• Created & hosted by Kate Helen Downey

  • Editorial producer: Kelsey DiLanzo

  • Sound Design & Mixing by Kelly Kramarik at Maven Post Media

  • Associate Producer: Katelyn Sabater 

  • Theme song by Farideh

  • Podcast art: Nicholas Scheppard

  • This podcast is supported by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture Initiative

  • Fiscal partnership provided by Arkansas Podcast Collaborative

  • Published in partnership with Multitude. Contact them for advertising inquiries here. 

One nerd’s quest to find out why we know next to nothing about period pain. Tired of suffering from "death cramps" with no diagnosis for 20 years, Kate Downey has to look for her own answers. What she finds will change how you think about your own body and the medical system. Because having a microphone gets you more answers than having a uterus.

What people say

  • “Essential listening for anyone who’s ever experienced painful period cramps. When host Kate Downey first had ‘death cramps’ at 14, a doctor told her they ‘usually go away when you have a baby’. Why has this pain been dismissed for so long? What is actually happening down there? She doesn’t scrimp on the bloody details as she gets answers.”

    -Hollie Richardson, The Guardian

  • "How can one podcast be so engaging, so informative, and also create a space to both rage about injustice in healthcare and also be comforted to know you’re not alone? It’s a special kind of magic and I’m here for it."

    mdowney1993, Apple Podcasts

  • “CRAMPED is a masterpiece, combining wit and rage with medical science. Never have I learned so much and been so displeased with the amount of information available to women about their own bodies. Kate is doing the Lords work by doing the research to help all of us have more pleasant periods.”

    Eieuo, Apple Podcasts

  • “I have already learned more from this podcast about my period than I have anywhere else. Kate is doing incredible work! (And making me laugh along the way)”

    HollandOats, Apple Podcasts

  • “It’s so reassuring to hear there are people out there who are experiencing the same things I am, and to learn that there is finally research being done on this pain.”

    Mac7826, Apple Podcasts

  • “Interesting topic and fantastic host. You learn so much without ever feeling burdened by the amount of information being shared. I can tell a lot of hard work, research and passion went into this. Utterly fascinating.”

    tater freak, Apple Podcasts

  • "Join Kate Downey on a nerdy quest to unravel the mystery of why period pain is so misunderstood. After enduring "death cramps" for 20 years without a diagnosis, Kate seeks her own answers. She interviews top experts and explores everything from Greek history to TikTok wellness scams, challenging perceptions about menstrual pain and the medical system. Discover how having a microphone can lead to more answers than having a uterus."

    “Missed Deliveries for February 2025”, Podcast Delivery

  • "It’s somehow boisterous and dead serious at the same time, full of interviews, info and tips. I hope men listen to this thing. I am stealing these words from Kate, but I can’t believe how much fun it is to hear about something that hurts so much."

    Lauren Passell, Podcast The Newsletter

  • "From TikTok wellness scams to groundbreaking lab research, CRAMPED is equal parts science, storytelling, and cathartic comedy about a problem that affects millions but is still treated like a punchline – or worse, ignored entirely. As Downey puts it: “Because having a microphone gets you more answers than having a uterus.”

    -Podcasting Today

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTS & Citations

Supported by a generous grant from the Simons Foundation

PERIOD PAIN ISN’T TREATED LIKE OTHER KINDS OF PAIN. 

When I was 14 I had the first of what I came to call “Death Cramps”. I literally crawled the last 50 feet of empty hallway from my science classroom to the nurse’s office. I had never felt pain like this before in my life, and I thought for sure I was dying, or that my appendix had burst, or that an alien was emerging from my abdomen. The nurse rolled her eyes after hearing I was on my period, and gave me a hot water bottle. I threw up every 10 minutes for an hour, and kept passing out from the pain, so she finally called my parents and sent me home.  My doctor later told me “Some women have bad cramps, it’ll go away when you have your first baby”.

Severe Dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain that limits daily activity) affects between 2-29% of menstruating people

Between 2 and 29%?? We don’t have any better research than that??

That’s 36 - 522 million People worldwide in severe pain. Millions of people left to deal with their pain alone, desperate for information, solutions, and community.

CRAMPED provides that information, and investigates why this pain is under researched, under treated, and dismissed -

despite being extremely common.  

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