Shhh: The Poopcast (aka S**t And Shame With Shawn)

There’s so much happening in our underwear zone: poop, pee, period blood. And Miki Agrawal is tackling them all, with a side of vegan, gluten-free, farm-to-table pizza. This week, Shawn Shafner (The Puru) sits down with the serial entrepreneur and creator of Wild pizzerias, Thinx period underwear, Icon incontinence underwear, Tushy attachable bidets and an empowering guide to living your dream called Do Cool Sh*t. Amidst bites of kale, Miki and Shawn ask the big questions: how can science, humor, sex, sustainability and design help us change taboo narratives and sell products? Why does it take the average woman 7 years to admit to her doctor that she’s suffering from urinary incontinence? How much exactly is two tampons’ worth of blood? Does one measure that in milliliters? Tune in and quench your thirst for knowledge. Also mentioned in this podcast: nourishment, Park Slope, Williamsburg, stomach aches, comfort food, menstruation, tampon, pad, soccer, feminine hygiene, grapefruit, Pamela Anderson, advertisi

Sex and poop. Both are natural parts of having a body. Both can be intensely pleasurable. And both are rich boiling pots of shame and cultural baggage. Which is why The Puru has teamed up with S. Ryan Johnstone and Dave McGee of Sex for Smart People* (*that means you) to bring you this very special episode tackling the mother of all modern taboos. Join us for a thoughtful, compassionate, super-honest and often hilarious hour addressing anal sex, safe scat play, and how looking at your toilet paper might just make you a better lover. Did I mention there’s a whale choir? Oh yeah. There’s a whale choir. Plus even more Sex for Smart People* at sexforsmartpeople.com Also mentioned in this episode: Victorian taboos, empowerment, grotesque body, civilizing process, normalizing culture, gender, sexuality, advice, gay, heteronormative culture, queer, frottage, Roman pederasty, cunnilingus, labels, sexual scripts, analingus, rimming, douching, health, risk assessment, stigma, therapy, fisting, Purity and Danger by Mar

Might the way to enlightenment just be through your anus? In this episode, The Puru cozies butt-up with Amanda Miller--writer, actor, massage therapist, yogi, and compulsively creative person--in order to investigate the inner alchemy of transforming our shit to gold. Hear how Amanda's trauma became the driving force behind her memoir and solo show One Breath, Then Another, why hemorrhoid cream should be renamed "embarrassment balm," and learn the best position for kegeling your way to nirvana. Try it at home, and let us know how it goes on our social media pages! Also mentioned in this podcast: compulsion, obsession, artist, eating disorders, BBYO, catharsis, Toilet Hackers, World Toilet Day, self-hatred, Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, sex dungeons, kegels, ashwini mudra, ashram, India, Croft Vaughn, pelvic floor, Anal Pleasure and Health, Jack Morin, Anal-Ese, mind body relationship, stool sample, parasites, microbiome, contagion, compassion, NYC subway, homeless population, Anatomy of Disgust, Wi

Constipated? Take relief: it's probably not because your sphincter is too tight. In this month's episode of SHHH, The Puru sits down with Dr. Daniel Gerling, Assistant Professor at Augustana University and perhaps the foremost expert on poop history in the United States (who else could write the dissertation, "American Wasteland: A Social and Cultural History of Excrement, 1860-1920"?). Hear Danny explain why American occupiers collected over 120,000 jars of Filipino feces, how the demodex (eyelash mite) may be the only creature that doesn't poop, and why sphincter expanders were recommended as a cure for constipation in the early 1900s. Put down that fork--this is one fascinating hour you might not want to eat through.   Also mentioned in this conversation: Thomas Jefferson, Dominique LaPorte, History of Shit, Tlazolteotl, Austin TX, John G. Bourke, Scatologic Rites of All Nations, Sigmund Freud, colonialism, Henry Moule, earth closet, flush toilet, Cuban occupation, Filipino occupation, Inner Hygiene, James

Wanna know how your floating ball cock measures up? In this episode, Shawn “The Puru” Shafner sits down with Rachel “The Loo Lady” Erickson. Rachel spent the past few years leading critically-acclaimed Loo Tours in London. Now back in the States, The Loo Lady explains how her unwillingness to pay-per-pee led to a full time job in the john, and trades toilet stories with The Puru, from ancient Rome through Medieval Europe and the modern day. Oh, and if you want to check out someone’s floating ball cock, just look inside their toilet tank! Thomas Crapper may not have invented the modern toilet, but he is often credited with inventing that unfortunately-named flushing mechanism. Also mentioned in podcast: toilet, church, Shakespeare, toilet-themed restaurant, Sir John Harington, Metamorphosis of Ajax, communal Roman toilets, history of sanitation, Old Testament, Deuteronomy, bidet, sqat vs. sit, Queen Elizabeth, fart, Martin Luther, constipation, public health, social behavior, Edinburgh International Fringe Fes

