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Author: Menstrual Equity Initiative (MĚI)
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© MĚI 2026
Description
A podcast hosted by Ayushmaan Mukherjee and Mikah Gay of the Menstrual Equity Initiative (MĚI), a national nonprofit founded by Harvard student Elise Tao to promote menstrual awareness and reform. Join us as we break down the complex issue of menstrual equity, interview changemakers and legislators, and provide self-care tips in an effort to make menstruation easier.
13 Episodes
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In this episode, Ayushmaan and Mikah host Arleigh Cole-Doyle, founder of the organization Misendostood, which seeks to guide women with endometriosis through the healthcare system and how they can manage their condition. The conversation focuses on the lack of awareness and fast, easy care for those who suffer from the condition; all three agree on a need for better youth education, as well as increased funding to actually research the disease. Arleigh specifically highlights her experience in policy advocacy at the Connecticut state legislature, and the massive potential for change.
In this episode, Ayushmaan and Mikah sit down with Anne Chang, a medical science graduate, certified doula, and founder of Spill Her Tea, an organization dedicated to making women's health education more accessible. Their conversation traces Anne's decade-long journey with irregular periods before a PMOS diagnosis she only found through social media, the gap between what health curricula teach and what people who menstruate actually need to know, and what drove her to build something about it. Along the way, they discuss what a more honest cultural conversation around reproductive health could look like, and what it means to approach advocacy from both a scientific background and lived experience.
In this episode, Ayushmaan and Mikah welcome back MĚI founder and CEO Elise Tao for a candid check-in on everything from the state of the organization to the state of the movement. They cover MEI's latest updates across divisions, the growing, but complicated, cultural conversation around menstrual health in America, the rise of anti-feminist backlash among Gen Z men and what it means for advocacy, and why period tracker privacy has become a frontline equity issue. Elise also reflects on what still feels unfinished, what she's genuinely excited about, and what she's looking forward to, both inside MEI and beyond.
In this episode, Mikah interviews MĚI's own Aishani Pandey, a high school athlete and student advocate living with suspected endometriosis. Their conversation traces Aishani's years-long journey from her first dismissed symptoms at age ten - through irregular cycles, near-anemia, a rejected IUD, and passing out mid-exam - to finally receiving a suspected diagnosis and awaiting laparoscopic surgery. Along the way, they discuss the systemic failures that delayed her care, what it looks like to self-advocate as a teenager navigating both chronic pain and school attendance policies, and why menstrual health in educational institutions can never be one-size-fits-all.
In this episode, Mikah and Ayushmaan interview Livia, MĚI's Chief Legislative Officer, and Jia, MĚI's Chief Advocacy Officer. They cover the past efforts of the Legislative Division in building coalitions and passing bills, the personal experiences of Livia and Jia, as well as the division's future plans.








