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- [00:04]
Dr. Kelly Casperson
Welcome to the youe Are Not Broken podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Kelly Casperson, a board certified urologist, thought leader and conversation starter on midlife living, hormones and sexuality. Enjoy the show.
- [00:18]
Tamsen Fadal
Hey everybody. Welcome back to the youe're Not Broken podcast. Today I'm very excited to have my friend Tamsen Fadal on and we are going to talk about the M Factor movie and the premieres in case anybody's been living under a freaking rock. Welcome to the podcast.
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Good to see you. I know, right?
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I know. It's so good to me. I'm like, it's just like part of my language right now that this documentary is happening. It's like, it's partly sunny today and the menopause documentary is happening
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because of you, superstar.
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Oh God. Well, let's take us back to the beginning. Like, where did the seed get planted?
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Oh, gosh. Well, you know, I've been a journalist for a million years and when I really realized what was going on in my life, I kept talking to incredible doctors like yourself and talking to a lot of different experts. And I kept realizing there was like information everywhere, but never really in one place and never streamlined so you could really kind of understand what was going on, not just with your hormones, but with all the other aspects. And Joanne lamarco, who is one of the co producers and I were talking one day, she was on the Today show for years. And we said, we know how to storytell, right? We understand how to do that. We understand that this needs to be a combination of experts and real women and they've got to be merged together in a way that it teaches and informs. So let's go see what this is all about. So we, the very first day we walked out in the middle of Times Square Pand, still going on, people still messed up. And we were like, do you know what menopause is? And you know, some people were like, get away from me. You know, don't spread whatever you got going on. Don't give me menopause. I've already been right.
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Is that the next virus?
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I feel like people go, I have hot flashes now being around you. So we said, well, there's something here because a lot of people didn't have information, but we need to do it in a way where it's not haha funny and it is informative and it does make sense and it's actionable. Right? By the end of reading it, it's the here's I do next. And we wound up talking to two more people who do Documentaries on the west coast in East Pines and Kobe Atlas. And they said, we're working on a documentary. And we said, well, instead of competing, let's do it together. And that's what we started to do. So three years ago, Joe and I started. Two years ago, we started with Denise and Kobe, and then we went all across the country finding women's stories, talking to doctors, talking to doctors who would bring their patients in who are very raw and vulnerable and willing to discuss things. And then we said, okay, how much can we fit into this? It's going. PBS was an incredible partner to say, yes, we know that there's a need for this. Yes, we are going to air it. And so we started putting it together. And we have. So, Kelly, we have so much film, we have so many interviews that I can't wait to keep pushing out there. But, you know, we had to get it down to the hour space that we had allotted for PBS and the length of their documentaries. And I think the director did an incredible job of giving us enough of understanding the women's story so people can be seen in the documentary and then also learn something from it.
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Yeah, I've seen it two times now. And to me, I'm like, I'm an expert. I know this topic at this point. And it's like the second time I watched it, you get more out of it than even the first time. And that's me being completely fluent in this.
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Thank you for saying that.
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I watched it with a friend who's a family physician. She watched it the first time with me because we did it at my house before we did it. You know, we did a huge, huge premiere for it Yesterday with over 800 people and got more out of it that time.
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Thank you for that. I followed it every. I was. And I had fomo, by the way.
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It was a big stage. It was a big, big auditorium. We had. We had Canadians. We had lots of Seattle come up. We had. We had men. There were men there. It was awesome. How many hours of film got whittled down to like 50, what, 58 minutes, 54 minutes.
