The Unseen: A Podcast Making the Invisible Visible

At The Advocate Voice, we’ve always believed that stories are powerful tools for connection, education, and change. But too often, the voices of people living with rare and chronic illnesses — and those caring for them — remain unheard. That silence leaves gaps: in empathy, in understanding, and in advocacy.

That’s why today, we’re excited to announce something new: our new podcast, The Unseen. A place where patients, caregivers, advocates, and others can speak directly, honestly, and without filters — sharing the moments of struggle, resilience, and hope that shape their journeys.

Why a Podcast, and Why Now?

I’ll be honest — this podcast idea has been floating around in the back of my mind since I started The Advocate Voice. I’d jot down random notes about episodes or imagine what it might feel like to sit across from someone and hear their story come alive in real time. But life with chronic illness doesn’t exactly leave extra room for side projects, right? You save energy for what feels urgent: doctor’s appointments, medications, work, family. The “someday” projects just sit there.

But something changed. Over the past year, I kept seeing the same thing over and over: people craving connection. Support groups were full of text messages, Facebook posts, and comment threads. Helpful, yes — but sometimes flat. When you strip away tone, you lose half the story. A caregiver describing burnout in a post reads one way, but hearing the exhaustion in their voice? That lands differently. It sticks.

That’s what made us realize the time was now. Podcasts are personal in a way written content can’t always capture. There’s no polish, no editing out the pauses or the sighs. It’s the closest thing to pulling up a chair at someone’s kitchen table and saying, “Tell me what this is really like.” And for our community — where so many feel unseen, unheard, and misunderstood — that rawness matters.

Plus, let’s be real: podcasts are accessible. You can listen while driving to infusion appointments, folding laundry, or just resting in bed. For a lot of us, sitting and reading an article is tough on flare days. Listening, though? That feels doable.

So why a podcast, and why now? Because our community deserves more than text. It deserves voices. It deserves presence. And we’re finally ready to share ours.

What The Unseen Means to Us

Naming something new feels a little like naming a child. It has to fit, to carry weight, to live up to its meaning. When Marcia and I landed on The Unseen, it just… clicked. Because that’s exactly how life with rare and chronic illness feels most days: unseen.

Invisible illness is more than a phrase — it’s an entire experience. People can’t always see the pain, fatigue, or daily battles. They don’t see the hours spent managing medications, the quiet strength it takes to get out of bed, or the caregiver who holds everything together behind the scenes. Those moments are invisible to the outside world, but they are the heartbeat of this community.

The Unseen is about making those invisible moments visible. It’s about shining light where silence has lived too long. For us, the name is both a promise and a challenge — to keep looking beyond the obvious, to notice the stories tucked away in waiting rooms, hospital hallways, and quiet living rooms.

I still remember the first time someone told me, “I didn’t realize how much you were going through until I heard your voice crack.” That stuck with me. Because sometimes the smallest crack is where the truth gets out. That’s the energy behind The Unseen. It’s not about perfectly crafted stories; it’s about truth, with all the messy edges intact.

For patients, caregivers, advocates — this is your space. The name honors your reality. And hopefully, when people outside our community listen, they’ll start to see what’s been unseen all along.

A Patient and Caregiver Team Behind the Mic

Here’s something I want to be crystal clear about: The Unseen isn’t just my podcast. It’s ours. My wife, Marcia, will be right there behind the mic with me.

Living with chronic illness is never a solo journey. Even when you’re the one with the diagnosis, someone else is living it with you — a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend. In our case, Marcia has been my caregiver, my advocate, my sanity-check, and honestly, my lifeline more times than I can count.

When we first talked about doing this together, she laughed and said, “Are you sure you want to do this with me?” My answer was immediate: absolutely. Because the caregiver voice is just as essential. In fact, without it, the story is incomplete.

We bring two perspectives that weave together: mine as a patient, wrestling with symptoms and medical systems, and hers as the caregiver, managing everything from medication schedules to emotional breakdowns. Listeners will get both sides of the same reality, and sometimes they won’t match perfectly — and that’s okay. That’s the truth of it.

I think what excites me most is that people will hear us as we are. Not as the polished “advocate” or the calm “caregiver,” but as two people trying to navigate something hard together. There will be laughs (because honestly, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying), there will be raw moments, and there will be disagreements. But there will always be love. And I hope that love reminds others in this community that they’re not walking their journey alone.

Our Mission: Amplify, Educate, Connect

From day one, The Advocate Voice has been about more than information — it’s been about connection. The Unseen is simply another branch of that same mission.

We want to amplify the voices of patients and caregivers who feel silenced. This isn’t just “our” podcast; it’s the community’s. We’ll be featuring guest stories, interviews, and roundtable-style conversations that put real people at the center.

We want to educate — not in a textbook way, but in a lived-experience way. Rare disease awareness doesn’t grow through statistics alone; it grows when you hear someone describe what it feels like to live through the stat. Our podcast will weave in expert voices too but always grounded in the patient and caregiver perspective.

And above all, we want to connect. Because connection is where the magic happens. It’s where advocacy movements start, where loneliness breaks, and where people find hope. One of our big goals is to give people outside this community a reason to listen — because when they do, empathy follows.

Our mission is simple but bold: to make sure no story gets lost, and no voice goes unheard.

What Comes Next

This first post is just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more about what you can expect when you tune in to The Unseen.

Without giving too much away, here’s a hint: we’ll be covering everything from diagnosis stories that turned worlds upside down, to the small daily routines that keep people afloat. We’ll talk about invisible illness advocacy, the caregiver’s role, and the resilience it takes to keep showing up — even when your body doesn’t cooperate.

Some episodes will feel heavy, and that’s okay. But others will be lighthearted, even fun. Because the chronic illness journey is not just struggle; it’s laughter, love, and sometimes, yes, marshmallows by the campfire. We want this to be a podcast that reflects the whole picture — not just one side of it.

And here’s the part that excites me most: you’ll get to be part of it. We’ll be inviting members of our community to share their own stories on the podcast. Maybe that’s you.

The Unseen is our next step in making the invisible visible. Stay tuned — in our next post, we’ll share exactly what you can expect when you listen to the coming episodes.