Ladies, We Need To Talk

Latest Episodes:

Free to bleed: escaping menstrual shame Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Menstruating. An ordinary bodily function. Like breathing or sweating or digesting, it's as natural as the hairs on our heads, period (pun intended). And even though there has been some progress in our openness in talking about periods, we're still largely a bit…grossed out.

Yumi Stynes investigates the lingering shame around women's bleeding and speaks to women who are shifting the tide on how we think about periods. (R)

This episode contains references to menstruation, period, shame, women, blood, ovulation, hormones, women's health.

Getting on: what ageing means for women Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Saggy boobs, leathery skin, becoming invisible... is getting older as grim as it sounds? Ageing presents a unique challenge to us ladies, and while there's no stopping gravity, there are things to be excited about — from giving less f#*@% to not being afraid to ask for what you want in the bedroom.

Yumi Stynes gets the low-down on what the hell happens to our bodies, brains and spirits as we age and how best to take care of ourselves. (R)

This episode contains references to cosmetic surgery, ageing, filler, body image, death, mental health, social connection.

Sex life revival Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

Mind-blowing. Intoxicating. Earth-shattering. Meet the women having the best sex of their lives after years on end of ho-hum humping.

Yumi Stynes speaks to ladies who have levelled up their sex lives, learns how they made it to the promised land, and whether there's room for us all to join them. (R)

This episode contains references to sex, pleasure, vulva, intercourse, marriage, dating, divorce.

The power of one: the single ladies owning it Jan 07, 2025

Show notes

What if being single wasn’t a problem to be solved but a state of bliss? For some women, living without an “other half” is the key to being complete.

But even though more women than ever are single by choice, we live in a society that values couple-dom. Marriage and motherhood are still held up as the ultimate end goals. Single women are viewed with pity or worse, scorn. Living alone? Cue the lady jokes.

Yumi Stynes talks to women who are happy to be free from romantic relationships and whose lives are full to the brim. (R)

This episode contains references to single, dating, relationships, friendships, couples, sex.

When drinking becomes dangerous Dec 31, 2024

Show notes

Cheers! For a lot of us alcohol is a reward after a hard day, a way to unwind, a key part of our celebrations, but our love of a drink comes at a cost.

Some women are regularly drinking at dangerous rates while others find it difficult to go without.

Beyond the hangover fuzz, booze can take a toll on our health and relationships. So why are we so keen on a drink despite knowing the risks? And how can we learn to put the cap back on the bottle when we’ve had enough?

Yumi Stynes talks to someone confronting their problematic drinking habit and contemplates her own sobriety along the way. (R)

Resources:

National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline

1800 250 015

Alcoholics Anonymous:

https://aa.org.au/

1300 222 222

Hello Sunday Morning

https://hellosundaymorning.org/

Lifeline

13 11 14

The 'joy thief' — Penny Moodie on living with OCD Dec 24, 2024

Show notes

Penny Moodie’s childhood was marked by catastrophic thoughts: that her parents would die in an accident, that she had contracted HIV, that she was pregnant, even though she’d never had sex. These all-consuming anxieties wouldn't leave Penny, they occupied a huge part of her life, and she developed compulsions around them which she believed would keep her and the people she loved safe.

Hey Yumi! I'm sick of carrying the mental load Dec 17, 2024

Show notes

Ahh Christmas, the festival of eating, drinking and cranky mums. Because in order to have the beautifully set table, thoughtful presents and delicious glazed ham, someone's got to prepare and plan it all. And that someone, is usually a woman, who, by 5pm, has had enough.

Is there a Christmas elf who can help out? Or maybe it's time for blokes to step up and take on their fair share of the mental load.

Yumi Stynes and Monty Dimond share their tips on how to redistribute the labour on and before the 'most wonderful time of the year'.

Inside the world of a dominatrix Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

Note: This episode contains explicit content.

What is it like to be a professional dominatrix? To indulge in the power play between dominant and submissive for a living?

In this special bonus episode, Yumi Stynes goes into a domme's dungeon to find out what really goes on beyond the whips and chains. She discovers a world that's full of power, sexual fantasy, pleasure and pain.

Oh my kink! Pulling back the covers on BDSM Dec 10, 2024

Show notes

Note: This episode contains explicit content. Kink, or BDSM is often played out behind closed doors. Because it's hidden from view, there's an assumption that it's just a few people at the fringes who are into kink, while the majority of us have vanilla sex. But what if interest in kink was more common than you think?

Yumi Stynes meets three women embracing their kinky side. From findom (financial domination) to humiliation and cuckolding, their tastes go well beyond missionary.

Esther Perel will change how you think about intimacy Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

Psychotherapist Esther Perel is one of the most influential thinkers on sex and relationships in the world.

She helps us make sense of how we relate to the people around us and what it means to be intimate. Is intimacy just in the bedroom? Or can we have intimacy with our closest friends? How about with the guy at the coffee shop?

And when we do disrobe and have sex with someone, how can we get what we desire out of the experience, whether it's a one-time thing or for the hundredth time.

Esther entered the zeitgeist with her book Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, which gave us language for the opposing promises of marriage — romantic passion and long-term security.

She's since drawn millions of listeners to her podcast, Where Should We Begin, where she publishes live couples therapy sessions. (R)