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I mean, we had dozens and dozens of interviews. I remember, with each person. And you probably saw this. We did a really long time shooting, you know, like, for how it has to be whittled down. I couldn't even tell you how many hours, honestly. I just know that we're starting to put out the longer form interviews. So there'll be the interview of you, like the whole thing. And so that's going to be half of the, you know, it'll be 30 minutes easily. And so I. But I think that it's important that we do that for a couple of different reasons. We want to make sure that the whole story is told. And because there's so much information in terms of these, like, little details that, you know, we want women to know and people want more information. Like, people are asking us for more information. And so I feel like that's really promising. A friend of mine came and saw it because we did our New York premiere on. On Friday night. And, you know, I was like, the girl that goes, is anyone going to show up for my birthday party? Like, that's what I was thinking. You know, I was so nervous on Friday night, I went to la and that was like our premiere. But it was, you know, Denise handled that part. She's like, well, New York's all yours. And I went and it was World Menopause Day. And it was a Friday night, and it was. It was all those things, but it was unbelievable, the turnout. And what was more exciting to me was after that, talking to so many women that were like, I had no idea. I want to watch it again. I want to watch, you know, I want to watch it with my husband and my daughter. Somebody is coming back tonight to the premiere we're having in Montclair, New Jersey, because she's like, I just want to watch it one more time with a group, a room of people.
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It's cool to watch it with a room of people and see where they laugh, see where you can hear a pin drop, have the audience's experience. And then somebody from last night I was talking to afterwards, she's like, okay, now I have to watch this on my own at home. So I can have a pause button and I can take notes. So that's like a whole different experience of, like, where you can, like, pause it, take it in, write something down.
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And I think that that's really what it was for, you know. And then the secondary part of it, along with having it for real women and real audiences, is also now for doctors as well. So, you know, it was accredited for the continuing medical education credits. And so that was super exciting. So I feel like it's starting to help move different needles, you know, and that was really the goal of it. The goal wasn't just to make a film. The goal was to really create the conversation, and which is why we have licensed it out for communities. So we have 150 screenings right now scheduled, and we have like 600 in
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the queue 600 in the queue. Yeah. Because I was using. I was using the 150, but even I was like, I'm like, that's accurate. Okay. But I'm like, that can't be it, the way that. And I'm like, I. I live in a bubble, right. I live and breathe this. But I'm like, there's going to be more than 150.
- [06:39]
Yeah. And international, too, which is exciting because right now we're in the process of acquiring international rights. And so, you know, once that happens, that's a different ballgame. But like, I have. I do a lot of the hellos for people. And I have one in Australia, I have one in Tanzania. I have one, like all these places that I'm like, what? What is going on? Like, that is unbelievable. So that we have it translated with closed caption in different languages now. So we're trying to add as many languages as we can.
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So, yeah, somebody had just reached out to me about Spanish. Is Spanish on pbs?
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Well, it must be now because the closed caption is up there.
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Okay. So at least Spanish is up now on pbs. I'm like, putting you on the spot. Sorry.
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Yeah, they've done a bunch of different ones because they were all things that we had planned to roll out, but we just didn't know how quickly it was going to catch on. You know, we're like, okay, we'll do this, then we'll do that, then we'll do it. And then we're like, we better do this now. But it's super exciting because people are making it their own, you know, and that's what we really love about it, is that they're making it their own. And that was the intention of that. That's what the intention of this whole conversation has been.
- [07:42]
As you know, I think a lot of the screenings that are happening and what I did for my screening is like, we watch the film and then we talk or we bring like, you know, for what I did, I brought up a panel to talk about menopause in the workplace. I already got an email today which is one day after from our hospital saying we want to bring that into the hospital because over 50% of our employees are women.
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Right?
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So it's like, it's like real time change happening.
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Yeah, yeah, A hundred percent. There's no, no, no question. Real time change. And I think, you know, we wanted to hit a lot of those different areas. We wanted to hit workplace. We wanted to hit sex brain, HRT solutions, hormone solutions, non hormonal Solutions, because I think we had to, we had to do as much as we could in that limited amount of time, but also make sure that it was understandable. Because if it's not understandable, what's the point? You know, we needed to make it where it was very understandable terms so people could take action. Next, I want them to walk into their doctor's office and be like, hey, I saw this. This is what I want to have a conversation about, whether I decide to do hormones or not. So, I mean, you and I have known each other for a while now, and I, I mean, you know, my source of pleasure is always storytelling. It's always like that platform. I could never have imagined this, though. And it's, it's due to people like you. I mean, you, you were one of the first people to call me. You were like, I'm going to rent an auditorium and have like hundreds of people at it. And the next thing I know, you like, I have 800 people coming. I went, what? So you're always my, my example, like, Dr. Kelly Casperson has 800 people.
