Halle Berry is Your New Sex Ed Teacher

Summary

Podcast Summary: Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know Episode: Halle Berry is Your New Sex Ed Teacher
Release Date: March 5, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know, Hasan Minhaj engages in a candid and enlightening conversation with the acclaimed actress Halle Berry. The discussion traverses Halle's illustrious career, her personal battles with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and her passionate advocacy for menopause education through her company, Respin. This episode delves deep into societal stigmas surrounding menopause and aging, offering listeners profound insights into topics often shrouded in silence.

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2. Social Media Dynamics and "Reply Guys"

Sean McLaughlin initiates the conversation by addressing Halle's significant Instagram presence, noting her 9 million followers. He introduces the concept of "reply guys," referring to persistent male followers who comment on every post.

• Sean McLaughlin [00:39]: "You have 9 million Instagram followers. Are you familiar with what reply guys are?"
• Halle Berry [00:20]: "But are they bots?"

The dialogue uncovers the blurred lines between genuine admirers and automated bots, highlighting the challenges public figures face in managing their online interactions.

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3. Reflections on Halle Berry's Career

Sean offers a tribute to Halle Berry's groundbreaking achievements in Hollywood, emphasizing her role as a trailblazer.

• Sean McLaughlin [01:20]: "If you don't know who Halle Berry is, Halle Berry is a legend. In 2002, she was the first black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress."

The conversation touches upon her diverse roles—from Storm in X-Men to her iconic portrayal of Catwoman—and her resilience in the face of critical reception, such as attending to collect her Razzie alongside her Oscar.

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4. Personal Experiences with Menopause

A significant portion of the episode centers on Halle Berry's personal journey through menopause, a topic seldom discussed openly.

• Halle Berry [06:09]: "It is my second act mission. Right. It's what wakes me up in the morning. It's what keeps me up at night."
• Sean McLaughlin [06:36]: "I thought some women could skip it...".

Halle recounts her harrowing experience when she believed she had contracted herpes, only to discover it was a manifestation of menopause-related symptoms. This misdiagnosis underscores the pervasive lack of awareness and education surrounding menopause.

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5. Stigmatization and Lack of Education on Menopause

The conversation delves into the societal stigmas that prevent open discussions about menopause.

• Halle Berry [12:15]: "Nobody talks to us about it because one, there's no education, there's no research around it."
• Sean McLaughlin [18:19]: "Why do we have this obsession with new love and not old love...".

Halle emphasizes that menopause is not merely a biological event but a significant life transition that affects various aspects of a woman's health and well-being. The lack of comprehensive education contributes to misinformation and unnecessary suffering.

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6. Founding Respin: Rebranding Menopause

Halle Berry introduces her venture, Respin, dedicated to transforming the narrative around menopause.

• Halle Berry [15:26]: "We're not going to sell their information... a safe place to come open up."
• Sean McLaughlin [14:49]: "Thanks for the launch...".

Respin aims to provide a supportive community, comprehensive education, and necessary resources to empower women navigating menopause. The platform seeks to destigmatize the experience and advocate for more research and clinical studies.

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7. Societal Attitudes Towards Aging Women

The discussion extends to the broader societal perceptions of aging, especially for women in Western cultures.

• Halle Berry [17:11]: "We're turning into monsters in that eternal search for youth...".
• Sean McLaughlin [13:41]: "Why do we have this obsession with new love and not old love...".

Halle critiques the relentless pursuit of youth perpetuated by media and societal standards, arguing that it diminishes the value and desirability of older women. She juxtaposes this with cultural attitudes in countries like India, where aging is associated with wisdom and respect rather than obsolescence.

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8. Cultural Perspectives on Aging and Menopause

Exploring cross-cultural insights, Halle and Sean compare Western attitudes with those of Indian culture.

• Halle Berry [19:21]: "I saw his aura...".
• Sean McLaughlin [19:13]: "What is it like for women in India?...".

They discuss how Indian traditions honor elders, fostering a sense of respect and continuity, contrasting sharply with the Western tendency to marginalize aging individuals. Halle shares her experiences in India, highlighting the cultural shift she envisions through her advocacy.

