The Checkup with Doctor Mike

Go to https://ground.news/Doctormike to get a more well rounded and nuanced understanding of the news. Save 40% off unlimited access through my link this month.

Follow Dr. Jonathan Haidt and buy his book here:

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Follow Tommy Innit here:

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Contact: [email protected]

Buy Dr. K's new book "How To Raise A Heathy Gamer" here:

00:00 Intro

Bryan Johnson began his life as an entrepreneur, buying, selling, and growing companies like Venmo to build a healthy living for himself. Several years ago, he became fascinated with the idea of maximizing human technology to extend the length and quality of one's life as far as possible. Today, he lives as the most tested man in the world at the center of "Project Blueprint", where drawing on his access to wealth and resources, he pushes the boundaries of human existence to see if he can become the oldest person of all time. As someone who has pushed back quite strongly against biohacking and "optimizing" one's health beyond homeostasis, I was fascinated to ask Bryan about his approach to life and fact-check him on a few of his theories.

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varsahvski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Dr. Paul Offit is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee. He's also the author of a new book called "Tell Me When It's Over" that audits the United States' response during the COVID-19 pandemic. His unbiased and expert point of view is essential to help us understand what mistakes were made, by both the Trump and Biden administrations, so we can be better prepared for disasters in the future.

Buy Dr. Offit's book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739432/tell-me-when-its-over-by-paul-a-offit-md/

Subscribe to Dr. Offit's substack here: https://pauloffit.substack.com/

00:00 Intro

01:20 Not Trusting Our Institutions

11:33 Boosters

23:16 Supreme Court / “Shutdowns”

35:20 Trump’s Mistakes

38:22 Biden’s Mistakes

41:29 Myocarditis

46:10 Gurus and Confidence

49:50 Inaccurate Reporting

52:22 Disinformation Dozen

1:06:30 Debates On Social Media

1:16:50 Strep Throat

1:22:48 RFK Jr.

1:36:49 Lab Leak Theory

1:45:00 The Future

1:47:25 Long COVID / Paxlovid

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

David Rush is an electrical engineer from MIT, but that's not what he's known for. Instead of his impressive scientific achievements, David is in pursuit of becoming the Guinness World Record holder for... holding the most Guinness World Records. He's pushed his body to extreme lengths in his journey to now hold over 160 world records with more coming all the time. I invited him on the show to share his story and detail exactly how he's managed to stay healthy despite the constant physical toll record-breaking has on his body.

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Bea Amma went to a med spa a few years ago to receive a Vitamin B12 injection, and it nearly took her life. Since that fateful day, Bea has been battling a debilitating case of mycobacterium which has been eating her skin. It's forced Bea out of jobs and caused her to build up millions of dollars of medical debt. Today Bea is here to tell her story, but not just to garner sympathy, rather Bea is an advocate for systemic change, saying we must hold the currently unregulated med spa industry accountable for their spread of misinformation and dangerous, unproven health treatments that can ruin the lives of people they claim to treat.

Follow Bea:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf6G6HMFtsms0cmTsQg6KSw
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatriz.amma/?hl=en
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beatriz.amma

00:00 Intro
01:25 How Vitamin B12 Shots Ruined Her Life
09:50 Brazilian Butt Lift
12:35 The Injection Responsible
18:07 The Hospital
29:35 Replacing Her Doctor
35:57 Posting On TikTok
40:30 Mycobacterium / Antibiotics
45:07 How Is This Legal? / The Cost
57:40 IV Drips / Recurring Infections
1:01:45 Her Scars / Dating
1:06:00 Faith / Happiness
1:14:52 Talking About It With Me
1:22:45 Botched and Treatments
1:25:00 Bad Advice She's Received
1:35:00 What Advice Would You Give Yourself?
1:40:43 My Opinion
1:44:42 Call To Action

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Supervisory Special Agent Brenda Born leads the FBI's operation behind battling Online Blackmail, otherwise known as "Sextortion". This is a horrible practice with predators on the internet will target children, pretend they are friendly, convince them to share explicit images, and then hold those images ransom in exchange for money. This not only results is significant financial loss for children and families, but can destroy the mental health of a child or even lead to death. The FBI contacted me about doing a piece on Online Blackmail, and I agreed it was a very serious problem affecting young people that we need to discuss openly and often.

Information on Online Blackmail:https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/sextortion

Here is a link to where people can submit tips or information to the FBI:https://tips.fbi.gov/home

00:00 Intro

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Layne Norton is scientist, author, and record-setting weight lifter specializing in nutrition. One of my favorite things about Layne is his commitment to debunking misinformation, whether it come from snake oil salesman... or me, which is actually the basis of our relationship. Layne called me out for some comments I had made in the past, and despite our initial adversity, I assured him we had more in common than he realized. So, I invited Layne onto the show to dive deep into the ozempification of weight loss, snake oil salesman, and the problem with modern day health podcasts.

Follow Layne Norton of Biolayne here:

00:00 Intro

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Art by Caroline Weigum

Ginny Kaltenbach is not just any nurse, but my nurse, having working alongside me for the last 10 years in New Jersey. Ginny and I are great friends and coworkers, but we developed a new type of relationship this last year where Ginny actually became one of my patients. You see, Ginny was suffering from debilitating pain in her back, and after hearing her side of the story, I realized I wasn't happy with her treatment plan. So, I made Ginny book an appointment with me so we could get to the bottom of her pain. This turned out to be an excellent decision for many reasons detailed in this episode. We don't just talk about Ginny's health though, but also do a deep dive into our relationship and Ginny's opinions on the healthcare system as a nurse who has seen it all, and then some, in over 40 years on the front lines.

00:00 Intro
01:10 Our First Meeting / Fight
04:50 How Ginny Started
14:05 What Makes Doctors Special
19:31 What Nurses Actually Do
24:36 Memories Of Me
31:30 Flirting With Doctors
33:25 Ginny Going Viral
35:18 Ginny’s Injury
52:10 Ginny’s Retirement / My Boxing
54:48 Advice For Nurses

Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski

Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers

Artwork by Caroline Weigum