- [09:13]
Not that we're slightly competitive as, like, who we are, but I'm like, yeah, you could be like, okay, who's got bigger than that? Well, somebody asked me because I think this is good for people to know who are listening, who want to screen it. Of, number one, it's not too late to screen it. And number two, like, people are like, how? How did you do that? And I'm like, listen, listen. You call a theater and you say, what does it take to rent it? And then you reach out to them, factorfilm.com, and you do fill out the form for screening. And I'm like, and then you gotta do a little bit of advertising, whether that's local radio. Like, my local radio was amazing. They loved the story. I have a decent Instagram. But even if you don't have that local newspaper radio, local podcasts, local whatever, your local bookstore, your local Theater Guild business, email lists, right? I'm just like, I want to give people inspiration of like, dude, this is not hard. Like, it's not hard to do. Like, I, I had a full time job.
- [10:10]
No, but you're my perfect example. You need to come on and we need to do an IG live on the M Factor account and on mine and maybe figure out a way to like, put them both up together or jump from one to the other. Because a lot of people want to do these. Like, they go and see it and then they want to go do A screening. And. And we're encouraging that because I don't care how. I don't care if it's 20 people or if it's 200 people, if it's 2,000 people. It's kind of the same. You know, the way to do it. You just got to plan for that extension. And I do think there's something to it, seeing it with other people, like you said, I feel like there's a different energy. The energy is palpable. You can feel it. And I think you can feel that something's happening. Do you know what I mean? And when I was at an event so Friday, and I went to the swell event that we. That we met at the next day, and people were coming up, like, I'm having a screening in Dallas, I'm having one in Seattle, and I'm having one in, you know, in Los Angeles. And I left there at the end of the day and I go. I came home and I just went. I never want this time in my life to end. Like, I'm so excited to see this moving along now, finally. Like, we've been talking about it for a long time, and just to see that it's helping people is really. And, you know, I quit my job almost a year ago, so it makes me feel like, okay, this is getting the message out there.
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Yeah. Oh, totally. I mean, this is big. It's big. This isn't like. I mean, PBS is big. The validation that comes with pbs, the validation that comes with CME accreditation for physicians, like, really legitimizing the quality of this. And I think, you know, you had said earlier, and me thinking back, like, before I got into this niche of, like, menopause was always something that was kind of made fun of and, like, humor in kind of, like, a gross sort of way. And, I mean, now we have great standups doing, you know, great comedy about it. But, like, it's not fart jokes. Like, this is not a fart joke topic.
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No, no. It's kind of like the thing we can all commiserate with, funnily. You know what I mean? Because there is. You gotta. You gotta laugh, right? But it was laughing at us, not with us. And. Because that's the difference. And I think, like, if we wanna laugh about it, it's okay. If you wanna laugh at us, then I have a problem. And that's. And that was part of what we were trying to figure out when we did the film is we were saying, like, should we have a comedian hosting it? Should we do a lot of the old movie clips or TV clips and put that in. And we decided really to strip that back and say, no, we have this amount of time. We have to use every minute, every minute of that time to put information in there and then also do things that maybe people don't know about, you know, maybe some of the history and understanding, you know, how we got to this place where women at this age were just kind of not looked upon as we are now or should be. And so I. I'm encouraged by what I'd love to see. You know, I'd love to see where we are. I'd love to be able to, like, through a looking glass and be like, where is it going to be in two years? What does this conversation look like? And so I'm hoping that the M factor is a huge part of that conversation to move it to the next level so people can get the help they need.
- [13:10]
Yeah, totally. And the movie did such a good job of. It's not in your face. It's not like, this is what you need to know. This is the fact, like, it's very much like you. Here's a platter. And then everybody can take. Like, everybody took something different from it, like, from the antebellum south, father of gynecology, story of, like, really sharing. Like, women aren't treated very well in medicine. And there's a dark history to this that's very moving for people. The testosterone. I was talking to somebody else about the screening in Seattle, and they're like, everybody there wanted to talk about the testosterone. And then at my event, the teeth. Everybody's like, oh, my God, the teeth.