The Puru may have finally met his match. Jibril is an extraordinary five year-old living in the Bronx who just happens to be obsessed with digestion. In this episode of SHHH, Jibril schools Shawn on why poop should resemble bananas instead of asteroids, explains the genesis of the pyloric sphincter, and meditates on the difference between half-digested food and poop. Joined by his mother Fatima and a league of lego models, Jibril will refresh your knowledge of basic biology and redefine cuteness while saying words like "penis," "gallbladder," and "hepatopancreatic duct" in all innocent earnestness.   Mentioned in podcast: Shawn Shafner, early childhood, poop, digestion, sphincters, reproduction, vagina, ureter, bolus, chyme, pancreas, duodenum, pharynx, larynx, teeth, tongue, saliva, stomach, large and small intestine, rectum, anus, Bronx Museum of Art, Boogie on the Boulevard, NYC, YouTube, Magic Schoolbus, taboo.  

The Puru, Shawn Shafner, is gearing up for November 19, when the United Nations and people around the globe will celebrate World Toilet Day. And where better to celebrate than Atlanta, Georgia with Tom Keating of Project CLEAN? A self-pronounced “toileteer,” Tom tells us how school bathrooms can be key to building global citizenship, why sanitation is key to nutrition (this year’s World Toilet Day theme), and where The Puru will be raising a stink in Atlanta this year. Mentioned in Podcast: Shawn Shafner, Tom Keating, Jack Sim, World Toilet Organization, Thilo Panzerbieter, German Toilet Organization, Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh, India, United Nations, sanitation crisis, clean water, hygiene, WASH, citizenship, World Toilet Summit, ASPE, ICC, plumbing code, International Student Center, Druid Hills High School, Atlanta, Georgia.

Shawn, The Puru, sits down with Dave Praeger, whose book “Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped by Its Grossest National Product,” catalyzed The POOP Project. Creator of Poop Report, the web’s first intellectual hub for scatology, Praeger details how a humorous side project became a full-fledged (and highly researched) book, how poop’s contaminating effect has led him to create a secret identity, and why he eventually got out of the “business.” Mentioned in Podcast: Shawn Shafner, Dave Praeger, Poop, S**t, Shame, Taboos, Potty, Squatty Potty, Poop Report, Poop Culture, Marketing, Contamination Theory, Aurora, Denver, Colorado, Jamie Benson, Drudge Report, Dominique LaPorte, History of S**t, Francois Rabelais, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jonathan Swift, Le Petomaine, Fartiste, Moulin Rouge

Shawn is thrilled to talk to Squatty Potty creator Bobby Edwards about the undeniable anatomical superiority of squatting over sitting to poop,  and how shameful Victorian taboos have all but erased the practice for 'modern' Americans. They also touch on the constipation which plagued Bobby’s mom (and business partner) eventually giving rise to the SquattyPotty,  and the parallel overcoming of Gay shame and repression that have enabled Shawn and Bobby to go proud in more ways than one.  Finally Bobby shares his branding secrets for getting a poop-themed product in Bed, Bath & Beyond, thanks to his recent appearance on Shark Tank. Mentioned in the podcast: Shawn Shafner, Bobby Edwards, Judy Edwards, poop, shit, shame, taboo, potty, culture, squat, squatting, Gay, homosexual, LGBT, incontinence, constipation, recovering Mormon, Mormonism, Mimi Imfirst, Rachel Erickson, The Loo Lady, Shark Tank, Barbara Corcoran, Milorganite Biosolids Fertilizer, Butterfly Body Liners, Shinichiro Ishikawa

Shawn, our Puru, talks to Jamie Benson, dancer, choreographer,  and maker of shows such as the satire-drenched 'Bowel Movement', and 'Bathroom Follies', among others.  In addition,  Jamie’s partner,  fashion designer Andrae Gonzalo joins this lively conversation focusing on shame,  fear of contamination, and even damnation,  from long-held taboos around homosexuality, non-conformity, and of course poop - in culture, fashion, dance and language.

Shawn 'The Puru' Shafner is interviewed by  friend, musician,  and this podcast producer,  Josh Sitron,   on serious issues surrounding poop,  and the inherent humor that arises automatically from such conversation.  We get a  background about Shawn's Poop Project (The People's Own Organic Power), his hit one-man show 'An Inconvenient Poop' and  a general history of fecal matters and societal taboos around poop. By the end of the interview,  Josh is so interested (and disgusted, but in a good way)  that he proposes that Shawn and he produce an ongoing series of Poop casts.  And here we are.  WARNING: Eating oatmeal while listening to this podcast is strongly discouraged.