I'm Listening with Dr Ariella

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For too long, women's pain has been ignored, their symptoms brushed aside, and their stories dismissed — with devastating consequences. Hosted by Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks, this is the podcast that listens: to the women failed by the system, the researchers exposing medical misogyny, and the innovators closing the gender health gap. Brought to you by Ovum, the intelligent health partner built for women. Real stories. Radical listening. Change starts here.

  1. 3d ago

    280,000 Voices: Grace Molloy on Making Menopause Normal

    Grace Molloy is the founder of Menopause Friendly Australia, now supporting over 280,000 employees nationwide. In this episode, she sits down with Dr Ariella to share how a personal, confusing experience with perimenopause led her to build a movement around a topic that workplaces had been too uncomfortable to name. Grace opens up about leaving a career in clinical research and finance to pursue something she felt genuinely passionate about, travelling to the UK to learn from the people leading menopause education there, and adapting that approach for Australian workplaces. She unpacks why menopause is still treated as a taboo rather than a normal transition that the majority of women will move through while working, and what practical changes are actually shifting that culture, from workplace policy to the language leaders use out loud. Together, Grace and Dr Ariella explore the gender health gap, the stereotypes still attached to what a "menopausal woman" looks like, and why trusting your own body and instincts is often the first step toward getting the right support. A conversation about advocacy, culture change, and building a workplace that finally catches up. Trial Ovum for free: Download Ovum now and click this link for a 7 day free trial.  Be heard. Be believed. Download Ovum now. Download on iOS  Download on Android Follow Ovum on Instagram  Follow Ovum on LinkedIn  Join the Ovum Community Facebook Group

  2. Sep 15

    Count Our Babies: Samantha Payne on Loss, Miscarriage and Advocacy

    Welcome to I'm Listening with Dr Ariella.  In today's episode, Dr Ariella sits down with Samantha Payne, Co-Founder and CEO of the Pink Elephants Support Network, for an honest conversation about miscarriage and early pregnancy loss. Sam shares her personal experience of feeling dismissed and unsupported by the healthcare system, and how it inspired her to build a movement ensuring others don't have to navigate pregnancy loss alone. She also reflects on the advocacy campaign that helped change Australian legislation around paid bereavement leave for pregnancy loss before 20 weeks, and the realities of building and sustaining an organisation like Pink Elephants. This is a powerful conversation about loss, support, advocacy and creating change from lived experience. The episode is brought to you by Ovum. The intelligent women's health partner on a mission to close the gender health gap.   Trial Ovum for free: Download Ovum now and click this link for a 7 day free trial.    Be heard. Be believed. Download Ovum now. Download on iOS  Download on Android Follow Ovum on Instagram  Follow Ovum on LinkedIn  Join the Ovum Community Facebook Group

    Count Our Babies: Samantha Payne on Loss, Miscarriage and Advocacy

  3. Season 2 Trailer

    Welcome back to I'm Listening

    This season, Dr. Ariella sits down with the founders, advocates, and experts pushing women's health forward. From investment and equity to the everyday realities patients face. Expect honest conversations, real data, and the stories behind the people changing outcomes for women.

    Welcome back to I'm Listening

  4. 12/14/2025

    Ep 11: Partnership, Fertility & Finding Your Way with Şener Besim

    In this special Her Issue edition of I'm Listening, Dr Ariella once again hands the mic to her mum – journalist and podcast host Deborah Blashki-Marks. Deborah sits down with internationally renowned designer Şener Besim, who opens up about the creative partnership he shares with his wife, Kelly, and the surrogacy journey that shaped their family. In this intimate and honest conversation, Deborah and Şener explore:• How partnership fuels creativity, and why working with his wife Kelly made the brand stronger• The long, emotional surrogacy journey that shaped their family, resilience, and worldview• What eight years of IVF taught them • How his upbringing, culture, and relationship with his mother shaped his values and artistic voice• The lessons he hopes other couples can take into their own fertility or surrogacy journeys A heartfelt, generous discussion about love, identity, and finding meaning through struggle – and the quiet strength that underpins Şener's life, craft, and family. Discover more of Şener's work at https://senerbesim.com.

