The Current Podcast

Overprescription of hormonal therapy and antibiotics, under-researched health concerns that affect 5-10% of women in the world, never-ending gaslighting and dismissal of women trying to get to the root cause of their debilitating reproductive health concerns. The stigmatisation of women trying to get pregnant, and the medical view of pregnancy and motherhood as a panacea for any physical or mental issue a woman may be experiencing, ultimately undermining a woman's autonomy and reducing motherhood to a mere prescription. All of this stems from the patriarchal roots that medical research is currently functioning in. Current health research is labelling women as “little men” because there aren’t enough studies available. It wasn’t until 2023 that women’s period products started being tested with actual blood and not water, and the speculum hasn’t changed in design since the 19th century (some may argue that even since the Roman times). I say no more. In the long-awaited conversation, we bring up the women’s health concerns that aren’t talked about enough in the global setting. The more we talk about it, the less stigmatised it will be. It is so important to spread this message to raise awareness and highlight the strength of those who advocate for women’s health research. For this, I am joined by Katy Bradbury. She is a fertility and women’s health specialist. She is a registered nurse, health visitor, nutritional therapist, hypnotist and integrative change coach. She keeps busy with her private online practice and group programmes as well as student support, practitioner mentorship and clinical leadership. After a journey with infertility, Katy now has two young daughters and takes pleasure from educating and empowering women with their health. Katy shared her fertility journey, and the effect it has on her mental health. We discussed common reproductive healthcare issues like overprescription of hormonal therapy and antibiotics. How in modern medicine a woman’s health is not viewed as a whole, but instead making decisions only based on her reproductive organs. We explore how the patriarchal roots affect how women perceive themselves. How “there is something wrong with you” is heard more often than “let’s solve this together”. Katy and I want a better future for the women’s health. We highlight the advances in the latest research, and discuss often-met topics like endometriosis & adenomiosis, PCOS, UTIs, the vaginal and uterine microbiome and lots more. The more we talk about these stigmatised topics, the more women will be making their own informed decisions based on a holistic 360 approach, something that Katy is offering to her patients as well. This is a perspective I share through my reproductive health research and an approach to my own health overall. It was so important for me to hear Katy’s professional opinion on these pressing matters and be able to pose questions on behalf of my listeners. We both embrace the connection of mind and body, thanking our moon cycles and always breaking down the stigma surrounding women’s health. Katy and I are dedicated to using our platforms to continue educating and sharing knowledge. You can follow Katy Bradbury on Instagram @katybradburyhealth and learn more about her meaningful work! P.S.: Mention of women throughout also includes AFAB individuals.

In this solo episode, I want to share the insights I have gained in my mid-20s. Some were a tough pill to swallow and some came naturally, like it's meant to be. Now, I reflect back on the time when my older friends would tell me to stop wasting my energy on people who do not deserve it. Back then, I felt like I had to "push through people", and now -- all I want is for myself is to finally be happy and get what I have been working so hard for the last 6 months. When I first stepped into my 20s, I would not have imagined that I would be able to use all my vulnerabilities as an advantage. But even further, to broadcast it to the world with the ability to connect with like-minded individuals. I am raising my glass of beverage to the years that came before, to the few more days left of my exact mid-20s and to the future that follows. I am living, I am present, and I am part of this funny thing called life. Where am I now and where will the road lead to? Listen to find out of my future ideas as well as a surprise project reveal that I have been working on for the past months. Join me, in my monologue of the insights of a 25-year-old me.

Marking the 20th episode with our continued conversation from the first part, Marty and I delve into the vivid and possibly prophet dreams, the inward self-assessment we as a society have gone through since 2020, circling around friendship purging and relationship break-ups…and touching upon some spirituality-related memes, sorry, couldn’t help it.  We discuss the concept and our understanding of reincarnation and the importance of learning karmic lessons to evolve spiritually. We discuss regression therapy and how past experiences can shape present fears and behaviours.  You can follow Marty’s journey on IG @immartyparty and Twitter/X: @MediaSurgeZA.

In our conversation about a huge concept that is spirituality, Marty and I discuss our personal experiences with religion, current spiritual outtakes, out-of-body experiences, the concept of after-life, spirit guides and meeting “higher self”, vivid and prophet dreams and their significance, and astral projection. Marty’s journey through life has been interesting due to his self-described misspent youth, and the ultimate belief in the power of spirituality and alignment with the universe, as well as connecting with own spiritual self to achieve anything we desire.  I share about my upbringing and my mother explaining to me at a young age that spirituality is personal and can be found anywhere, without the limitation of the four walls of the church. Marty discusses his journey of understanding spirituality as a way to connect with the universe and his profound experience of an out-of-body encounter that shaped the course of his life.  We touch upon the normalisation of spirituality worldwide and the rise of women's and men's circles as spaces for connection and balance. The importance of dreams and the bigger plan, the thinning of the veil between the realities we live in and a societal shift towards being more accepting of inexplicable occurrences since the pandemic. Overall, our conversation emphasises the importance of self-reflection, healing, and embracing one's spiritual path, should that be their choice. You can follow Marty’s journey on IG @immartyparty and Twitter/X: @MediaSurgeZA.

