unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Latest Episodes:

Sexual Health, Libido, and Orgasm: What Medicine Missed with Dr. Kelly Casperson Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Kelly Casperson, a urologist, author, and host of the podcast “You Are Not Broken”. Dr. Casperson trained in a specialty that treats both men and women, which gave her an early and clear view of the gender gap in sexual healthcare. That disparity became the driving force behind her work, her two books You Are Not Broken and The Menopause Moment, and her clinic, the Casperson Clinic.

Together they cover the full landscape of what women were never taught, what medicine has missed, and what actually works for female sexual health, libido, desire, and sexual dysfunction in midlife.

The conversation gets straight to what most women were never told: that the orgasm gap between heterosexual men and women has not improved in decades, and that the silence around female sexual health has never been about a lack of science. It has been about a lack of priority.

Guest links:

Kelly Casperson, MD

Kelly Casperson (Instagram)

Kelly Casperson (YouTube)

You Are Not Broken (Apple Podcasts)

Books:

“Sexual Behavior in the Human Female,” by Alfred Kinsey

“You Are Not Broken,” by Kelly Casperson, MD

Plant Medicine for Menopause: What Science and Ancient Healing Say Actually Works Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz, a board-certified OB-GYN, integrative medicine expert, and author with nearly 30 years of clinical experience, including training in Ayurvedic medicine spanning almost two decades. Dr. Gilberg-Lenz is the Chief Clinical Officer of Monarch, a membership-based healthcare practice built to restore what modern medicine has nearly eliminated: time, relationship, and trust between women and their clinicians.

Dr. Haver and Dr. Gilberg-Lenz open with a question that sits at the heart of women's midlife health: why does the current healthcare system consistently fail to see women clearly? Dr. Gilberg-Lenz explains why the system is not built for humans but for shareholders, reimbursement structures, and productivity metrics that reward procedures over listening. She breaks down the difference between burnout and moral injury, why physicians are leaving traditional medicine in record numbers, and what it actually costs women when their doctors are structurally prevented from knowing them. The conversation traces how the 1910 Flexner Report reshaped American medicine, shutting down Black medical colleges, eliminating part-time schools where women trained, and marginalizing plant-based and indigenous healing traditions in ways that still define clinical practice today.

Guest links:

Dr. Suzanne

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz (Instagram)

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz (YouTube)

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz (LinkedIn)

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz (Facebook)
Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz (X)

Books:

“Menopause Bootcamp: Optimize Your Health, Empower Your Self, and Flourish as You Age,” by Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz

“The Myth of Aging: A Prescription for Emotional and Physical Well-Being,” by Dr. Arnold Gilberg

“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

“The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

For full show notes, please click here.

The Missing Piece in Longevity: The Top Gerontologist on Aging, Joy, and the Science of Thriving Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of unPaused, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Kerry Burnight, a gerontologist and national leader in aging research who spent 18 years teaching geriatric medicine at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine and is the author of Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life's Second Half. Dr. Burnight brings a framework that is especially relevant for women navigating menopause and midlife: the key to good longevity is not how long you live. It is how much you love the life you are living.

Dr. Haver and Dr. Burnight begin with the concept of joyspan itself, a term Dr. Burnight coined to name the missing piece between lifespan and healthspan. Drawing on the American Psychological Association's definition of joy as wellbeing and life satisfaction, they explore why joy is not a luxury add-on to healthy aging but a measurable, cultivatable vital sign. Dr. Burnight explains the distinction between joy and happiness, why happiness is circumstantial while joy is an inside job, and how Viktor Frankl's research on finding meaning under extreme suffering forms the scientific and philosophical foundation of her framework. They also discuss Yale University research showing that aging beliefs alone can impact longevity by up to seven and a half years, influence inflammation levels, and affect disease expression, making the way women think about getting older one of the most powerful health interventions available.

Guest links:

Dr. Kerry Burnight

Dr. Kerry Burnight (Instagram)

Dr. Kerry Burnight (LinkedIn)

Books:
“Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life's Second Half,” by Dr. Kerry Burnight

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

⁠"The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

For full show notes, please click here.

The Perimenopause Masterclass: Anxiety, Brain Fog, Broken Sleep, Weight Gain & GLP-1s Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of “unPAUSED,” Dr. Mary Claire Haver answers the questions she gets asked most, sitting down solo to address what perimenopause actually is, why it starts in the brain before it ever shows up in bloodwork, and why so many women experiencing anxiety, brain fog, broken sleep, and unexplained weight gain are dismissed, misdiagnosed, or handed prescriptions for symptoms that have a hormonal root.

Perimenopause is not a waiting room. It is its own distinct biological phase, a seven to ten year hormonal transition that begins long before periods stop and touches every organ system in the body. And yet most women are never taught to recognize it.

