Video Interview: Journalist Tamsen Fadal Talks The M Factor

The topic of menopause has largely remained taboo and not widely covered in the media, despite the fact that some 1.1 billion women worldwide will be in menopause by 2025. Emmy Award-winning journalist Tamsen Fadal is shining a light on the topic in The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause. The doc features over 40 of the top renowned doctors, educators, advocates and policymakers about the topic. Cameras follow women in their doctors’ offices, at work and in their homes to expose the challenges they face, including racial bias, gender-ignorant care and barriers due to a lack of healthcare research.

Fadal, an award-winning journalist, women’s health advocate and social media powerhouse, started this film three and a half years ago to understand why we are so behind when it comes to this natural transition in a woman’s life affecting her relationships, the workplace and more. Produced by Women in the Room Productions and Take Flight Productions, The M Factor aims to educate and empower women to seek proper healthcare support. Fadal served as executive producer in addition to Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Denise Pines and Emmy Award-winning producer Joanne LaMarca Mathisen. Funding support was provided by the Metta Fund and private donors.

The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause premieres in the U.S. on PBS affiliates beginning October 17 (check local listings). The book How to Menopause is set for release in March 2025.