- [13:53]
I know everybody was. It was unbelievable when we heard that, I went, what? But what was funny when I filmed that part, I have a tooth that cracked. And I never had teeth problems in my life, and I had to get a root canal. And I was like, what in the world? And then I had to get the tooth taken out, which, by the way, I've been so lazy about getting it replaced, but it's way back there, so you can't see it. But I went, oh, my gosh, this is unbelievable information. And then at first we were like, I don't know. Is that. Like, are people going to be shocked or not? Think it's a big. It's the one thing everyone talks about because it's such a big deal. And so I have even myself sometimes when I'm watching it, I watch it. A lot of times I find myself, like, just listening and paying attention, But I just Think it's because we haven't had the conversation for such a long time that maybe we're all so grateful to hear it. And then you hear something a little bit different in it each time.
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I mean, it's interesting too, just as a physician, because teeth are excluded from medical education.
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Yeah, I didn't realize that.
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I didn't know that. And so for us to be like, hold on.
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Because nobody would come to you and say that to you probably. Right? They wouldn't even have that. Would they even have that conversation with you?
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No, I. I haven't heard it much in my clinic. I'm trying to think if I hear it like I hear. I tend to hear more like gum disease, inflammation, which we know is associated with heart disease. And then we know both of those are associated from. With low estrogen.
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Right.
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So, like, the story's all, but to hear the dentist say, this is what we see happening, or this is what we learned. I had some dentists in the audience. And so actually, again, that was yesterday. Talked to one of them today and was like, what'd you think about the teeth thing? Right? Cause like, last night, everybody was like, the teeth. So the dentist. The dentist was like, I went home and I looked it all up, you know? Cause she's gonna fact check her. Her stuff, right? And she's like, yep. And we didn't get done it. She's like, my employees are 50, they're miserable. Right. So she tied like the dentist thing to her and you know, like all of the stuff, it's just. It's so applicable to everybody.
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It is, it is. I'm so grateful for the real women, though. And thank you for having some of your patients talking to us, but who are so willing to share their stories. Because that's not easy. I mean, I know, I know that we all talk about it, but honestly, that's not easy. That's not easy that your face is going to be everywhere, that you're going to go to work the next day and somebody heard you talk about your sex life or lack of. And. And so I'm grateful for that because it allowed people to feel very seen and it allowed people to feel like, oh, yeah, I totally get what she's saying. In New York, we had a couple of people who were in the film come and it was just. They were just awesome. It's just I feel like I have friends for life, you know, they're just like. They're people that. I feel like they're my family now. And. Yeah. So I hope The I hope the M Factor is screened in as many places as people can do it. And that's why we try to, you know, make it easy. And we said, just please just don't upload it to YouTube. That's all you have to. That's all. That's basically the whole promise on there. Then I did you find it pretty easy. Everything else. Did you need more stuff or if you have any advice or thoughts, we'll take any of them. This is our first time.
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Yeah. I'm like, I have no feedback. It was very easy. And like, to me, I'm like, I have a full time job and everything else that I do. And I sold out a theater.
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I know, it's unbelievable. And you did tickets and you did tickets, which I thought were so cool.
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Yeah, I know. The, the tickets had said the impactor film sponsored by the Casperson Clinic, which is super, super cute. I asked so that we film the film and, and then I got right up on stage and I asked for people's feelings.
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Oh, you did great, Great. What'd you hear?
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I'm like, what did you feel? What did this movie make you feel? And it's like, it's so cool because it's all across the board, right? Like energized, excited, pissed, like, you know, like shocked. And then I'm like, and the teeth. And it was like teeth.
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A little dance to warm the audience.
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I did a little dance. So that was actually just for me. Nobody got to see that except for the millions on Instagram. I posted that afterwards. I'm like, this is too good to not post. Where do you see this going as far as like, I think it's international's next. You know, I think everybody's asking for that. So I think that's probably the next step. And I don't want to take you out of the like basking in the now, but like, is there like a next.
