Patients are often too embarrassed or ashamed to bring up stigmatized medical issues such as postpartum depression or bowel leakage with their doctors—and even the ones who are brave enough to broach those subjects will frequently make appointments under the guise of less taboo maladies.

Orlando Health, a private, not-for-profit health care organization, confronted this pervasive issue by launching its “Taboo Topics” podcast last year, allowing listeners to receive answers to awkward questions from “Is my pee color a problem?” to “Why am I so sad?” without needing to ask their doctor directly. 

Orlando Health has released monthly episodes of the podcast since October 2023, each featuring a different doctor responding to some of the most taboo topics they encounter in their medical specialties. Urogynecologist Dr. Keisha Dyer, for instance, discusses accidental bowel leakage in an episode bluntly titled “My Butt’s Leaking,” while plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Kenneth Lee outlines the risks associated with popular cosmetic procedures. 

The podcast’s Q&A format and accessible explanations free of medical jargon have helped the show garner thousands of listeners across Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Orlando Health’s YouTube channel and website. The organization also uploads teasers for each episode across its Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, which it said collectively garnered more than 50,000 views and nearly 6,500 engagements across the first eight months following the podcast’s launch.

Orlando Health is now working to expand the podcast outside of the local market.