Vault: The Debate Over "Manstration" Is Heating Up

Summary

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The Bert Show – "Vault: The Debate Over 'Manstration' Is Heating Up"

Release Date: July 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this flashback episode of The Bert Show, the cast dives into a lively, tongue-in-cheek debate about whether men experience their own form of an emotional or hormonal "cycle," paralleling the menstrual cycle women experience. They dub this phenomenon "manstration." What begins as a light, wine-fueled chat about grumpiness in relationships quickly spirals into a broader discussion about gender, hormones, and science—mixed with the show's trademark humor, playful banter, and some memorable listener call-ins.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Relationship Mood Patterns & Origins of the Debate

[01:30–03:18]

• Bert recounts noticing that he and his partner both get "snappy" or bicker over trivial issues at the same time—prompting questions about whether men's emotions also run in cycles.
• Observes that arguments escalate only when both partners are "in grumpy moods"—suggesting possible synchronization.

Bert: "The fights start when we're both feeling grumpy... next thing you know, you're in a 10-minute fight about nonsense." [02:17]

2. Do Men Have Emotional Cycles?

[03:18–06:31]

• The debate surfaces among friends: is it coincidence, or do men actually have cycles affecting mood?
• Co-hosts playfully acknowledge scientific cycles in nature (moon, tides, menstrual cycles) and question why men would be exempt.
• Carl and Jeff offer friendly skepticism, noting the lack of physical markers for men.

Carl: "You let us just have something of our own." [03:20]
Jeff: "Because through science you can prove the cycle of these other things." [04:48]

• Bert proposes an experiment: male hosts (and friends) chart daily mood for 90 days to see if a cyclical pattern emerges.

Bert: "All you have to do is put a smile or a frown... on a calendar on how you're feeling that day. ...We'll start to see if there's a pattern developing." [05:53]

3. Listener Calls: Anecdotes and “Manstration” Experiences

[06:31–09:07]

• Candy (Caller): Suggests men experience "andropause," a midlife drop in testosterone similar to menopause.

• Co-hosts joke about whether this is scientific fact or just men wanting "to be included."

• Bert wonders if men's grumpiness is cyclical or just situational.

• Ronnie (Caller): Claims personal experience with a 28-day emotional cycle, synced with the moon, affecting his mood for about a week each month.

Ronnie: "I have a cycle every 28 days... Sometimes I get grumpy, I'm like, really happy, I stress out... seen this with a lot of my friends." [07:56]

4. Science, Humor, and Gender Dynamics

[08:34–09:32]

• The cast references Gloria Steinem's satirical essay "If Men Could Menstruate," riffing on how men might "compete" if given the chance to have periods.
• Audrey (Caller) cites having read studies indicating men do have cyclical hormonal changes—but notes that mood swings can't always be traced to biology.

Audrey: "You do see a cyclical change... but it's not just, you guys can't just track when you're grumpy because grumpy happens for different reasons..." [09:07]

• Wendy humorously expresses the wish for men to feel the physical discomfort of periods, not just the grumpiness.

Wendy: "I want to know what days it happens on so I can just punch you in the stomach so you feel the pain too..." [09:42]

Carl (in response): "Cause she's on her period too." [09:56]

5. Mock-Solutions and Takeaways

[10:04–10:14]

• The group jokes about the possibility of their "manstration cycles" syncing up, drawing a parallel to myths about women synchronizing periods.
• They propose keeping a “feeling stream journal” in the office for collective tracking.

Bert: "Do you think... it'll be like a sorority, after a while our manstration cycles will start to line up?" [10:04]
Bert: "We should all go into your office with the candles and stuff and we should write in a feeling stream journal." [10:14]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:23] Carl: "No, I want to feel the cramps. That's what I want to share."
• [05:15] Carl: "You can actually measure [a woman’s] hormone levels throughout the month."
• [06:19] Wendy: "Guys are on some sort of cycle."
• [08:30] Jeff: "So for four or five days out of the month, you menstruate?"
• [08:31] Bert: "Manstration."
• [09:33] Carl (jokingly to Jeff): "Are you on your cycle today? I'm just man straitin', leave me alone."
• [09:56] Carl (about Wendy): "Cause she's on her period too."
• [10:04] Jeff: "Do you think... our manstration cycles will start to line up?"

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:30] Bert introduces the relationship mood cycle argument
• [03:18] Discussion begins on men having emotional cycles
• [05:53] Plan for the 90-day "manstration" tracking experiment
• [06:31] First listener call (Candy) introduces "andropause"
• [07:43] Second listener call (Ronnie) shares personal "manstration" experience
• [09:07] Third call (Audrey) references scientific studies on male cycles
• [09:42] Wendy pushes for men to experience the "pain" too
• [10:14] Mock proposal for a "feeling stream journal"

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Tone & Language

The episode is irreverent, banter-filled, and mixes real listener questions with playful skepticism and satirical takes on gender and science. The cast jokes freely, often making light of stereotypes, and is quick to poke fun at both themselves and each other.

