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Would you want to know if you had a 50% chance of developing an inherited form of dementia?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Kolker about his new book, The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia.

The book follows a Pennsylvania family across generations as they confront a rare inherited form of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) associated with a mutation involving tau. For family members, genetic testing can answer an extraordinary question: Did I inherit the mutation or not? But knowing the answer can affect virtually everything that follows—relationships, having children, plans for the future and how someone interprets changes in their own behavior. 

Eeks and Robert discuss the very different ways family members approached genetic testing; whether getting older without symptoms means you're in the clear; having children when there's a chance of passing on the mutation; and the unsettling way FTD can first appear as changes in personality, judgment and behavior rather than something obviously recognizable as neurological disease.

They also get into some of the bigger questions raised by the book: How much of who we are is our brain? Would you want the option to end your life before a degenerative disease changed who you were? Can lifestyle meaningfully alter the course of a strongly inherited dementia? And what can medicine actually offer someone who learns today that they carry one of these mutations?

Finally, they discuss why researchers are so interested in this family's rare form of FTD. The mutation affects tau, a protein also implicated in Alzheimer's disease, making families like this scientifically valuable for understanding how dementia develops and potentially how it might someday be prevented or treated. 

Robert Kolker is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection and a New York Times Book Review Top 10 book of the year. He is also the author of Lost Girls. The Vanishing Family is published by Doubleday on September 29, 2026. 

The Vanishing Family — official publisher page

*Robert Kolker photo credit: Jeff Zorabedian

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What can hundreds of thousands of Reddit posts tell us about the side effects of GLP-1 medications?

In this episode of Causes or Cures, I talk with researcher Neil K. R. Sehgal about his recent study examining self-reported side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide, commonly known by brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.

Neil and his colleagues used AI to analyze more than 410,000 Reddit posts mentioning the medications. Among users who reported taking them, researchers found plenty of familiar side effects, particularly gastrointestinal symptoms, but they also identified potential signals involving fatigue, menstrual changes, and temperature-related symptoms such as chills and hot flashes. 

We talk about why clinical trials can't capture every possible side effect before a drug reaches the broader population, how AI can sift through enormous amounts of online conversation, and why finding a signal on Reddit is not the same thing as proving that a medication caused it.

We also get into a bigger question: Could social media eventually become a useful early-warning system for drug safety?

In this episode, we discuss: why Neil turned to Reddit to study GLP-1 experiences; how AI analyzed more than 400,000 posts; which potential side-effect signals emerged; the difference between correlation, a safety signal, and causation; how researchers distinguish genuine signals from social-media influence; and how AI and online communities could complement traditional pharmacovigilance.

About Neil: Neil K. R. Sehgal is a researcher affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Computer and Information Science and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. His research includes using large-scale digital data to better understand patient experiences and healthcare. He led the analysis and was first author of the study discussed in this episode. 

Read the study:
Self-reported side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide in online communities — Nature Health

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A woman named Victoria went viral after sharing that a prescription medication that would have cost her $1,000 out of pocket in the U.S. cost just $25 when obtained through a Canadian pharmacy from an Indian manufacturer.

But perhaps the most interesting part wasn't the price difference. It was the reaction.

The comments filled with people sharing their own stories about prescription prices, insurance, and the sometimes absurd cost of healthcare in America.

In this episode of WTF Health News, Eeks looks at why Victoria's story struck such a nerve, touches on some of the mysteries of U.S. prescription drug pricing, and asks what our collective reaction says about the American healthcare experience.

Because maybe the biggest WTF isn't that one medication cost $25 instead of $1,000.

It's how many Americans heard the story and thought: Yep. Sounds about right.

Here's the original IG video: https://www.instagram.com/lemonsnlyme/reel/DZYgShBBKIP/

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Yes, scientists have invented smart underwear.  And yes, we're going to have to talk about farts. 

But this isn't really a story about underwear or even intestinal gas. It's about finding a new way to study the gut microbiome in real time.

In this episode, researcher Dr.  Brantley Hall joins me to talk about the development of wearable “smart underwear” that continuously measures hydrogen produced by gut microbes.

