Risky Behavior

On the final episode of Risky Behavior Season 2, Sweta and Taylor speak to the “digital doctor” Dr. Sohaib Imtiaz. The trio discusses the nexus of health, behavior, and technology, the relationship between physical and mental health, and the many tech innovations in health that will overhaul our relationship to our bodies. They even get an answer to the perennial question: “Why do doctors smoke?!”

Lifestyle medicine is a holistic approach to mind and body health but is still a relatively new board certification in the field of medicine. Sweta and Taylor get deep insights from Sohaib into where the field is going and how “wearables” and the digitization of health more broadly are going to transform individual and public health. This is a podcast for anyone who cares about their health and the future of medicine.

Sweta and Taylor talk to Alessandra Sollberger, an impact investor, entrepreneur and general force of nature! She is the founder and CEO of Top Tier Impact, a global, private network of high impact and sustainability leaders and investors. Alessa describes how global impact and sustainability can grow faster and better, and recognizes the urgency for action while looking forward to ushering in a thriving future. She is a globally recognized generational voice leading at the nexus of impact and technology, and an advocate for an incentivized and accountable private sector on climate change.

Alessa explains how it is finally more profitable for the private sector to part of the solution than to be part of the problem, which is a recent change compared to the early 2000s when green funds first gained popularity. This current decade is a critical time, and individuals and the public sector must also recognize their roles in influencing and moving corporates. The trio discuss the future of the private sector in responding to and signaling societal advances from climate change, to better food choices, to racial injustice intolerance.

Listeners will learn how individual behaviors and demands can influence governance and ultimately overhaul seemingly slow to reform heavy industries like cement and steel.

Consumers can dictate what companies do, and we must. This is an episode filled with facts, hope and action!

Sweta and Taylor interview the Head of Anatomy at Kings College London and BrainFacts.org Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Richard Wingate. As a developmental neurobiologist, Richard’s research looks at locating and identifying neurons in the brain and their relationship to development and evolution. This sounds technical, and it is! but Richard is passionate about cross-collaborating with artists and those in media to make science more accessible, and visually appealing.

The trio gets into a range of topics ranging from how biological processes begin in the womb, their implications for how we develop and evolve (including how DNA can change and be passed on from mother to child), and ultimately how to communicate relevant, useful information to the public! We even explore the findings of Einstein's brain (spoiler alert: it's not so different from any of us regular folk).

Richard has served on Wellcome Trusts Awards panels and acted as the scientific advisor for the Wellcome Collection’s “Brains: Mind as Material” exhibition in London and Manchester, and co-authored the accompanying book. We get into all of this and more! We hope you feel like a bonafide neurobiologist by the end of this episode!

TRIGGER WARNING: The contents and discussion in this episode are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional, medical or psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have specific inquiries about your mental health you should call your physician or appropriate healthcare provider promptly. If you think you have a medical emergency or are experiencing suicidal ideations then call ---your doctor or 911 immediately.

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Sweta and Taylor talk to Dr. Swati Divakarla, a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist about mental health broadly and especially during COVID19. They cover a range of topics from the mental health of frontline healthcare workers (suicides increasing) to why mental health coverage in the US falls short despite its obvious benefit to overall human health. They get into the role of social media for mental health (both good and bad), the stigma around seeking out services, and even the benefits of shock therapy (hint: NOT for “fixing” homosexuality).

It’s been a rough year globally since the pandemic broke out, and Dr. Swati explains steps everyone can take to look after their mental health in this time of COVID and beyond. This is an incredibly informative episode that is relevant to anyone who has experienced either the direct and/or indirect impacts of COVID.

National US suicide hotline: 800-273-8255

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IG: @doctor.divakarla

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swati-divakarla-md

Tw: DoctorDivakarla

Sweta and Taylor interview Columbia University Neuroscientist Dr. Bianca Marlin Jones who breaks down the “love drug” oxytocin and its role in relationships, care, and behavior. Bianca explains the science behind how love transcends biological bonds, evident in the ease in which adoptive and foster parents love their non-biological children. Even dogs have developed evolutionary adaptive traits to make sure we continue to release oxytocin and feed and house them, and we are fine with it! The trio gets into trans-generational epigenetic inheritance of stress and trauma, and how experiences can be passed down to second and even third generations. Sperm and eggs REMEMBER, and Bianca’s cutting-edge research in this field will frankly blow your mind. Bianca calms Sweta down about potentially having children in the future. It turns out our brain’s “love drug” has played a consistent role in procreation and child-rearing since the dawn of our species, and the benefits do indeed outweigh the risks. Bianca's contributions in STEM are living black history and we're so excited to delve into the deets of her research. 

--- "Have ideas for the show? Want to give some feedback?" Shoot us a voice message at (202) 713-5182 and we’ll make sure to get our producer to listen to it - cause we don’t do voicemail. You can always feel free to tweet us @swetachak and @drtaylorwallace respectively or @riskybehaviordc . We love a good tweet. 

