The argument began, like so many arguments do, at the dinner table. My husband and I had been away for the holidays, and a few nights on an unfamiliar mattress had thrown my back into paroxysms of pain. I found this fact troubling. How is that swapping one plush, spring-loaded mattress for another could cause […]
Cassandra
By the time dermatologist Sanjeev Vaishampayan met his patient, a 45-year-old father of four, the man was in a bad way. Antibiotics had taken care of the infected lesions on his legs, but now the man had a new and mortifying problem: His genitals were bulging and bloated. “The scrotum was huge and its contents […]
In August 2012, 10 Israelis took a quick dip in a mountain lake in western Uganda. The lake, called Nyinambuga, sits in an ancient volcanic crater. The blue-green water of Lake Nyinambuga no doubt looked enticing, but it was rife with blood flukes, parasitic flatworms that burrow through the skin, invade the blood vessels, and feed on […]
25- 29 November This week, we gave thanks. Ann pointed out that sexual harrassment may be a subset of a deeper inability to keep other people from suffering the consequences of your own inner demons. Kant is involved. Jessa identifies a central mechanism keeping us from flying off into virtual existences — that pesky inner […]
This post originally appeared back in February 2011. If you’ve already read it, we apologize. Cassie is frantically packing in preparation for a cross-country move. January 3rd was a bad day for Cee. That morning she had a colonoscopy. The procedure went smoothly. But afterward, Cee felt ill. Something wasn’t right. She had a bite […]
On Sunday I ran 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City. I giggled deliriously as I crossed the finish line. And then I held my medal aloft and beamed for the cameras. But long-distance running isn’t all glamour and glory. There’s a price to be paid, and I’m not talking about the entrance fee. […]
21 – 25 October What happens to sperm and egg donors in the era of cut-rate genetic testing? Cassie discovers that anonymous donations come with a cost. A growing class of viral clips — generally misinterpreted as cute or funny — actually shows animals in anger, pain, or sexual arousal, says guest poster Whitney Robles. […]
Joy Morgan* isn’t a mother, but she may have kids. When Morgan was 27, she decided to donate her eggs. The first time she did it for money. “I was about to go back to school, and I had been drowning in a bit of credit card debt,” she says. Eight thousand dollars is a lot […]