We discuss why hydrogen can provide clues about what's happening inside the gut, how the device compares with traditional breath and stool testing, and what happened when participants wore it for more than 11 hours a day. 

We also get into the engineering challenges of making smart underwear both comfortable and safe, including the rather important matter of not putting a lithium-ion battery in your underwear.

Brantley also explains how the device detected changes after participants consumed inulin, what this technology could teach us about individual responses to food, and whether continuous monitoring could someday have applications for personalized nutrition, IBS, food intolerances, and other digestive conditions.

And, naturally, we address the important question: When you've helped invent smart underwear, how exactly do you explain what you do for a living?

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Are you sharing your microbiome with your roommate? What about your romantic partner?
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with microbiome researcher Dr. Nicola Segata about new research showing that we may share parts of our microbiome with the people we live with—including family members, roommates, and romantic partners.
They discuss how our microbiomes are shared between people, why romantic partners show particularly high levels of oral microbiome sharing, and whether kissing may be partly responsible. They also explore the surprising connection between the oral and gut microbiomes and what the findings could mean for our health.
Dr. Segata and Dr. Eeks also discuss whether some microbes are better at spreading than others, what the research does—and doesn't—tell us about cardiometabolic health, whether probiotics can meaningfully change our microbiome, and how much control we really have over the microbial communities living within us.
And if we're sharing our microbiomes with the humans we live with...what about our dogs?

About Dr. Nicola Segata:
Dr. Nicola Segata is a professor and microbiome researcher at the University of Trento in Italy and a principal investigator at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He founded his research laboratory in 2013, bringing together computational scientists, experimental biologists, statisticians, and clinicians to study the human microbiome, its diversity, and how it may influence human health and disease. 

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Once upon a time, people blamed tuberculosis on vampires.

Seriously.

In this Public Health Is Weird episode, we head to 1892 Rhode Island, where the deaths of several members of one family led to an exhumation, a suspected vampire, and a truly horrifying attempt at a cure. The real culprit was tuberculosis. 

We explore the strange connection between TB and vampire folklore, the discovery and treatment of tuberculosis, a messy Nobel Prize controversy, and a bigger question: Why do humans reach for supernatural explanations when something frightening happens that we can't explain? 

Vampires, tuberculosis, human psychology, and somehow, Dr. Eeks' great grandfather and groundhog grease.

Welcome to Public Health Is Weird. 

Be sure to check out the other Public Health is Weird episodes too! 

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Sources used in the podcast are listed below and in my blog here. 

Food for the Dead, by Michael Bell

Mysterious, medieval child vampire, The Independent

Consumptive Chic, by Carolyn Day

Smithsonian Magazine, Kat Eschner, March, 2017

CDC MMWR, 1982

Streptomycin, American Chemical Society, 2014

World's Top Infectious Killer, Science Alert, 2025

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Why do so many middle-aged Americans feel like they're barely keeping their heads above water?

In this episode, Dr. Eeks is joined by Dr. Frank Infurna, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and lead author of a recent paper examining historical changes in midlife well-being in the United States and Europe. His research paints a concerning picture: today's middle-aged Americans appear to be faring worse than previous generations—and worse than many of their counterparts across Europe—in areas ranging from physical health and memory to loneliness and depression.

During the conversation, Dr. Infurna explains why these patterns are emerging, why they seem to be largely unique to the United States, and what they might tell us about the way we live, work, and age. We explore whether Americans are experiencing cognitive decline earlier or simply feeling mentally overwhelmed, how financial stress and "job lock" may be shaping health, why living farther from family could be taking a greater toll than many realize, and why spending more on healthcare hasn't translated into better midlife outcomes. We also discuss the challenges of interpreting these trends, whether today's generations are truly struggling more or simply more willing to talk about it, and what evidence-based strategies may help people navigate midlife more successfully.

