Dear Dr. Jen

Latest Episodes:

What Does Menopause Do to Your Heart? | Dr. Jenn Haythe Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

"Dear Dr. Jen, so much news on heart health for women, especially surrounding menopause. Is this all fear-mongering? What do I really need to know?"

Heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, and it is also the most preventable thing that can kill you. To answer Alice's question, Dr. Jennifer Ashton sits down with Dr. Jenn Haythe: advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, co-director of the Columbia Women's Heart Center, director of its Cardio-Obstetrics Program, and one of Jen's closest friends for 30 years. They get into why women still picture heart disease as a man's disease, the pregnancy risk factors most doctors never ask about, how to take a blood pressure reading that actually means something, the three questions every woman should ask her doctor about her heart, and the phone call from a cardiologist that put Jen on hormone therapy.

Chapters

(00:00) Alice's question: is heart health news fear-mongering?

(01:47) How Jen and Jenn met in med school

(08:41) Why Dr. Haythe became a cardiologist

(14:08) COVID in the ICU vs. on TV

(18:12) OB-GYN vs. cardiologist stereotypes

(21:15) Dr. Ashton's first TV appearance: a delivery on TLC

(25:01) A word from our sponsors: Function Health and Alloy

(26:57) Why women think heart disease is a man's disease

(28:54) Risk factors women aren't screened for

(32:02) How to check your blood pressure at home

(35:36) What a heart patient actually looks like

(37:24) The call that put Dr. Ashton on hormone therapy

(39:30) Three questions to ask your doctor

(42:05) The pregnant patient Dr. Haythe can't forget

(47:55) Dr. Ashton's first ambulance ride

(51:47) Every Mother Counts and safer childbirth

(54:36) Dr. Haythe's Substack, and is adrenal fatigue real?

(57:39) Rapid fire: statins, sleep, chest pain, CPR

Your heart doesn't care how busy you are. Know your history, ask the questions, and find a doctor who takes you seriously. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode, and send me your questions, because this show is built on them.

For educational and informational purposes only, not medical advice. Please consult with your own physician. No physician-patient relationship is created.

Follow Dr. Jen:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjashton

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjashton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjashton

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjashton

Ajenda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinajenda

Website: https://go.joinajenda.com/ep3-pod-website

What Does Prediabetes Really Mean? | Dr. Anne Peters Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

"I'm really worried about a society in which we go on and off these drugs, because people will get sicker and sicker."

"Dear Dr. Jen, I was just diagnosed with prediabetes. What does this mean?" About 1 in 3 Americans have been told they have prediabetes, and most of them don't get a real answer. To give one, Dr. Jennifer Ashton sits down with Dr. Anne Peters: professor of medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program, one of the people who literally write the diabetes guidelines, and one of the first doctors in the country to prescribe GLP-1s back in 2005. They get into why Anne wants to retire the word "prediabetes," the screening most women with a history of gestational diabetes never get, what continuous glucose monitoring can and can't tell you if you don't have diabetes, and her candid take on GLP-1s for weight loss and wellness.

Chapters

(00:00) The question: "I was told I have prediabetes"

(02:33) How Anne became an endocrinologist

(08:13) What insulin and hormones actually do

(10:57) Is a glucose spike after eating bad?

(13:25) Type 1 vs. type 2: why the labels are confusing

(16:27) What prediabetes means (and can it be reversed?)

(21:27) Had gestational diabetes? The yearly screening most women skip

(24:06) A word from our sponsors: Function Health and Alloy

(25:50) Whole apple vs. apple juice: why fiber matters

(28:10) Continuous glucose monitoring without diabetes: what the numbers can and can't tell you

(31:33) The best breakfast for your blood sugar

(33:11) How GLP-1s were discovered and first used

(37:06) Why going on and off GLP-1s is risky

(43:22) What to do if you have prediabetes

(47:34) How type 1 diabetes care has changed

A diagnosis isn't the end of the conversation. It's the start of one. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode, and send me your questions, because this show is built on them.

For educational and informational purposes only, not medical advice. Please consult with your own physician. No physician-patient relationship is created.

Follow Dr. Jen:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjashton

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjashton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjashton

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjashton

Ajenda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinajenda

Website: https://go.joinajenda.com/ep2-pod-website

Origin Story Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

"The entire floor of the operating room was covered in blood. It's a case I will remember for the rest of my life."

For almost 20 years, Dr. Jennifer Ashton's job was to distill complex medical topics into 20 to 180 seconds of television. Dear Dr. Jen takes the time limit off. In this first episode, Jen shares the messenger behind the message: how an exhausted young OB-GYN with two small kids and no interest in TV ended up spending 18 years as a network medical correspondent, why that made her a better doctor, and the stories that made the biggest impact.

Chapters

(00:00) Welcome to Dear Dr. Jen

(02:07) How television happened

(08:59) The stories that made an impact

(11:45) Eight days in Haiti

(14:43) COVID from the dining room

(17:30) Bob Iger's cruise ship question

(20:33) Losing Rob

(25:50) Why OB-GYN

(27:42) Going back to school for nutrition

(30:14) Classmates with my dad

(31:03) A delivery in the lobby

(33:42) The case I'll never forget

(41:32) What changed after TV

This one's personal. And it's only the beginning. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode, and send me your questions, because this show is built on them.

This episode includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, U.S.).

For educational and informational purposes only, not medical advice. Please consult with your own physician. No physician-patient relationship is created.

Follow Dr. Jen:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjashton

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjashton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjashton

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjashton

Ajenda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinajenda

Website: https://www.joinajenda.com

Origin Story (Trailer) Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

We hope you enjoy this 10-minute trailer of Origin Story before we release our first full episode, coming soon.

For almost 20 years, Dr. Jennifer Ashton's job was to distill complex medical topics into 20 to 180 seconds of television. Dear Dr. Jen takes the time limit off. In this first look, Jen shares the messenger behind the message: how an exhausted young OB-GYN with two small kids and no interest in TV ended up spending 18 years as a network medical correspondent, why that made her a better doctor, and the stories that made the biggest impact.

Ajenda: https://joinajenda.com

Podcast: https://joinajenda.com/podcast

Dr. Jen on Instagram: https://instagram.com/drjashton

Dr. Jen on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drjashton

Ajenda on Instagram: https://instagram.com/joinajenda

Chapters

(00:00) Welcome to Dear Dr. Jen

(02:07) How television happened

(07:18) The stories that made an impact

Welcome to Dear Dr. Jen Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Jen Ashton, MD breaks down what the research actually says about women’s health — no noise, no filler, just science you can use. After 12 years as ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent, she’s done with two-minute segments. Now there’s no time limit.

Board-certified OB-GYN and Obesity Medicine physician. Master’s in Nutrition. She’s the doctor who connects the dots.

Each week, Dr. Jen:

Busts the myths your doctor never corrected

Walks through the studies behind the headlines

Delivers real answers on hormones, nutrition, weight & longevity

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