The Cut - The Cough That Doesn’t End

I was at a long-awaited panel discussion at my friends’ private home, listening to Senator Kristen Gillibrand speak about paid leave and reproductive rights with women’s health entrepreneurs Priyanka Jain and Alessandra Henderson, when I first heard it: The Cough.

Henderson, the founder of a women’s health company called Elektra Health, coughed discreetly from the makeshift stage. Then she coughed again. It was dry and quick and frequent. Every so often, she would turn her head, raise her hands, and behind the swishy curtain of her chic blonde bob, cough. A woman stole over and slipped her a cough drop. Gillibrand had warmed up and was on a tear about TikTok. (Not a fan, by the way.) And still, discreetly but certainly not imperceptibly, coughing. Henderson did not otherwise seem sick. She was a power woman on a panel with a senator, in peak form, but what can I say: These days, you notice the cough.

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Even if you overindulged this holiday season (no judgement, us too), don’t waste your time “detoxing.” Speaking of which, we’re all spending more money than ever chasing “wellness.” From guns and porn to fuzzy dice, these are the state laws that went into effect on January 1. These twins were born either side of midnight on NYE, giving them different birth years. In other reproductive news, American women have been stocking up on abortion pills these last couple years, for obvious reasons. Apparently some people have very strong feelings about hyphenated names. And that took no time at all.

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