Sharon Malone, MD, Launches Bold Podcast Putting Women’s Health in the Spotlight
In an era when conversations about women’s health are finally breaking out of silence, Dr. Sharon Malone is taking a bold step forward by launching a new podcast aimed at centering women’s health in the public discourse. The podcast—“The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon”—is intended to be a space where no question is off limits, where medical evidence and lived experience meet, and where women can reclaim agency over their bodies and narratives. According to her website, the show is slated to debut in fall 2025 via the Higher Ground network.
Below is a deep dive into why this podcast matters, what Dr. Malone brings to the table, how she is leveraging her decades of experience and advocacy, and what audiences can expect as the show goes live.
A Pioneer Amplifying Women’s Health Conversations
Dr. Sharon Malone is not new to the public health stage. With over 30 years of experience as an OB/GYN and certified menopause practitioner, she has long been a voice for women in midlife—particularly in an environment where women’s health, especially beyond childbearing years, is underrepresented in research and in clinical care.
Her work has spanned direct patient care, public advocacy, writing, and collaboration with women’s health platforms. In 2024 she released a book, Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy, which presents a roadmap for women to become informed advocates for themselves.
Yet Dr. Malone has long signaled that her ambitions extend beyond books and lectures. In the fall of 2025, she will take to the airwaves—digital airwaves—with “The Second Opinion.” The name itself is telling: it suggests not just a monologue but a dialogue, not a top-down lecturer but a trusted voice you consult. According to her site, the podcast will answer women’s health questions “with professionalism, warmth, and candid conversation.”
The platform behind the podcast is also notable: Higher Ground, the production company launched by Barack and Michelle Obama. That association naturally heightens expectations for quality, reach, and cultural relevance.
Why This Podcast Matters — The Stakes Are High
Women’s Health Deserves a Central Seat at the Table
For decades, women’s health beyond reproduction has been dramatically underfunded, understudied, and deprioritized. Many clinical trials excluded female participants, or lumped menopausal and midlife issues into broader “women’s health” categories with minimal attention. The result: knowledge gaps, clinical uncertainty, and women left to navigate confusing or conflicting advice. Dr. Malone has often spoken about how the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study of the early 2000s disrupted hormone therapy usage and redirected research away from midlife women.
In that context, a podcast that foregrounds these conversations—hot flashes, hormone replacement, sexual health, cardiovascular risk, mental health in midlife—can help de-shame, educate, and empower. It can give women a vernacular and a frame for something many feel but few have had permission to name.
A New Era of Health Literacy & Ownership
Dr. Malone has been a consistent proponent of patient agency. In interviews, she emphasizes that patients should not wait to be “sick enough” or “have enough symptoms” before seeking help. Rather, if something is bothering you—be it mood swings, sexual desire disorder, sleep disruption—you deserve to be heard and treated.
The new podcast offers a more extended, unrushed medium for those conversations. Her hope is that listeners will come away equipped to ask better questions of their physicians, interpret medical literature more confidently, and seek second (or third) opinions when necessary.
Bridging the Lay–Expert Divide
One of the challenges in health communication is that academic research and medical practice are often opaque or laden with jargon. Podcasts offer a comfortable bridge—audiences can engage in their own time, reflect, pause, rewind, and gradually absorb complexity. Dr. Malone’s style—warm, narrative-driven, personal—makes such topics accessible without oversimplifying. Her previous appearances and interviews already reflect this approach: she weaves clinical insights with personal stories.
In short: The Second Opinion is not just a new podcast—it is an intervention, a push toward greater transparency, inclusivity, and health equity.
What We Know So Far: Format, Guests & Focus
Several details have already been revealed publicly about the podcast, giving listeners and watchers clues about what to expect, even though it has not yet launched.
Launch Timeline & Live Taping
- The official launch is scheduled for October 6, 2025.
- On October 8, 2025, there will be a live podcast taping at Sixth & I, the Washington, DC cultural center, under the Higher Ground banner.
- The first live episode is billed as a “Menopause Edition,” covering midlife transitions, how menopause intersects with work, identities, and health.
Attendees will hear from guests such as Tamsen Fadal (journalist, author of How to Menopause) and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf (author and lawyer).
Audience Participation
One of the defining promises of The Second Opinion is that no question is off-limits. Dr. Malone’s website is already accepting health queries from prospective listeners. Her goal seems to be creating an interactive, listener-driven show—something like a medical “ask me anything” in long form.
