This is Your Brain on Hormones

Podcast: Radiolab (LS 85 · TOP 0.01% what is this?)Episode: This is Your Brain on HormonesPub date: 2026-06-19Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationAfter reading something that said her menstrual cycle changes her brain each month, Senior Correspondent Molly Webster goes on a reporting mission to see if that’s true, and, if so, how. This journey into sex hormones and the brain involves females and males, and exacting self-experimentation. It gets into PTSD, and ends with a new twist on self-care (hint: it’s biological). And, it starts to reveal a sneaky truth: that each one of us is at the mercy of a crashing sea of chemicals inside of us – those things we call hormones. Special thanks to Emily Jacobs, Laura Pritschet, Pavel Shapturenka, and Dr. Catherine Woolley.EPISODE CREDITS: Hosted by - Molly Webster Reported by - Molly Webster Produced by - Mona Madgavkar with help from - Molly Webster Fact-checking by - Diane A. Kelly EPISODE CITATIONS: Articles -  **The experiments we feature in this episode are called: 28andMe, 28andOC, and 28andHe, all of which took place at Emily Jacobs lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara.**  The 28 Project (https://zpr.io/CSx6MnwZjRvp), background from the Jacobs lab For more on how much variability there is between female and male animals, check out this “groundbreaking” study, referenced by Emily Jacobs in our episode Sex Bias in Neuroscience and Biomedical Research(https://zpr.io/ZRgKZzdNejUA),  by Beery AK, Zucker I., Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Dr. Catherine Woolley has revolutionized the field of neuroscience and sex hormones, here’s more about her work … Sex Differences in the Brain Get Down to the Molecular Level Sex (https://zpr.io/UNCLE9J782N5), by Stephanie DeMarco, PhD, The Scientist.com Hormonal Effects on the Brain (https://zpr.io/DvNM9EkXdtGG), by Woolley, C.S. and Schwartzkroin, P.A. Epilepsia Data sets - 28andMe and 28andOC (https://zpr.io/hbXVNTVp2Q7j): 28andHe (https://zpr.io/sZXhfMbMwKb7) Audio -  In the episode, we mention Dr. Russ Poldrack and the Midnight Scan Club, as inspo for self-experimentation The Midnight Scan Club (https://zpr.io/CLBhNQSxK844), by Science Friday.   Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]. Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.