Rare and Real

For the final episode of the 2025 Rare & Real season, co-hosts Nate Milam II and Carter Hemion turn the mic inward, welcoming a voice listeners don't hear often, but feel everywhere: SOS Creative Director, Mary Aufuldish. From the logo to the Rare & Real podcast branding, merch designs, and visual storytelling, Mary is the creative force behind the look and feel of Stripes of Solidarit...

Happy Histiocytosis Awareness Month! In this powerful September episode of Rare & Real, we sit down with histio patient and advocate, Brinda Shukla (she/her), a medical student and rare disease champion living with Rosai-Dorfman Disease (RDD), to explore her journey of resilience, identity, and purpose. Brinda shares her experience navigating treatment as a teenager, the mental health toll of...

Episode 3 — Back to School: Rare Diseases, Accommodations & Finding Your Voice Back-to-school season brings excitement for some—but for students living with rare diseases, it often comes with a unique set of challenges. In this episode of Rare & Real, Nate Milam II and co-host Carter Hemion open up about their deeply personal experiences navigating school while living with chronic illness,...

What is it like when you have to “come out” more than once—about who you love and about the rare disease that changes your life?  Coming out isn’t just about sexuality—it can happen in every part of the journey, especially when your health or identity challenges the norm. In this episode of Rare & Real, Nate and Carter dive into the unexpected ways queer and rare disease communities share simi...

Episode 1: Pilot-We’re Here, We’re Queer, We’re Rare *There are about 300 MILLION people impacted by rare disease globally, not 300!* Welcome to the very first episode of Rare & Real , where we bring the bold truth of queerness and rare disease into the light—unapologetically. In this premiere, your hosts Nate Milam II and Carter Hemion introduce you to the heart of Rare & Real and the mov...