What the Ef?!

You’d never guess that Drew Dixon quit guitar lessons at 7 years old. But through this same childhood whimsicality, a journey began in which he discovered a deep belief in music’s effects on the brain and the soul. Now Drew has a successful music career that his 7-year-old self would never believe — including his recent hit "Running." (Stay to the end for an acoustic play of it!) Drew shares his s...

Never did Katie Czyz think she'd become an expert in AI. She started using it while trying to process her epilepsy diagnosis and quickly realized it could be something much more than a chatbot—it could be a thought partner. That experience changed the trajectory of her career and inspired work that eventually landed her in the New York Times Modern Love column. We talk about the promise and respon...

It started with jokes on Twitter. Now comedian Jake Lambert is touring internationally with his stand-up show, The Sunshine Kid. Jake joins the podcast to talk about building a comedy career while living with epilepsy, surviving a schedule where nights are work and days are recovery, and why he started joking about seizures in his act. We get into epilepsy running in his family, varying audience r...

What if there was something you could wear that gave you a heads up before a seizure? Truman Pierson and Chris Fitz are working on making that a reality. In this episode, they share their evolving device that uses EEG technology – without the wires OR the glue – to create a wearable device that predicts your seizures based on brain wave patterns. That means we could wear something the size of a pa...

Calling your boyfriend by an ex’s name post-seizure. Avoiding “Bridget Jones-ing” your seizure moments. Forgetting conversations, faces, and entire vacations. (We all agree remembering names is out of the question). Ivana Garcia, Alison Kukla, and Torie Robinson join the podcast this week and get brutally honest about the weird, embarrassing, heartbreaking, and hilarious parts of living with epile...

Put epilepsy powerhouses together for a weekend, and what happens? Real change. Tune in for convos about everything, like taking leave from work to do a med change, eclampsia-triggered seizures ( The Pitt fans, you’ll recognize this one), loopholes when insurance won’t cover meds, and moms being told there are “no other options” for their kids. Researchers living with epilepsy themselves share wha...

Two neurologists. Both have epilepsy. (Anyone watch “The Pitt”? Here’s the real life version.) Docs Dan and Patrick share their stories about growing up with epilepsy—like failing 9th grade and why your town's Baptist choir showed up after your first seizure. We talk about the awkward moments in med school, what it’s like to understand their patients’ perspective, and get into the weird guilt of n...

Five years of memories: gone. Landis sits down with Mia, who lost most of high school to undiagnosed epilepsy—and no, the memories don’t come back if you show her photos (people keep trying). She still has seizures every day and every night—and yes, she’s still doing life anyway. Mia shares her vibrant approach to life when memory, sleep, and certainty are a luxury. Be sure to follow the podcast o...

Are you a late-night scroller who swears it “helps you relax”? Yeah… this episode is for you. Landis sits down with neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. Chris Allen to break down how to actually build better sleep habits with epilepsy — not just why sleep matters, but what to do when your brain won’t shut off. Tune in for realistic tools that can help protect your sleep — and your seizure thr...

Teaching high school is hard. Teaching high school with epilepsy? Next level. Charlie joins Landis to talk about navigating the classroom with epilepsy — including student teaching, when seizures required using a wheelchair.  They share what it’s taken to advocate for safety at work, why being friends with the school nurse is basically a survival skill, and why explaining epilepsy to new stud...

This week, Landis sits down with Jason — a longtime nurse and fellow person with epilepsy — to talk about what seizure action plans really look like in real life. Not the perfect-on-paper version. The messy, human, constantly evolving one. Jason shares his own epilepsy journey, what it’s like as a school nurse, caring for hundreds of kids while managing seizures himself, and why seizure action pla...

If you’ve ever Googled your symptoms at 2 a.m. and immediately decided it was “probably fine but also definitely fatal” — this one’s for you. Landis sits down with neurologist and epileptologist Dr. Jessica Lowe — aka Dr. Brain Barbie — to talk about the messy middle between medicine and social media. From meeting patients where they already are (hi, TikTok), to the fear doctors have around postin...

Anyone else been told their seizures were “just stress”? That’s what doctors told Lakesha Floyd for DECADES until she was finally diagnosed with epilepsy at 45.  Lakesha shares how her seizure years of being dismissed, the complicated emotions that come with an adult diagnosis, and what happens when denial stops feeling safe. It’s a conversation about finding self-trust when your world is tur...

