THE DOUBLE SCRUB

The Judge in the Delivery Room

What happens when a judge orders a woman to have surgery she doesn't want — while she's in labor? In this episode, Radhika and Scott break down one of the most talked-about cases in maternal healthcare right now: the story of Cherise Gordon Doyle, a 32-year-old doula and mother of four who was taken to court mid-labor over her right to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). As OB/GYNs, they bring both the clinical context and the human weight of what this case really means. They cover the medical reality of VBACs — who's a good candidate, what the risks actually are, and how shared decision-making is supposed to work. But they also go deeper: into informed consent, racial disparities in maternal mortality, what it means that a Black woman with professional expertise in birth advocacy still couldn't advocate her way out of that room, and the uncomfortable question of when — if ever — the law has a place in the delivery room. This one is equal parts medical education and honest conversation. Whether you're a patient, a provider, or just someone who's been following this story — this episode will give you the full picture. Topics covered: VBAC candidacy and risks · informed consent · court-ordered medical procedures · racial disparities in obstetric care · maternal vs. fetal rights · patient advocacy · Florida maternal health legislation

Worth the Chaos

In this episode, Radhika and Scott get honest about what family travel actually looks like for a dual-career, dual-physician household. They talk about what changed the moment kids entered the picture, how high-achievers are surprisingly bad at resting, and why the unscripted moments almost always become the ones you remember most. They cover: * Travel before kids vs. after — what you grieve, what you gain * The planning trap: why over-optimizing a trip can kill the magic * Handling things going wrong (in real time, with kids, at altitude) * How to actually carve out couple time inside a family vacation * What long-distance marriage looks like at the end of a week together Real, funny, and deeply relatable — for any family trying to make it all work.

Heidi Powell Unfiltered: Strength, Resilience & the Truth About Identity

What does it really mean to reinvent yourself — not for an audience, but for you? In this Women's History Month conversation, Dr. Radhika Sharma sits down with Heidi Powell — fitness expert, transformation coach, and former co-host of ABC's Extreme Weight Loss — for a candid, layered discussion that goes far beyond fitness. Known for helping hundreds of people dramatically change their lives on national television, Heidi opens up about being a self-described late bloomer, navigating the tension between public life and private identity, and the quiet but powerful work of unlearning patterns that once felt like protection. Together they explore what emotional resilience actually looks like in practice, how to raise kids who are grounded when the whole world is watching, and why non-scale victories might matter more than anything with a number attached. They also get into body image in midlife, what integrity really means when no one is looking, and how service — not achievement — became a source of genuine self-worth. This one is honest, warm, and deeply human. Whether you're in a season of reinvention or just beginning to ask harder questions about who you are — this conversation is for you. In this episode: * Why emotional strength comes from within, not from external validation * Navigating personal identity when you live in the public eye * Parenting with intentionality in a filtered, hyper-visible world * Body image and self-worth in midlife — letting go of the old metrics * How integrity and self-commitment become the foundation of everything

The Surgeon General Controversy: Wellness, Medicine & Who Gets to Be the Nation's Doctor

What happens when wellness culture meets federal public health leadership? In this episode of The Double Scrub, Dr. Radhika Sharma and Dr. Scott Curtis take a thoughtful look at the nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General of the United States — the physician often referred to as the "nation's doctor." The Surgeon General leads more than 6,000 members of the U.S. Public Health Service and serves as one of the country's most visible voices in public health. But what happens when a nominee comes from outside traditional clinical practice and from within the rapidly growing wellness and influencer ecosystem? In this episode we break down: • Casey Means' medical training and residency background • Why she left clinical training and how that story has been interpreted • Her work in metabolic health, wellness media, and health technology • Questions raised during her Senate confirmation hearing • The intersection of influencer wellness culture and public health authority • What this moment says about the state of American healthcare As practicing OB-GYNs, we also discuss the implications for women's healthcare, including public messaging around contraception, vaccines in pregnancy, hormone therapy, and the growing influence of social media health narratives. This conversation is not about politics. It's about trust in medicine, evidence-based care, and the future of public health communication in the United States. Because when the nation's doctor speaks, it shapes how millions of Americans understand their health.

Authenticity in Medicine: Obesity, AI & What's Really Happening in Healthcare

Season 2 kicks off with a real conversation about what it means to practice medicine in 2026. OB-GYNs Dr. Scott Curtis and Dr. Radhika Sharma return with an honest, unfiltered discussion on women's health, authenticity, and lifelong learning in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. From obesity medicine and metabolic health to AI in healthcare, rural healthcare shortages, rising insurance costs, and the business of medicine — this episode tackles the issues shaping patient care today. They explore where technology helps (and where it falls short), why empathy in OB-GYN care can't be replaced by algorithms, and how healthcare costs and accessibility are impacting families across America. If you care about women's health, obesity medicine, AI in medicine, rural healthcare access, insurance challenges, and personal growth as a physician — this season opener sets the tone. Welcome back to The Double Scrub.