Our Public, Our Health with Dr. Gerald Denis

What if the same theology that makes people fear God also makes them afraid to see a doctor? This week's guest, Reverend Michael Thompson — an ordained Episcopal priest and corporate attorney based in Boston — joins us to trace the through-line between punishing religious frameworks, political authoritarianism, and a public health crisis hiding in plain sight. We cover a lot of ground: from the "d...

Chadwick Boseman tragically died at the age of 42 from a case of aggressive colon cancer. Worryingly, he was not an isolated case but a part of a wider trend of younger and younger people getting diagnosed with cancer, especially colon cancer.  Although cancer usually presents in older people, since about the 1960s younger and younger cases have started appearing with increasing frequency. At...

Human lives all over the world are haunted by an all too familiar threat, and it's getting worse. Under our current global economic system, the majority of human lifestyles globally are becoming increasingly unhealthy.  Yes, there's GLP-1s, and new research, and advancements in nutritional science, but obesity is the result of one's way of life in its totality. There's no wonder drug that wil...

There's a multitude of factors that determine one's physical and mental health as they progress through life and reach their older years. Genetics, physical activity, nutrition, mental health history and environment are just a few examples. Of course these play a big role, but there's one thing that always, always comes first in importance: human relationships. A robust social life and an abundanc...

Many people think that obesity is a personal issue, caused by individual bad decisions, and that you should simply eat better, exercise more, and just get over it. But the truth is much more complex. There are environmental, systemic and even racial factors at play.  In order to combat obesity, we must first truly understand it. Thank you for tuning in. // JOIN THE COMMUNITY INSTAGRAM // FACE...

Today we talk about how Nixon accidentally made the US a virology superpower, the intricate ways that HPV may lead to cancer, the dangers of high-risk strains of HPV for BOTH men and women, and the necessity of just getting that damn vaccine. If not for you, for others. // JOIN THE COMMUNITY SUBSTACK - NEVER MISS NEW RELEASES - SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // THREADS //  ...

In this episode, Gerry speaks with Michael Seen, clinical coordinator and researcher, about the troubling intersection of metabolic disease and cancer disparities. They explore how metabolic dysfunction fuels cancer aggression, the societal and environmental roots of the obesity epidemic, and the compex role of the infamous "wonder drug" Ozempic. The conversation also touches on the challenges of...

State violence doesn't fade away with the day's end - it echoes down through future generations. The brutality we are currently witnessing is a full blown public health emergency. Kids are being arrested; communities terrorized; streets don't feel safe anymore. People of all races and backgrounds are in constant fear for their lives, their jobs, their physical and mental health, or that of their n...

My father was a brutal dictator. His iron fist created an atmosphere of fear, and left lasting wounds on his children. This kind of trauma stays. Festering, ugly, screaming to be healed. Following the same brutal, heartless methods, ICE agents showed us their true colors once again last week, as they teargassed a family in their car, leaving their kids traumatized, and one of them in respiratory a...

It has long been a dream of science fiction to enable us to do things just with our thought. We envision operating machinery, controlling robots, or communicating telepathically. Today's guest, Tom Deuel, took us one step closer to this future with his invention - the Encephalophone.  The Encephalophone is a brain-computer interface that enables its user to play music just by thinking about i...

Venezuela's public health system is a mess. Dictators don't care about their people's wellbeing; only about their obedience. But are we that much better? How do we fare against the "brutal" and "inhumane" governments of the rest of the world, in terms of taking care of our people? You'd be surprised.  // JOIN THE COMMUNITY SUBSTACK - NEVER MISS NEW RELEASES - SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST INSTA...

The patent for insulin , this incredible substance that has saved millions of lives, was sold for 1$ back when it was discovered in 1921. The goal was to never, ever, let this discovery be used for profit - it was supposed to be a family inheritance for humanity by the benevolent scientists that made this groundbreaking discovery. 100 years later, today, a vial costs 3-6 dollars to produce, yet it...

As of November 25, 2025, a third infant in Kentucky has died of whooping cough . So far this year, Kentucky has reported at least 566 cases. Texas has reported 3,500 cases so far this year. Falling vaccination rates are entirely to blame for this situation. Most of what we hear from parents who are reluctant to agree that their children should be vaccinated comes from the fear that vaccines cause...

Why would a society turn on itself? What darkness hides in the hidden depths of the social body? Doesn't it seem paradoxical that a country living its peak cultural moment can turn that dynamic on its head and become unrecognizably repressive and barbaric? And finally, riddle me this - are these questions about N4zi Germany or the US? Many decades after attending a university class about the rise...

Combined analyses show that Black patients in America are 22% less likely than white patients to receive proper pain medication and are frequently on the receiving end of unconscious bias . Fortunately, medical education is starting to address race. And outcomes will improve as a result. However, racism at the federal level is driving devastating cuts to cancer research to address health dispariti...

India is now the Type 2 diabetes capital of the world, with over 100 million estimated adult cases, and perhaps equally large numbers not yet diagnosed. In some Indian states, the age-specific prevalence of metabolic syndrome among elderly women is as high as 90%.  Barry Popkin, a nutrition and population expert at the University of North Carolina, suggested that, after economies improve and...

Gerry grabs coffee with Aniruddh Kulkarni, cancer researcher at the Indian Institute of Science, to discuss some key public health issues of our times. What's the impact of imported western lifestyles and dietary habits on non-western bodies? What is relative deprivation and how does it affect our mental health? What can we learn from the incredible progress our species has made against cancer and...

“The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.” George Orwell, 1984 Since the Vietnam War, Americans have grown weary of their lying federal government, whi...

“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” ― Goethe In the first interview of the Fifth Column podcast, Gerry shares a conversation with Rev. Michael Thompson, an ordained priest, lawyer, activist, and dear frie...

Welcome to the show.

“If the father is a hero, the son is a real man. If the father is a reactionary, the son is a bastard. That’s basically how it works.” A slogan used by Beijing Red Guards, 1966 The Cultural Revolution left lasting wounds in Chinese society, with memories of trauma, loss, isolation and death widespread among survivors. The MAGA Revolution may yet inflict these terrors on American society. Our only...