PERIODically: the podcast that covers all things periods and chemistry

A team of chemistry students from the University of Oxford working to share the stories of our inspiring guest speakers. 

It is a great opportunity to share the amazing work of your colleagues and allow them the recognition they deserve. The backing of the RSC and the Education prize will support them in continuing their amazing work. It will also highlight the department and university as a centre which is innovating in the area of chemistry education. Particularly, in the case of PERIODically, this award has highlighted the work of students and to receive such recognition will have a lasting impact on our career choices and has encouraged us to think about careers in chemistry education. 

Charlie's organisation and support is amazing; she was like the mum of the group and did all of the admin and not glamorous tasks, as well as the podcast and things that the public can see. Everyone else utilised their creativity in different ways. Josie did a lot of the social media and content creation. (Manami Imada)

I think most of us on the team have faced barriers within our chemistry career that we want to remove or reduce for the people that come after us. Personally, I think this motivation was also partly out of frustration: that I had worked so hard at my A-levels and was working so hard at my undergraduate degree and everyone around me was promoting this idea of 'women in STEM' and there was 'no reason that I couldn't be as successful as male counterparts'. But there was this visceral and physical reality that in about a quarter of my lab days I was bent over the fume hood with period cramps, feeling faint and nauseous whilst my colleagues without periods were able to focus on learning and understanding the theory and the practical techniques. I was really motivated to advocate on the podcast for practical rather than solely performative or linguistical improvements. (Lottie Oliver)

The feeling of not wanting the younger generations to go through some of the things that we have gone through. Some of the negative university/chemistry experiences could have been saved if some people were more aware of this issue – we wanted to be the voice that can educate people and realise the discrepancies that people with periods can face. (Manami Imada)

I think initially we were all motivated by our own personal experiences and struggles relating to periods. We all felt frustrated or angry and wanted to share what we’d been through. However, once we started it became clear that it was so much bigger than just us. We saw the potential that PERIODically had to really break down barriers in science and we want to use this platform to raise awareness and keep pushing for change. (Elba Feo)

There are so many papers, articles and blogs discussing women being lost from STEM but so few (if any) discussing this in the context of menstrual health. It seemed to me that this was an oversight that was preventing the scientific community from changing practical things that were impacting minorities. Visibility of role models, student's relatedness, etc, are of course all important – but the physicality of being a student or researcher in pain or needing to use the bathroom frequently or beginning a period with no period products available are straightforwardly tangible realities that we must not neglect. (Lottie Oliver)
 
There is such a big difference in the experience of someone with a period and without. The differences and struggles are often overlooked and we wanted to break down this barrier and stigma. We wanted to make it a topic of conversation, where people could speak up and feel heard. This is exciting as it can help tackle the gender gap especially within chemistry and other STEM subjects, not just for students but for people who aspire to have a career in it. (Manami Imada) 

It’s got people talking! The incredible response of the wider chemistry community has been such an important part of PERIODically’s success: there is clearly an appetite for an open conversation about how to make chemistry a more welcoming discipline. Some of the guests in season two brought such resonant contributions to the show, and I’m so excited to see where this conversation takes chemistry. (Michael O'Neill)
 
When we went to a conference, and people came up to us and told us how amazing and impactful the podcast was. A man came up to us and thanked us for sharing our experiences and said he learnt a lot! This was really touching as opening up the conversation and educating people who may not know as much was a big goal of ours. (Manami Imada)

After the first series was released, we received messages on social media from people telling us that having heard us share our stories and struggles had made them feel seen. Often the struggles surrounding periods are something we bear on our own and can make us feel isolated, but this podcast is helping to start those conversations and showing people they are not alone. (Elba Feo)

We are hoping to make PERIODically a charity of some sort, to try and continue our work even after we all graduate from university. We want to help more people – we have focused more on raising awareness, but we would ideally like to help people more practically if possible. (Manami Imada)

The first season of the podcast has already inspired my Master's research project which looked at laboratory spaces, especially with regards to neurodivergent and disabled students and students with periods – which was presented at VICEPHEC this year. This research has huge scope to be developed: looking into different experiences of trans students, at students not having regular periods due to contraception, as well as staff experiences and wider experiences of menstrual health in the laboratory environment. This research strand is something that we would like to continue as part of the PERIODically project. (Lottie Oliver) 

This team came together because of our common belief in the importance of discussing the impact of periods. Most of us didn’t know each other before PERIODically and yet through this project we have found friendship and camaraderie. Everything we do, we do because we are passionate about this issue. (Elba Feo) 

If you like solving puzzles, being able to work practically and with your hands then chemistry is a great field to work in! I really love being able to work in the lab creating cool new complexes and investigating their properties. I really enjoy just finding out a bit more about the universe we live in! I also love working with people and collaborating to learn new things which is something that chemistry has allowed me to do! (Charlie Simms)

Perhaps I can say the thing which only a cis male academic could say: I think a lot of what I heard in season one was stuff which should have been obvious to me, but wasn’t. Of course periods affect lab practicals. Of course they affect exams. Of course they affect lectures if you have 25 contact hours a week. So of course I should start thinking about how to make my teaching more accessible. (Michael O'Neill)

Though our initial focus was on the impacts of periods on studying chemistry, the issues we discuss apply to all aspects of academia, regardless of subject or position (undergraduate, postgraduate, professor, etc.). Hopefully people will listen to this podcast and begin to understand just how significant the barrier posed by periods can be. Only when the people making decisions within educational institutions take periods into consideration will substantial change be possible. (Elba Feo) 

As you progress within academia your knowledge often becomes more and more niche. When you collaborate you combine your specialties and tackle problems from different angles to reach conclusions or outcomes that may not have otherwise been possible. PERIODically is a great example of this: we came together and shared our individual experiences, which enabled us to create this wonderful thing together. (Elba Feo) 

Science education is about giving learners the conceptual tools to tackle important problems problems, yes, but it’s also about welcoming them into a community of people who want to improve the world. Part of the reason diversity is such an important theme in science education is that we need new ways of seeing and solving problems, and we need them urgently. Seeing young chemists contributing to this agenda through PERIODically is a cause for hope about the future of the discipline. (Michael O'Neill) 

We are all chemists working on PERIODically, and we believe PERIODically is making the world a better place. Our ability as chemists to observe and analyse, and our drive to understand, ultimately led us to investigate the influence of periods on those studying or pursuing a career in chemistry. (Charlie Simms) 

One reason chemistry is important is that thinking about chemistry is a superb education. People are growing and changing by thinking about chemistry through school, higher education, and in professional scientific jobs. Chemists’ ways of thinking bring a valuable perspective to our society: one with a rich grounding in quantitative and qualitative reasoning, and deeply preoccupied with the gap between prediction and outcome. Sometimes that perspective is useful in Whitehall or in executive board meetings, but sometimes it’s useful in communities or families, and sometimes it's useful down the pub. Chemists have a lot to give society beyond just chemical knowledge, and I think PERIODically exemplifies that really well. (Michael O'Neill)