Out of Patients EP413: Miss Diagnosed: Sophie Sargent
Sophie Sargent did not need my approval, my microphone, or my nostalgia. She walked in with purpose, clarity, and chronic illness receipts. A 25-year-old media force raised in the Lyme-infested hills of New Hampshire, she’s already outpaced most of the people who still underestimate her. Homeland Security dropout. Morning radio survivor. Chronic overachiever. She’s done the work and paid in rejection.
We talked about gaslighting in healthcare when you “look fine,” the career tax of chronic illness, and the quiet cruelty of invisible symptoms. Four out of five members of her family have Lyme disease. It took years, dozens of tests, and a mother who wouldn’t back down to even get a diagnosis. She told me how it feels to get dismissed by doctors who know less than she does, and how GenZ is rewriting the script on mental health without turning it into product placement.
She’s sharp. She’s fast. She’s the only guest who ever made me explain what a weblog was. And somehow she made Homeland Security funny. I brought her on the show because her voice cuts through every excuse that dismisses youth, illness, and digital storytelling as soft. She’s proof that showing up is still an act of resistance.
Matthew Zachary
Producer
Matthew Zachary never planned on becoming a healthcare advocate. At 21, while training to be a concert pianist, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and told he might never play again. That was nearly thirty years ago. Spoiler alert - he survived! Instead of returning to the recital hall, he set out to change the healthcare system that nearly broke him.
In 2007, Matthew founded Stupid Cancer, a groundbreaking nonprofit that gave young adults with cancer something they’d never had before: a voice, a community, and the freedom to be angry. Through national conferences and online platforms, it helped millions of patients and families find connection and purpose in the face of isolation.
That same year, he launched The Stupid Cancer Show, the first talk radio program to cover the patient experience with the urgency of breaking news. It later evolved into Out of Patients, his award-winning podcast known for its honest conversations and unapologetic tone. His media work also includes the acclaimed documentary The Cancer Mavericks, which tells the story of the rebel patients who helped transform modern oncology.
Today, Matthew leads Matthew Zachary Worldwide, a media and consulting company that helps brands and organizations better understand the real needs of patients and how to co-create solutions with them, not just for them. His upcoming book, We the Patients: A Field Guide to Surviving American Healthcare (Wiley, June 2026), draws on three decades of lived experience and advocacy to help readers navigate and challenge the U.S. healthcare system.
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Out of Patients EP412: Meet My Grief: Notes from an Orphaned Teen