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9. The Call for Increased Research and Awareness

Halle underscores the urgent need for more scientific research and public awareness about menopause.

• Halle Berry [23:33]: "We need way more studies...".
• Sean McLaughlin [24:14]: "Even the idea of reproduction and sex ed...".

She highlights that only a fraction of doctors understand menopause comprehensively, emphasizing the disparity in clinical attention compared to male-centric studies. Halle advocates for federal funding and sustained efforts to bridge this knowledge gap.

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10. Conclusion and Final Insights

The episode concludes with Halle Berry reflecting on her mission to educate and support women through menopause. She expresses a profound sense of purpose, driven by both personal experiences and a commitment to societal change.

• Halle Berry [30:09]: "You also lose your ability to have any fucks left to give."
• Sean McLaughlin [31:46]: "There's so much for all of us to learn."

Halle's optimism shines through as she navigates the challenges of menopause, positioning it not only as a physical transition but also as a journey towards self-empowerment and societal awareness.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Halle Berry [06:09]: "It is my second act mission. Right. It's what wakes me up in the morning. It's what keeps me up at night."

• Halle Berry [17:11]: "We're turning into monsters in that eternal search for youth and to stay eternally 35... it's heartbreaking for me because I know I can't stay eternally 35."

• Sean McLaughlin [24:14]: "Even the idea of reproduction and sex ed. It's basically a middle school thing... kids are not prepared for what's coming."

• Halle Berry [30:26]: "You lose your patience, and you also lose your ability to have any fucks left to give."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know serves as a vital conversation starter on menopause and the broader issues of aging and femininity in modern society. Halle Berry's openness and advocacy illuminate the need for greater awareness, education, and support for women navigating this natural life stage. Through Respin, she not only addresses personal challenges but also spearheads a movement towards destigmatizing menopause, fostering a more inclusive and understanding society.

Transcript

[Halle Berry]

We're so done with New Year. New you this year it's More youe on Bumble. More of you shamelessly sending playlists, especially that one filled with show tunes. More of you finding Geminis because you know you always like them. More of you dating with intention because you know what you want. And you know what? We love that for you, someone else will too. Be more you this year and find them on Bumblebee. Get the Angel REEF special at McDonald's. Now, let's break it down. My favorite barbecue sauce, American cheese, crispy bacon, pickles, onions, and a sesame seed bun, of course. And don't forget the fries and the drinks. Sound good?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I participate in restaurants for a limited time. You're very popular on Instagram. You have 9 million Instagram followers. Are you familiar with what reply guys are?

[Halle Berry]

No.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, so reply guys are people on the Internet that are mouth breathing lurkers that generally reply to every single post a woman puts on the Internet.

[Halle Berry]

But are they bots?

[Sean McLaughlin]

These are real people.

[Halle Berry]

Oh, okay. I know about bots.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Let's show some of the reply guys for Halle Berry.

[Halle Berry]

But are they real people or are they bots?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, I think. Let's take a look.

[Halle Berry]

They're bots.

[Sean McLaughlin]

How you doing, baby girl?

[Halle Berry]

Heart.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Hundred percent real person. I want to say unequivocal cree.

[Halle Berry]

I wanted to know how I was doing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Sean McLaughlin, 77, writes. Marry me. Just fishing. Just really. There's these other guys that are the like guys. They will just go to your profile and like. They're not replying, but they are liking. Look at this guy, Ronny Chang. You're jumping on the beach. Liked by Ronny Chang.

[Halle Berry]

He just likes me.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Here's you as Catwoman. Ronn, this man is married.

[Halle Berry]

Do you not go on social media and like things?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I would like and add a comment that adds exposition or necessary context.

[Halle Berry]

But you couldn't just like it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Blind liking.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, you couldn't do that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No blind liking.

[Halle Berry]

No blind liking.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No blind liking on a Catwoman costume. But if you said it's World Orange Health Education, Math Day.

[Halle Berry]

Well, I do it all wrong because I like whatever I want to like. Because I am in menopause and I have no fucks to give.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You have no fucks to give.

