Ladies, We Need To Talk

Dating apps are a drag. And women are ditching them in droves. Beyond the swiping, more of us are daring to date in real life. Yumi Stynes chats to women moving away from the apps and towards in-person singles events. From post-divorce blind dates to queer speed dating, dinners with strangers and exercise classes, all in the name of finding love. Or at least a little lust. Plus, friend of the pod...

After years of campaigning, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) finally has a name change: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). According to experts, the previously confusing and inaccurate name lead to misunderstanding around the disease. It's hoped the update will bring more accurate diagnoses and treatment for women with the condition. And with 1 in 8 women affected, that's a huge deal...

Stand-up star Sashi Perera called off her wedding at the last minute. There were tears and tantrums but that wasn't the final time the lawyer-turned-comedian blew up her life. Moving to a country in the middle of civil unrest? Tick. Dating a series of duds? Tick. Quitting a well-paid job for stand-up comedy? Tick. Sashi's redefined what success means to her through career changes, relationship bre...

A herpes diagnosis can come with a whole lot of stigma, but it shouldn't. Around 15% of us carry the antibodies to genital herpes, making it one of the most common STIs in Australia. Yumi Stynes finds out what it's like hearing you have herpes for the first time and how to best manage. From itching to tell partners to soothing your symptoms and how to keep sex humming.  Plus, STI expert Dr Ellie F...

Approaching her 70th birthday, Gail Rice booked herself an appointment with a sex worker. She'd never done anything like it in her life. As a younger woman, Gail had enjoyed a string of sexual and romantic partners. As the years passed, her sexual currency dwindled and she was hungry for intimacy. But exchanging money for sex taught Gail much more about herself than she was expecting. This is a st...

Ozempic has entered the group chat. Since GLP-1 agonist drugs burst onto the scene, they've been hailed as a weight-loss game changer, but they've also raised uncomfortable questions about what bodies are acceptable, or not. For years, the body inclusivity movement pushed back against the idea that only thin bodies can be 'healthy' but Ozempic & co are drowning out this message. So, what do th...

Having blah sex? You've CUM to the right place. Dr Emily Nagoski has the tools for you. The renowned sex educator and author of Come as You Are, Burnout and Come Together brings the wisdom of psychology and sex research to the fore. She chats with Yumi Stynes about the science behind our sex drives and how we can bring back the chutzpah in the bedroom. (R) You might also like: Is everyone having b...

Unrelenting standards, high expectations and a fierce, reprimanding inner critic. Perfectionism is often celebrated, but striving for flawlessness comes at a cost. There’s lots of ways we, as women feel pressure to be perfect: be the perfect partner, the perfect mother, have the perfect body. But, of course, perfectionism is always out of reach. So, how can we learn to be kinder to ourselves and l...

Hannah Diviney never saw herself reflected in pop culture. And she definitely didn't see herself as the object of desire. Growing up with cerebral palsy, Hannah watched on as rom-coms and teen dramas depicted able-bodied bombshells fall in love, snog their guts out and have sex. All these experiences, it seemed, were out of reach for her. It meant that Hannah had the demanding job of being her own...

Have you ever experienced 'the ick'? It's that sudden, visceral feeling of being put off by someone you're dating. Maybe it's their flat cap, the way they chew, or how they laugh. Stories of the ick are prolific online, but it leaves us with a question — what causes it? To separate red flags from disgust, we get into the psychology of the ick — why you might feel icky, if it should be a deal break...

'Bounce back' culture can find someone else to pick on, we're celebrating bodies who've given birth. And this episode isn't just for the mums. It's for everyone who's ever felt the bod they were given this earth to roam in isn't good enough. Yumi Stynes meets women who've fought the insidious pressures on mums' bodies and found a new appreciation for themselves. Featuring: burns survivor and autho...

Emotional labour is the overlooked cousin of the mental load. It's managing the feelings of people around us, from being a shoulder to cry on to cheering on your colleagues. Taking the time to check in on relatives and making sure the fridge is stocked with everyone's favourite foods. Emotional labour is invisible yet vital work that falls more heavily on women. Journalist Rose Hackman reckons it'...

Welcome to the world of swingers, where the libidos are high but so are the stakes. Join Yumi Stynes as she heads to a swinger's club and learns what it takes to open up a relationship without breaking trust. Meet the women in the swinging scene and find out what they get out of it (besides the orgasms). This episode will change the way you think about swinging, and maybe even re-frame your approa...