Whether you're in your 40s or 50s, care for someone who is, or are simply interested in the intersection of psychology, aging, and public health, this episode offers an insightful look at one of the most important—and underappreciated—health trends facing Americans today.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why middle-aged Americans appear to be doing worse than previous generations
• Why these troubling trends are largely unique to the United States
• The growing roles of loneliness and depression during midlife
• Memory, cognitive health, and the difference between decline and mental overload
• Why education hasn't protected against worsening well-being
• The impact of financial stress, healthcare costs, and "job lock"
• Whether living farther from family affects health and resilience
• What the U.S. can learn from European countries
• Practical, evidence-based advice for improving well-being during midlife

You can follow Dr. Infurna's Substack here! 

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Exploring the Spiritual Realm
Where spiritual belief meets health, culture, and skepticism 

Disclaimer: This episode discusses spiritual and metaphysical beliefs that are not evidence-based public health methods or medical treatments. Nothing in this conversation is medical or health advice. If you have a health concern, please seek care from a licensed clinician. This is entertainment only. 

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Alisha Das, author of Angelic Ancestry. Alisha shares her personal story and discusses how her experiences shaped her understanding of angels, healing, intuition, and what she describes as our spiritual ancestry.

During the conversation, they discuss:

• Alisha's personal journey and what led her to write Angelic Ancestry
• What she means by "angels" and how she understands them
• Why belief in angels appears across cultures and throughout history
• The concept of "angelic ancestry"
• Whether she believes people can communicate with loved ones who have died
• What she believes happens after death
• What "angelic language" is and how she experiences it
• Her personal healing journey and how it influenced her worldview
• Whether someone must follow a particular religion to connect with these ideas
• How she responds to skeptics and those who question her experiences

This conversation explores ideas that exist outside mainstream science and medicine. It is intended as an exploration of one person's beliefs and experiences rather than an endorsement or validation of those claims.

Whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or simply curious, we hope you'll find the conversation interesting and thought-provoking.

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Seasonal Blues, Melancholy, and the Winter Splinter...

Do you only get the Winter Blues?

Lucky you.

In this episode of Eeks Speakeasy, Dr. Eeks confesses to suffering from the entire seasonal collection—from the Autumn Bottom and Spring Sting to the Summer Bummer and the newly diagnosed Winter Splinter.

Along the way, she explores why our moods seem to shift throughout the year, why spring doesn't bring optimism for everyone, why daylight saving time continues to confuse humans and dogs alike, and why melancholy might deserve a little more respect than it gets.

This isn't an episode about diagnosing depression or treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It's a short, lighthearted take on the many ways seasons shape our emotions, complete with bad puns, Greek medicine, philosophical detours, Jack and his "Winter Jollies," and her dog Barnaby's unwavering belief that breakfast should never be a political decision.

If you missed the first episode of Eeks Speakeasy, it's here: The Long Whatever.

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Can bananas change the nutritional value of your smoothie?

Bananas are often considered one of the healthiest fruits you can eat. But what happens when they're blended with berries or other foods rich in beneficial plant compounds?

In this episode, Dr. Eeks talks with Professor Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, about his research examining how bananas may affect the absorption of flavan-3-ols—naturally occurring compounds found in foods like berries, cocoa, tea, and apples that have been associated with cardiovascular and cognitive health.

Together, they discuss:

•  What flavan-3-ols are and why researchers study them 
•  The enzyme in bananas (polyphenol oxidase) and why it matters 
•  How the smoothie study was conducted 
•  Why the banana smoothie resulted in lower flavan-3-ol absorption than the berry-only smoothie 
•  Why this doesn't mean bananas are "bad" or that they destroy nutrients 
•  Whether other fruits may have similar effects 
•  The challenges of measuring diet and nutrient intake in nutrition research—and why nutrition studies can be difficult to interpret 
•  Common misconceptions about nutrition research and what individual studies can (and cannot) tell us 
•  Tips for building a smoothie if maximizing flavan-3-ol intake is your goal 
•  How food combinations—not just individual foods—may influence nutrition 

Take-home message: Bananas remain a nutritious food. This study simply suggests that if your goal is to maximize absorption of flavan-3-ols, it may matter what foods you combine together. More broadly, this episode explores why nutrition science is often more complex than headlines suggest—and why interpreting nutrition research requires careful measurement and context.

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical or nutritional advice.

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