Dr. Jennifer Grandis on Harsh Medicine: Why Women Can’t Get Ahead in Science & Health Care

What does it actually cost us when medicine fails to see and support the people inside it — especially women? Dr. Jennifer Grandis has spent decades asking that question, and her new book, Harsh Medicine: Why Women Can't Get Ahead in Science and Health Care, is her most direct answer yet.

Dr. Grandis is a physician-scientist, Professor of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery at UCSF, American Cancer Society Professor, and principal investigator on NIH-funded cancer research. She joins me for a conversation that goes well beyond the book — into the moments that shaped her career, the institutions that get talent wrong, and what it takes to build cultures where people feel safe enough to speak up before things go wrong.

We talk about what it means to build a career when the traditional networks aren't available to you. About the cost of lost talent — not just to the individuals who leave, but to the patients who need them. About how men can move from bystanders to genuine allies. And about what you say to someone who's on the edge of walking away from medicine or science altogether.

This is a conversation about systems, about courage, and about why fixing this problem isn't just good for women — it makes all of medicine better.

Harsh Medicine is published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Get the book: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54050/harsh-medicine

Learn more about Dr. Grandis: https://jennifergrandis.com
Follow Dr. Grandis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifergrandismd
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-grandis-md
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jennifergrandismd

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Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters.

Producer: Abraham Lyerly
Music: Nic Tierman
Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez