Critically Speaking

When most of us think of climate change, we think of global warming - that everything's getting hotter. We also know that this is a simplification. Other climate features, like rainfall and humidity, change as well. While the term global is used, there's considerable variation from one geographic area to another with respect to what kinds of changes are happening. An important, but often overlooked, aspect of climate change is its influence on infectious disease. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Luis Escobar discuss what these diseases are, how we can see a growth in the bacteria that are directly influenced by climate, and how different elements play a role in the rate and spread of these diseases.

Key Takeaways:

• We know that there are many types of bacteria that are directly influenced by climate because when temperature in the water increases, the number of bacteria increases.
• We can use chlorophyll to measure the changes in the color in the oceans, lakes, or rivers. We can use satellite data to track changes in chlorophyll which is important as climate change is occurring globally.
• The distribution of disease vectoring insects and their pathogens changes with global warming.
• Climate, local policy, and culture can all play different roles in how disease spreads and grows throughout the world.

"Mosquitos are the most lethal animals and kill more people than any other animal in the world. Mosquitos transmit many diseases, including malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, zika, chikungunya, and filariasis." — Dr. Luis Escobar

Connect with Dr. Luis Escobar:

Professional Bio: https://www.globalchange.vt.edu/dr-luis-escobar/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

No one likes to be lied to. And most folks would love a quick method to detect if somebody lied to them. But it's not so simple. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Mark Frank, a specialist in non-verbal communication and the department chair and a professor at the University of Buffalo, discuss the many aspects of lying. They talk about lies versus deception and how the definition of the rules of deception can change by culture. They also discuss lying in interpersonal relationships and in the criminal justice system (including what makes an effective interrogator), and how managing emotions and credibility plays a role in lying.

Key Takeaways:

• A lie is a deliberate attempt to mislead without prior notification.
• Without understanding someone's baseline, it is harder to notice deviations in behavior that may indicate a lie.
• Depending on how you look, juries (and other individuals) may be more likely to believe you are guilty of an action.
• Good interrogators tend to be good rapport builders

"There is no such thing as a pinocchio response. There is no human response that is exclusive to deception." — Dr. Mark Frank

Connect with Dr. Mark Frank:

Professional Bio: http://www.buffalo.edu/cas/communication/faculty/frank.html

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Most people use their right hand to perform various tasks like eating, writing, playing sports. But there's also a minority of people who primarily use their left hands for these things. Why are left-handed people left-handed? Is it genetic? Are their brains different? Are they smarter? Do they live longer or die earlier? Well, there's a lot of information about left handers circulating in social media, especially making all kinds of claims about left handed people. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Clare Porac, one of the world's experts in handedness, answer these questions. Dr. Porac has extensively studied a range of different aspects of handedness and lateral reality reflected by her several 100 academic publications and two books.

Key Takeaways:

• There are worldwide variations on handedness because there are cultural variations on handedness. Worldwide, there is about a 10% rate of left handedness.
• When it comes to fetal thumb sucking, right thumb suckers tend to be right handed. Left thumb suckers do not have a correlation to handedness.
• If you want to switch your handedness, it takes practice, but it is possible to at least achieve a level of the other handedness.
• Do you really think left handers are more intelligent? Live longer?

"The incidence rate of pure left-handers, people who do everything with their left hand, is really quite low, probably below 5% of the population. Most left handers do something with their right hand. That could be because, their lateral reality is more fluid, since they are not strongly right-handed. Or it could be because they're adapting to a right handed world." — Dr. Clare Porac

Connect with Dr. Clare Porac:

Professional Bio: https://behrend.psu.edu/person/clare-porac-phd

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hilefthander?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4lefthanders

Book: Laterality: Exploring Left Handedness https://www.amazon.com/Laterality-Exploring-Left-Handedness-Clare-Porac/dp/0128012390

Book: Lateral Preferences and Human Behavior https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB3D6WK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Book: In Strange Places

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091B77337/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Blog: https://sites.psu.edu/clarep/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. James Alcock discuss what near death experiences are and the increase of them in recent years due to improvements in medical technology. While near death experiences (NDEs) have been known about for a long time, we, as a scientific community, are starting to understand more about what they mean for neurological processes. However, despite knowing the science of what is happening, NDEs and how they are experienced are subject to one’s own beliefs, context, and even religious framework. Dr. Alcock and Therese also discuss the the relationship between near death experiences, hallucinations, and even reactions to various drugs and how they create powerful subjective experiences. 