[Halle Berry]

And I like whatever I want to like.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I have so many fucks to keep. In many ways, Hollywood is a microcosm of America. It's dominated by fantasy, violence and greed. And it treats women over 35 like a Class 3 biohazard. One Hollywood actor is leading an effort to change that last part. I'm talking about Halle Berry. For any Gen Zs watching this right now, if you don't know who Halle Berry is, Halle Berry is a legend. In 2002, she was the first black woman to win the Oscar for Best actress. She was Storm in X Men. She was a Bond girl. She was even Catwoman. And even though that movie was critically panned, she showed up to collect her razzie in person, holding her Oscar legend. Since then, she has continued to challenge herself with demanding physical roles, both as an actor and even as a director. But now Halle Berry is 58 years old, which in Hollywood is known as legally dead. That up belief. That belief that older women aren't valuable to society is the villain that Halle Berry wants to fight next. She is fully leaning into her second act as an advocate for menopause education, hosting a masterclass, lobbying for more research and education around menopause, even launching a new company called Respin, whose mission is to rebrand menopause and support women in the second half of their life. So I sat down with Halle Berry to learn more about why she's making menopause her passion and to fill in some of my own knowledge gaps on it. I mean, there were a lot of gaps. It was pretty much all gaps before the interview. Let's take care of some business. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Go to this exclusive web address to try ZipRecruiter for free. That's ZipRecruiter.com Hustle ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire. You've had an illustrious, amazing career. You're the first black woman to win an Oscar. You have been name dropped hundreds of times in various, various rap songs.

[Halle Berry]

That's my greatest accomplishment.

[Sean McLaughlin]

But let's talk about a critical moment in 2003. I'm talking about the time that you kissed Fred Durst in the Limp Bizkit 2003 music video.

[Halle Berry]

No, you didn't.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Behind Blue eyes.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, let's talk about that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Let's talk about that.

[Halle Berry]

How did that happen?

[Sean McLaughlin]

This had a. This had a profound impact on Fred Durst. And we found some footage of him talking about this moment.

[Halle Berry]

Oh, no.

[Sean McLaughlin]

In this BTS clip, as soon as.

[Halle Berry]

Our lips locked together and that kiss started, it was like I was just gone. It was like the flare fireworks and all that crap, you know, Tweety Bird riding a polka dotted pony around my head. It was good, man. It was good every single time. So silly.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, I have to ask what? Did you also have the feeling as well? Or looking back on it now, is it more of like a wah, wah? Like what?

[Halle Berry]

No, not wah, wah. No, no, no. He was a really. A really good guy, and that was a fun day, and I was really happy to be there when we found that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I'm like, this is hilarious. Okay, all jokes aside, I really do believe this is a massively pivotal moment in your career because you are using your platform and you were using your lived experience to talk about menopause, education and how we talk about aging in America. Why did you dedicate this chapter of your life to this particular cause?

[Halle Berry]

First, I'll say it is pivotal. It is my second act mission. Right. It's what wakes me up in the morning. It's what keeps me up at night. It is that important to me. And I think the impetus was when I found out in the most horrific way.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

That I was in perimenopause. I realized that nobody had even talked to me about. About menopause. Like, I didn't even think I would necessarily go through menopause. So I realized.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Wait, Louis, you really believe that?

[Halle Berry]

I really believe that. That's how little I knew. That's how zero people had ever talked to me about it. Nobody ever said, you know, you're going to go through menopause. Right. My mother never talked to me about it. My doctors never talk to me about it in any sensitive way. I knew that women went through it, but I didn't know that every woman went through it. I really thought some women could skip it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I read in an interview you were with your physician, and you describe it in a pretty graphic way of what was the conversation that happened.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah. You want to hear it?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yes.