Dr. Haver breaks down the hormonal chaos of perimenopause, revealing why estrogen does not simply decline but surges and crashes erratically as the brain floods the ovaries with luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in a desperate attempt to produce more, and why a single blood draw will almost never tell the full story. She answers the metabolic questions she hears constantly, explaining how visceral fat can double or triple during the transition with no changes in diet or exercise, why LDL cholesterol rises an average of 20%, and how cardiovascular risk, insulin resistance, bone density loss, and inflammation are all woven into the same story medicine has largely failed to tell women.

Guest links:

Books:

“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

"The New Menopause" by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

“Weightless: A Doctor's Guide to GLP-1 Medications, Sustainable Weight Loss, and the Health You Deserve,” by Rocio Salas-Whalen

Brain Fog, Memory Loss, and Alzheimer’s Risk During Menopause with Dr. Lisa Mosconi Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver continues her conversation with Dr. Lisa Mosconi, neuroscientist and associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mosconi directs the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, including the NIH-funded Women's Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and was recently named director of the $50 million Program in Women's Health, Cutting Alzheimer's Risk Through Endocrinology. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Menopause Brain.

Dr. Mosconi and Dr. Haver go deeper into why brain fog, memory lapses, and cognitive changes in midlife are not just frustrating. They are biologically significant, and for some women, they may signal an inflection point for Alzheimer's risk. The conversation covers the statistics women are rarely given starting at age 45, a woman has twice the risk of Alzheimer's as a man of the same age. Women are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression, three times more likely to develop an autoimmune disorder affecting the brain, four times more likely to suffer from migraines, and more likely to be killed by a stroke after menopause.

Guest links:

Lisa Mosconi

Lisa Mosconi (Instagram)

Lisa Mosconi (Facebook)
Lisa Mosconi Bio (LEAP)
Books:

“The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease,” by Lisa Mosconi

“Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

The Alzheimer's Prevention Plan for Women: Hormones, Sleep, and Nutrition with Dr. Lisa Mosconi Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mosconi directs the Alzheimer's Prevention Program, including the NIH-funded Women's Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic, and was recently named director of the $50 million Program in Women's Health, Cutting Alzheimer's Risk Through Endocrinology. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Menopause Brain.

This conversation is about prevention. Dr. Mosconi has spent decades building the science that shows Alzheimer's risk in women is neither inevitable nor untreatable and that the choices women make in midlife around hormones, sleep, and nutrition have a direct, and measurable, impact on the brain's long-term health. Together, they explore why two thirds of all Alzheimer's patients are women and what role menopause plays in that disparity. Dr. Mosconi explains the difference between the rare genetic mutations that directly cause Alzheimer's, found in roughly 2% of patients, and the risk factors that shape outcomes for the other 98%, including the distinction between early and late onset disease and between sporadic and familial Alzheimer's. Both share their own family histories with dementia and what that means for their personal risk.

Guest links:

Lisa Mosconi

Lisa Mosconi (Instagram)

Lisa Mosconi (Facebook)

Lisa Mosconi Bio (LEAP)

Books:

“The Menopause Brain: New Science Empowers Women to Navigate the Pivotal Transition with Knowledge and Confidence,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Maximize Cognitive Health and Prevent Alzheimer's Disease,” by Lisa Mosconi
“Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power,” by Lisa Mosconi

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

The Sleep Crisis in Menopause: Insomnia, Sleep Apnea & Solutions Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

Poor sleep during perimenopause and menopause isn't just exhausting—it's linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk, depression, anxiety, weight gain, cognitive decline, and reduced quality of life. Yet for decades, women's sleep complaints have been minimized, dismissed, or blamed on just getting older.

In this episode, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with board-certified sleep medicine specialist Dr. Andrea Matsumura to unpack what's really happening to women's sleep during the menopause transition and what we can actually do about it. Dr. Matsumura completed her medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and her internal medicine residency in Portland, Oregon before returning to Oregon Health & Science University for a fellowship in sleep medicine, where she discovered the critical connection between women's hormones and sleep disorders.

Guest links:

Dr. Andrea Matsumura (Instagram)
Dr. Andrea Matsumura (Facebook)
Dr. Andrea Matsumura (LinkedIn)
Dr. Andrea Matsumura
The D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method: A Midlife Woman’s Guide to Restoring Rest

Articles

Worldwide estimation of restless legs syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence in the general adult population (Journal of Sleep Research)
Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies (Medicina)
Why sleep apnea deserves priority in public health: a call to action (European Journal of Public Health)
Poor Quality Control of Over-the-Counter Melatonin: What They Say Is Often Not What You Get (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine)
Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US (JAMA)
Sleep disorders impact hormonal regulation: unravelling the relationship among sleep disorders, hormones and metabolic diseases (Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome)
Comorbid Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (COMISA): Current Concepts of Patient Management (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
Chronobiological perspectives: Association between meal timing and sleep quality (PLOS One)
Effects of red light on sleep inertia (Nature and Science of Sleep)

Other Resources

Seven or more hours of sleep per night: A health necessity for adults (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)
...

