185. It’s Not Just Her: Male Factor Fertility and Genetics Uncovered
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
Release Date: 11/03/2025
193. Not Broken, Just Wired Differently: The Quiet Fertility Struggle No One Talks About
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
In this episode of Talking Away the Taboo, Dr. Baron is joined by Hadassah Eventsur, an occupational therapist and life coach, for a deeply needed conversation about neurodiversity in Jewish life, and how that contributes to a smaller family size. Hadassah reached out to name something many women feel but struggle to articulate: the pain of wanting a large family while knowing that undiagnosed ADHD or other neurodivergent traits make the day-to-day demands of parenting feel overwhelming or unsustainable. Dr. Baron names this experience as circumstantial infertility, where...
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192. Adoption, Transparency, and Trust: Pamela Krooth’s Story (Part Two)
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
In this episode of Talking Away the Taboo, Dr. Baron is joined again by Pam Krooth as they pick up right where their first conversation ended, the moment Pam received the call about a little boy available for adoption. Pam shares her experience adopting her son, David, from Ethiopia, including the emotional weight of the legal process, the heartbreak of separation during visa delays, and the realities of bringing a young child into a new country, culture, and family. She reflects on the importance of ethical adoption practices, thorough preparation, and honest self-assessment before choosing...
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191. Nothing About This Was Simple: Amanda Bryk on Miscarriage, Pregnancy After Loss Anxiety, and Finding Community
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Amanda Bryk, a new IWSTHAB board member, to talk honestly about miscarriage, anxiety, and the complicated reality of building a family after loss. Amanda shares her first miscarriage and the shock of learning there was no heartbeat at an early ultrasound, navigating that moment without her husband Darren present due to residency, and the emotional weight of making decisions no one prepares you for. As her losses continued, Amanda opens up about how anxiety followed her into subsequent pregnancies and how grief doesn’t disappear just because you go on to...
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190. When the Waiting Becomes the Story
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
In this episode, Tamar and Giddy share their story - how they met, fell in love, and built a marriage shaped by multiple losses, 11 rounds of IVF, and the constant waiting that comes with not knowing what’s next. They talk openly about how infertility impacts a marriage, how they learned to support each other while grieving differently, and the role therapy, creativity, faith, and community played in helping them survive the most challenging moments. Tamar also shares how their Instagram page, Tales of Tamar, became a creative outlet and source of connection during COVID — and how telling...
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189. BRCA: Understanding Risk and Reclaiming Control (in partnership with JScreen)
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
This episode brings together the science, the medicine, and the lived experience behind BRCA mutations. Emily Goldberg, JScreen’s Director of Genetic Counseling Services, breaks down what these mutations are, how they’re inherited, and what the actual cancer risks look like. Dr. Melissa Frey, a GYN oncologist at Cornell who works closely with high-risk families, walks us through what happens after someone tests positive — from screening to risk-reducing surgeries to the big conversations around fertility and timing. We also hear from Heather Boussi, who shares her powerful story of...
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188. The Many Ways to Become a Mother: Pamela’s Story of Infertility, Postpartum Depression, and Adoption
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
Like so many, Pam Krooth, LCSW, spent years trying not to get pregnant, only to find herself aching for the thing she once assumed would come easily. What followed was a long, emotional road marked by pain, heartbreak, and the slow, painful shift between expectation and reality. Throughout Pam’s story, we see how the path to the family she hoped for looked nothing like what she once imagined, and how hard it was when the timing was out of her control. After infertility, postpartum depression, and a miraculous adoption, she found her way to a different kind of motherhood, which reminds...
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187. Two Voices. Three Miscarriages. One Miraculous Ending
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
and More about Tamara Stein (J.D.): Tamara is originally from Sacramento, CA, but has been living on the East Coast and in the Midwest for well over a decade. She moved to the Upper West Side of New York City in 2023 to create Base UWS, a pluralistic, diverse, vibrant Jewish community for 20s and 30s out of her and her husband Danny's home. Tamara is a lawyer who received her J.D. from Suffolk University in Boston, MA. On top of helping to run Base UWS, Tamara currently works full-time as the Deputy Director at Mayday Health, a non-profit that educates folks on medication abortion and how...
