The XX Lab
The XX Lab is a science and life podcast for women, hosted by Sarah. It features conversations with scientists and high-achieving women, offering practical insights for everyday life. The show focuses on feeling better in the present rather than optimizing for longevity.
Episodes
Why Is It So Hard to Say No? The Psychology Behind People-Pleasing | Dr. Vanessa Bohns #22
What if saying yes when you mean no isn't a boundary problem, but a predictable feature of how your brain protects your place in the group? "No is a complete sentence" sounds simple, but the research says the moment of being asked is anything but.In this episode of The XX Lab, I sit down with Dr. Vanessa Bohns, social psychologist, Cornell professor of organizational behavior, and author of the ne
The Hormone-ADHD Connection Women Aren’t Told About | Dr. Jolene Brighten #21
You've been told midlife brain fog is just stress. What if perimenopause is actually revealing a brain you've been masking your whole life?In this episode of The XX Lab, I sit down with Dr. Jolene Brighten, board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist and author of Beyond the Pill, to talk about her new book, ADHD and Women. We explore why perimenopause unmasks ADHD, how to tell it apart from brai
Your Relationships Are Affecting Your Health More Than You Think | Dr. Rich Slatcher #20
What if the strongest predictor of how long you live has nothing to do with your diet, your sleep, or the gym? I have spent my career studying hormones and behavior, and this one still stops me: the quality of your relationships predicts mortality at roughly double the effect of exercise.In this episode of The XX Lab, I sit down with Dr. Rich Slatcher, Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor of
What Women Should Know Before Taking Hormonal Birth Control | Dr. Nusa Faric #19
You've been told the pill is too small to change who you are. What if the science says otherwise, and you're not imagining it?For years, women who reported mood changes on the pill were told it was in their heads, and the research was called conflicting. A new meta-analysis suggests the pattern was there all along. We just weren't looking at the best studies.In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sara
How Sex Hormones Shape the Male & Female Brain | Sarah E. Hill & David Puts | #18
You've been told the pill and the hormonal IUD act "locally," that they barely touch the rest of you. What if science says almost the opposite? Most of us treat hormones as background chemistry for periods and pregnancy, when they are really broadcast signals traveling everywhere blood goes, switching genes on and off in the brain, the muscles, and far beyond the reproductive organs.In this episod
WHOOP Scientist: The #1 Habit for Better Sleep, Recovery & Long-Term Health | Dr. Kristen Holmes #17
Your WHOOP recovery score dips, you slept fine, you did everything right, so why does the number look worse? What if that "bad" reading is your body working exactly as it should?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Dr. Kristen Holmes, Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist at WHOOP, to explore what wearables really measure in women, resilience to hormonal
Shira Boehler: The Cancer That Kills More Young Women Than Breast, Ovarian & Colon Combined | #16
You did everything right, kale, running, annual blood tests, and still ended up with a mass in your lung. So why does the disease killing more young, healthy women than breast, ovarian, and colon cancer combined still carry the stigma of a smoker's disease?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Shira Boehler, lung cancer survivor, author of the New York Times bestseller One S
Why Does Attraction Change in Relationships? with Dr. Andrea Meltzer | #15
Why does attraction change once you're in a long-term relationship? And could hormones, physical attractiveness, and even what happens after sex shape how satisfied couples remain over time?On this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Dr. Andrea Meltzer, Professor of Social Psychology at Florida State University, to explore the science of attraction, mate choice, sexual satisfactio
7 Surprising Things Your Voice Reveals About You with Dr. Greg Bryant | #14
What does your voice say before you even finish a sentence?Long before someone processes your words, their brain has already begun decoding your voice. In a fraction of a second, people can make surprisingly accurate judgments about your age, biological sex, emotional state, health, native language, and even aspects of your social relationships. The fascinating part? Most of this happens automatic
Why Women Compete Differently Than Men with Dr. Khandis Blake | #13
Are women really less competitive than men, or have we been measuring competition the wrong way?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Dr. Khandis Blake, PhD, evolutionary psychologist and researcher, to explore how hormones, competition, confidence, mate preferences, and modern environments shape women's behavior in ways that are often misunderstood.Why do women compete diff
The Wellness Industry Isn't Making Us Healthier with Sarah Ann Macklin | #12
We have more health information than ever before, yet we're getting sicker, more stressed, and more overwhelmed. So what's missing?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill welcomes Sarah Ann Macklin, registered nutritionist, former international model, host of Live Well Be Well, and author of Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard. Together, they explore why today's $8.5 trillion wellness industry is