- [18:03]
Yeah, I mean, you know, we're going to do the longer form interviews and I think that that's a really big deal. And I think that, you know, the crazy. This community is being created as we speak. You know, we're, we want to make sure that we're connecting everybody together because I think that that's going to be a huge part of it and then just start lifting people from there. I mean, you know, I have. My book comes out next year, so that's. We're going to do, you know, some of that with some of these screenings going forward. And so that'll be another part of it. But right now I think it's really important for us to get as many places to screen it as possible. Because there are places where people might not have 200 people, they might have 20. And I want them to feel as empowered to sit there and do that too, because I think that's important because that we have to get into these communities that don't have these conversations. And there are a lot of them. And if we can do that and then we can get doctors that come into these communities and talk to women. Because there are a lot of places. I mean, you know this. There are a lot of places where people go like, I don't have a doctor. I don't have anybody to talk. You know, there's nobody around that I feel specializes in this. So that's part of our goal with this workplace is another place we definitely want to reach. And I think that those are like kind of the lofty goals for the next year or so and then figure out, you know, what's next in terms of another film or an expanded version or an updated version to make sure that we continue to know this information changes so much and we want to make sure we stay on top of that. So it's always relevant.
- [19:23]
Yeah, I mean, I think you did really well at. Right now. I can't think of any. It's not like you put in a, like a fact that is going to change much as far as, like, this is the current dose for blah, blah, blah. Like, you know, you didn't put anything in there that might change. I think it's. I think it's really going to last for a long time.
- [19:39]
Thank you. I hope so. I hope those exp. Stand extended interviews are something that people can appreciate because you guys spent a lot of time with us and we want people to see those longer form
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even, you know, in the women that I brought to interview. Like, their stories are so amazing and it's like to actually like see the film and then dig deeper. Like, I always love the extra stuff on the movies. I love. I love the takeout. The takeouts, outtakes.
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The outtakes on them.
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Dr. Kelly Casperson
Right.
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Tamsen Fadal
I know, I know. I can't even imagine some of my outtakes on this when I can't even remember them.
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I know you're gonna get a blooper reel for you. Tell me about the book.
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Book how to Menopause. And you know that I was struggling like last time you were here when we.
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Yeah. You were just. You were just having to get it in.
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I had just had to get it in. So it comes out in March. It's on pre order now, and it's called how to menopause. And 42amazing experts, you included, are part of it. But it was important for me to go beyond the doctor's office with the book and spread out and go into workplace and go into sex and brain and bedroom and style and all the things that kind of change during this time in life. Relationships, big one. And so I'm excited about it. And I spent a long time in the relationship world. I had a matchmaking business, you know, in another lifetime. And I saw a lot of the struggles that women went through. And now I realize looking back when I saw women that were in their, you know, late 40s or 50s, they were. Now I realize that what they were dealing with. And so relationships are a big part of this conversation that can't be excluded and put in another category. And, you know, I just don't think you can separate any of these things. And that was what the film did. And the book is kind of like that extended companion to it with a different tone, more of like personal stories tone, obviously. But, yeah, it was fun to write. Now that it's done.
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Yeah, now that it's done. Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Writing books are awesome when they're fully formed. Like, look, I wrote a book. And meanwhile, like, the husband's like, are you sure you like this? You know, I'm like, very few people say they like writing a book when they're writing the book. What was the fe. Going back to, like, the men in their relationships? What was. What's the feedback you're getting from men who watch the film?
- [21:46]
Yeah, it's interesting. You know, I. It's not that I didn't put men in the equation. I think I put them more in the equation for the book and not so much in the film. And we had even talked to some of the people's spouses or partners who didn't wind up using those. But two of the people that were in the film, their partners came with them to New York, and we're just kind of blown away by it all. And I. I think that when I'm talking to people that are seeing it with their partners, like, a friend of mine had a hysterectomy and she said, my. My husband, we watched a film together and he just held me afterwards and, like, really understood. And I just have to tell you, that gives me chills to tell you that, because I just read the text a few hours ago.
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Hey, men. That's how you do it right.
