John may be able to grow a beard like Grizzly Adams but he isn’t exactly a pro at wilderness survival…would John be able to survive in the wild? Even with all his science, Ryan doesn’t have the firsthand experience to answer this one on his own. So we recruited Ryan Vogel aka “Wild Ryan” to evaluate John’s survival skills and entertain us all with stories of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk and https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music?nv=1

The topic may be “tickling” but John couldn’t be more serious about this. John hates getting tickled. If you happen to see him on the street, please don’t tickle him. No matter how adorable or ticklish he happens to look that day. So what’s the deal with tickling anyways? It seems like a pretty bizarre bodily function. Ryan has found a surprising amount of research on the subject and offers an explanation on this week’s pod.

Ryan's Mid-Podcast Game Trophy: https://imgur.com/gallery/tuAQxXH

Pillow Talk Shirts: https://teespring.com/john-and-ryan-s-pillow-talk-sh?pid=46&cid=2740

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk 

The hellish nightmare that was 2020 has come to an end! And best of all, we finally have a vaccine for the Coronavirus! But if John's being honest with you bedbugs, he's a tad nervous about these new vaccines...it feels like we whipped them up pretty quickly. Are they safe? Can we really trust them? If Ryan can effectively explain how the Coronavirus vaccine works in 45 minutes or less, John's buying in. No pressure Ryan! 

Key info from FDA Briefing: https://imgur.com/gallery/a2GJdKH

Full FDA Briefing on the Covid-19 Vaccine: https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk and https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music?nv=1

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But there’s one thing getting in the way of John’s Christmas. A nagging voice in the back of John’s mind that’s making him doubt the existence of Santa. A voice that sounds suspiciously like his co-host Ryan’s…is there a Santa Claus? Ryan “Ebenezer” Dikdan has his misgivings. But special guest Anthony Gallo has enough Christmas cheer to turn us all into believers. Be sure to listen to the very end, there’s a little Christmas gift for you all after the outro music.

Pillow Talk shirts: https://teespring.com/john-and-ryan-s-pillow-talk-sh?pid=46&cid=2740

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk and https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music?nv=1

For 30 episodes now, Ryan has been answering the questions that keep John up at night. But maybe it's time we addressed the root of the problem. Why do we stay up at night, thinking about stuff? Why do people dream and find comfort in altered states of consciousness? Yeah, that's right. Deep stuff. And as you may have guessed, a little above Ryan's pay grade. He's only a MD-PhD candidate after all. So Ryan took the week off and the podcast enlisted the help of the medical community's greatest power couple, MD-MPH Sean Dikdan and Psychiatrist Sondra Corgan.  

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk

It's the day before Thanksgiving! But before they sit down for turkey, John's got a few food related questions keeping him up at night. Does eating a lot of turkey really make you sleepy? Does eating large quantities of meat really cause "the meat sweats"? Given John's eating habits, it's almost a certainty these questions will be relevant come tomorrow. Ryan's got the answers and John is very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! 

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk and https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music?nv=1

First things first, how did that US Presidential election pan out? Political correspondent Jesse Nicholas recaps the highlights in his very first "Election Round Up" segment! Once you stomach through that, on to the real episode! It may be hard to imagine a studious side of John. But he seriously considered going to law school after he got his Bachelors degree. His dad, John Sr., is a lawyer and it was tempting to follow in his footsteps. Should John have gone to law school? Unfortunately, Ryan can't fit a JD into his MD/PhD program. So they invited on Zander Weiss, Ryan's old roommate and NY state licensed attorney to weigh in on the perils of law school. 

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It's less than a week before the US presidential election and John is losing even more sleep than usual. We have two barely lucid candidates shouting over each other to decide the fate of our nation. And a sitting president who hasn't fully committed to a "peaceful exchange of power". So yeah, John's got the panic button primed and ready to go. Ryan hates discussing politics (who can blame him). So political correspondent Jesse Nicholas returns to the pod to offer John a little perspective in these trying times.

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There are many things in life John struggles to commit to...and getting a tattoo is definitely up there. He's always admired the tattoos of friends and co-workers but never been able to pull the trigger on a tattoo for himself. Thank god John knows a tatted PhD-MD candidate by the name of Mr. Ryan Dikdan who is willing to make that decision for him. Should John get a sick tat? It's in Ryan's hands now. Damn, this episode has high stakes. 

Tattoo mock-ups discussed in episode: https://imgur.com/a/C7ZL0Lu

Sound effects acquired from http://www.freesfx.co.uk