-be have given birth to a new baby celebration: the gender reveal party. Cristen and Caroline discuss what exactly they are, why they exist and the pros and cons of their fast-growing popularity. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To celebrate her January 19 birthday, Cristen and Caroline look at the incredible life of country music legend Dolly Parton and why many consider the over-the-top entertainer a feminist icon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although women have served as volunteer firefighters since the 19th century, putting out fires for a living is one of the hardest careers for women to pursue today. Caroline and Cristen turn up the heat on the history of women firefighters and why gender discrimination still persists in many fire departments. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Cristen and Caroline discuss the scope of sex trafficking in the United States, its legal history and why anti-trafficking initiatives have attracted controversy in recent years. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since hip-hop was born in 1973, women have played important roles as emcees, b-girls and graffiti artists, but prominent female rappers have dwindled in recent years. Hip-hop journalist Christina Lee talks to Cristen and Caroline about where the women rappers are, the importance of Nicki Minaj, and hip-hop feminism. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since sport hunting is on the rise among women, Cristen and Caroline take aim at the intersection of gender and hunting from early hunter-gather societies to the wild West to its most recent women-led resurgence. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans have made New Year's resolutions for millennia - and had a terrible time sticking to them. So, great expectations aside, why do most resolutions fail? Cristen and Caroline revisit this past podcast examining the science of willpower and sticking with resolutions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although romantic holiday movies lead us to believe that it's the most wonderful time of the year to fall in love, it's actually the most common time of the year for breakups. Cristen and Caroline discuss how holidays tax relationships and single status alike and offer some insights into seasonal stress management. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What has Oprah been up to since we first discussed her rise to media mogul status? Cristen and Caroline discuss Oprah's recent small and big screen success in this special holiday revisit of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Show first aired in November 2011. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This holiday season, more people than ever are seeking out handmade, locally-sourced gifts from the likes of Etsy. But the online marketplace is only one part of a broader crafting revival interwoven with political activism, feminism and entrepreneurial spirit. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pie is an ancient food that began as a utilitarian and often inedible necessity and evolved over centuries into its current role as a sweet treat and dessert nemesis of cake. Cristen and Caroline get in the holiday cooking spirit by examining the anthropology of pie as well as its many gendered layers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Startup entrepreneur and computer coding evangelist Adda Birnir talks with Caroline and Cristen about feminism, why women should learn to code and how she started Skillcrush to teach coding to the female masses. Media files Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Compared to barber shops that have been around since ancient Greece, women's salons and beauty parlors are relatively new inventions. Cristen and Caroline look at the history of each, as well as the gender and racial politics woven into the places we get our hair cut. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1920s, Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman developed the IQ test to aid in his study of exceptionally smart kids, or child prodigies. Cristen and Caroline discuss the science of child prodigies, why so many of them are boys and how prodigies fare as they grow up. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Thanksgiving may have Pilgrim roots, but its modern-day celebration is the handiwork of an 18th-century magazine editor. For 30 years, Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned U.S. Presidents to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday and urged American women to cook a special turkey dinner every November. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood icon John Wayne once said, "Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness." Is that masculine advice why it's thought that women tend to apologize more than men? Caroline and Cristen examine how men and women say "I'm sorry," and myth-bust the stereotype of women as the sorrier sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 1970s, Pam Grier became Hollywood's first female action lead, debuting a new type of strong, fierce woman on screen. Following a slow and highly sexualized evolution of the female action hero, or superheroine, there appears to be a resurgence of butt-kicking women at the box office, and Cristen and Caroline explore the modern plight of the superheroine. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2004, the Fatshionista LiveJournal community was founded to "discuss the ins and outs of fat fashions", and a plus-size fashion blogging network quickly took off. Long marginalized and size-shamed, fatshion bloggers and designers are revolutionizing mainstream fashion and looking fabulous while doing it. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of history's earliest-known female mathematicians was Hypatia, a scholar and philosopher who was later stoned to death by an angry mob. While conditions have certainly improved for math-loving women today, plenty of obstacles still remain to attracting more girls and women into these numbers-driven disciplines. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Engineering has some of the widest gender gaps among the STEM fields, despite having some of the most fascinating -- and lucrative -- career options. Cristen and Caroline explore women's contributions to engineering, why industrial engineering attracts the most women and female students' altruistic motivations for pursuing the challenging degree. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why are fewer women than ever before pursuing computer science degrees? Lauren Vogelbaum of TechStuff stops by the show to discuss the tech industry's gender gap and whether the "brogrammer" culture is a sexist reality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kicking off a four-part series on women in STEM fields, Cristen and Caroline chat with Julie Douglas of Stuff to Blow Your Mind about the nature vs. nurture debate over women in science. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether in print or on television, true crime draws its largest audience from women. Caroline and Cristen autopsy the gory genre to understand the particularly female appeal of so-called "violence porn." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.