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That's how you do it right. That's how you do it right. And so, but that's really amazing because I think I wasn't taking into consideration, like, men watching it necessarily. Like, that's been exciting to see that the male reaction of I had no idea, or oh my gosh, I was so surprised, or wow, now I understand. And I was at a interview not too long ago and this guy came running after me who had been running the camera, and he said, my wife is everything that you're describing right now, and I just want to help her. What can I do? And I went, oh my gosh, you need to repeat that to 50 of your friends.
- [22:56]
Yeah, it's very tangible to them. Right. Like, I think it's a very nebulous thing until they can get like concrete facts about, like, this is real shit. It solidifies it.
- [23:08]
It, yeah, it, it, it 100% is. And I also think it opens an uncomfortable conversation that what might seemingly be uncomfortable for couples, you know, like, maybe you don't know how to bring it up to somebody or workplace or your child or your husband or whatever. And I hope that this kind of helps open that up if they're watching
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it, you know, versus I thought the one woman on there in the blue sweater who was talking about her experience. She was kind of like the, the good relationship nugget in there of like, I love my husband and this is my experience.
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Yeah. They came to the screening in New York and so it was like, it was just. Yeah, it was cool. It's just like, cool to, you know, and I'm poor. I watched her like 10 times. So, you know, that's awesome.
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When you were a matchmaker, roughly how old were you?
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I was in my, my early 30s.
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Early 30s. And did you have like 50 year olds?
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Well, because New York, you know, like so many of the guys wanted to date really young. You know, there'd be this like big age sp. So, yeah, so that there was a lot. A lot.
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And with your lens now looking back on that, do you see that all very differently now?
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So differently. Well, differently in a couple of different ways. Differently in that I guess I would always. Because you can't put an older head on young shoulders. Right. So, you know, I was looking at through my lens, right. My lens was, oh, my gosh, you're really lucky. You don't have to worry about all these other things you have to worry about when you're 30, you know, like, so you just have fun and not a big Deal. What I wasn't taking into consideration was sex is different, experience is different, relationships are different, body is different, feeling comfortable getting undressed with somebody is different. All these things are different. That wasn't my framework. I just didn't understand it. Now I understand it. And, you know, I went through a divorce. Then I got remarried at 50. So I understood it. You know, I was in. I was in the height of perimenopause when I met Ira. And I didn't have any idea. I was. Periods were bizarre. I thought it was stress. I couldn't sleep. I was gaining weight. I was like, he'd make a plan and then I'd forget until the day. I mean, it was just. When I look back at it, I'm like, I was a perfect menopause patient. Perfect.
- [25:14]
Like, I had everything.
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I had everything. So, yeah, my going back to your question, though, very different. Very different.
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That's awesome. I mean, Ira, you know, you know him more than I do. But, like, Ira's in the industry as far as, like, entertainment. What people like, what was his input on you wanting to create something like this?
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I think he was in shock on Tuesday night. Like, he had seen it and heard little blips of it. And then, like, he'd watch and then he'd, like, he'd be. I'd be seeing him on his phone looking at the score or something, and I'm like, are you watching the documentary? You know, because the poor guy, like, every time we get a new version, I'm like, this might be the final version we should watch.
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Right? And he's like, he's in it. Like, you've been doing this for, like, three years now.
- [25:54]
Yeah, yeah. I'm like, look at this. Just look at this one thing. And so I think he didn't really know what to expect. And, like, I'm sorry, but when you say the word menopause documentary, no one's jumping to the front to be like, oh, I'll screen it for you. And so I think that he was blown away while he was with me in LA and two of my friends brought their husbands to see it. So now he's sitting with two of his friends, and all three of the guys watched it. And one of them, who I is kind of a. You know, he's like a smart aleck. And. And he came up afterwards and he goes, nothing sarcastic. He was like, you. I can't even believe what I've learned. So I think Ira got his tone from there and was like, this is great. Look at all this, it's amazing. I think he's just kind of a little surprised by it all. But he said to me in New York, I've never seen an audience sit still. So without moving or fidgeting because you could hear a pin drop at some times. And I've never seen that before. And he's been in this, he's watched a lot of screenings, been to a lot of these. He thought that was a really good sign of that people wanted and needed that information. So that was nice to hear.