[Halle Berry]

Are you sure?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I mean, yeah.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, yeah. Well, I had just met the man of my life, my partner. I have now. We had the best sex two people could have. I was like, Ooh, I'm 54 years old. Life is great. Everything's still working. I found my guy just in time. Wake up in the next morning, I go to the bathroom, and I cannot use the bathroom. I cannot empty my bladder. It is so excruciatingly painful. And I'm just sitting there, like, trying to let it out, let it out. And it's. I have no idea. I'm like, what? Last night? It was like, talk about last night. That's what it was. And now I'm in the most pain I've ever felt. So right away, Coran takes me to the doctor, I go to the Doctor. And I'm like, I don't know what this is, but told him the same thing I just told you. He looks up there and he says, well, I know what this is. This is a really bad case of herpes. I'm like, herpes? What do you mean, herpes? I don't have herpes. He goes, I've seen a lot of these. You know, this looks like a bad case of herpes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

This must have thrown a huge wrench in your relationship.

[Halle Berry]

Oh, my God. It's like one year. And, you know, at this point, I thought, you know, this is my guy. And I thought, well, he should have been able to tell me about this. Like, herpes. You should have. Should have told me. Not that it's a deal breaker. People live with herpes all the time. But, you know, God damn. Isn't this something you should be told? First thing I say when I get downstairs, I open the door, hey, so you got herpes? He's like, no. And he goes, I'm like, yes, you do, because I have herpes. He says, I don't have herpes. I'm like, well, you do because I have herpes now. And he says, well, nobody ever told me I had herpes. I'm like, well, let me be the first to tell you. You have herpes. And now you have given it to me.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay? And this is an MD who gave you this diagnosis?

[Halle Berry]

Yes, yes, my doctor. And so my doctor said, you know, the test, the official test will come back in three days. So I had to wait for three days. But he was very sure this is what it was. But for 72 hours, what we went through, a new couple. Like, we just shouldn't have to go through that because we were questioning each other's, like, loyalty. You're that mean?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Where you guys both have the gun at each other.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, yeah, it's the herpes gun at.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You have it. You have it.

[Halle Berry]

You have it. No, you have.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no, you have it.

[Halle Berry]

No, you have it. You have it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, you haven't.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah. And so he gets the call first from his doct. He does not have it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay?

[Halle Berry]

So of course, he looks at me and he says, well, I don't have it. So over to you. You have it, and I don't have it. So then I'm thinking, oh, shit, I have it. I never knew I had it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So he's on I told you so, Mountain.

[Halle Berry]

He's on I told you so, Mountain, you have herpes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Halle Berry]

This big.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay?

[Halle Berry]

He's like, all right, that's a you problem?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Herpes. Hot potato.

[Halle Berry]

So glad I know now.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

For like, a few hours before my doctor calls me, I'm just feeling really bad about myself. And then finally my doctor calls me and he says the same thing. He says, well, you don't have it. And I said, I don't. I'm like, you sure? He's like, no, you don't have it. And I. Here's the pivotal moment. I said, then what is it? And he said, I don't know. And that's when that was my aha moment. And I thought, you don't know. Okay, well, I bet I'm going to go on a reconnaissance mission and figure out for myself what this is. If you don't know, because this is terrible.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, so take me through that journey. So you're in. I don't know.

[Halle Berry]

I'm in. I don't know. I get on the Internet.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

Start Googling.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. This is not a good.

[Halle Berry]

It's not a good thing, but you can go down a rabbit hole. But it gave me enough information to start to put some pieces together. And I started talking to some other people that I knew and that I trusted, other women, sort of about my age, and started asking, do you ever have an issue having sex anymore? And then the minute I started asking the question, people started to say, yeah, are you having problems? Is it happening to you? And I was like, tell me what's happening. Tell me more. And then I realized that within my circle of friends, like, four of them kind of had a similar thing happening to them. And then that led me down that path of what did we have in common? Well, our age, kind of the same age. Put that in, you know, ChatGPT and Google, and started figuring it out. And then I realized that this was a very common symptom of menopause. 60% of women have dry vagina, dry mouth, dry eyes. It's very common. But yet my doctor never thought.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Did you even think of entering the M word?

[Halle Berry]

No.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Into the Google search?

[Halle Berry]

No, no. I thought of some other word all the time.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Something won't work. And I'll just go, is this cancer? You're gonna be like, my left eye is twitching. Is this cancer?

[Halle Berry]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Did you even. Because Google has a thing where it finishes the sentence. You weren't even going there.

