For centuries, women have been dismissed as emotional and, thus, unreliable. The “scientific” proof? Hormones. This stereotype even extends to female rats, which have been excluded from biomedical research because their hormones supposedly make the results “messy.” But a Northeastern professor has found that these dreaded chemicals could actually cure certain mental health disorders. Now that’s something to get emotional about.

In this episode, we talk to Rebecca Shansky (associate professor of psychology and director of The Shansky Lab).