- [26:58]
I love it. Yeah, just his lens on like, you know, how do you entertain people? What are people interested in? Like, you know, do you pay attention to what the audience is doing? Like, all of those things is very cool. What was the most difficult thing in making this documentary?
- [27:11]
Well, I mean, you know, we got a lot of no's originally. Like, we got. No one's going to watch that. We're not airing that on our streamer. And a lot of no's to funding. So we self funded. We were determined and we're like, if we have to put it up on YouTube. If what, whatever we have to do. And so when pbs, I was like, this is the best of all worlds. Like, I couldn't have even imagined something better. So that was amazing to me because I felt really like they understood and I knew they were gonna pay attention, you know what I mean, and make sure it was. It was great. And they're just such a trustworthy. And so that was, that was really nice. I think that the hardest part probably was trying to figure out how to put all that information in a short period of time. It was very hard to leave things out for me.
- [27:51]
Well, yeah, I mean, the editing, you have to kill your babies, as they say in the, in the editing world.
- [27:57]
It was, it was really hard. And I, and I was like, oh no, that has just. Nope, there's nothing to remove. Nothing. You know, like, eventually we found it and Kobe was really great about it and she's done this so many times as a director. She was like, okay, Tamsen. And then she takes something out and I'm like, okay, well maybe that, but nothing else, you know, so that was hard. But we had just a great team to work. Four women came together. I mean, I really like, now that I know what the end result was, like, what it came to look like, I'd love to do it all again and been enjoying it all during the process. I was like, I'm so stressed out. Is it gonna be okay?
- [28:30]
It was Kobe's Third. Third PBS documentary.
- [28:33]
Oh, God. She's done third or third or fourth.
- [28:35]
Right. Like, she is an absolute pro.
- [28:38]
She's such a pro. She's so smart. She's somebody I learned from. I've never done a documentary before. I've done a lot of interviews, and I've done a lot of storytelling, and I've done a lot of promotion, but I'd never done that. So it was a really nice group to all come together because everyone kind of learned from everybody else. So that was sort of cool, too. So it couldn't have been a better, I don't know, entree into my next chapter, you know, than this experience. It was really like, I wanted to get up every day and go to work with these people.
- [29:04]
Yeah, they're incredible. And their networks are incredible. Like, you know, they've been. They've been in it. They know people. They. They know how to get people to. To show up. Like, it's. These are the people. Your team is the team to create this film?
- [29:17]
Yeah. I mean, I'm really proud of them. I'm really.
- [29:19]
It wouldn't have been created the same way had it not been this team. I love it. Your story is so cool. I mean, sorry, it had to be shitty at the beginning. Right. But, like, your story is so cool because you kind of went from this, like, truly suffering through the learning to feeling better. And it's like the true hero's journey. Right? Like, the hero has to go out, has to learn, and then they have to bring the truth back to the people. Like, that's the definition of the hero's journey, and that's what you've done.
- [29:52]
Thank you for saying that. Yeah. I could never have anticipated any of this. I think that most of it was so I could figure out what the hell was going on with me. And then, you know, the next part of it was like, I just couldn't believe that I was so naive, you know, And I was sitting there with wire services and any news organization I could, you know, like, any. Like, we have access to all this information, and this wasn't part of it. And I. I think that was the shocking part for me. That was really shocking. And then I also think that my mom. And the history of my mother dying young and not having had that conversation, I think that was all part of it. So it was sort of this. I don't know. It all came together. Somebody's like, how did you make such a pivot? And I said, I didn't really make a pivot. Like, I Didn't just kind of kept taking me. It was like a. It was more like. I don't know how to describe it, but it just kept going. I didn't. I wasn't directing it. I wasn't directing the, you know, the ship for sure.
- [30:44]
That's how I feel on my journey. Because people, you know, you can only see. It only makes sense looking backwards. But like, I am on a ride. The universe is using me for what the universe is using me for. My job is to have fun and, you know, to make sure I'm not suffering in the process. Right. But like, both of us were like, I don't know what two years from now is. We have no idea. And we're both very okay with that. Yeah.