When Jamila Rizvi was dealing with the emotional sucker punch of a brain tumour diagnosis, she needed a friend who understood what she was going through. Enter, writer and comedian Rosie Waterland. Rosie knows what it's like to live with a broken brain. A childhood marked by abuse and trauma has left her struggling with complex PTSD throughout her adulthood. Rosie and Jamila have very different il...

Does your partner feel more like a housemate than a lover? Have you lost your spark in the overflowing laundry basket? Resentment got you snarking at each other? Get yourself to the relationship ER! If things are flatlining and you want your partnership to survive, there are treatment options. Yumi Stynes meets women who have brought their relationships back from the dead. Plus, sex and relationsh...

A morning phone call from her doctor confirmed Jessie Tu's worst fears. She'd lost the baby she was carrying. Jessie and her partner had tried for months to get pregnant, and the news sparked a specific kind of grief she hadn't encountered before. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Jessie was raised with the idea that discipline and hard work gets you results. But this was a test she couldn't a...

Fillers, Botox, and injectables — they're everywhere! There was a time when getting needles in your face was a big deal. But these days, getting a 'tweakment' is as easy-peasy as getting a mani pedi. It's not just 69-year-old Kris Jenner who looks like a teenager now. Your hairdresser, barista, and the mums at the school gate are doing a Benjamin Button. In this episode, Yumi Stynes chats to women...

In a sex saturated world, it's easy to think that everyone's having hotter, kinkier, more interesting sex than you are. But are they really? Yumi Stynes gathers together sex therapist, Georgia Grace, author Alyx Gorman and comedian Alex Lee for an urgent group chat unpacking what it means to have a satisfying sex life and why comparisons to others are a boner killer. This episode contains referenc...

Your parents are elderly. Your kids need you. And it's up to you to tend to the needs of everyone. Welcome to the sandwich generation. The bad news is you'll be wading through a ton of logistical, financial and medical obstacles while watching your folks decline. The good news is you're not alone. Join Yumi Stynes in meeting two women doing their best in the middle of a sandwich, with some tips on...

Coffee enemas? Healing jade yoni eggs? Raw milk? No, nope, nup. Dr Jen Gunter is calling bullsh*t on the internet's wellness industry. Dr Gunter is on a crusade against disinformation. As a gynaecologist and internationally renowned women's health expert, she calls out influencers promoting harmful treatments and nonsense supplements for profit. And she's not afraid to take on Gwyneth Paltrow's Go...

Loneliness hurts. And we know it's bad for us, worse than smoking or obesity. Even though a third of us are lonely, we're embarrassed to say so. So, what would happen if we talked about our loneliness openly? And how can we build more meaningful connections? Yumi Stynes speaks to women who are lonely, one within a marriage and one hoping to find a partner, to understand the toll it can take. Plus,...

Do you need to pee at all hours of the day? Pelvic floor got you down? Are things a getting saggy down there like like a rogue bit of pizza dough or like Gary Oldman's face? There are some medical reasons why you might need to constantly rush to the loo, but the good news is in most cases your bladder is deconditioned, and you need to get your urinary tract back into ship-shape form. Tegan Taylor...

When filmmaker Anna Broinowski turned 50, she stopped giving any f*cks about what other people thought of her. Stopped prettying herself, being concerned with niceness, and exhaled. Certified badass Gina Chick spent 67 days in the literal wilderness living off the land to win Alone Australia. Jessie Tu refuses to adhere to the male gaze. So, what happens to us women when we stop playing by the Goo...

Are chick flicks and rom-coms your secret indulgence but you feel too embarrassed to admit it? Caroline O'Donoghue, host of the hit podcast, Sentimental Garbage, says it's time to stop apologising for the culture we love. Under the tongue-in-cheek banner 'Justice for Dumb Women', O'Donoghue celebrates the pop-culture we've long been told we should feel ashamed for loving, from Sex and the City to...

Our lady gardens aren't meant to smell like roses but if things are overly whiffy downstairs it might mean something more serious is going on. Bacterial vaginosis, or BV, is a common vaginal infection that can cause a stinky, fishy discharge. BV is not only uncomfortable, it can be hella embarrassing and hard to get rid of. But in good news for vaginas everywhere, researchers have discovered that...