The Tampon Shortage

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the national tampon shortage and the history of feminine products.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• A national tampon shortage has until recently been dismissed as a minor inconvenience or even a punchline. We all drew on this Smithsonian history of menstrual products. Niki referred to this Atlantic essay on the history of the tampon, and Natalia to Lara Freidenfelds’ book, The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth-Century America. 

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia shared about ProPublica’s new study of adult literacy and referred to this New York Times article about challenges to a popular literacy program.
• Neil recommended Sasha Issenberg’s book, The Engagement: America’s Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage.
• Niki discussed Christopher Mathias’ HuffPost article, “Living With the Far-Right Insurgency in Idaho,” and her own column for CNN, “Arrests at Idaho Pride Event Could Be a Harbinger of Things to Come.”