{"podcast":{"title":"Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building through ART","slug":"infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488","podcast_index_feed_id":206488,"rss_url":"https://feeds.redcircle.com/0de6df85-dd92-47bc-acde-76dd6447d1ea","website_url":"https://redcircle.com/shows/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art","image_url":"https://media.redcircle.com/images/2024/7/19/21/e5a0e5ee-7c22-4dbd-9c0d-4970df7981ce__4796d451-1a0b-470a-b769-96fb152be1d9_img_0661.jpg","author":"Alison Prato","episode_count":387,"summary":"In this unfiltered podcast about infertility, Brooklyn-based journalist and mom-of-two Ali Prato, who went through secondary infertility and IVF herself, talks to women—and some men—about the messy, frustrating, painful, heartbreaking, absurd and sometimes hilarious journey to have a baby. Or in some cases, to not have a baby. Each episode tells a different story about family building, getting real about miscarriages, egg freezing, sperm and egg donation, IUIs, endometriosis, male factor infertility, adoption, surrogacy, genetic testing, single parenting by choice, LGBTQ+ fertility, living childless not by choice, depression, relationship issues, money issues, jealousy, PTSD, and so much more. Ali covers all of the outcomes in this safe, non-judgement zone: the happy endings, the soul-crushingly sad ones, and the ones still in limbo.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-12T18:18:07.711380+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488"},"episode":{"title":"From Protecting Michelle Obama to Building a Family Through Surrogacy: LGBTQ+ Advocate Cory Allen on Love, Loss and Fatherhood","slug":"from-protecting-michelle-obama-to-building-a-family-through-surrogacy-lgbtq-advocate-cory-allen-on-love-loss-and-fatherhood","published_at":"2026-06-13T16:23:06+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488/from-protecting-michelle-obama-to-building-a-family-through-surrogacy-lgbtq-advocate-cory-allen-on-love-loss-and-fatherhood","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488","url":"https://www.infertileafgroup.com/podcast","audio_url":"https://audio1.redcircle.com/episodes/63d2bb78-b4cd-4c89-9fed-68b2f0f01652/stream.mp3","summary":"Today’s guest is Cory Allen—a former police officer, longtime U.S. Secret Service Agent who spent years protecting Michelle Obama, author, dad, and advocate for LGBTQ+ family building. You may know Cory from his memoir, Breaking Free , where he shared his journey as a gay Secret Service Agent. Now he’s written a children’s book called Dada Takes a Trip , inspired by the very real emotions that come with leaving your child behind for a work trip—and helping kids understand that love doesn't disappear just because a parent is away. In this episode, Cory opens up about his path to parenthood through surrogacy, the losses and challenges he and his husband faced along the way, and what it's been like building their family. Cory and Ali also talk about fatherhood, vulnerability, the highs and lows of surrogacy, and why he believes more men should feel comfortable talking about their emotions. For more, go to https://www.coryallenbooks.com/ IG: @authorcoryallen EPISODE SPONSORS: THE WORK OF ART BOOK SERIES Ali's Children's Book Series about IVF, IUI and Family Building Through Assisted Reproductive Technology https://www.infertileafgroup.com/books The 3-book bundle is now just $49 (normally $79)! The latest book in the Work of ART series, “You Are a Work of ART,\" is for every kiddo born through ART -- and the people who love them. PHERDAL IG: @pherdal_science PherDal is the world’s first and only FDA-cleared, sterile, at-home insemination kit designed to help people build their families in the comfort of home. Created by parents who’ve been there, PherDal is safe, simple, and affordable—putting more options in your hands as you grow your family. Explore at PherDal.com. Go to PherDal.com today and use code INFERTILEAF for $10 off. CARAWAY Caraway cookware is beautiful, first o…","meta_description":"Today’s guest is Cory Allen—a former police officer, longtime U.S. Secret Service Agent who spent years protecting Michelle Obama, author, dad, and advoca…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2158,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488/episodes/from-protecting-michelle-obama-to-building-a-family-through-surrogacy-lgbtq-advocate-cory-allen-on-love-loss-and-fatherhood/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art-206488/from-protecting-michelle-obama-to-building-a-family-through-surrogacy-lgbtq-advocate-cory-allen-on-love-loss-and-fatherhood.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}