Katie Couric on Truth, Trust, and Women's Health Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

From her groundbreaking televised colonoscopy to her breast cancer journey, Katie Couric has turned personal experience into powerful advocacy for the health issues medicine has overlooked. This week on unPaused, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Katie Couric, award-winning journalist, founder of Katie Couric Media, co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer, and author of the New York Times bestseller Going There. Katie spent 15 years co-hosting the Today Show, served as the first solo female anchor of CBS Evening News, and has interviewed nearly every president, world leader and cultural voice of the last four decades.

Together, they explore Katie's journey from growing up in Arlington, Virginia, where her parents instilled the importance of education and financial independence, to breaking barriers in network news while navigating profound personal loss. Katie opens up about losing her husband Jay to stage four colon cancer when her daughters were six and two, how that tragedy launched her into cancer advocacy, and why she made the decision to have a colonoscopy on live television — a moment that changed screening rates across America and took the stigma out of a life-saving procedure.

Guest links:

Katie Couric Media
Katie Couric (Instagram)
Katie Couric (TikTok)
Katie Couric (Facebook)
Katie Couric Media (Instagram)
Katie Couric (YouTube)
Katie Couric (X)
Katie Couric (LinkedIn)
Katie Couric (Substack)
Next Question with Katie Couric (Apple Podcasts)

Books:
"The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?," by Leslie Bennetts

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

⁠"The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

The Sex Life Nobody Warned You About: What a Top Sexual Medicine Expert Wants You To Know Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

Most women go through decades of marriage, menopause and midlife without ever having an honest conversation with a doctor about their sex life. Not because they don't want one — but because most physicians were never trained to have it. This week on unPaused, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. James Simon, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University, board-certified OB-GYN, reproductive endocrinologist, and certified sexual counselor with more than 800 published papers in menopause and sexual medicine. Dr. Simon is a past president of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH) and one of the most published clinicians in modern menopause care.

Dr. Simon has spent his career treating what most doctors never address — the full picture of how sex, desire, pain and intimacy change for both women and men as they age. He treats couples together, and what he has witnessed across thousands of relationships is that the problems are rarely one person's fault, rarely unsolvable, and almost always rooted in something nobody warned them about.

Guest links:

James Simon (IntimMedicine Specialists)

James Simon (Instagram)

James Simon (YouTube)

Articles:

What if the Women’s Health Initiative had used transdermal estradiol and oral progesterone instead? (Menopause)

Erectile Dysfunction (StatPearls)

Should we be prescribing testosterone to perimenopausal and menopausal women? A guide to prescribing testosterone for women in primary care (British Journal of General Practice)

The Benefits and Harms of Systemic Testosterone Therapy in Postmenopausal Women With Normal Adrenal Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)

Other Resources:

Women’s Health Initiative

The North American Menopause Society Releases Its 2022 Hormone Therapy Position Statement (NAMS)

International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISWSH)

FDA panel rejects testosterone patch for women on safety grounds (The BMJ)

The Saga of Testosterone for Menopausal Women at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (The Journal of Sexual Medicine)

Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA)

Books:
“Restore Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Reviving her Sexual Desire and Passion for Life,” by James Simon and Victoria Houston

“The New Perimenopause,”⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

Building a Menopause Brand: Naomi Watts on HRT, Hot Flashes & Hollywood Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

This week on unPaused, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Naomi Watts, Academy Award nominated actress, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author of Dare I Say It. Naomi's career spans decades in Hollywood, from her breakthrough role in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive to recent work with directors like Ryan Murphy and Lena Dunham. After receiving a shocking early menopause diagnosis at 36 while struggling with fertility, Naomi spent years navigating untreated symptoms in silence before becoming an unexpected advocate for millions of women facing midlife transitions. In 2021, she founded Stripes Beauty, a menopause focused skincare and wellness brand built on community, education, and celebrating womens earned wisdom rather than promising to reverse time.

In this conversation, Dr. Haver and Naomi explore the reality of growing up across continents after losing her father at eight years old, the decade long struggle to break into Hollywood, and the moment at 30 when her acting career finally launched. Naomi opens up about the devastating news from her doctor that she was approaching menopause at 36, the desperate fertility journey that followed including traveling to China for herbal remedies and extreme dietary changes, and the perimenopause symptoms she dismissed as allergies or stress in her late twenties including night sweats, migraines, brain fog, and sleep disruption.

Guest links: