Abiding Hysteria

Invisible Illness with Emily Mendenhall

In our second episode of the season, I have the pleasure of interviewing Emily Mendenhall, who is anthropologist, Guggenheim Fellow, and Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She has authored six books, including Syndemic Suffering [https://www.routledge.com/Syndemic-Suffering-Social-Distress-Depression-and-Diabetes-among-Mexican/Mendenhall/p/book/9781611321425] (2012), Global Mental Health [https://www.routledge.com/Global-Mental-Health-Anthropological-Perspectives-1st-Edition/Kohrt-Mendenhall/p/book/9781611329247] ( 2015), Rethinking Diabetes [https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501738432/rethinking-diabetes/] (2019), Unmasked [http://vanderbi.lt/unmasked] (2022), Savoring Care [https://utppublishing.com/doi/book/10.3138/9781487565701] (2025) and Invisible Illness [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/invisible-illness/hardcover] (2026). She serves as Editor-in-Chief of a new publication, Science Politics [http://sciencepolitics.org/], and has written for Scientific American, Vox, and Psychology Today. In this episode we discuss her newest book, invisible illnesses, how power plays into medicine, and more. Please join me in welcoming Emily Mendenhall to the show! website: www.emilymendenhall.com [http://www.emilymendenhall.com/] book: Invisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long Covid [https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Illness-History-Hysteria-COVID/dp/0520421523/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2A1MLAYU9FAVN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.7f3qbq11Ipc-kzadkQH76JFdhpv4PI_U7tDNFGbyNes5rlrxflUmQnwL3d537Jw6BYUVjaA_Z2BfUOFAW1PZjbnNCYVpWPisQGuhkyF3nVrX8N-rVRl9F391thuXuVnXxfwxfnnEnStw0dxE1TlbOw.OpNwJVQCV0-BPmcv_3xGgyQAS3o3nrwDR7zCnq3Zrxg&dib_tag=se&keywords=invisible+illness+mendenhall&qid=1768412096&sprefix=invisible+illness+mendenhall%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-1] Find Emily on Substack! [https://substack.com/@emilymendenhall] Book launch on CSPAN! [https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/emily-mendenhall-invisible-illness-a-history-from-hysteria-to-long-covid/671918] Join us on Discord! [https://discord.gg/meqbZn6y] Find us on Social Media: @abidinghysteria on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/abidinghysteria], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/abidinghysteria/], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@abidinghysteria], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@AbidingHysteria], Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/abidinghysteria.bsky.social], and Threads [https://www.threads.com/@abidinghysteria]! Become a Patron today for only $5 a month by clicking here! [https://www.patreon.com/c/AbidingHysteria]

Chiari & Creativity with Author & Artist Rue Sparks

In our premier episode of Season 2, I wanted to feature someone who is a longtime friend with a creative mind on just another level, Author and Artist Rue Sparks. Together we talk about their health story, Chiari malformation, their career, and more. I cannot recommend enough listening to the audiobook of their most recent novel, The Fable of Wren, as well as their other masterfully written and thoughtful works. According to their bio on https://ruesparks.com [https://ruesparks.com/], "Rue Sparks is a composite of neurosis and nonsense held together by duct tape and sheer stubbornness. They are at the conjunction of queer, disabled, and neurospicy identities with a background in illustration, digital media, and book publishing. There are common themes that tie their work together: found family, grief, queerness, mental health. They live in a rural Michigan town surrounded by forest on all sides so that they can opt out of humanity at will." Rue Sparks' Links from the show: Website: https://www.ruesparks.com/ [https://www.ruesparks.com/] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ruesparks.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/ruesparks.bsky.social] Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ruesparks [https://www.etsy.com/shop/ruesparks] Archetype: https://www.patreon.com/cw/archetypeproject [https://www.patreon.com/cw/archetypeproject] Don't forget to join our Discord to find other cool humans and discuss episodes, learn about upcoming guests, and more! Join here: https://discord.gg/PqXhtJjz

Welcome to Womanhood: A Story of Medical Neglect with Guest Alice

What should have been a celebration became a horror story for this month's guest, Alice. Join host Rachael Woodard in a conversation about womanhood, medical neglect, surgery recovery, and Alice's hopes for the future in this month's episode of the Abiding Hysteria podcast. Strong trigger warnings for the following: Graphic descriptions of wounds & healing; descriptions of the technicalities of gender confirmation surgery; body dysmorphia; discrimination; medical neglect, trauma, and gaslighting; major depression, and isolation.

Childfree by Choice with Logan Kinch

Join host Rachael Woodard as she interviews guest Logan Kinch about being childfree by choice, her health story, medical bias, and the intersection of these in her life. Trigger warnings for medical trauma regarding surgeries and pain. From the ages of sixteen to twenty one Logan Kinch underwent seven surgeries. After all of that pain and trauma Logan started her most difficult journey yet, getting a hysterectomy. Although endometriosis was damaging her quality of life and she has no desire to ever have children, bias always got in her way. Doctors prioritized the maternal role they wanted her to play over everything she wanted for her quality of life and future. At twenty five she finally had her eighth surgery, a partial hysterectomy. She hopes her story can normalize the desire to be child free, as well as validate others that do not wish to have children.

A Chronically Cozy Conversation with Randi Pullar

What does it take to run a business? A lot of time and energy, right? Imagine what it takes for someone with chronic illness or who is neurodivergent. In this episode of Abiding Hysteria, I sat down with Randi Pullar, of Chronically Cozy Life, to discuss what it's like being a neurodivergent chronically ill entrepreneur, helping others find their place in the world of entrepreneurship, the difference between the US and Canadian healthcare systems, and more. For more from Randi Pullar, check out her website at https://www.chronicallycozylife.com [https://www.chronicallycozylife.com] or find her online at @chronicallycozylife