- [31:08]
I don't know what's next. And I used to want to be like, I have to plan this out. I need a to do list. What's going on? Where are we going next? We have to. Now I'm like, I don't know. I mean, I could have never expected this. We put the dock out. I was a nervous wreck putting the trail out. I remember where I was when it happened. And then all of a sudden it was like, like, sure, sure, sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. And I went, all these people are going to see it now, you know, because we've been working on long privately, I'm like, oh, no. People are going to see the trailer.
- [31:34]
And they're like, they're like, that is why. That is why you created this.
- [31:40]
And so that was, you know, it's just.
- [31:41]
But who knew?
- [31:42]
Who knew? And I'm just so grateful, man. I'm just so grateful. And I just hope it makes a lot of changes for people. I really do.
- [31:48]
I love it. So on Instagram, the M Factor film on the website is the mfactorfilm.com PBS.org is where they go. So this is the other thing. And give me, give me pro tips. People are like, I can't get it on PBS or blah, blah. And I've said, ask P. Ask your local PBS station to air it, which does a couple. And I've got already gotten feedback that they're doing it and it's worked in
- [32:14]
some cases, which is amazing. And you know, I. Look, I think PBS wants to know what people want. And I think that, you know, we're seeing more and more airings pop up now on broadcast PBS.org it's going to be on for the next six months. You know, that's great. And that's where you can stream it and you know, we're determined to make sure. And the reason that we did this in terms of the community screenings, is to make sure everybody could see it no matter what. So if it was there or if it wasn't there, they would have some kind of access. Access is everything.
- [32:40]
Can it do, you know, can International people access PBS.org Good question.
- [32:46]
Some have been able to, some have not. We're working on international rights right now to push that out as quickly as we can. Some people have done, like, these different kind of apps and found ways around it, but I don'. I don't know how to do it. So that's why we're also sending it out internationally if they want to screen internationally. So we've had a couple of different screenings in different countries already.
- [33:05]
Nice. And I mean, this is far enough in the future, but tomorrow, in Today's World of March 1st, I'm going to be in Sydney, Australia, speaking at the Sydney Opera House and hopefully finding a koala to pet, because that's my bucket list. But so rumors were this week that we want to screen it there, which makes complete sense. So anything else? Any other resources that I missed that we need to be able to talk about?
- [33:31]
I love this. I love this. And thank you for what you did. That screening was, ah, it was so fun.
- [33:37]
Well, I'm like, I'm just like, you know, you get anxious because, like, you film for a documentary and like, you don't know if you're gonna make a cut. And you're like, dude, this is. You're filming Internet, like all over the nation, all these experts, like, we don't even know if we make the cut or not. And then I'm like, damn, I made the cut. And my. Both of my ladies made the cut.
- [33:55]
Yeah, they did. Yeah, they. Awesome.
- [33:57]
Really awesome. So thank you. Thank you for, you know, us having good stories worth telling. Thanks for joining me. Thank you for doing this podcast. We'll keep getting the word out.
- [34:06]
I love it.
- [34:07]
I love it.
- [34:07]
Thank you.
- [34:09]
Dr. Kelly Casperson
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of you are not broken. If you want to dig deeper with me, sign up for my adult sex education masterclass where you learn adult things like communication skills, anatomy lessons and desire types, and how to talk to your doctor about sexual health concerns.
- [34:24]
Tamsen Fadal
Concerns.
- [34:25]
Dr. Kelly Casperson
If you want the adult sex education masterclass for free, join my monthly membership for more in depth, exclusive content, more time with yours truly, a private podcast, coaching and educational empowerment. And you can watch my interviews live and get them immediately without advertising. Head over to www.kellycaspersonmd.com for the membership and Adult Sex Ed Masterclass members get the Master class for free. This podcast is presented solely for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. I am a doctor, but not your doctor in this format and all of my platforms and guests, including on this podcast are not giving individual medical advice or practicing medicine. See in Consult with your own care team for your individual needs and concerns. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for the care and advice of a physician, therapist, or other qualified professional. This podcast does not constitute the practice of medicine, in case you were curious about that and no doctor patient relationship is formed. But I still love you. Using the information on this podcast or any of my platforms is at your own risk. Until next time. Remember, you are not broken.