Microplastics, Mental Spirals, and a Man With a Wheelie Bin [Episode 25]

It's episode 25 of Grab Her By The Mic - a quarter of a century (kind of) of being completely unqualified in your ears - and this one has everything. We kick off Recap & Rosé in full Flubber energy (cold sores, dirty hair, a botched haircut, and a son who said "ha ha sucker" at the preschool gate), before spiralling into three Weekly Spiral stories that cover a French teenager who committed citrus-based terrorism in Singapore, a Massachusetts beekeeper who arrived at an eviction with a trailer full of hives and zero regrets, and something that happened in Scotland involving a wheelie bin that we are still processing.Han's Hyperfix goes deep on microplastics - and it is not a vibe. Plastic in your blood, your lungs, your brain tissue, your placenta. Philsy's Hyperfix brings the antidote: an accidental family Olympics featuring pickleball, soccer, skipping, UNO gambling, and a preschooler in full footy gear deception.The SideQuest this week is One Thing Led To Another - a collaborative spiral game inspired by ADHD and RSD. Obsession of the Week covers a Korean beauty foundation from Beauty Amora that costs $25 and somehow outperforms Charlotte Tilbury, and the Finch app - a self-care app disguised as raising a little bird that won't make you feel terrible when you forget about it for three months.Explicit, feral, occasionally peer-reviewed, and accidentally educational about bin-related legal proceedings.See you next Tuesday. 💋CHAOS CORRECTIONAL (FACT-CHECK CORNER)Stick around after the outro for Chaos Correctional - where Han cleans up the confident nonsense we said on air with just enough research to be dangerous.This week we correct: Whether "Appalachian" actually means mountains (it doesn't, not really) How to pronounce Lusso (it's LOO-soh, it means luxury in Italian, we are embarrassed) Robot restaurants in China (real, confirmed, mixed results) How many straws the Singapore teenager actually licked (more than one) What the treatment for Binocular Vision Dysfunction actually is (prism glasses exist and we didn't know) What it's called when you oil a cast iron pan (seasoning, we were right, mark it) What The Disappearing Male documentary is actually about Whether it's "dewy" or "jewey" for skin (D, always D, there is no J)LINKS & THINGS WE MENTIONED🐰 Research Rabbit Hole - MicroplasticsNature journal - microplastics in human brain tissue study (2026) New England Journal of Medicine - microplastics in artery plaque and cardiovascular risk (2024)Stanford Medicine explainer on microplastics in the body Beyond Plastics - practical reduction tips NRDC Consumer Guide - 10 things you can do🐰 Research Rabbit Hole - ADHD & RSDADDitude Magazine - RSD explainerInFocus First - RSD and hormonal fluctuation in women ☠️ Low Tox Swaps Philsy MentionedPipsqueaks lunchboxes (Australian, stainless steel, Byron Bay mum): search Pipsqueak lunchboxes AustraliaClean Canteen stainless steel water bottles.Lucent dishwashing sheetsGood Edi edible coffee cups⚙️ Apps & ToolsFinch self-care app (free)Products We Spiralled AboutTIRTIR Mask Fit foundation ($25 on Beauty Amora)COSRX pimple patchesCOSRX low pH good morning cleanserLaneige water sleeping maskCOSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One CreamLusso Cloud shoes (LOO-soh, Italian for luxury, definitely plastic)Internet ChaosFrench teenager licks Singapore vending machine straw, faces two years prisonMassachusetts beekeeper unleashes hive at evictionScottish wheelie bin incident DocumentaryThe Disappearing Male (CBC, 2008) - microplastics, endocrine disruptors, and the toxic threat to the male reproductive system: search on YouTube or documentary streaming platformsLoved this episode?Hit follow / subscribe so you don’t miss future chaosLeave us a 5-star review if you cackled, cried, or felt seenScreenshot & tag us on socials so we know you’re listening🎙 New episodes every Tuesday👉 Follow us: @grabherbythemic📩 [email protected]