Overlooked: Women's Health Can't Wait

Latest Episodes:

New ways to predict preeclampsia and save lives, with Dr Neel Shah Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

Preeclampsia is one of the most dangerous conditions in pregnancy, and we’ve struggled to see it coming. That’s changing fast, as tests to predict this condition are being developed. Dr Neel Shah is the chief medical officer of Maven Clinic and in this episode, we explore the breakthrough science that's finally solving the mystery of preeclampsia, what to know if you’re pregnant, and how new life-saving technology can be made available to everyone.

For more about Dr Neel Shah and preeclampsia, subscribe to our newsletter and read here.

Want more from 'Overlooked'? Listen to this episode next: Mapping the ovaries, with Dr Kathleen O'Neill: https://overlooked.simplecast.com/episodes/mapping-the-ovaries-with-dr-kathleen-e-oneill

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Overlooked tells powerful stories about women's health conditions that don't get enough attention. The show is hosted by Golda Arthur, an audio journalist and producer. Learn more about the show here: www.overlookedpod.com

DISCLAIMER What you hear and read on ‘Overlooked’ is for general information purposes only and represents the opinions of the host and guests. The content on the podcast and website should not be taken as medical advice. Every person’s body is unique, so please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions that may arise.

Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

Why do more women than men get Alzheimers? With Dr Gillian Einstein Oct 28, 2025

Show notes

Two-thirds of people with Alzheimer's are women, but we don't really know why. Dr. Gillian Einstein, who studies women’s brain health at the University of Toronto, is uncovering how life experiences like surgical menopause and caregiving stress in the 30s and 40s might plant the seeds of this disease decades before symptoms appear.

For the backstory to this episode and a deeper dive on Alzheimers in women, subscribe to the newsletter.
Gillian Einstein is The Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women’s Brain Health and Aging, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto.

What to listen to next: Surviving an almost fatal brain aneurysm, with Alicia Trujillo.

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

The rivalry that built birth control in America - women's health history with Stephanie Gorton Oct 21, 2025

Show notes

This episode steps back in time, to the origins of the fight for birth control. It wasn't led by one woman - it was shaped by a fierce rivalry between two: Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood, and an overlooked figure from history, Mary Ware Dennett, who was the first person to ever take reproductive rights to Washington. Their different visions for birth control - and their bitter personal conflict - created the movement we know today. Author Stephanie Gorton reveals how this hidden history still matters, 100 years later.

The episode is based on 'The Icon and the Idealist, Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America'

More on Stephanie Gorton's work here.

What to listen to next: The dark history of the Dalkon Shield IUD, with Chikako Takeshita.

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

What should men's role in women's health be? with Sanj Singh Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

Golda hits the streets of Manhattan for an unscientific sampling to answer this question, then talks with Sanj Singh, CEO of Temple Therapeutics, about his mission to turn uncomfortable silence into curiosity, then advocacy from his fellow men. This episode explores how to turn men into not just supporters of the women they love, but advocates for systemic change. Because moving the needle on women's health can't be done by women alone.
Share your story about men's role in women's health with us by emailing us or sending in a voice note. hello@overlookedpod.com

Learn more about Sanj and his work here.

Also mentioned in this episode:

-Sign up for First Person Health, a storytelling workshop here.

-Sign up for the Recalculating newsletter here.

What to listen to next: Where do we get our heath information (and misinformation) from? with Dr Brandi Sinkfield

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

No two experiences of menopause are the same - listener stories Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

https://overlooked.simplecast.com/episodes/real-talk-on-menopause-myths-and-facts-with-dr-gillian-goddardThere is a huge diversity of experience in menopause, and we don't talk about that enough. We’re leaning into Menopause Awareness Month and taking the opportunity to hear about the aspects of menopause we don't talk about enough, through listener stories.
Hear from Samantha Gattsek in the US, Robyn Watt in Canada, and Lauren Chiren in the UK. And - Golda takes you on her ‘sanity walk’ - which is how she's getting through menopause.

What to listen to next: Not Your Mother's Menopause, with endocrinologist Dr Gillian Goddard.

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

A new way of looking at endometriosis, with Rowan Gardner Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Even a basic definition of endometriosis tells us a lot about why we need to rethink how we’re dealing with this condition. Rowan Gardner is co-founder of Precision Life, where she's using genetics to revolutionize how we understand endometriosis - breaking it into subtypes instead of treating it as one disease. We know that with endometriosis, the stakes are high, and the challenges are enormous - but so is the opportunity, says Rowan, who is finding new ways to look at patients and their data.

What to listen to next: A personal experience of endometriosis, from the author of 'Pain and Prejudice' by Gabrielle Jackson.

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

A 'Uterus in a Dish': How menstrual blood could revolutionize women's health research, with Morgan Stanton Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Morgan Stanton's frustration with unanswered questions about her fibroids led her to start a company that's collecting menstrual blood to build better models of women's reproductive health. As CEO of Opal Therapeutics, she's creating "organoids" - miniature uteruses grown from menstrual blood - to help understand conditions like fibroids and endometriosis that affect millions of women but have been largely ignored by research.

Links:

Opal Therapeutics: https://www.opaltherapeutics.com/

What to listen to next - 'Mapping the ovaries', with Kathleen E O'Neill

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

Ovarian Cancer Series: A genetic journey Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Genetic testing is a powerful preventive tool for ovarian cancer, especially since there's no way to screen for this disease like we can with breast or cervical cancer. Golda's journey into prevention started with the results of a genetic test, which showed a gene mutation called RAD51C. But with that knowledge comes difficult decisions. She tells that story.

And, Jason Rosenthal tells the story of his wife, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and the work of the AKR Foundation.

Overlooked is a recipient of the AKR Foundation's Innovator Award, which made this series possible. Learn more here: https://www.amykrouserosenthalfoundation.org/

Want more episodes on ovarian cancer? Listen to the first season of Overlooked:

Web link

Apple Link

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

Ovarian Cancer Series: Innovators Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Three innovators in ovarian cancer talk about their work in moving the needle: Oriana Papin Zogby from AOA Dx, Dr Ernst Lengyel from the University of Chicago, and Dr Jeanette Boudreau from Dalhousie University.

Here's more on each of these guests:

Oriana Papin Zogby: https://aoadx.com/our-team/

Dr Ernst Lengyel: https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/find-a-physician/physician/ernst-lengyel

Dr Jeanette Boudreau: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/department-sites/microbiology/people/our-faculty/jeanette-boudreau.html

Overlooked is a recipient of the AKR Foundation's Innovator Award, which made this series possible. Learn more about the Amy Krouse Rosenthal Foundation here: https://www.amykrouserosenthalfoundation.org/

What to listen to next - Creating a new path in women's health, with Oriana Papin Zoghby

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.

Ovarian Cancer Series: Listening to the body Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Three women share their experience of ovarian cancer symptoms - Erin Konrath, Jen Johnson and Susan Leighton. September is Ovarian Cancer month, and this is the first in a series of three episodes exploring this disease.

What to listen to next: What is cancer survivorship, with Teresa Arthur (aka mom)

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Our music is licensed through Blue Dot Sessions.