In this convo with Mukki Gill, founder of ZOR! , she talks about changing the game in epilepsy apps by synthesizing all of that data into one clear, usable place . After watching her mom take notes that look like “Santa’s list” for her brother’s Dravet’s Syndrome, Mukki wanted to create a simpler, more useful format for people with epilepsy. My seizure info seems to be everywhere—Notes app, calend...

This week I’m joined by Spenser Jaye —a former D1 and professional soccer player who’s been navigating epilepsy since she was 13. We get into what it really looks like to chase big goals when your nervous system has its own agenda: the decision points, the fear, the disclosure question, the stuff people don’t see… and the ways support can change everything. We also talk about why Spenser built 1in...

Every year, my brain has a fun holiday tradition of doling out seizures. Like my epilepsy is Santa but with a very dark sense of humor. So this year I came up with 5 strategies to (hopefully) mitigate the holiday seizen. From bathrooms to booze to holiday blues--I'm hoping these tips help! Tune into this 5-minute What the Elf?! episode and let me know if any of these work for you! But above a...

Ever sit in your doctor’s office like, “Wait… what did you just say?” Dr. Claude Steriade, an epileptologist at NYU, is here to translate the medical jargon and hand over her playbook for better communication with your doc. She shares the *one magical thought* she wishes every patient could have, explains autoimmune epilepsy (the sneaky diagnosis that hides in plain sight), and shows how to ask fo...

The first thing Brian remembers after his first seizure is a boot smashing through his semi-truck windshield—strangers pulling him from the wreckage as his world changed forever. After a misdiagnosis, years of drug-resistant epilepsy, and 30 seizures a month, Brian found the strength to keep fighting. With cutting edge brain technology—and with the steady support of his loved ones—he’s celebrating...

What happens when thousands of epilepsy nerds take over Lisbon? Tune in for chats with people from all over the world–Argentina, UK, Australia, Colombia, Kenya and more! Convos about the ethics of AI in epilepsy treatment, the move from pediatric to adult care, to how gut health affects seizures. Turns out, the biggest conference in the world isn’t just about science—it’s about connection, curiosi...

Ever feel like you keep shouting, "Epilepsy is more than seizures!" but no one’s listening? Medical rockstar Dr. Sandi Lam certainly hears you, which is why she’s spearheading a massive, groundbreaking study focused on Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) that aims to change healthcare forever.  Dr. Lam shares how she's trying to measure the "unmeasurable," like how treatment affects behavior, commu...

Stacia Kalinoski has worn many hats—news reporter, marathon runner, author, filmmaker, and substitute teacher—but epilepsy changed the course of her life in ways she never expected. In this episode, Stacia gets real about the uphill battle that inspired her memoir Racing Uphill : the denial, the career shifts, and the moment she said yes to brain surgery. We talk about what friendship looks like w...

Welcome to What the EF . I’m Landis Wiedner and this show is all about the “what the…?” moments that come with living with epilepsy. We share the stories that are usually whispered about or brushed aside, and we do it with honesty, humour, and heart. This podcast is for anyone who has epilepsy, loves someone who does, or just wants to understand what it’s really like. You’ll hear from people livin...

This week’s episode is one you’ll want to take notes on. Ayesha Akhtar, VP of Health Equity at the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, isn’t just talking about change—she’s handing out the blueprint. If you’ve ever wondered, “What can I actually do to make a difference for people with epilepsy?”—Ayesha’s got answers (and a few challenges you just might want to take on). Find out how education,...

Coming in LIVE from the launch of the Otherside Lounge! 🎉 The Lounge is a brand-new space created for people with epilepsy to connect, decompress, and feel at home—whether at conferences or beyond. In this special episode, you’ll hear stories from the Lounge floor: why this space matters, what it feels like to finally have a spot designed with our community in mind, and how it’s already sparking...

Chynise may be a Senior VP of HR, but don’t expect corporate jargon here. Instead, she’s dishing on what it’s like to juggle seizures, side effects, and the fine art of pretending you didn’t have a seizure while giving a presentation. We get into the messy reality of finding the right meds (think: speed dating, but with more brain fog), the awkwardness of telling people you have epilepsy (spoiler:...