 Key Takeaways:

• In surveys taken in the United States, about 3% of people have reported having near death experiences. This number can be difficult to assess as they are based on memory and the surveys are taken, sometimes, years after the incident in question.
• It is difficult to prove the near death experiences in research studies due to the subjectiveness of what is being perceived. 
• Even with the science that we do know, those who have near death experiences (including neurologists who have studied the brain) report the reality of the feelings and perceptions that are felt in these experiences. 

"Context is important. Our interpretation is important. And it's very difficult, if not impossible, for any individual to distinguish between reality and subjective fantasies in those situations." —  Dr. James Alcock

Connect with Dr. James Alcock:

Wikipedia Page: James Alcock  

Book: Belief: What it Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions are so Compelling 

Magazine: Skeptical Inquirer

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Many people were out of work for a year or more owing to the pandemic.  Now they are looking for work and are concerned about the health risks associated with various employment opportunities. In today’s episode, Therese Markow answers listener questions regarding occupational cancer risks. She discusses the types of occupations that can expose individuals to the cancer causing substances, and what we can do to try and minimize our risks. 

 Key Takeaways:

• Radiation, chemicals, and viruses can all cause cancer.  
• Be aware of the potential radiation risks in your work environment and take the precautions that are needed whenever possible. 
• There are many types of volatile organic compounds or VOCs. But particular careers are associated with higher exposure to carcinogenic VOCs. If one works in one of those sectors, there are precautions to take to reduce risks.  

"We've all been through so much in the last year with the pandemic. Let's be aware of where other risks linger as we go back to the workplace, wherever that may be." —  Therese Markow, Ph.D.

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

The obesity epidemic in the US and elsewhere shows no signs of abating. Overweight and obese people now make up more than half of the people in the United States. Everywhere you look, people are large, like it's the new normal. Yet the costs of health problems associated with obesity are huge, and numerous, ranging from hospitalization and medicines to absenteeism at work. Also, it doesn't help when advertisements and beauty contests targeting overweight or obese women, especially, are more and more prevalent. What kind of message does that sound? In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Walter Willett discuss this epidemic, the marketing behind many of the poor food choices made by the general public, and how all sectors of society need to be involved in creating a healthier population. 

 Key Takeaways:

• A lot of the obesity epidemic gets it starts in early childhood, and children continue to get more and more obese as they get older. They're victims of a society that is pushing through very sophisticated kinds of marketing of unhealthy foods that shorten the lives of people who consume them. 
• Even before the pandemic, life expectancy has actually decreased in the United States and we have fallen behind many other developed countries. 
• The real costs to many of these value added foods are the health cost of the consumers, especially kids, and the habit that gets developed and continues on into adulthood.

"What we really need to do is make SNAP better for the participants, and that will be better for everybody. Our whole society does depend on having a healthy population." —  Dr. Walter Willett

Connect with Dr. Walter Willett:

Professional Bio: hsph.harvard.edu/walter-willett

Book: amazon.com/Eat-Drink-Be-Healthy-Harvard/dp/0743266420

Book: amazon.com/Eat-Drink-Weigh-Less-Delicious/dp/1401308929  

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

We’ve been hearing more and more in the news about murder hornets, but we haven’t been hearing too much about the details of these insects. Where did they come from? Who do they kill? Where do they live? How big are they? What are the risks of these murder hornets? In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Ed Vargo discuss these questions and more. Bees, wasps, and hornets are all part of the same insect order, hymenoptera, but there are thousands of different species, both social and solitary of these insects. Dr. Vargo breaks down some of the differences and talks about the risks of the murder hornets and what we can do against them. 

 Key Takeaways:

• Solitary wasps tend to be non-aggressive, they want to be left alone. Social wasps, that live in colonies, can be more aggressive as they are protecting their nests. All hornets are social and live in colonies. 
• Unless you are very allergic, it takes 30-50 stings to kill a human being. 
• While it is unlikely we will be able to eradicate the murder hornets in North America, by making ourselves aware, we might be able to slow their spread. 