[Halle Berry]

Was I? Menopause? Never crossed my mind.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Do you think this is. I mean, we're quite literally talking about the symptom, but let's. Let's zoom out and look at the macro problem. Why do you think fellow women, colleagues, other people that you know in society around this age, why don't, why don't they talk about it?

[Halle Berry]

Talk about it? Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Why do you, did you think about why this isn't a thing that's mentioned between you and girlfriends?

[Halle Berry]

Yeah. Well, one, there's no education around it, right. Nobody talks to us about it. So why would it be a thing that we would bring up? Right. And nobody talks to us about it because one, there's no education, there's no research around it. I mean, doctors only have a chapter in Medical School. Only 13% of the doctors in our country, America, understand the menopause. So who's talking with us about it? Nobody. Our mothers didn't talk to us about it. You know, so we don't even have an awareness of what it is. But for those that do understand or have heard it, it's so stigmatized. It's the last thing you want to have. It's the last thing you want to talk about. You don't want your guy to know because why? It's inextricably attached to aging and being old. And as women we've been taught by this society of, you know, our western society that we no longer have value, you know, we're no longer desirable. We have no place in the workforce anymore. It's time for us to go out to pasture and just basically disappear. So who wants to connect with that shit? Totally nobody.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, I saw you do this interview and you said men get sexy, women get old.

[Halle Berry]

You know, you guys become gray Silver fox.

[Sean McLaughlin]

No, no. But, but Halle, I want to respectfully push back here. There's like, there's three guys in Hollywood that get sexy as they get older. That's like George Clooney. If you've been to a dick sporting good in the Midwest, it's rough out here for the 50 plus. You got motherfuckers walking out here with a bald cul de sac on their head pot belly.

[Halle Berry]

But you know what? That pot belly bald guy could pull a 30 year old.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, but that's, he could. But Halle, this should be criminal. And that's another thing I wanted to ask you.

[Halle Berry]

Should be criminal?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. Because this whole thing about older men than getting 25 year old girlfriends and then getting them pregnant is weird and I think they should go to the Hague. Respectfully, it should be.

[Halle Berry]

But you know, until they are, that's a part of our culture that's real and it's a part of it that continues to sort of make us as women Feel like we're old. We have. And if we get a younger partner, think about how that's stigmatized. Then we gotta be called cougars. We have to have some negative connotation to the fact that we're like in our 50s. But if we still feel good, look good, we can go get a 30 year old. Somehow we're demonized for doing or something is wrong with us. I say you can go get a. If that's. You can do that girl, go, go do that. But that's not how society views that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So let's talk about respin a little bit and, and, and why this became, this became such a big mission statement for you. By the way, congratulations on the launch.

[Halle Berry]

Thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I went to the website.

[Halle Berry]

Thank you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Me and our producer Scott, we went on the website. Thanks.

[Halle Berry]

So you, did you read anything on that website?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, the first thing that, the first button that came up is this connect and learn in a private community. And my first thought was, is this a community that will cut me off from my family and can I join your cult? That was my first thought.

[Halle Berry]

Will it cut you off from your family?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, well, it's, well it just says come and join our private community. So like my, my brain immediately went to I can no longer talk to my loved ones. There will be an island. Halle Berry is the priestess.

[Halle Berry]

And I'm okay with that, by the way. No, that just means that what happens there, it's like Vegas. What happens in there stays in there. That you have a safe. Women have a safe private place. We're not going to sell their information. We're not going to put it on the Internet. We're not going to use it in any obtrusive way that they have a safe place to come open up, say whatever they need to say and join forces with other women.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. You know, I love doing this show. I get to interview all kinds of interesting guests and hang out with my amazing crew. Like Austin over here. Fun fact, he once went completely blind for three whole months. Hire experienced people who are excited about what they do. Like Austin. With ZipRecruiter you see a candidate who'd be perfect for your job. ZipRecruiter's pre written invite to apply messages let you personally reach out to your favorite candidates. It's the hiring site employers prefer the Most based on G2. Go to this exclusive web address to try ZipRecruiter for free. It's ZipRecruiter.comhusn ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire don't use your trigger finger. You sneak around like this, you are presented with a very difficult challenge. I'll tell you, this is going to be one of the toughest journeys of your career because it's not just about aging or rebranding menopause or even educating people. It is extremely difficult to talk about aging in Western society. Western society specifically values.