-- Special shoutout to Bianca for making this possible! To keep up with Dr. Marlin and her work, check out the relevant links below: 

TWITTER: @bjmarlin

INSTA: @biancajonesmarlin

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Credits: 

Executive Producers/Hosts: Sweta Chakraborty and Taylor Wallace 

Production/Editing: Brandon Jack Lee Music

Special thanks to Anchor.fm for smart sounds

In this episode, Sweta and Taylor talk to Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing), a Harvard trained epidemiologist and former candidate for Congress! Eric has been an advocate for evidence-based public health policies since the outbreak of COVID-19 and continues to emphasize the need to come together as a community to squash disease outbreaks. He’s been retweeted by AOC, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the President of Mexico (who translated his tweet into Spanish!), and many other notables for his relentless efforts to fight science disinformation and better inform the public.

The trio discusses everything from our current Biden-Harris era of science communication and policy to COVID-19 myths to the mask wars, as well as the reluctance to get vaccinated and the role scientists need to play in better science communication. Spoiler alert: we def need to improve our emotional EQ and stop fighting with one another in public!

This is a serious topic, but there is always humor to be found, and this episode is full of both facts and fun! Sit back with a (yes…still) socially distanced drink. We’re getting there folks!

---- NOTE: This episode was recorded in Winter 2020. COVID-19 related news changes at a rapid pace, so please be sure to keep up to date with your trusted local, state, and national news sources.

---- Please note that due to quarantine, we're still recording remotely. You may hear some unexpected background noises. We hope that won't discourage you from getting into these really important issues.

--- "Have ideas for the show? Want to give some feedback?" Shoot us a voice message at (202) 713-5182 and we’ll make sure to get our producer to listen to it - cause we don’t do voicemail. 

You can always feel free to tweet us @swetachak and @drtaylorwallace respectively or @riskybehaviordc. We love a good tweet.

-- Special shoutout to Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding for taking time out for our show! You can keep up with Eric on Twitter @DrEricDing

--- Credits: Executive Producers/Hosts: Sweta Chakraborty and Taylor Wallace Production/Editing: Brandon Jack Lee

Special thanks to Anchor.fm for smart sounds

In the premiere episode of Season 2, Sweta and Taylor wine down with legendary musician, DJ, and author: Moby! Surprisingly, this episode doesn't focus on music, or even philosophy (listen in to hear how Moby almost became a philosophy prof!), but rather the trio dive into Moby's true calling as an animal rights activist. We explore what Moby has learned in terms of leveraging his platform and status as a celebrity, to draw attention to the plight of animals.

Moby is a unique voice in Hollywood as he urges his fellow celebrities to utilize their platforms to raise awareness of the many interconnected human/animal/environmental risks we face. This episode explores the relationship between animals and humans as it relates to a warming planet and our hosts explore everything from Hollywood to policymaking. We also explore where activism can fall short, making a case for animal welfare through economic benefit and misconceptions that Moby refers to as "magical thinking".

If you think this is a dope kick-off to the season, then just wait 'til you see who we have in store next. Stay tuned!

Please note that due to quarantine, we're still recording remotely. You may hear some unexpected background noises. We hope that won't discourage you from getting into these really important issues.

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"Have ideas for the show? Want to give some feedback?"

Shoot us a voice message at (202) 713-5182 and we’ll make sure to get our producer to listen to it - cause we don’t do voicemail.

You can always feel free to tweet us @swetachak and @drtaylorwallace respectively or @riskybehaviordc . We love a good tweet.

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Credits:

Special shoutout to Moby and Dave Tomberlin for making this possible.

Executive Producers/Hosts: Sweta Chakraborty and Taylor Wallace

Production/Editing: Brandon Jack Lee

Music featured by Cat O'Brien

Special thanks to Anchor.fm for smart sounds

Dear Listeners,

We were really excited to launch Season 2 of Risky Behavior today, Jan. 7th. But yesterday, following Georgia flipping the US Senate to Democrat, protests in Washington DC turned violent—resulting in an armed insurrection of the Capitol building, a woman shot and killed, and the Mayor of Washington imposing a 6 PM curfew to prevent further escalations. Because of this, we’ve decided to postpone our first episode’s release to next week, Jan 14th. Thank you for your patience.

An additional note from me.

There will always be dissenters to democracy, but yesterday was an example of domestic TERRORISM. Those who participated in and supported yesterday’s insurrection must be held accountable. These people are not representative of the majority of Americans who uphold democracy, and democracy will prevail.

I look forward to the Biden Administration restoring national trust in our governance as well as the international community’s faith in America.

As a behavioral scientist who has researched the integral role of trust in institutions and behavior, I know what it takes to restore trust once it has been destroyed.

America is WORTH the work.

Let’s get started.

Thank you from Risky Behavior DC