"All wasps are predators that feed their brood, the developing larvae, prey, usually in the form of arthropods. They go out and they hunt, and they kill and eat." —  Dr. Ed Vargo

Connect with Dr. Ed Vargo:

Professional Bio: Texas A&M University: Urban and Structural Entomology Program at Texas A&M University  

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Obesity and its accompanying health problems clearly are associated with overeating, especially of high sugar and fatty foods, and a sedentary lifestyle. But it turns out that while we need to be careful with respect to what we eat, when during our waking hours we are eating also has a significant effect on weight gain and general health. The same amount and types of calories can have vastly different health effects depending upon when they are consumed. The light-dark cycle influences our sleep wake circadian rhythm, but the time of day we eat controls another metabolic circadian rhythm. Today we talk with a discoverer of this eating-mediated circadian rhythm, Dr. Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute in La Jolla. Dr. Panda has laid this system out for us in his book, “The Circadian Code : Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight.”

 Key Takeaways:

• The same amount of calories consumed throughout the day leads to more weight gain that does eating them meals within a 10 hour time frame. 
• This is called time restricted eating or TRE.
• In addition, a number of health indicators are better with TRE, leading to reduced risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
• Consuming ice cream before bed, or raiding the refrigerator in the middle of the night, are among the worst practices. Better to have the ice cream earlier in the day.

"The field of nutrition science, over the last 100 years, has verified and validated that the quality and quantity of nutrition are extremely important for health. And now this new concept also tells us that the timing of food is equally, or even more, important." —  Dr. Satchin Panda

Connect with Dr. Satchin Panda:

Professional Bio: salk.edu/scientist/satchidananda-panda

Website:  panda.salk.edu

Book: amazon.com/Circadian-Code-Supercharge-Transform-Midnight/dp/163565243X

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

When we hear the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, often the image of a combat veteran comes to mind, but a relatively new field is emerging - that of pediatric PTSD. This is a field of growing importance as we recognize that traumatized youth need treatment for this. Spearheading research in this area is Dr. Ryan Herringa. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Herringa discuss the history of PTSD, how it often manifests in both adults and children, as well as the types of traumas that can cause pediatric PTSD. They also discuss the long term implications and risks for pediatric PTSD, as well as the structural and functional changes to the brain due these lingering traumas.

 Key Takeaways:

• Development will have an impact on how PTSD is expressed in kids.
• Parents, caretakers, and teachers are more likely to notice PTSD in the children in their lives. 
• There is increasing recognition and awareness of pediatric PTSD, however, there is more work to be done in being able to train people to administer therapies, to pick up on PTSD, and have systems that will be able to reach all of these kids.  

"Any type of trauma that involves the potential for serious injury or threat of life, in oneself (in the child) or, potentially, to someone else (such as a loved one or family member) can cause PTSD in a child." —  Dr. Ryan Herringa

Connect with Dr. Ryan Herringa:

Professional Bio: psychiatry.wisc.edu/staff/herringa-ryan

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-herringa-b2a31320

BRAVE Research Center: brave.psychiatry.wisc.edu

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Breast cancer is on the rise, especially in women under 40. This is pretty scary and the increase points to something environmental. In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Kris McGrath talk about one of these environmental factors and how our individual underarm hygiene may play a role in our risk for breast (and prostate) cancers earlier in life. Dr. McGrath has had a long time interest in this trend and they discuss some of his work on the relationship between underarm shaving and the use of deodorants and antiperspirants.

 Key Takeaways:

• The majority of breast cancer is environmental or lifestyle. Only 5-10% of breast cancer is due to genetic causes. So what are the factors?
• Both breast cancer and prostate cancer are hormone-driven cancers.
• More research needs to be done, but there already is a significant and scary relationship between underarm hygiene and beast and prostate cancers. 

"In my paper, I showed that the earlier you began underarm habits, shaving your underarm and applying antiperspirant deodorant three times a week or more, the diagnosis of breast cancer began at a younger age, especially if you started using these products before the age of 16." —  Dr. Kris McGrath

Connect with Dr. Kris McGrath:

Professional Bio: feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=15819  

Connect with Therese:

Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

Email: [email protected]

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.