[Halle Berry]

Youth. Yeah. And you know what? It's evident as we walk around in our country. I am horrified by what I see women doing to their bodies and their faces. We're turning into monsters in that eternal search for youth and to stay eternally 35, because that's what we are taught our society values. And that's heartbreaking. That's heartbreaking for me because I know I can't stay eternally 35. And to be made to feel that I have to in order to hold onto my value is scary. It's really scary.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Can I ask, why do we have, in Western storytelling, why do we have this obsession with new love and not old love, new romance, but not seasoned romance? Young people moving to a city and doing it for the first time over people acquiring pain and suffering and heartbreak and wisdom. Why do we. I don't know.

[Halle Berry]

I was asking you.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Like, my IMDb isn't deep enough. I wanted to ask you.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah. Japanese, like, I know that this exists, and I think it will continue to exist until people start standing up and we start realizing. But that's not sustainable. Right. That's why I think we're turning into mantras. I think we're starting to realize that theory is really not something that in the long run is.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, for me, in Indian culture, you know, quite literally. Again, we. If you go back to India to visit, which I love, family members. Yeah. I mean, you'll literally do this and you'll touch the feet of your elders as a sign of respect and then they'll pat your head almost to be like, hey, you don't have to do that. Thank you so much. It's like it's a sign of mutual respect.

[Halle Berry]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You still know your, your dadaji is crazy, right? But you respect his wisdom and you, you respect what he's been through. I.

[Halle Berry]

Well, what is it like for women in, in India? Like, how do, how do women age there? I'm very fascinated by this. I'm going to do a show soon, going around the world to learn this.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I can't speak for the, for a woman's experience, and I certainly shouldn't make that mistake of speaking for an Indian woman's. Experience. But I will say this. I was thinking about us sitting down today and I thought about. Oh, even the idea of death in America is a very scary concept. What I mean by that is if you grow up with your family in India, your extended family is around you as well. So your nana, your nani, your dada, your dadaji, they've died in your home, they've died in the room next to you. But here in America, old people die in these, like, senior living centers. So it becomes this spooky dorm for older people. Whereas this idea of death in people dying. Several people have died in, you know, my family's childhood home. It's just. It's a part of. And then you sleep on that bed. Like it's not a.

[Halle Berry]

It's not a thing.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, yeah. It's not like a miniseries about how the bedroom is haunted. Like, it is a part of life. And so.

[Halle Berry]

And does that make you feel closer to them even though they've passed on to sleep in the bed that they transitioned?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah. It just. It also makes me feel like I know the kind of, like the chain of life. I'm, you know, a young adult. I become an adult, I become midlife, and I become a great. And that's part of life.

[Halle Berry]

And you know what?

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's not foreign.

[Halle Berry]

No. And you know what? I think I know this too. When I go to India, I have this feeling like I've been there before. I just went to Kerala not long ago and I had. I went to a wellness retreat there and I had this. I call him my swami. But I did like a four hour meditation with him and he told me that I had my third eye opening. And it was like a moment where I had a knowing that that happened. And he started to talk to me about what? The curse. The joys and the pleasure of this third eye opening.

[Sean McLaughlin]

You said you could feel his aura. I read that you could feel his aura.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, I saw his aura.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

Saw it. And he said it would be a blessing and a curse. And it has been a blessing and a curse. I see things more clearly. The curse is I have to act on it. And this takes you back to why am I doing what I'm doing for re spin. I saw the need and I had to do something about it, even if it meant trying to start a company, raising money. I've never done this stuff before, but I had a knowing that this is a problem and I will die trying to change the lives of women. I got a calling that I knew was Just meant for me to do. And it comes from you being in touch with that cycle of life. We're here. We're born, we're here to live, and we're here to die. But because I believe we come back, dying isn't so scary. You know, I might fulfill my purpose here. I'll either come back or I won't come back. If I have another purpose to fulfill, I will, and I'll come back and I'll do that. So it's not scary to me as an artist.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Have you always been comfortable with death?

