wildly curious
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Myth-Busting Journey Into The Female Body With Rachel E. Gross

Renee Bright
/
KUER

Suffering from a gynecological infection, the science journalist Rachel E. Gross did what she does best: She researched. She wanted to know how the vagina works. But she soon ran into the big problem of how little we actually know about the female body.

For generations, our knowledge of female anatomy has actually been based on male anatomy. But that’s starting to change. In her upcoming book Vagina Obscura, Gross explores the work of a new generation of scientists who have turned their attention to the vagina. They’re gaining insight into stuff like the vaginal microbiome, ovarian stem cells and the biology of menstruation. And what they’re learning, Gross says, gives us a better understanding not just of female bodies, but of all bodies. She joins us this Friday at noon to talk about her book.

Rachel E. Gross’s book is Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage [Amazon|Bookshop]