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

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

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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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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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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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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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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

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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

Have you wondered how 5G conspiracies developed or what makes some people more vulnerable to conspiracy theories? 

Today Jessica talks with Dr. Eoin Flaherty, assistant professor at Maynooth University to find the  answers to these questions and many others. The two talk about conspiracism and the post-truth era in which we’re living. 

Dr. Flaherty explains 5G and why some people believe it’s dangerous. The two talk about Wi-Fi and 5G-free chicken, RFK Jr., how conspiracies generate and spread and Jessica asks him if she could be the next one to spread a theory of her own. 

Jessica came to his work via the article “The conspiracy of Covid-19 and 5G: Spatial analysis fallacies in the age of data democratization”, which he co-authored.

NBC: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claims measles vaccine protection 'wanes very quickly'

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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

Re-release Making America Healthy Again Part 2! Original air date: 10/31/24.

Jessica talks with three guests for their reflections on her interview with Jeff Hutt, spokesperson for the Make America Healthy Again PAC and shares email feedback from a listener and her 18 year old daughter.

Medical sociologist Dr. Natalie Ingraham joins the show to talk about the people part of MAHA and the concept of “again.” Jessica discusses the interviews of Calley Means and Charlie Kirk that she dove into. Natalie talks about the regulations of the 80s versus 90s and has some solutions we could try if we’re interested in future changes.

Jessica then talks to Kent Thomas about the men of it all in the MAHA conversation, and he asks Jessica why she’s looking into MAHA in the first place.

Lastly Jessica brings you a conversation with her dad about his reflections of the episode. That chat was wide ranging and opened up many future podcast episodes. 

Video of Charlie Kirk in the episode

TIME article referenced

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

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

Great British Bake-Off alum Mike Wilkins joins the show to talk about farming and queerness in the UK! He is a fourth -generation farmer, working alongside his family on their farm, Nolands. He has a weekly Instagram series about what he’s been up to on the farm and it’s an absolute joy to watch. In this episode Jessica and Mike chat about the intersections among farming, queerness and mental health. A note that this episode talks about farmers’ contemplating ending their own lives to save their farms.

Mike is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within farming, and was an ambassador for the National Farmers Union in 2022. Mike and Jessica also talk about the farm inheritance tax in the UK.

Mike competed in the 15th season of The Great British Bake-Off, and having done so will now be making his own wedding cake. Mike’s baking style is both homely and wholesome. He likes making big, hearty bakes using high-quality local ingredients that can satisfy lots of people at parties and gatherings. He especially loves using seasonal fruits and edible flowers from his garden and farm.

Mike also answers Jessica’s burning question: Is Alison Hammond as delightful as she seems? 

Nolands livestock

Nolands arable

Shop Nolands

Alison Hammond’s book

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How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review and share with a friend!You can buy Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies

Soda taxes take 2. Jesica is joined by Raeann Bowlds, MPH and Blake Flaugher, MPH to discuss Dr. Kelly Brownell’s claims that crack, soda, Cheetos, and baby formula do the same things in our brains and our bodies. The three talk about tobacco and soda taxes to see if the two are the same, and what Berkeley CA has done (or hasn’t done) with its soda tax revenue. Jessica asked Blake and Raeann to teach her about public health because she couldn’t understand it if the steps to make healthy food a human right were addressing predatory marketing and adding labels to food. The three enjoy a conversation over adult beverages, with which they can live in harmony.

Berkeley Commission

$929,000 spent by Berkeley for it’s soda tax campaign

Dr. Kelly Brownell

Philadelphia soda taxes

Seattle soda taxes

Places with soda taxes

Sugar taxes reduce consumption

You can buy awkward merch!

You can become a Patreon member!

You can contact the show at [email protected]

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

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

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jessica-wilson-ms-rd/its-always-been-ours/9780306827693/