[Halle Berry]

Always been.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Always.

[Halle Berry]

I've never even experienced death of anybody that I really deeply loved. That hasn't happened yet my whole life.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Are you serious?

[Halle Berry]

I'm serious. Yeah. Not a death. I mean, estrangement and people, you know, leaving my life for one reason or another, which is another form of a death. But not a death death like a final death. No. Nobody I really, really care about.

[Sean McLaughlin]

It's really interesting. Yeah. That's something that again, I'm again, very, very used to.

[Halle Berry]

But I'm not afraid of it. But I'm not afraid of it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

That's awesome. Not afraid of it. I also wanna, just, just real quick. I mean, I gotta give you your props for using your platform to focus on this issue specifically because there's. There's a lot of very powerful people and celebrities of your stature that get to a certain point in their career and then all of a sudden launch a podcast. I'm. I'm Martin Sheen from the West Wing, and this is my podcast called We're Saving Democracy now, live from my guest bedroom in East Hampton. We're going to talk to thought leaders and figure out what the hell's going on. I mean, I just think that that's a good podcast. No, no, but Halle, it's not a good podcast because it's people that are high, highly emotional, but have. Have low kind of information. Yeah, but you, you've. You've really spent a lot of time learning about this and, and I surround yourself with experts.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah. I'm gonna say I have low information too. Why? Because there's low information in the world about it. We need way more studies. We need more dollars to. To do clinical trials and studies. And then we need to get it out to women. We need time to observe women, like, and sort of download this into our IA data bank so that we can start up, so we can start to understand what it is for a woman to be in menopause. And we won't know that. And for Years and years until we can actually focus on studying women and seeing why things happen the way they happen. Why some women go through it differently than other women. Like, we have to study this for a while.

[Sean McLaughlin]

I was wondering just to double click on that. Are you saying that the majority of even clinical trials just happen on men and they don't do it?

[Halle Berry]

Yeah, well, we know that, like, we weren't involved in clinical trials until 1993.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Right, right. I was also thinking about this too, which is just even the idea of reproduction and sex ed. And sex. It's basically a middle school thing. Like, here's what I learned. I learned about pre cum. I learned that pre cum gets girls pregnant. And then they gave us a sack of flour that's supposed to be a baby in case to make us avoid teenage pregnancy. I don't know if you got.

[Halle Berry]

And they made you carry.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So the boys had to carry around a sack of flour or like a sack of sugar. And it did not work. Like people, like, I mean, we're talking about sixth grade boys.

[Halle Berry]

Yes, yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So some of the boys would drop kick the baby. Some of us at lunch would like.

[Halle Berry]

Shoot the baby through a basketball hoop or she was.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah, it was crazy. And then. And then it stops.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So that's like age 10 and then that's it.

[Halle Berry]

Did you learn anything about the vagina or just the penis and the precomb?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Learn about the vagina? We learned about the uterus. We learned the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes. It got very scientific.

[Halle Berry]

Did you learn about puberty?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Of course.

[Halle Berry]

In boys and girls, Totally.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Puberty, fallopian tubes, vasodeferens.

[Halle Berry]

Yes.

[Sean McLaughlin]

A lot of, like, very fun, scientific words.

[Halle Berry]

Yeah.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So this is a problem. The fact that my sex had stopped at sixth grade, the fact that I'm 39 years old, I have a partner. We have not talked about menopause. We've had two beautiful children. But menopause is coming. And so I was like, you know, I've taken the sat. I've taken the SAT too. I've taken my star tests of like, can you read? Can you do algebra? But I need someone to give me a menopause assessment test. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my menopause assessment exam, administered by Proctor Aliberi.

[Halle Berry]

What is menopause?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Menopause is when a woman stops shedding her uterine lining. What?

[Halle Berry]

That's part of it, but that's not it. And that's not necessarily all of it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay, give it. Okay, give it.

[Halle Berry]

So when you stop shedding your Uterine lining. You're saying you have no longer having a period, right?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Correct.

