50% off Ozempic for Pride!!! Jessica heads back to NYC this year, this time over Pride weekend rather than before.

A year ago Kent Thosmas, MSW joined Jessica to talk about this ad and her visit to the clinic offering the deal, and what this means for gay men. Kent shared how his Christianity played into his eating disorder and the two talk about queer men, and how religion, queerness, and health are connected. They also talk about the normate body and hardness for gay men. 

Kent’s original reel

Dr. Jeff Iovanonne

Additional ad

And salmon injections…

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How to support this podcast? Follow, rate and review and subscribe to ⁠Patreon⁠ membership with access to bonus content and announcements!

Jessica's book: ⁠It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies⁠

Jessica Wilson, MS RD is joined by Malak (whose last name and appearance we're not sharing to protect her safety) to discuss the intersections of ICE, Palestine and Black liberation. Malak was recently a part of a mental health delegation that traveled to Palestine and shares the stories of those she met.

The two talk settler colonialism, surveillance and over policing. They also talk about a shared humanity, and how people and these fights are not about here vs there. She provides language and context for the wars and battles raging around us and the importance of being seen. 

Black scholars, including Angela Davis, Ta-Nehesi Coats and James Baldwin have long made connections between Palestine and Black people in America, both living under Imperialism, and fighting for justice and freedom and never giving up.

Malak shares multiple ways for people to stay engaged and keep learning.

This episode was 1st published on Juneteenth 2025. 

Innocent Until Proven Muslim

Podcasts:

• Sumud Podcast

• This is Palestine

• Rethinking Palestine

Websites: 

• thepalestineacademy.com

• decolonizepalestine.com

• boycottguide.org

Books: 

• The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine

• Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine

• The Question of Palestine

• The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

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Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Paul Saladino is LOUD and literally banks on fear. He thinks we live in a zoo. He used to be a carnivore and sold the idea, and then started eating plants. He’s said many deeply ridiculous and dangerous things. He is the reason Erewhon has a raw meat smoothie and the primary reason we overthink seed oils. He knows how much meat Jessica should eat in a day. He’s a Lot. Clips of his claims are sprinkled throughout this podcast. 

Trampus Harmon of Harmon and Son Beef returns to the show to talk about Paul and his customers’ needs on a carnivore diet. The two of them talk about Paul’s carnivore creep, his multiple iterations and influencer culture. Trampus isn’t sure that Paul’s tallow product is all that he claims it to be. 

Paul reminds us that we’re all going to die. 

It was polyester slings not underwear Paul

One example of Paul being incredibly annoying

Raw milk to kids

Paul and seed oils

Physician nutrition specialists

Heart and Soil

Lineage beef tallow–or is it?

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Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

The first MAHA report, the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment” came out on 5/22/25, and Selena Salfen, MPH RDN, and Meghan Cichy MPH RDN join Jessica to discuss it. The report came out at least two additional times, due to “formatting errors” which was a fancy label for AI errors. NOTUS was the first news outlet to report the citations that don’t exist. The three discuss what RFK gets wrong in the report and spend time talking about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They bring up which industry funded research MAHA seems to endorse, and the opportunities MAHA has to demolish current policies and programs just to bring them back, claim them and make them weaker. 

The episode has a bonus voice note from Selena’s kiddo about why she created her own food list after learning about Dr. Casey Means’s ultimate food list.

Exciting addition! Selena’s kiddo’s food list. 

Meghan’s version of the report

⁠LA Times article⁠ with Dr. Robert Lustig about Dr. Casey Means

The WIC program

Vaping psychedelics

EPA rollback of Biden’s PFAS limit

Selena and Meghan’s first episode

MAHA Commission and the fact sheet 

Hurdles for SNAP use

School Nutrition Association position paper

Food Resource and Action Center

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Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

This podcast’s origin story! Originally airing 10/26/23 Jessica is joined by nurse practitioner Calvin Gilbert to recount their presentation about weight stigma in trans care at UCSF’s 2023 Trans Health Summit and what led to a medical doctor being escorted out of the room. Jessica talks with Calvin about what happened the previous day and why it motivated her to start Making it Awkward and make a name tag for herself that says “Arts and Crafts Manager.”

Jessica is returning to the same conference this week! She will be wearing her name tag and looking for the same people she met the first time around and if anything has changed. She will be making it awkward and reporting back if anything else entertaining happens!

There are two more episodes about BMI and trans care following this one: 

The Research on BMI and Gender Affirming Care

Is Non-binary Identity a 3rd Gender Category?; USPATH Conference Reflections

You can find out more about Lyon Martin Community Health Services

You can contact the show at [email protected]

Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

You can watch this episode on Spotify and at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

You can buy awkward merch!

You can become a Patreon member!

How to support this podcast?

Follow/subscribe, rate and review!

Buy Jessica's book It's Always Been Ours.