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Summary

This Bert Show episode is a prime example of the cast’s ability to turn everyday relational observations into a hilarious, community-driven debate. Through listener stories, gentle ribbing, and mock-experiments, they explore the question of whether men experience a cyclical emotional state—"manstration"—mirroring the female menstrual cycle, all while keeping it lighthearted, relatable, and distinctly on brand for their "real and funny" style.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Host (Bert)]

The Birch show so Jessica and I were having a conversation, made some observations, and this could be just coincidence or whatever, but we have noticed that our snappy niche, like, you know when you're just bickering over stuff that's irrelevant, occurs at the same time. Now, the logical explanation is if she's in a grumpy mood and I'm not and she says something like, you know, whatever, she would say, oh my God, put your stuff in the dishwasher. Like, my response is just to laugh and go, I'm sorry, I forgot and go do it. And then if I'm in a grumpy mood and I say, oh my God, you parked the car, you blocked me in the driveway.

[Caller (Ronnie)]

Again.

[Host (Bert)]

And she's in a grump. She's like, oh my God, I'm sorry. And laughs and goes, moves it.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

Right.

[Host (Bert)]

The fights start when we're both feeling grumpy. You know, she's like, you always tell me where to park and you carry if you park over there, blah. And then next thing you know, you're in a 10 minute fight about nonsense. So we were having this conversation around friends, trying to determine if we just are noticing it, because the only time that we argue is when we're both in those grumpy moods and it's not really rare or if it's something different than it. We're just trying to figure it out. And it was a stupid, mindless discussion until the people we were talking to brought up something that I had heard before. And I said, if I can bring Bert in on this, and he agreed, the guy that was sitting with us will participate. We could in 90 days have the answer. But this couple remembers reading and believes that men have cycles that affect their emotions much like women do.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

I agree with that.

[Host (Bert)]

Now, obviously there's a whole.

[Co-host (Carl)]

You let us just have something of our own.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

I want it to be shared. No, please, please feel it.

[Co-host (Carl)]

No, I want to feel the cramps. That's what I want to share.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

It doesn't make any sense because the theory would be that women would be cranky during that time of the month. Each month when you have chemical things that are going on and you're hormonal things going on that guys don't have. So how does it equate?

[Co-host (Carl)]

Is this like sympathetic labor pains?

[Host (Bert)]

No, because it doesn't necessarily have to line up with a woman or anything. It's just that nature created everything in nature repeats and patterns. And this got. I mean, keep in mind there are bottles of wine on the table. So this got very.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Sounds like there's more than just wine,

[Co-host (Carl)]

something else from nature.

[Host (Bert)]

This is purely an alcohol fueled philosophical discussion where everything in nature is cyclical and everything has patterns. The moon has a pattern, The Seas Twins. 28 days. Right. There is. The women's cycle, in theory is 28

[Co-host (Carl)]

days, which is usually with the lunar cycle.

[Host (Bert)]

Yes. Right. And it kind of follows there's a natural existence of this 28 day period. So why can we just assume that men don't have anything going on chemically just because we don't have a external manifestation of that?

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Because through science you can prove the cycle of these other things. You're saying everything has a cycle because science has proven in these other Areas that there are cycles.

[Host (Bert)]

You can see the moon, but there

[Co-host (Jeff)]

can be something different.

[Host (Bert)]

That's what I'm saying. This is why we have to do an experiment. You can see the moon moving throughout the month. You can see the moon changing. And you can count. And you can see.

[Co-host (Carl)]

That's scientific.

[Host (Bert)]

It takes 28 days with a woman. You can count the days between the

[Co-host (Carl)]

physical, the evidence, and her hormone levels. You can actually measure that throughout the month.

[Host (Bert)]

But there's no physical change in men. Like we don't have. We don't get periods, so we don't have a marker to which we could start counting. So I think what we need to do. Bert, and my buddy is in on this as well.

[Co-host (Carl)]

Bert, since you're the other guy in

[Host (Bert)]

the room, barely think it's taken you

[Co-host (Jeff)]

nine years to acknowledge that.

[Host (Bert)]

And maybe you know what? We gotta get Carl involved too. And we'll just get a bunch of guys.

[Co-host (Carl)]

He'll do it sacredly. He'd never tell his buddies he's doing this.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Right.

[Host (Bert)]

And for 90 days.

[Co-host (Carl)]

For 90 days, for three months.

