Six young women from Bronx Prep Middle School discuss the taboo around periods, and how this stigma affects them and the community beyond.

Episode 01: Marshmallow

We're back! We didn't think there would be an Episode 2, but here we are, live from the ACLU. We start with life post-NPR and end up talking about shoulder straps, necklines, and how the culture of shame goes beyond the 5,000 code words we use to talk about periods.

Episode 02: Shoulder Straps, Hemlines, and the ACLU

The ladies of Sssh! Periods are back at it again. This time they're talking reproductive rights, power, and women's autonomy over their own bodies.

Episode 03: Change Should Be Faster

It's not often that Sssh! Periods has special guests, but this week we got to have a conversation with the wonderful ladies of Vicious Cycle. Meg, Meg, and Kate regaled us with tales of the #endlessstruggle of periods. Parts 2 and 3 will be coming soon!

Episode 04: Special Guests Vicious Cycle Pt 1

Welcome back! It's time for a bonus episode, featuring our very own Raizel Febles as she takes questions from 7th and 8th grade girls from the Mobjap School in the Kibera slum of Nairobi. Special thanks to Faith Pedowitz for facilitating this collaboration. Got questions about cramps? Dating? Backpedaling out of awkward romantic advances? Raizel has some answers.

Bonus Episode: Greetings from Kenya!

Sssh! Periods is back with part 2 of our interview with Vicious Cycle, the (other) viciously funny podcast about bleeding everywhere. It may be summer but we haven't taken a break from our opinions on periods, finding tampons in amusement parks, and periods.

Episode 06: Bleed Everywhere Ft. Vicious Cycle

Producer Litzy Encarnacion shares her views on recent incidents of gun violence. Featuring Raizel Febles and Sofi Encarnacion.

Episode 07: Stop The Violence ft. Litzy Encarnacion

Raizel and fellow podcasters Litzy Encarnacion and Ashley Amankwah take questions from Instagram about birth control for this week's episode. How long is too long to be prescribed birth control? What is it good for? Would your parents let you get on birth control? Special shoutout to Raizel for producing Episode 108, even while the rest of us were on summer break. Enjoy!

Episode 08: All About Birth Control With Raizel

Bonus episode out today! You know how teachers have to come to work the last few weeks of the summer? Well, sometimes during summer professional development, when the copier jams or the staff lounge runs out of creamer and you need a way to kill time, you ask your colleagues what it’s like to get your period when you’re traveling. Where do you keep your tampons? What if your plane doesn’t have pads and it’s another 11 hours until you land? See what our Bronx Prep teachers have to say on our bonus episode.

Episode 09: Teachers' Hot Takes

Episode 110: Advocates is out today! A big shoutout to all the people in our lives who have been with us from the start, back when the podcast was barely more than a song and a prayer. Today’s features are podcaster Ashley and Ms. Huq, pictured here with their biggest advocates. #supportwomen #advocates #ittakesavillage

Episode 10: Advocates

Welcome back to Sssh! Periods! We had such an outpouring of guests for our last episode that we decided to put out a Part 2 to Advocates. This week we have Jasmin, Yelitssa, and our 99th follower on Instagram speaking on how this podcast has helped them advocate for menstrual equity and more.

Episode 11: Advocates Part 2

Today it's all about working moms! We interview Vice Principal Dunja Varciana, teacher extraordinaire and mother of two. What are some challenges she, and other women, face as working moms? How are working moms at Bronx Prep able to be present for their students and their own children?

Episode 12: Working Moms

What do high schoolers know about women's bodies? How much does sex education actually cover about women's health? Veteran (and rookie) podcasters ask around Bronx Prep High School, and the answers will not surprise you.

Episode 13: What We Do We Know About Women's Bodies?

Raizel, Jasmin, Kassy, Caroline, and Ashley take to the steps of NYC's City Hall as part of NYC's first ever National Period Day rally. They speak to Hannah Samimi, one of the co-founders of the NYC rally, as well as councilwoman Carlina Rivera, about how menstrual equity goes beyond free pads in the bathroom.

Episode 14: National Period Day Rally NYC

The ladies (and gent!) of Sssh! Periods meet with the fabulous team at LOLA, a women's health company led by the fabulous Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman. We sat down with their team to chat cramps, first periods, launching a multi-million dollar business, and more. Plus they sent us home with some awesome goodie bags, so that was a plus.

Episode 15: Sssh! Periods Meets LOLA

Kids at school bat around these words on the regular: "that's gay," "no homo," and whatever else we haven't heard yet. Where does this culture of homophobia come from? How does someone's sexual identity threaten your own? We sit down with two middle school boys to find out.

Episode 16: "Bro, That's Gay"

The holidays are a great time for many people, but what if you have a hard time getting behind the Christmas merrymaking and festivities? We sit down with Sheslianny, Amir, and Thirteen to chat about being Muslim during Christmas, being dragged to family holiday parties, and how to navigate the season of caring and sharing when your parents have split.

Episode 17: Holiday Special

Free pads and tampons are great and all, but what would the people of Bronx Prep do without their favorite bodega? We hear from students, teachers, and bodega customers alike about Los Amigos, Bronx Prep's faithful source of chopped cheese, Arizona iced teas, and egg and cheese on a butter roll.

Episode 18: What Runs This School

We might have an idea of what homelessness looks like in our community, but what's the true face of homelessness in the South Bronx?

Episode 19: Homelessness

Hair puns! We love them. We also love looking into our relationship with hair, and how it's shaped by our culture, families, and genetics. Why do we wear our hair the way we do? What's the story behind our braids, weaves, extensions, and bangs? We interview friends from across the United States -- Texas! New York! Brooklyn (which is also New York but still!) -- to find out what our hair says about us.

Episode 20: Hair We Are

Are people dragging Valentine's Day? Who is Valentine's Day for? And why do some of our partners refuse to celebrate Valentine's Day? We sit down with skeptic James Stefanik, love expert Amber Harrison, and middle schoolers Darlene, Madison, Kassy and Aissatou to find out.

Episode 21: Heartbreak Or Heart Bless?

We're back at it again with yet another episode, the title of which came from a terrible pun that we found on Google! This week we sit down (more like stand around a mic, but who's counting anyway?) to talk makeup. Do our moms let us wear makeup? How open is makeup for both girls and boys? And how does makeup help us express ourselves?Aissatou, Sheslianny, Madison, and special guest James bring you their thoughts.

Episode 22: Brush Off The Haters

Sssh! Periods is a biweekly podcast started by seven 8th graders from the Bronx, New York. Every two weeks (ish) Kathaleen, Raizel, Litzy, Caroline, Ashley, Jasmin, and Kassy bring listeners their takes on women's issues (which often circle back to periods, as the name of the podcast would suggest). This podcast was originally created as a submission to National Public Radio's first-ever Student Podcast Challenge, which it then won. 

You can also find us on Apple Podcasts and BuzzSprout.

Sssh! Periods

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