Mind & Matter

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: Insider’s look at the COVID-19 pandemic response from a seasoned epidemiologist, unraveling myths and lessons with straightforward science. About the guest: Martin Kulldorff, PhD is an epidemiologist and biostatistician with decades of experience in infectious disease monitoring and vaccine safety. He was formerly a professor at Harvard Medical School.  Note: Podcas...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: Thyroid biology, offering insights into its role in metabolism, development, and longevity, making it a fascinating listen for those interested in how our bodies manage energy and health across the lifespan. Guest: Diana van Heemst, PhD is a biologist at Leiden University Medical Center, specializing in gerontology and geriatrics. Her research focuses on the neuroen...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: The complexities of neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer's, environmental influences like glyphosate, and the crucial role of nutrients like choline, with actionable insights into brain health management. About the guest: Dr. Ramon Valazquez is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, leading a research lab at the Neurodegenerative Disea...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: The science of glycosylation, its impact on health, and potential treatments for congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs). About the guest: Dr. Eva Morava is a pediatric geneticist originally from Hungary, who has specialized in inborn errors of metabolism, particularly CDGs. She has a background in pediatrics and genetics from training in Hungary and the U.S. a...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: How human culture and psychology have evolved, particularly exploring the unique psychological traits of "WEIRD" (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) societies, providing insights into why our minds and societies are the way they are today. About the Guest: Joe Henrich, PhD is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: Deep dive into systems biology and personalized medicine, exploring how technology and data can revolutionize health care, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and the future of medicine. About the Guest: Dr. Lee Hood is a pioneering scientist with a 60-year career in biology, notably at Caltech and the University of Washington. He co-founded the Institute for Sy...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: Deep dive into preventive medicine, personalized nutrition, and systems biology, providing listeners with actionable insights on optimizing health through diet & microbiome management. About the guest: Momo Vuyisich is a biologist with a background in government science, focusing on drug development before shifting to preventive medicine. He holds a PhD in bioch...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: A deep dive into the enigmatic world of sleep, exploring its biological functions, evolutionary origins, and diverse manifestations across different species. About the Guest: Nicola Segata, PhD is a professor at the University of Trento in Italy. Note: Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and on YouTube . Partial versions...

Send us Fan Mail Short Summary: A deep dive into the enigmatic world of sleep, exploring its biological functions, evolutionary origins, and the diverse manifestations across different species. Note: Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and on YouTube . Partial versions are available elsewhere. About the Guest: Vlad Vyazovskiy, PhD is a Professor of Slee...

Send us Fan Mail Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and on YouTube . Partial versions are available elsewhere. About the Guest: Alex Wiltschko holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, focusing on olfaction. He transitioned from academic research to AI at Google before founding Osmo, where he applies his expertise in digitizing scents. He aims to innov...

Send us Fan Mail The complex science of dietary lipids (fats) and inflammation, with actionable advice for managing health through dietary choices. Note: Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and are free on YouTube . Partial versions are available elsewhere. About the guest: Tim Yeatman, MD is a surgical oncologist and professor of surgery at the University of So...

Send us Fan Mail Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and freely on YouTube . Partial versions are available elsewhere. About the guest: Ben Potter, PhD is an archaeologist & Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. James Chatters, PhD is a retired archaeologist and paleontologist. They recently published a paper on the diet o...

Send us Fan Mail Podcast episodes are fully available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and full video versions are free on YouTube . This episode will not be posted on YouTube due to the controversial nature of the content. About the guest: Jessica Rose, PhD is a computational biologist who has been studying and analyzing data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Responding System (VAERS) rel...

Send us Fan Mail Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube . This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Andrew Cutler, PhD is a machine learning engineer who has studied natural language processing, psychometrics & personality using quantitative methods. He writes about the origins of consciousness on his Substack, "Vectors of Mind&...

Send us Fan Mail Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube . This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Rosemary Bagot, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at McGill University and the Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Neurogenomics. Her lab studies the neurobiology of stress at the molecular, circuit, and behavi...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Jibran Khokhar, PhD is Associate Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology at Western University in Ontario. His lab studies the neurobiology of the co-occurrence of psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia with substance use disorders. Episode summary: Nick and Kevin discuss high comorbidity among mental illness, the dopamine reward system, antipsychotics & oth...

Send us Fan Mail Full episodes are available to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack and free on YouTube . This is a free, partial version. About the guest: Kevin McKernan is the founder and Chief Science Officer of Medicinal Genomics. He has worked in biotechnology since the early 1990s, when he was involved in the Human Genome Project. Episode summary: Nick and Kevin discuss: components of t...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Andrzej Slominski, MD, PhD is a dermapathologist and skin biologist who has spent decades studying skin biology, especially regarding endocrinology (hormones), stress response, photobiology, and more. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Slominski discuss: hormone production in the skin; vitamin D photobiology; risks and benefits of UVB light; skin cancer & sunscreen...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Joshua Siegel, MD, PhD is a psychiatrist & systems neuroscience at New York University. He uses functional imaging to study the effects of psychedelics and other drugs on the human brain. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Siegel discuss: fMRI and how it works; relationship between neural activity and blood flow; functional connectivity & the default mode netwo...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Richard Cytowic is a neurologist, poplar science writer and professor at the George Washington University.  Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Cytowic discuss: the effects of smart phones and social media on the developing and adult brain; artificial blue light vs. broad spectrum natural light; attention & addiction to technology; sensory overstimulation & “vir...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Thomas Weimbs, PhD is a biologist at UC-Santa Barbara whose lab studies kidney function in health and disease. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Weimbs discuss: basic kidney biology; kidney stones and their causes, including dietary oxalates and fructose; the kidney damaging effects of common pharmaceuticals like Ibuprofen; the beneficial effects of BHB and ketosis fo...

Send us Fan Mail Full version available on Substack and YouTube . About the guest: Nick Norwitz, PhD received his PhD in Physiology at Oxford University and is finishing his MD degree at Harvard Medical School. He is also an independent content creator focused on making metabolic health mainstream. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Norwitz discuss: blood lipids & cholesterol; high cholesterol leve...

Send us Fan Mail Full version available on Substack and YouTube . About the guest: Nicole Avena, PhD is a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai. She studies the effects of sugar and diet on animal behavior and the brain. She is also the author of, “Sugarless.” Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Avena discuss: drug addiction vs. food addiction; glucose, fructose & artificial sweeteners; the extent to which...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Angel Nadal, PhD is a biologist in Spain whose lab studies endocrine disruptors (e.g. microplastics), hormones (estrogen, insulin), and the endocrine functions of the pancreas in health & disease. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Nadal discuss: endocrine biology of the pancreas; insulin and estrogen signaling in the pancreas; BPA, microplastics, and other xenoest...

Send us Fan Mail About the guest: Gary Churchill, PhD is a statistician & geneticist at the Jackson Research laboratory in Maine. His lab uses a systems approach to investigate the genetics of complex biological traits in health & disease. Episode summary: Nick and Dr. Churchill discuss: his recent papers looking at the effects of caloric restriction & intermittent fasting on nearly 1,...