'The C Word with Catharine Redden'
START HERE → BLOODY HORRENDOUS
If you’re new and wondering where to begin, scroll nearly to the bottom and find Bloody Horrendous.
It was my second episode, and it’s still the one people land on.
It’s about first periods.
Not the neat version. The real one.
• What it was actually like
• What we weren’t told
• What’s changed (thank god)
• What hasn’t (of course)
It’s funny in parts, uncomfortable in others, and very recognisable if you’ve ever had a body that does things without asking your permission.
THE C-WORD WITH CATHARINE REDDEN
A podcast for difficult women.
Inside:
• Bodies that don’t behave
• Anxiety that doesn’t respond to medication tested predominantly on men, while being told to just meditate
• Ageing without apology
• Small, everyday moments where sexism just… hums in the background
No self-improvement arc.
No neat conclusions.
Just the ongoing, slightly absurd experience of being a woman paying attention.
This is what it sounds like from inside one life.
Not polished.
Not resolved.
Just said out loud.
Welcome to the party of women’s direct experience.
Episodes
30 episodes
Hummus Will Bring Us Together ~ with Stephanie Pierce (GUEST CHAT)
What do hummus, gumbo, German bread, Jewish food, autism, Down syndrome, a South Australian lamb roast and one very versatile carrot have in common?Stephanie Pierce.Stephanie is a disability specialist, cookbook author and culinar...
My Knee Is Older Than I Am: Adriana Obando (GUEST CHAT)
At 16, Adriana Obando shattered her femur. Thirty-three years, 12 major surgeries and countless procedures later, she stopped chasing “the fix.”We talk about chronic pain, failed knee replacements, perfectionism, perimenopau...
I Didn’t Hit Rock Bottom. I Still Got Sober.
This episode is dedicated to everyone who grew up in a household impacted by alcohol. ❤️~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I thought you had to hit rock bottom before you were allowed to get sober.Turns out, you don’t.<...
Accessibility Isn’t a Favour: A Conversation with Ellie Rowlands (GUEST CHAT)
Accessibility Isn’t a Favour: Ellie Rowlands on Ableism in Everyday LifeWhen we talk about disability, we often focus on the big moments: discrimination cases, inspirational stories, fundraising campaigns, or medical diagnoses.But...
When You Call a Cunt a Cunt, It Doesn’t Make You a Good Person (FIELD NOTES)
A friend said something to me over lunch recently that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about:“When you call a cunt a cunt, it doesn’t make you a good person.”That conversation sent me back to a summer afternoon at a ...
Everybody Needed Her. She Went Dancing Anyway. Ft Namita Pandey (GUEST CHAT)
What starts as a conversation about food quickly becomes a conversation about the invisible work women carry every day.In this episode of The C-Word, I talk with Namita Pandey, founder of Aurum Celebrations, about the mental loa...
‘No’ is a Complete Sentence (except if your name is Captain JAQ) (FIELD NOTES)
My mental health has been rough lately.In this episode, I talk openly about panic attacks, suicidal ideation, medication changes, and what it feels like when hope slowly starts to return after a difficult few weeks.I also tell the...
“You Should Lose Weight” Isn’t a Diagnosis: An Interview with Amanda Levitt (GUEST CHAT)
“Health” research tells us that 60 to 70% of people in the Western world are overweight or obese. And they never say that like it’s a good thing.If you, like me, are one of the many people living in a body considered fat, and you’ve ever...
Pride Round and the Question the AFL Won’t Ask
A solo episode about Pride Round, psychological safety, queer inclusion, AFL culture, masculinity, and the difference between performative allyship and genuine cultural change in Australian Rules Football. Catharine explores...
Lou Nicholson: The MP, the Netballer, and the Cappuccino (GUEST CHAT)
This week, Lou Nicholson joins me on “The C-Word with Catharine Redden”.Lou is the newly elected independent member for Finniss in South Australia, the first woman ever elected to the seat, and in this conversation we talk about politic...
The Maths of Sex (GUEST CHAT) (PART TWO)
The Maths of Sex (Part 2)with Associate Professor Simon GrahamPart 2 of Catharine’s conversation with Associate Professor Simon Graham about sexual health, STI testing, condoms, contraception, harm reduction, public health,...
The Maths of Sex (GUEST CHAT) (PART ONE)
Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Associate Professor Simon Graham about sexual health, stigma, statistics, testing, HPV, bacterial vaginosis, public health, relationships, and the gloriously awkward reality of being a human with a body.
Your Wang Is Not a Divining Rod
In this slightly feverish, slightly feral episode, Catharine continues on from her commentary about David King publicly calling women’s armpit hair “repulsive,” and unpacks the much bigger question underneath it:Why are women expected to...
Really David King? ~ The Armpit Hair Episode
Tiny unionised dinosaur chooks. Humid shoulder pelts at Pilates. AFL commentary. Pre-peeled grapes.This episode begins as a fruedian slip, turned into a feminist ranch fantasy and ends as a rant about women’s bodies, beauty standards, sp...
I Wasn’t Ever Told I Was Beautiful
A three-year-old in a fairy skirt, gumboots, dragon tail and Bob the Builder helmet thinks she’s beautiful.This episode is about what happens before the world talks her out of it.
I Recorded Myself Having a Panic Attack (FIELD NOTES)
We say “panic attack” all the time.This is what one actually sounds like.Includes a real-time recording of a panic attack.Content note: discussion of suicidal thoughts.Please take care. Support links are i...
Elijah Hollands: What We Saw… and What We Didn’t Do
On Thursday night at the MCG, during a game between Carlton and Collingwood, some things that happened on the field that did not look like football.This episode is about those moments.It is not about analysing the reasons or cause...
You Had a Baby. He Kept His Job (GUEST CHAT)
A conversation with my mum, Margaret Redden, about what it was like to grow up, work, and have children as a woman in South Australia in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, and the kinds of inequality women were simply expected to accept.Show Not...
I Already Know The Name Of Your Street
Go for a walk.Look at what’s named.Then tell me you don’t see it.
I Was 11 and I Thought No One Would Miss Me (GUEST CHAT)
A raw conversation about suicidal thoughts, Lifeline, and what it feels like at a granular level to not be okay. ~~~In this episode I have a chat with Julia Ridout. (Find out more about Julia here:
Feminism Is Easy Until Someone You Love Says Something Shit
Feminism is easy… until it’s your family.This one’s about the dinner table.The comments that don’t sit right.And the moments where you stay quiet.Recorded in my car by the beach, with...
Wait… This Is Legal?
Last year, I worked on an egg farm.7am starts. No lunch break. One 15-minute smoko.Lifting a tonne of eggs a day. Collecting dead birds.Driving half an hour each way.And I was being paid less than the minimum wage.
I Thought Everyone Knew This
What is period underwear?What is Prozac?This episode started as a Q&A.It didn’t stay that way.From black “cheek to kidney” netball undies…to the very real experience of taking antidepressants…