Why Are We So Lonely Despite Being So Connected? with Dr. Bill von Hippel | #11
We're more connected than any generation in history, yet loneliness continues to rise. What happened?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Dr. Bill von Hippel, evolutionary psychologist and bestselling author of The Social Paradox, to explore why the very freedoms that define modern life may also be driving us further apart.Why does modern life leave so many people feeling i
Why Dating Apps Make Commitment Harder | #10 Dr. Cari Goetz
Dating apps promised more choice. But what if more choice is making relationships harder to build?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Dr. Cari Goetz, evolutionary psychologist and relationship researcher, to explore the psychology of mate switching, online dating, sexual exploitability, casual sex, and the hidden forces shaping modern relationships.Cari explains how humans
The Dirty Little Secret of Female Friendship — What Science Actually Says
| #9 Dr. Tania Reynolds
If a friend is gossiping to you, she's probably gossiping about you too. That's the unsettling rule of thumb Dr. Tania Reynolds lives by—and in this episode, she explains why. In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Reynolds, a social psychologist and leading researcher on female friendship, cooperation, and competition, to unpack the evolutionary science behind how women buil
The Study That Got Pulled From CNN: How your hormones affect you | #8 with Dr. Kristina Durante
How much of your behavior is shaped by biology without you even realizing it? From the clothes you choose to the people you find attractive, your hormones may be influencing more than you think.In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with evolutionary psychologist Dr. Kristina Durante to unpack the fascinating science behind hormones, decision-making, consumer behavior, relationshi
We're in an Age of Hormonal Hypocrisy | #7 with Dr. Lara Briden
Why are women told their hormones are essential at 45 — that losing them is a health crisis, that we must replace them to protect our brains and bones and hearts — while those same hormones are routinely shut down in women in their 20s with barely a second thought?That contradiction is at the center of today's conversation. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.On Today’s Episode, Dr. Sarah Hill
How to Build Strong Adult Friendships That Last | #6 with Dr. Jaimie Krems
Why is making friends as an adult so difficult—and why are female friendships often both deeply supportive and unexpectedly complicated?Friendship may be one of the most overlooked public health assets we have. Yet it's also one of the least studied areas of psychology. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with UCLA friendship researcher Dr. Jaimie Krems to unpack the science behind why frien
Female Pleasure, Explained | #5 with Dr. Cindy Meston
Female sexuality is far more complex and fascinating than we’ve been taught.In this episode of The XX Lab with Sarah Hill, Sarah sits down with pioneering sexuality researcher Dr. Cindy Meston to unpack the science of female desire, arousal, orgasm, menopause, antidepressants, birth control, and the psychology behind what actually creates satisfying sex for women.From groundbreaking lab research m
Trust Yourself and Stop Overthinking | #3 with Gabby Reece
What if the life you’re chasing is already inside you?In this episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with Gabby Reece to explore how self-trust, curiosity, and resilience shape a meaningful life. From growing up “feral” to navigating elite sports, modeling, motherhood, and marriage, Gabby shares how tuning out noise and listening inward became her greatest advantage.They unpack the differ
How to Finally Feel Loved | #2 with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky
What if the thing you’re craving most isn’t happiness, but feeling truly loved?In this deeply honest conversation, Dr. Sarah Hill sits down with happiness researcher Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky to unpack the science of happiness, connection, and why so many people feel unseen even when surrounded by others. From gratitude practices and social comparison to the hidden psychology of relationships, this ep
Your Fertility Isn’t Just About Age | #4 with Dr. Natalie Crawford
What if infertility is not just about getting pregnant, but one of the earliest warning signs that something deeper is happening in the body?In this episode of The XX Lab with Dr. Sarah Hill, Sarah sits down with double-board certified fertility specialist Dr. Natalie Crawford to unpack the science of ovulation, egg quality, chronic inflammation, stress, PCOS, endometriosis, and the hidden factors
The Science of Being a Woman | #1
What if the reason so many women feel anxious, burned out, and disconnected isn’t personal failure… but a misunderstanding of what women actually need?In this inaugural episode of The XX Lab, Dr. Sarah Hill shares the deeply personal story behind the show and the science that transformed the way she understands herself, relationships, motherhood, ambition, and modern womanhood. Drawing from more t
Coming Soon
June 1st
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