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186. Grief Without a Funeral: Emergency Hysterectomy and Reproductive Trauma with Danielle Mizrahi
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
What happens when you have a profound loss, but no grave to visit? In this episode, Danielle shares her unique fertility journey — one that challenges our assumptions about what “fertility struggles” look like. From the joy of welcoming her third child to the unexpected trauma that followed, Danielle opens up about grief that doesn’t come with a funeral, the profound loss of her ability to have more children, and the moments when her pain felt invisible. We explore how her body carries memory and trauma, how medical care and community influenced her recovery, and the ways...
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185. It’s Not Just Her: Male Factor Fertility and Genetics Uncovered
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
Infertility isn’t only a women’s issue, though too often, it’s talked about like it is. In this episode, we’re digging into male factor infertility: what it means, how it’s diagnosed, and how it impacts couples emotionally, physically, and relationally. We’re joined by Paul Kassebaum, a quantum physicist, and his wife Julia Cohen, an economist, who live in Westchester, NY. In 2021, their family-building journey took an unexpected turn with a diagnosis of male factor infertility. They open up about the medical and emotional twists and turns of their path, and why they hope sharing...
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184. Racing Time, Holding Hope: The Ups and Downs of a BRCA+ Fertility Journey
Talking Away the Taboo with Dr. Aimee Baron
Briana Felsen’s path to motherhood was anything but straightforward. When she learned she was a BRCA carrier, everything changed—her sense of time, her plans for the future, and her relationship with her own body. Facing a 72% lifetime risk of breast cancer, she found herself racing against the clock to build her family before needing preventative surgery. What followed was a fertility journey deeply intertwined with Jewish time—the holidays marking both medical milestones and heartbreaks. From an ectopic pregnancy on the High Holidays to finally learning she was pregnant on...
info_outlineInfertility isn’t only a women’s issue, though too often, it’s talked about like it is. In this episode, we’re digging into male factor infertility: what it means, how it’s diagnosed, and how it impacts couples emotionally, physically, and relationally.
We’re joined by Paul Kassebaum, a quantum physicist, and his wife Julia Cohen, an economist, who live in Westchester, NY. In 2021, their family-building journey took an unexpected turn with a diagnosis of male factor infertility. They open up about the medical and emotional twists and turns of their path, and why they hope sharing their story will help others feel less alone.
To give us a full picture, we also bring in experts: Dr. Ariel Moradzadeh, a reproductive endocrinologist, and Abbe Golding, a genetic counselor at Jscreen. Together, we explore:
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What male factor infertility actually is, what the causes are, and how it’s evaluated
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Who should be doing the testing and why it matters
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The role genetics can play in male infertility
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The emotional and psychosocial impact on men and couples
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How couples like Paul and Julia navigate the unexpected and find resilience
Whether you’re directly facing male factor infertility, supporting a partner, or simply learning more about the different paths to parenthood, this conversation is a mix of story, science, and support.
Note: This episode is the 3rd of a series of 5 that we are collaborating on with Jscreen in 2025.
Take a look at our previous two episodes here :
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Episode 157: Introduction to Genetics and Infertility
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Episode 166: Fragile X Syndrome: A Silent Factor in Infertility
About Paul Kassebaum and Julia Cohen:
Paul Kassebaum (Kass-eh-bomb) and Julia Cohen live in Westchester, NY where Paul is a quantum physicist and Julia is an economist. In 2021 they were forced to reconsider how to start a family when presented with a diagnosis of male factor infertility. They hope that by sharing both the medical and emotional aspects of their journey they can be a resource for other couples navigating the infertility space.
About Dr. Ariel Moradzadeh:
Dr. Ariel Moradzadeh attended medical school at The David Geffen school of medicine at UCLA. Following medical school, he completed his General Surgery internship and Urology residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he developed his passion for men’s health and male infertility. Following residency, he completed an andrology, men’s health, male and infertility fellowship at UCLA, and he now works as a full-time reproductive Urologist at Cedars-Sinai. When he is not treating patients, he enjoys running, swimming, weight lifting and yoga.
About Abbe Golding:
Abbe Golding is a certified genetic counselor and works as a community education and outreach manager for JScreen. She is passionate about providing genetic knowledge that empowers individuals to make informed healthcare decisions. Abbe believes that accurate and relatable genetic information should be accessible to everyone. Abbe lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and daughter.
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