The Trump administration has talked about using awards, scholarships and cash as incentives to have more children. People see Elon as a leader in pronatalism conversations. Dr. Eoin Flaherty is back on the show to connect the dots between population control, pronatalism, and the environment. Eoin talks with Jessica about the Better Baby fairs of the 1900s and the two talk about how race is the underpinning of pronatalism even if no one speaks about it directly. The two talk about fertility hysteria, and the difference between fertility rates and birth rates.

Eoin shares what research is next for him, and Jessica thinks that he might get the attention of Make America Healthy Again evangelists. 

Eoin on YouTube

Some mentions from the episode:

Alison Pill’s episode

Dr Paul Saladino AKA Captain Cotton Underpants

Adriana Smith

Timeline of Ireland abortion laws

Maternal death rates in the US

Dr. Harvey Kellogg RELATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO RACE DEGENERACY

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Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email [email protected]

You can buy awkward merch!

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You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

Selena Selfan, MPH, RD is back for the next installment in the re-grifting series! She is the resident Means Siblings Scholar and talks to host Jessica Wilson, MS RD about her deep dive! Dr. Casey Means is currently the presumptive nominee for Surgeon General. Her brother Calley Means is a special advisor to RFK Jr and cofounder of Truemed. The two are fervent MAHA supporters and foot soldiers in RFK’s fight. 

Listeners will learn about the Means siblings’s upbringing and the love and support for their parents. And then plot twist: their father, Grady Means wrote a gender expansive children's book. 

Selena shares how Cassie has evolved in her career, and spits Calley’s facts like a pro. The two talk about the grift of the Means siblings and Selena’s prediction for Calley’s future. 

The Means siblings have direct connections to Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Andrew Huberman, our first and second grifters. Stay tuned for the next one about Dr. Paul Saladino.

See Selena’s bibliography below!

Calley’s Politico interview

Tucker Carlson interview 

Deadly Lightbulbs

Surgeon shortage

Oregon Medical Board

Casey’s Instagram posts about Jessica:

August 28, 2024 - https://www.instagram.com/p/C_QjRljJ1mr/?hl=en

August 29, 2024 - https://www.instagram.com/p/C_N6qSPPcT2/?hl=en

Instagram - Never. Buy. Ultraprocessed. Food. Ever. Again.

Casey's sponsors with conflicted research:

Pendulum, newsletter, study funded by Pendulum

Mitopure, Newsletter, study funded by Mitopure

Life expectancy data

health insurance stat

FSA/HSAs:

https://www.numerator.com/resources/blog/fsa-hsa-consumer-spending/

https://www.ebri.org/content/new-analysis-of-3.2-million-flexible-spending-accounts-finds-average-contributions-increasing-while-half-forfeiting-funds-to-their-employers 

Forbes list of growing industries

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Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email [email protected]

You can buy awkward merch!

You can become a Patreon member!

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

Jessica Wilson, MS. RD. is joined by Blake Flaugher, MPH, to give Jessica a full breakdown of poppers and RFK Jr.’s AIDS denialism. Jessica is very curious about butt stuff and Blake expertly answers her questions. He also answers a listener question about the spectrum of asexuality. The two have this conversation at a brewery and got the opportunity to make things awkward! Blake updates Jessica on the state of sex education in 2025 and shares what he’s found grounding and motivating as he continues to do this work. 

Blake's first Making it Awkward ep

AIDS denialism 

FDA crackdown on poppers 

Legality of poppers 

Go Ask Alice

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Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email [email protected]

You can buy awkward merch!

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You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review and share with a friend!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

It’s been 100 days of Hellth in America and boy do we need a vacation. This week Jessica is joined by dietitians Meghan Cichy and Selena Salfen to discuss what has happened in public health this year, and break down the MAHA Commission. They talk through what RFK Jr. and MAHA have been up to and how it will impact childhood nutrition. Jessica asks Selena and Meghan what happened to  “childhood obesity.” 

Jessica starts the episode with some brief nutrition policy updates.

Dad is back to read a couple of reviews.

Dr. Kevin Hall’s resignation on X and in NYT

The end of milk safety

Food dyes

 The  International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announced Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment

 $660M lost for school lunches

MAHA Commission and the fact sheet 

Hurdles for SNAP use

School Nutrition Association position paper

Food Resource and Action Center

Let’s Eat; Be Real

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Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email [email protected]

You can buy awkward merch!

You can become a Patreon member!

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review and share with a friend!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

How do we get beef tallow and is it actually less processed than seed oils? And if companies are using colostrum for their supplements, are they taking it away from baby cows? Dr. Sarah Dougherty and Beef farmer Trampus Harmon return to the show for a spirited conversation about the renaissance of cow byproducts. Trampus explains how he makes tallow at home and discusses market trends for cow byproducts.

Jessica shares the claims made by Bloom and Armra about how they source their colostrum and Sarah explains all that would need to go into a colostrum supplement if we were going to be sure it was ethical. 

They end their conversation by discussing collagen and whether it’s worth the hype.

Collagen claims, and research

Birkocorp tallow processing

Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment!

Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email [email protected]

You can buy awkward merch!

You can become a Patreon member!

You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod

Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson

How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review and share with a friend!

Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies