Mind & Matter

Wide release: Available for free by August 12, 2026, on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , etc. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. Pinchas Cohen about mitochondrial-encoded microproteins, including humanin and MOTS-c. Cohen discusses how these small peptides regulate metabolism, muscle mass, innate immunity, and neurodegeneration, and how natural genetic variants influence disease risk and longevit...

Wide release: Available for free by August 5, 2026, on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , etc. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Harvard neuroimmunologist Dr. Isaac Chiu about bidirectional signaling between nociceptors and immune cells. Dr. Chiu describes how pain-sensing neurons directly detect bacterial toxins, release CGRP to suppress neutrophils, and how this crosstalk regulates barrier defenses,...

Wide release: Available for free by July 30, 2026, on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , etc. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. David Lee about the mitochondrial-encoded peptide MOTS-c. Lee describes its discovery within the mitochondrial genome, its movement into the nucleus under metabolic stress to broadly reshape gene expression, and preclinical evidence that it blocks diet-induced obesity, im...

Wide release: Available for free by July 22, 2026, on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , etc. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. Rahi Sarbaziha about GHK copper, a naturally occurring tripeptide that binds copper and participates in skin wound repair and collagen regeneration. Sarbaziha notes that levels peak in young adulthood before declining, and she outlines how the compound modulates gene expr...

Wide release: Available for free by July 15, 2026, on Apple , Spotify , YouTube , etc. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. William Banks about the blood-brain barrier. Banks, who has spent over 45 years studying it, shows that the barrier is a sophisticated, regulated interface that permits bidirectional communication between body and brain. Key concepts include how small lipid-soluble molecu...

Wide release: July 8, 2026. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. Pamela Maher, research professor at the Salk Institute, about ferroptosis and its contributions to neurodegenerative disease. Maher’s central argument is that chronic exposure to elevated iron or partial glutathione depletion, unlike acute insults, lowers glutathione peroxidase-4 levels, permits gradual lipid peroxide buildup, an...

Wide release: June 30, 2026. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. Katrin Svensson, a Stanford physiologist, about peptide hormone biology and its applications to energy regulation and weight loss. Svensson explains the precursor processing that allows one gene to produce different peptides in different tissues and how this context specificity supports precise physiological responses. The discu...

Wide release: June 18, 2026. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Gábor Somlyai, PhD about the biological role of deuterium, a heavier, non-radioactive isotope of hydrogen present in water and organic molecules. Somlyai’s key argument is that small shifts in the deuterium-hydrogen (D-H) ratio act as a fundamental regulator of cell growth, with deuterium-depleted water (DDW) inhibiting tumor progre...

Wide release: June 11, 2026. Not medical advice. Nick speaks with Dr. Isaac Harris about the biology of antioxidants and oxidative stress. Harris shares his lab’s recent work showing that breast cancer tumors catabolize extracellular glutathione to acquire cysteine and support growth. The conversation explores how reactive oxygen species (ROS) arise in metabolism, the central role of glutathione a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: February 19, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Gene regulation basics: DNA transcribes to RNAs, including non-coding types like microRNAs that inhibit mRNA translation into proteins, influencing up to 60% of the proteome. * Non-coding RNAs in neuroplasticity: MicroRNAs and circular RN...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: February 14, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Adipose tissue basics: White fat primarily stores energy in large lipid droplets, while brown fat burns fatty acids for heat via high mitochondrial density; white fat can “brown” with exercise or certain foods like capsaicin. * Fat distri...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: February 9, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Cerebral cortex structure: Described as a six-layered structure with pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons; information flows between layers and regions to process sensory input and enable complex behaviors. * Claustrum anatomy & c...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: February 4, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Biased agonism: Different drugs activate the same receptor (e.g., 5-HT2A) but trigger varied intracellular pathways, explaining why LSD is psychedelic while similar lisuride is not. * Enantiomers & isomers: Mirror-image versions of drugs l...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: January 25, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Cellular energy basics: ATP/ADP/AMP as energy currencies; AMP kinase activates on low ATP to conserve and redirect resources, like a budget manager. * AMP kinase mechanics: Heterotrimeric enzyme phosphorylating 100+ substrates; localizes d...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: January 19, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Soy’s rise in farming: Originating from paint uses and wartime chemicals, soy became dominant due to subsidies and large-scale farming practices, but introduces high PUFAs, phytoestrogens, and pesticides into animal feeds. * Feed’s impact...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: January 14, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Personalized health profiling: Snyder’s lab sequences genomes and measures molecules from blood, urine, and microbiomes to detect diseases early, emphasizing data-driven discovery over assumptions. * Fiber variations and effects: Responses...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: January 9, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Nutrient density profiling: Labs analyze thousands of compounds beyond macros and vitamins; this “dark matter” includes phytonutrients that may support health despite not being essential. * Phytonutrients in foods: Plant secondary metabolit...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release: January 4, 2026. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Cellular growth vs. burning: Cells alternate between growing (using glucose for building blocks in low-oxygen environments) and burning (generating ATP in mitochondria with oxygen); dysregulation leads to metabolic issues. * Key regulatory...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 31, 2025. Not medical advice. TOPICS DISCUSSED: * Insulin as a powerful metabolic hormone: regulates nutrient storage across tissues, overriding others like glucagon to promote fat and glucose storage during abundance. * Glucagon & GLP-1 roles in metabolism: Glucagon mobilizes liver...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 26, 2025. Topics Discussed: * Maternal care behavior in rodents: Nursing, pup retrieval, grooming, and nest-building, essential for altricial pups’ survival; conserved across mammals but varies by species. * Hormonal changes in pregnancy: Estradiol and progesterone surge then drop a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 21, 2025. Not medical advice. Topics Discussed: * Historical trends in soybean oil use: Consumption increased dramatically since the 1960s due to farming subsidies, now providing over 10% of calories for many Americans, far exceeding the 1-2% required biologically. * Soybean oil’s e...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 17, 2025. Topics Discussed: * Evolutionary context of circadian rhythms : All organisms have adapted to Earth’s 24-hour day for survival, with internal clocks slightly offset and adjusted by environmental cues. * Molecular clock mechanism: Involves a feedback loop where proteins tur...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 12, 2025. Topics Discussed: * Organs have different fuel preferences: brain strongly prefers glucose, heart prefers fatty acids, skeletal muscle is flexible and likes fat/ketones. * Humans evolved with high metabolic flexibility; regular ketosis was normal for ancestors, but today m...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 7, 2025. Topics Discussed: * Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): Omega-6 from seed oils like safflower and corn can convert to pro-inflammatory molecules, while omega-3s produce resolving ones; imbalance biases toward chronic inflammation. * Inflammation regulation: Acute inflammat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit mindandmatter.substack.com Wide release date: December 2, 2025. Topics Discussed: * Epidemiology basics: Studies disease influences using observational designs like case-control and prospective cohorts, plus trials, to identify patterns and test hypotheses. * Hierarchy of evidence critique: Rejects rigid pyramids favoring RCTs, as all s...