[Halle Berry]

That's not true. Because there's a thing called pre menopause perimenopause, the menopause and post menopause. Menopause is just not one stage. There's sort of five stages of it.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. And all of this is included in the menopause.

[Halle Berry]

Menopause. It's all menopause. Yeah, it's all menopause.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Gotcha.

[Halle Berry]

It's the stages of menopause, Pre peri. The menopause, and then post. Is menopause a disease?

[Sean McLaughlin]

No.

[Halle Berry]

No. What is it?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Something that should be celebrated at all costs. I don't know.

[Halle Berry]

You heard something that should be celebrated at all costs. At what age does menopause start?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Whatever age a woman wants it to start at. I'm trying. Halle is.

[Halle Berry]

I would want it to start never, and I don't get to do that.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Halle Berry]

What if you want it to start never? It's still coming.

[Sean McLaughlin]

60. It starts at 60.

[Halle Berry]

Starts at 60.

[Sean McLaughlin]

55.

[Halle Berry]

A normal woman could theoretically go into perimenopause in her late 30s when her I told you, baby making years is 25 to 35. That's when that estrogen starts plummeting. When that time of our lives are over and it can start that early. How many years do women experience symptoms before and after the menopause? So that's in peri and in post. And it's about the same. I gave you a cheat. 10 to 15 on either side.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

Well, that's probably the closest right answer you have.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Really. Okay.

[Halle Berry]

What is can be from 10 years before you can experience symptoms for 10 years in post, I mean, in perimenopause. And then you can experience symptoms up to 10 years after the menopause when you're in post. So what that means is a woman could potentially have symptoms of menopause for two decades. That's 20 years of her life.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay.

[Halle Berry]

That statistic blew my mind. Such a chunk of our life and to not have our bodies studied and for us to have so little information for a time of life where we could suffer for 20 years.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

And all the things that that suffering can do to us. Early onset Alzheimer's, dementia, heart attack, osteoporine, osteoporosis, stroke, diabetes, like, but we're just not studying.

[Sean McLaughlin]

So. So what's next then? And what are the. I mean, 20 years is such a long time. Like you. That's a. That's like a PhD for your body.

[Halle Berry]

Yes. And not every woman will experience that long. But we do know science does tell us that black and brown women suffer longer and the symptoms are more severe. But not everybody will suffer for two decades.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. Right.

[Halle Berry]

I think probably. I don't know if I'm right, but from what I believe I've read, it's somewhere between four to five years on either side, averagely. But there are studies that show that women have done it for 10 years on either side. That could happen.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Okay. Mind blown.

[Halle Berry]

What are some things women lose during menopause? What do you think they lose?

[Sean McLaughlin]

Whatever is lost is gained through wisdom, experience, and age. Hallie, you understand that each of these questions is a setup to a heterosexual man? No.

[Halle Berry]

Just think about it. What do you think they lose?

[Sean McLaughlin]

I would say perhaps, and I'm just only imagining because I've seen this in my parents. Bone density, some organ function, I would imagine, and muscle mass, maybe. That's my best guess.

[Halle Berry]

Those are good.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Yeah.

[Halle Berry]

You also lose hair. You lose your patience, and you also lose your ability to have any fucks left to give.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Holy shit.

[Halle Berry]

That's a good side of it, though. You know, it's not all bad going through menopause, actually. There are some really beautiful parts of it, and that's one of the good parts of it. You have no more fucks to give. And that's something that. To look forward to.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, that was my assessment exam. How did I do?

[Halle Berry]

I think you did like most men would do.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Horribly.

[Halle Berry]

Not horribly, but there's still a lot to learn for all of us. There's a lot. We do this, you know, as a joke, but there's so much for all of us to learn. Like, I'm just a student. I'm learning myself. I'm trying to absorb as much as I can. You know, I'm trying to fight in Washington to get federal dollars so we can keep learning, so that we can keep educating ourselves. That's what it's all about.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Well, Halle Berry, thank you so much.

[Halle Berry]

Thank you so much. This was lovely.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Thank you. This was a lovely conversation.

[Halle Berry]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being so open.

[Sean McLaughlin]

Of course.

[Halle Berry]

About the subject.

[Sean McLaughlin]

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