The Body of Evidence

A limited series on sport science hosted by student athlete Sophie and featuring two experts: Dr. Christopher Labos, cardiologist and regular co-host of this podcast, and Nick Tiller , who holds a doctorate in exercise physiology. Together, they will answer Sophie’s questions while dispelling myths that athletes—and anybody getting into fitness—are likely to hear. This is part 3 of 4. The topic: s...

A limited series on sport science hosted by student athlete Sophie and featuring two experts: Dr. Christopher Labos, cardiologist and regular co-host of this podcast, and Nick Tiller , who holds a doctorate in exercise physiology. Together, they will answer Sophie’s questions while dispelling myths that athletes—and anybody getting into fitness—are likely to hear. This is part 2 of 4. The topic: r...

A limited series on sport science hosted by student athlete Sophie and featuring two experts: Dr. Christopher Labos, cardiologist and regular co-host of this podcast, and Nick Tiller , who holds a doctorate in exercise physiology. Together, they will answer Sophie’s questions while dispelling myths that athletes—and anybody getting into fitness—are likely to hear. This is part 1 of 4. The topic: w...

As the year comes to an end, Jonathan recruits three doctors—Chris, Niko, and Aigul—and invites them to solve two perplexing cases. These mysteries involve a lot of (necessary?) rectal exams; the blood of witches; activated charcoal; farting patients; controversial diagnoses; tales from the ER that border on true crime; and diagnosing brain injuries through the bum! The take-home lesson here is al...

Chris and Jonathan speak to Joey Fox, an engineer and the chair of the Indoor Air Quality Advisory Group for the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. COVID-19 is not over, as both Jonathan and Chris can testify. How can we better protect ourselves from the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses? By improving our air! Joey Fox explains the difference between HEPA and MERV filters, why “UV...

Chris, Jonathan, and a mystery guest get together for an old-fashioned radio play. Are hot dogs and other red meat really as bad for your health as cigarettes? A doctor without a name boards an airplane and is soon asked to answer this question. It involves risk, hazard, and a budding romance.   * Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by  Joseph Hackl . * Assistant researcher: Aigul Zaripova   To...

What does the body of evidence say on Ozempic and its impact on diabetes and obesity? Plus: can you trade in your antidepressant for a jog, and Chris returns to the hot seat to diagnose a teenage boy who fell during a baseball game! Block 1: (2:22) Ozempic/Wegovy: GLP-1 receptor agonists; the difference between them; Mounjaro; Trulicity; diabetes biology; glucagon-like peptides 1 and 2; the proble...

Jonathan and Chris talk to David Scales, MPhil, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell and the chief medical officer at Critica. Misinformation is everywhere and it is causing actual harm. But what can we do about it beyond recognizing the problem? Dr. Scales mentions a scientific solution that transposes to social media what we know can work in an in-person setting. (3:34) I...

What does the body of evidence say on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and how to treat the #1 cause of blindness in North America? Plus: which vaccines are available this fall to prevent respiratory tract infections, and a look at whether blue-light-blocking glasses will make a difference in your life! Block 1: (2:15) AMD: how common it is, what happens in the eye, risk factors Block 2: (9:...

Chris and Jonathan talk to Michelle Cohen, MD, CCFP, FCFP, an assistant professor at Queen University’s Department of Family Medicine and a staff physician at Lakeview Family Health Team. Dr. Cohen provides gender-affirming care and is here to dispel myths surrounding trans people, especially the panic around the mistaken idea that children are being rushed to transition. If you have a child who i...

Is there a mysterious neurological syndrome harming the people of New Brunswick? And is the Government of New Brunswick suppressing the truth so as not to upset commercial interests? That is certainly the story strongly hinted at by the Canadaland podcast, which has featured a New Brunswick neurologist who now claims to have identified over 200 cases of this strange new sickness. Jonathan and Chri...

What does the body of evidence say on air quality and how to protect ourselves from airborne pollution? Plus: a birth control pill becomes easier to access in the Republic of Gilead, and Chris returns to the hot seat to help a lawyer with blood-streaked loose stool! Block 1: (2:11) Air Quality: forest fires and their causes; major air pollutants; what causes air pollution; improvements in air qual...

Jonathan and Chris speak to Anna Merlan, a senior reporter with Motherboard and the author of the book Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power . How has the anti-vaccine movement changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? Its influencers deny the “mainstream narrative” on vaccine safety, which makes them prone to embrace other conspiracy theories. And what happ...

What does the body of evidence say on the topic of bioidentical hormones? Plus: a new gene therapy troublingly gets approved by the FDA, and Health Canada finally changes how it regulates natural health products (a little). Block 1: (2:19) Bioidentical hormones: sex hormones, hormone replacement therapy, testosterone replacement therapy, and what “bioidentical hormone” means Block 2: (9:36) Bioide...

Chris and Jonathan speak to Ken Milne, the host of the Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine and a physician who practices rural emergency medicine in Ontario. What is it like treating patients away from major urban centres? It may actually be better in some ways! Also, the trio tackles the unfolding crisis in which Canadian emergency departments are temporarily closing due to a lack of proper res...

Exceptionally, we are releasing this month's patron-only bonus episode, Digressions, on the main feed. Chris answers a patron's question about fever delirium (is that really a thing or a Hollywood invention?), and we dig into a paper that claims to show that a cheap diabetes drug, metformin, can be used to prevent long COVID. We do this type of bonus episode every month for our patrons. If you wou...

What does the body of evidence say on fevers and whether or not we should treat them? Plus: more and more children are getting invasive streptococcal disease, and Chris fulfills two dreams of his: to become Dr. House and to write a book! Block 1: (1:47) Fever: what a fever is; the role the hypothalamus plays; why we shiver Block 2: (7:36) Fever: why fevers start; whether high fevers mean a worse c...

Jonathan and Chris speak to Julie Robitaille, a Ph. D. student investigating endocrine disruptors in waste water and the president of the student committee of the Intersectoral Centre for Endocrine Disruptors Analysis. We’ve all heard of them: chemicals that mimic hormones and that are found in everyday products. What are they doing to human health? Many of these endocrine disruptors play importan...

What does the body of evidence say on the topic of gluten, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity? Plus: a puzzling finding in nutritional epidemiology is painted as a conspiracy, and the FDA is getting sued by people who claim the abortion drug mifepristone was wrongly approved… twenty years ago. Block 1: (2:26) Gluten: what gluten is, what celiac disease is, whether or not it’s an all...

Chris and Jonathan speak to Professor Carla Sharp, the director of both the Developmental Psychopathology Lab and the Adolescent Diagnosis Assessment Prevention and Treatment Center at the University of Houston. Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction . Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. Batman’s rogues gallery. Hollywood loves to both glamourize and stigmatize psychopathology, including personality disorde...

What does the body of evidence say on whether violent video games cause violence in real life? Plus: a Slate article argues that long COVID just isn’t that bad, and can you biopsy the prostate without going up the bum? Block 1: (2:18) Violent video games: what the AAP and APA say about violent video games; court case; the review at the heart of the debate; what is violence; the evolution of video...

Jonathan and Chris speak to Dr. Justin Sanders, the director of palliative care at McGill, on the topic of medical assistance in dying (MAiD). What are the arguments for and against MAiD? And what do we make of the thornier aspects of euthanasia, like its intersection with disability rights and the conflict of interest at the heart of a government that funds both assisted suicide and palliative ca...

What does the body of evidence say on erectile dysfunction? Plus: why was a woman in need of a heart transplant was denied the procedure, and what happens when you have advanced HIV and you catch mpox?   Block 1: (2:06) Erectile dysfunction: definitions, how common it is, causes   Block 2: (9:13) Erectile dysfunction: the psychological angle, figuring out what’s causing it, treatments, the blue ha...

Chris and Jonathan talk to Vincent Denault, who researches nonverbal communication. Are there human lie detectors? Is someone lying when their eyes are shifty? And more importantly, do people in positions of power believe the pseudoscience of lie detection? (2:54) What is nonverbal communication? (7:09) Vincent thought he could become a human lie detector (9:45) Is there a clear way to know when s...

Chris and Jonathan look at the already-infamous 2023 Cochrane review on masks, which many people are claiming shows that “masks don’t work.” References: 1) The Cochrane review: https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses 2) Tom Jefferson’s interview by Maryanne Demasi: https://maryannedemasi.substack.com...