    Ep 11: Partnership, Fertility & Finding Your Way with Şener Besim

  5. 12/01/2025

    Ep 10: The Future of Early Detection with Helen Frazer

    In this special Her Issue edition of I'm Listening, Dr Ariella hands the mic to someone very special — her mum, journalist and podcast host Deborah Blashki-Marks. Deborah sits down with Dr Helen Frazer, radiologist, Clinical Director of St Vincent's BreastScreen, Adjunct Associate Professor, and winner of the ANZ Women in AI Innovator of the Year. Helen is leading one of Australia's most ambitious medical AI programs, BRAIx — a world-first initiative using artificial intelligence to improve the accuracy, speed, and equity of breast cancer screening. In this episode, Deborah and Helen explore: How Helen's lifelong curiosity for x-rays began with a childhood accident The current challenges in breast cancer screening — and why innovation is urgently needed How AI can reduce false positives, false negatives, and long wait times Why women's leadership in STEM is essential to closing the gender health gap How risk-based, personalised screening could save more lives What every woman needs to know about early detection right now A hopeful, insightful conversation about technology, trust, and a future where screening is safer, faster, and more personalised for every woman. Discover more about Helen's important work at https://www.svi.edu.au/research/collaborative-programs/braix/

    Ep 10: The Future of Early Detection with Helen Frazer

  6. 11/17/2025

    Ep 9: The roots of medical gender bias, with Amy McLennan

    Recorded live at SXSW Sydney 2025, this episode uncovers a truth that shapes every woman's experience in healthcare: medical bias isn't accidental — it's built into the system. Dr Ariella is joined by Associate Professor Amy McLennan, medical anthropologist and educator at ANU, to trace how history, research practices and cultural assumptions have created a model of medicine designed around men. Together, they explore: How women were excluded from clinical trials — and why the effects still distort diagnosis and drug safety Why "every cell has a sex," and what that means for medications we use every day How endometriosis became labelled a "career women's disease" The rise of "inflammation" as both a medical signal and a wellness buzzword Why our system is built for acute problems, not lifelong chronic conditions Where women actually go for health information now — and how AI can help (or harm) Ariella also shares her own diagnostic journey, and Amy closes with a powerful story about her daughter questioning the rules — a reminder of how early gender bias begins, and why changing it matters.

    Ep 9: The roots of medical gender bias, with Amy McLennan

  7. 11/03/2025

    Ep 8: When ambition meets illness, with Michelle Irving

    What if living with chronic illness could deepen, not derail, your power? In this episode, Dr Ariella sits down with Michelle Irving — founder of Career & Chronic and Chronic Illness At Work — to unpack practical ways women can protect their health, honour their ambition, and lead with sovereignty. We explore "badass boundaries" in the clinic, the crucial mindset flip from pleasing to patient autonomy, and Michelle's elegant emotional map of chronic illness (from "at sea," to "washed ashore," to the "new forest," to the "return to the village"). We also walk through a career roadmap that acknowledges off-ramps, on-ramps, "the new," and long stretches of test-and-redesign — all in service of authentic leadership. Along the way, Michelle shares how somatic wisdom and lived experience can coexist with data, and why tools like Ovum give women a private, non-judgmental space to notice patterns, prepare for appointments, and be believed. If you'd like to learn more about Michelle's programs and resources, visit her website www.careerandchronic.com To follow Michelle and stay updated on her programs, visit her LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleirvingofficial And for resources mentioned in this episode: The Emotional Map: https://www.careerandchronic.com/emotionalmap The Career and Chronic Map: https://www.careerandchronic.com/career-map

    Ep 8: When ambition meets illness, with Michelle Irving

  8. 10/22/2025

    Ep 7: The pregnancy everyone missed, with Joyce Jiao

    In this moving episode, Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks sits down with Joyce Jiao — a founder and mother whose story reveals what happens when intuition collides with a system that doesn't listen. After giving birth, Joyce began experiencing strange sensations — fluttering in her stomach, chest tightness, weight loss — but her symptoms were dismissed as postpartum anxiety. Months later, an ultrasound revealed she was 18 weeks pregnant — and living with Graves disease, a condition that could have put both her life and her baby's at risk. Together, Ariella and Joyce unpack:✨ How bias and data gaps lead to dangerous diagnostic delays✨ Why women's intuition is often right — even when the tests say otherwise✨ The invisible mental load of being disbelieved✨ How centralising data through tools like Ovum could help women be heard, faster Joyce's experience is one of disbelief, resilience, and revelation. It's a reminder that the body keeps the score — and that listening isn't just empathy, it's medicine.

    Ep 7: The pregnancy everyone missed, with Joyce Jiao
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About

For too long, women's pain has been ignored, their symptoms brushed aside, and their stories dismissed — with devastating consequences. Hosted by Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks, this is the podcast that listens: to the women failed by the system, the researchers exposing medical misogyny, and the innovators closing the gender health gap. Brought to you by Ovum, the intelligent health partner built for women. Real stories. Radical listening. Change starts here.

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