Making The M Factor documentary

What happens when a news anchor loses her words on live television and discovers it's not stress, but menopause? Emmy Award-winning journalist Tamsen Fadal joins Dr. Mary Claire Haver to share why she walked away from her dream job in pursuit of changing the conversation around women's health, the powerful story behind her New York Times bestselling book How to Menopause, and her groundbreaking PBS documentary The M Factor.

Tamsen spent 30 years in broadcast journalism without saying the word "menopause" on air—not once. Then perimenopause hit. Brain fog made her skip words on the teleprompter. A hot flash so severe during a live newscast left her sweating and pale, eventually forcing her off the set entirely. Despite erratic bleeding, insomnia, and mounting symptoms, doctor after doctor missed the diagnosis.

But once she understood what was happening, she couldn't stop talking about it. She co-produced The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause with three other women, self-funding the documentary after she was told there was no audience. The trailer went viral. PBS picked it up. Over 1,000 community screenings followed in 43 countries.

Dr. Haver and Tamsen reflect on meeting at their first menopause conference, the moment they both realized how little training doctors receive, and why this work feels like a calling.

Guest links:

• Tamsen Fadal

• The Tamsen Show

• “The (M) Factor” Documentary

• Tamsen Fadal (Facebook)

• Tamsen Fadal (YouTube)

• Tamsen Fadal (LinkedIn)

• Tamsen Fadal (Instagram)

• Tamsen Fadal (TikTok)

Books

• “How to Menopause,” by Tamsen Fadal

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

• “The Galveston Diet,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

• “The Wisdom of Menopause,” by Dr. Christiane Northrup

• “The Menopause Manifesto,” by Dr. Jen Gunter

This episode covers:

• Why many women are prescribed antidepressants for hot flashes instead of hormone therapy

• Growing up with a mother who suffered through surgical menopause in silence

• The fear of HRT and what finally changed Tamsen's mind

• Writing a book publishers said had "no audience" and then hitting the New York Times bestseller list

• Why the Women's Health Initiative headlines continue to harm women decades later

• Walking away from a 30-year career as a primetime news anchor to focus on menopause advocacy

• The "shelf life" for women in journalism and ageism in media

• Her new documentary Before the Pause focusing on perimenopause

• Why millennials are approaching menopause differently than Gen X

• Finding community, purpose, and a second act in midlife

Articles

• The North American Menopause Society recommendations for clinical care of midlife women (Menopause)
  The Estrogen Dilemma (Time Magazine)

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