In this episode, Ethan and I explore the impact of social media on mental health. Ethan is a motion designer and video editor, he loves cinematography, gym, animation, typography and climbing. He is an avid listener of podcasts, including lil’ ol’ The Current and a BIG lover of cats. I wanted to get Ethan’s perspective on this for a long time, as he chooses to distance himself from social media in order to preserve his own emotional balance. I on the other hand, may not be chronically online, but I am on social media very often as it is a platform I choose to build my brand on. We are both working in the creative industry and both know what it’s like to struggle mentally, especially fuelled up by the online comparison culture. We got to discuss topics like social media addiction, pressure to conform to trends, and the rat race culture. We also touched upon the rise of anxiety and loneliness that stems from constant engagement with social media, and we have explored how negative and controversial content tends to get more engagement than positive, feeding off people’s subconscious anger. As well as the balance between true creative expression and when it is solely in the pursuit of likes. We discuss our personal experiences with online communities, idealised online relationships, overload of information stimuli, current online trends and our opinion on it, and how do we personally cope with limiting negative impact of socials on our psyche. You can find Ethan on IG @Ethan.Strudwick and follow his creative journey there!

In this episode, perfectly aligned with the Lesbian Visibility Week, I share my journey of self-discovery and understanding my identity as a lesbian. I reflect on my early-age crushes and first dates, briefly discussing my relationships with boys in middle school and high school and the confusion I felt about my attraction to them, since it always felt like I am playing a competition game (and that apparently other girls actually DO feel things for boys). I explore the societal pressure to have a boyfriend and the realisation that I didn't actually like boys in that way. I recount all the experiences ranging from dealing with a stalker in high school to embracing my bisexuality and eventually identifying as a lesbian. I talk about my first intense adult lesbian love, how equally intense the breakup was, then later jumping straight into a second relationship, all while drawing a parallel to how I saw and treated men vs women in my life (sorry in advance, boys, i was clueless). Join me with a drink of your choice, reflecting on the lessons I learned and the challenges I faced while figuring out my sexuality and relationships.

In this episode’s second part, probably my top three most favourite so far on the mental health topic, Sumayyah and I discuss a variety of topics anywhere from the difficulty of looking for a job while struggling mentally and/or having a long-term condition, the new depths that we discover once we start to deeply analyse our existence. We also reflected back on the little things that got us and our families through the difficult times and the importance of taking it one day at a time, celebrating small wins when you’re in the trenches of it. “Don’t have a banquet, just use a bunsen burner to make some toast” It was such a pleasure to have Sumayyah as a guest on the current podcast for the last two episodes! Sumayyah Maryam Bailey is an award-winning writer/director/artist, film scholar, a fashion editor and a featured writer of NHDL magazine. She writes about her experience with mental health and chronic pain, sharing this along with her vintage outfits and book recommendations on her IG @sumaybay.

in this episode, i am opening a discussion about the struggles one may endure in the process of getting diagnosed with long term condition(s) as well as sharing experience of staying in a recovery home. this process may be simultaneously isolating as well as integrating into a new community. for this, i am joined by Sumayyah Maryam Bailey, an award-winning writer/director/artist, film scholar, a fashion editor and a featured writer of HNDL magazine. She writes about her experience with mental health, and chronic pain; sharing this along with her vintage outfits and book recommendations on her instagram account @sumaybay.

in the last part of this episode, polina and i are sharing our experience living an expat life in france, paying respects to the culture that raised us, and how important it is to not erase the past. polina shared her experience on new connections she made abroad to help her assimilate into french culture better and we reflected back on our previous relationships. we shared advice to the people who are currently conflicted with their sexuality; how vital it is to learn to speak english because of how many door it opens, being the internationally spoken language. at the end, we discussed how important it is to accept different cultures and make peace with the fact that not everyone will agree with mainstream views, and that’s what makes people unique.

in the second part of this episode, polina and i talk about romantic relationships, identifying as queer, and not feeling “queer enough”. i share my fear of intimacy and commitment, as well as my first romantic/sexual experience and a successful determination to “not lose it to a man”. we discussed the currently active “lgbt propaganda prohibition law in russia” and how it affects citizens, as well as “the silencing” that many russian people experience. we also spoke of “queerisation” of the southern french coast following the first queer festival held in nice that we both attended.

for this episode, i invited Polina, an art-manager and a Sorbonne philosophy student currently based in Paris. You can find Polina on Instagram under @pauline_artcritic. Unlike me, she lived through a large part of her queer years while still based in Russia. as a child, Polina wished to be a guy to be able to date girls, while I was making girl Sims kiss. we reflected back on teen and young adult hair and fashion style choices as an act of rebellion. we even remembered our gay-awakening movies, and my way of covering up attraction to women by “feminism” to avoid peer judgement. Polina talked about coming out to closest family and facing self-identity/discovery, as well as her first intimacy experience, and rejecting feelings for women due to internalised homophobia.

im overwhelmed and tired. i feel simultaneously offered a vast variety of options yet be extremely limited to it. i feel free and trapped. i feel stuck. in this episode , or may be best to call it a rant even, i will talk about everything in small bits of what i am going through/affects me, resulting in me feeling overstimulated and overwhelmed. the topics i touch upon are: the overwhelming rush of online trends, fast life pace, collective loneliness, doom scrolling, mental exhaustion, the crashed american dream, delayed life syndrome, identity crisis… basically riding out the storm of my 20s.

marking the 10th episode of The Current Podcast, we are joined by Aleksandra to talk about the difference between cults and cult-like behaviour. it seems that this topic has recently gained popularity as a lot of cult-like activity seems to be taking place in the real world recently. we will discuss how cults are formed, the different types of it, the good and the bad, as well as how to be aware of them and protect yourself from. we will also draw a comparison study by discussing cult-ish behaviour, like some spiritual retreats and gangs. let’s dive right in!

With this relaxed weekend chit-chat, Sonya and I are sharing our experience of growing up abroad as Russians. talking about us developing into the women we are now, and the path we took to get here. discussing the feeling of belonging in one culture, but not quite; coming back home and not feeling belonging either. the nomadic lifestyle. the stereotypes we learn about our own country through the eyes of our European peers. growing apart from people “back home” and making a new life abroad. gender, sexuality and coming out through a slavic point of view, encountering homophobia in schools. discussing career progression in EU vs. Russia and pondering of opportunities gained and opportunities lost. tiptoeing around talking to some Slavics also living abroad about “western” ideas, and finding our place in the world — the world is our oyster.

in this episode, i talk about my experience with burnout and the life after it, exploring the societal pressures that contribute to it and my own examples of how to deal with it. i delve deep into self-love, my pathway to wellness and a holistic approach to my health and my life in general. i discuss the importance of setting boundaries and predicting how much workload one can one take on. all while challenging the guilt associated with taking breaks stemming from the patriarchal conditioning and offering practical strategies to well-being.

for this episode i am thrilled to welcome Regina Alvarez, a talented singer, an artist, and a creative director, as a guest. together, we take a stroll down memory lane of our Swiss boarding school days. we discuss the insights gained, connections and friendships forged, and the personal growth experienced during and after our time there. through our candid conversation, we explore the unique challenges and rewards of this transformative educational journey firsthand, offering a firsthand glimpse into the reality of a boarding school life. if you want to learn more about Regina, make sure to check out her social handles! you can find her latest updates on instagram and listen to her music on spotify all under the name of @nina.vlu

new year, new podcast episodes! i am switching it up with the arrival of 2024. we have seen my podcast morph in its style throughout the year, and while it will continue to do so, i feel like i am finally happy with it. i have prepared so many interesting topics to be discussed in front of my mic and present to you, my listeners, so stay tuned! in this episode, i am discussing societal creative ceilings that so many of us face, closely related to imposter syndrome. it affects our will to grow and may create a stopper for some which they believe is impossible to overcome. is the solution to the problem right in front of us or will some psyche digging be required? let us ponder.

In this holiday-themed episode, Maria shares her thoughts on New Year's resolutions, debunking why they rarely work in the winter months, and why should they kick-start in spring.

After a very long break, Maria comes back with a bang. Delving right into a stigmatised topic - anger. Elaborating on whether it is a positive or negative emotion, what is the source of it and how can it be safely channeled into something useful, acting as one of the roots of creativity. Sharing personal experience with managing anger, Maria hopes to foster meaningful conversations over the frowned upon and prejudiced emotion.

In this episode, Maria focuses on the meaning of an end, the feelings that arise from it, attempting to find a positive spin on it. A raw, emotional journey is portrayed throughout the episode giving a small sparkling glimpse into the gloom of "ending". Is it as dark as it sounds or is it a fear of change instead?

In this episode, Maria defines the "friendship purge" term, the effect it has on one's emotional growth as well as sharing her personal experience with it, providing advice on healthy life evaluation practices.

In this episode, Maria delves into her own experience with endometriosis, outlining some of the common struggles and prejudice she faced during the diagnosis period as well as her take on the virginity concept and how it varies for each identity.