[Host (Bert)]

I think that's a good period. All you have to do is put a smile or a frown or a thumbs up or a thumbs down or something on a calendar on how you're feeling that day. Just keep a calendar here at the radio station. Me, you and Carl could do it at the same one in the radio station. We'll just poke our head in and I think after, within a month, we'll start to see if there's a pattern developing. And if every 28 days, Bert, if you have four grumpy days in a row, then that's your cycle. You've got your myriad.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Okay.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

Because I do agree that there are periods in one month where a guy is uber grumpy and uber impatient, which is what women go through every single month. So I do think guys are on some sort of cycle.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Here's Candy. Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller (Candy/Audrey)]

Hi, guys. I love the show.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Thank you.

[Caller (Candy/Audrey)]

Whereas women go through menopause. It is. Men do go through something called andropause.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

Anger pause. What is that?

[Caller (Candy/Audrey)]

It's similar to menopause. It's where, like with us, it's the estrogen levels drop. With men, the testosterone levels drop.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

No, that hasn't happened, I'll tell you that.

[Co-host (Carl)]

I mean, I mean, is this real or is it just people want. Cause guys don't want to be left out.

[Host (Bert)]

Why I want to believe this is

[Co-host (Jeff)]

something I would like to be left out of.

[Host (Bert)]

It might not be real. But Wendy had, like there. When I think of when I'm.

[Co-host (Carl)]

She's just trying to be nice to y' all and agree with you. I believe it.

[Host (Bert)]

When I'm grumpy, like, it's never just for like an afternoon.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

You'll save yourself a lot of ink if you just mark the times where you're not grumpy.

[Host (Bert)]

No, but I'm saying as an overall,

[Co-host (Carl)]

it's like a reverse cycle. When you get happy, it's just for a couple days a month.

[Host (Bert)]

As an overall thing, if I was evaluating 24 hour periods at a time, I would say that I get grumpy in spurts.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Hey, Ronnie, good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller (Ronnie)]

Good morning, Bert. Hey, I love the show, guys.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Thanks, man.

[Caller (Ronnie)]

I have to agree with the comment because I've done it myself. I've based it. I have a cycle every 28 days. It's like, based on the phase of the moon. Every full moon.

[Co-host (Carl)]

Kidding me.

[Caller (Ronnie)]

I have a cycle.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

How do you know? And what is your. Give me the details of your cycle.

[Caller (Ronnie)]

My cycle. Sometimes I get grumpy. I'm like, really happy. I'm excited, I stress out. It's just a whole gamut of emotions that I never go through rest of the month. I've seen this go on with a lot of my friends as well, and I always found it as odd, but I was like, so. But after I've done the research, I was like, yeah, it happens.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

So for four or five days out of the month, you menstruate?

[Caller (Ronnie)]

Probably about seven.

[Host (Bert)]

Manstration.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

That's what it is. You go through menstruation.

[Co-host (Carl)]

Oh, my God. This is. I mean, it's not quite on topic, but it reminds me of an article I'm gonna have to post. I mean, Gloria Steinem, which older listeners know that name. I mean, she was part of the women's movement in the 70s, but she started out as a journalist. And one of the articles that she wrote years ago was if Men Could Menstruate, the hilarious take on if it was the guy that was having his instead of the woman. Hilarious. So I'm going to have to. Because it goes along with my thing of, like, guys don't want to be left out. All of a sudden you're creating this thing because you too, want to have the sympathy.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

I want them to feel like we're very competitive.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Hey, Audrey, Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller (Candy/Audrey)]

Hey, good morning. I was just going to let you guys know, I can't remember where I read it. But I do remember reading an article somewhere that actually the scientists studied men's hormones and you do see a cyclical change. Just like women go through a cycle as well. I wish I could remember where I read it or what hormones they were studying. But it's not just you guys can't just track when you're grumpy because grumpy happens for different reasons. You know, your son could be acting up and you're in a bad mood, but it's that grumpy that you can't figure out why you're angry.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Right.

[Co-host (Carl)]

So you're on your cycle, Jeff, Are you on your cycle today? I'm just man straight and leave me alone. I need to hate that. I need hate to say that.

[Narrator]

No, I want you guys to feel

[Co-host (Wendy)]

and I want you to know, I want to know what days it happens on. So I can just punch you in like the stomach so you can feel the pain too, not just the grumpiness. So, so we can all be on the same page.

[Host (Bert)]

Why did it get so violent, so angry?

[Co-host (Wendy)]

Feel the pain and what it's like.

[Co-host (Carl)]

Cause she's on her period too.

[Host (Bert)]

Yeah, obviously, Winnie, you've got your period and Bert and I know what that's like. And guess what? We suck it up when it happens.

[Narrator]

And now you need to.

[Co-host (Jeff)]

Do you think eventually it's like we're going to start doing, you know, and tracking our grumpiness and do you think it'll be sort of like a sorority after a while where we all line up, our menstruation cycles will start to line up.

[Host (Bert)]

Well, I do think when Carl is here on Friday, we should all go into your office with all the candles and stuff and we should write in a feeling stream journal. Hey, the bird show.

[Co-host (Wendy)]

Hey everybody.

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