Potential Topics & Themes
Based on Dr. Malone’s past public commentary and advocacy, one can anticipate that the podcast will explore:
- Menopause & perimenopause: What to expect, when, and how to manage symptoms
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): Benefits, risks, personalized approaches
- Cardiovascular, bone, metabolic health in midlife women
- Sexual health, libido, and intimacy
- Mental health across menopause: mood, sleep, brain fog
- Health inequities: how race, socioeconomic status, and systemic bias affect treatment and outcomes
- How to pick a doctor / self-advocacy in healthcare
- End-of-life planning, caregiving, transitions
As Dr. Malone has emphasized elsewhere, the intent is not to sensationalize, but to normalize, de-stigmatize, and inform.
What Dr. Malone Brings to the Mic
Launching a women’s health podcast is not new territory in 2025—but few bring the clinical credibility, advocacy depth, and authentic voice that Dr. Malone does. Here’s what makes her particularly well suited:
Clinical & Professional Credibility
- OB/GYN background: Dr. Malone’s foundation in obstetrics and gynecology gives her firsthand knowledge of women’s health across the lifespan, including reproductive, hormonal and surgical domains.
- Certified Menopause Practitioner: Her specialized training in menopausal care distinguishes her from many generalist physicians.
- 30+ years of practice: She has overseen real patient cases, seen evolving paradigms, and witnessed where clinical gaps lie.
This kind of grounding helps ensure the podcast is not merely theoretical, but grounded in real-world dilemmas and trade-offs.
Advocacy & Voice for Health Equity
Dr. Malone has long positioned herself as a champion for underserved women, particularly Black women who often experience disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. For instance, she has spoken about how Black women tend to experience menopausal symptoms earlier, for longer duration, and yet are less likely to receive hormone therapy.
Her willingness to speak candidly about systemic failures in research and health systems, and to press for legislative and funding shifts, gives the podcast a possible dual mission: educate individuals and push for macro change.
Narrative & Relational Approach
Listeners often gravitate toward health voices who feel human—ones who can explain uncertainty, name their own limits, and share stories. Dr. Malone is well known for this style. Her speaking and writing often weave patient stories, family history, and personal reflections, not just dry medical data.
She is quoted as saying she wants this podcast to feel less like a lecture and more like a “kitchen table conversation.”
That warmth matters. It’s what can make listeners feel safe asking “silly questions,” admitting taboos, or engaging with nuance.
What This Means for Women & Health Conversations in 2025
Dr. Malone’s entry into the podcast world with The Second Opinion signals broader shifts:
- Normalization of midlife health as central
Women have long been taught to prioritize fertility and reproduction—bodies beyond that zone often get relegated to background. A mainstream podcast dedicated to menopausal and post-reproductive health helps reposition those years as active, vital, and deserving of attention. - Decentralization of medical authority
In the past, medical knowledge was tightly mediated: doctor lectures, academic papers, patient pamphlets. The podcast format hands more interpretive power and agency to the consumer. Dr. Malone is not just imparting knowledge—she is training listeners to think in medical terms, critique what they hear, and be discerning. - Catalyst for research & policy change
Public awareness creates pressure. As more women hear about gaps in research, inequities in care, and overlooked aspects of their health, demand for funding, policy reforms, and inclusion may intensify. Dr. Malone’s podcast could be a vector for mobilizing a health movement around midlife women’s needs. - Bridging generational divides
The conversation around menopause, aging, and women’s health is evolving. Younger generations are more vocal in destigmatizing bodily change. Podcasts like this one can help older and younger women share voice, mutual learning, and community across life stages.
Conclusion:
In many ways, The Second Opinion with Dr. Sharon is more than a podcast. It is a statement: women’s health matters at every age; menstruation, hormones, menopause, aging and beyond are worthy of deep, candid, evidence-based conversation.
Dr. Malone brings a rare combination of authority, empathy, and activism to the mic. This show has the potential not merely to educate individuals but to shift cultural norms and medical priorities. When it launches, it may well become a touchstone for women seeking clarity, dignity, and partnership in their health journeys.
If you like, I can help you draft a promotional plan (episode ideas, guest suggestions, marketing) or write a companion press release for the launch. Would you like me to help with that?
