The Squeaky Wheel with Shannon & Shanna

In this episode, Shannon and Shanna discuss elder abuse, how it affects different people and what can be done to prevent it.

The Squeaky Wheel amplifies the voices of people navigating broken systems. Through personal stories, thoughtful conversations (or historical accounts), and critical inquiry, we explore the social, economic, and institutional forces shaping our lives and ask:

"How can we make this better?"

What We Believe

Problems don't get solved when they're ignored. Many of the challenges people face are rooted in larger systems—healthcare, government, media, education, business, and economic structures. We believe meaningful change begins with understanding those systems, listening to the people affected by them, and asking better questions.

We are not interested in partisan outrage or ideological echo chambers. We are interested in curiosity, accountability, and practical solutions.

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In part 2, I share my home-birth story and we compare the differences between these two experiences.

We broke this episode up into two parts due to the overall length of my story. There was a lot to unpack, and we didn't want to cut out or rush through any of the details. In part 1, I share my experience with delivering a baby in the typical hospital setting and the interaction that lead to my decision to deliver my next baby at home with a certified nurse mid-wife.

The Squeaky Wheel amplifies the voices of people navigating broken systems. Through personal stories, thoughtful conversations (or historical accounts), and critical inquiry, we explore the social, economic, and institutional forces shaping our lives and ask:

"How can we make this better?"

What We Believe

Problems don't get solved when they're ignored.

Many of the challenges people face are rooted in larger systems—healthcare, government, media, education, business, and economic structures. We believe meaningful change begins with understanding those systems, listening to the people affected by them, and asking better questions.

We are not interested in partisan outrage or ideological echo chambers. We are interested in curiosity, accountability, and practical solutions.

Sources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/inducing-labor/art-20047557
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/home-birth/art-20046878
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11153863/
• https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-06-04/how-the-u-s-compares-to-other-rich-countries-in-maternal-mortality
• https://time.com/article/2026/04/29/a-dangerous-shift-in-maternal-health-policy/
• https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/planned-parenthood-sues-trump-vance-administration-over-ideologically-driven-changes-to-funding-application-for-title-x-family-planning-program/
• https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/taxpayer-dollars-flood-pregnancy-centers-oversight-hasnt-followed
• https://www.revivalchiropractic.com/breech-baby/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41911393/
• https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/120486

We broke this episode up into two parts due to the overall length of my story. There was a lot to unpack, and we didn't want to cut out or rush through any of the details. In part 1, I share my experience with delivering a baby in the typical hospital setting and the interaction that lead to my decision to deliver my next baby at home with a certified nurse mid-wife.

Stay tuned for part 2, where I share my home-birth story and we compare the differences between these two experiences.

The Squeaky Wheel amplifies the voices of people navigating broken systems. Through personal stories, thoughtful conversations (or historical accounts), and critical inquiry, we explore the social, economic, and institutional forces shaping our lives and ask:

"How can we make this better?"

What We Believe

Problems don't get solved when they're ignored.

Many of the challenges people face are rooted in larger systems—healthcare, government, media, education, business, and economic structures. We believe meaningful change begins with understanding those systems, listening to the people affected by them, and asking better questions.

We are not interested in partisan outrage or ideological echo chambers. We are interested in curiosity, accountability, and practical solutions.

Sources:

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/inducing-labor/art-20047557
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/home-birth/art-20046878
• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11153863/
• https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-06-04/how-the-u-s-compares-to-other-rich-countries-in-maternal-mortality
• https://time.com/article/2026/04/29/a-dangerous-shift-in-maternal-health-policy/
• https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/planned-parenthood-sues-trump-vance-administration-over-ideologically-driven-changes-to-funding-application-for-title-x-family-planning-program/
• https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/taxpayer-dollars-flood-pregnancy-centers-oversight-hasnt-followed
• https://www.revivalchiropractic.com/breech-baby/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41911393/
• https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/120486

"In our first episode, Shannon shared her experience with being told by the hospitals that they couldn’t admit her husband for cancer treatment because they didn’t have the room for him due to covid, but when she goes to the hospital, she discovers otherwise. This part of her story reminded me of another journalist from the 1880s who conducted her own investigation into a hospital of a different kind. Her name was Nellie Bly, and in this episode, Shannon and I are going to tell you about her investigation and the change it spurred."

The Squeaky Wheel amplifies the voices of people navigating broken systems. Through personal stories, thoughtful conversations (or historical accounts), and critical inquiry, we explore the social, economic, and institutional forces shaping our lives and ask:

"How can we make this better?"

Problems don't get solved when they're ignored.

Many of the challenges people face are rooted in larger systems—healthcare, government, media, education, business, and economic structures. We believe meaningful change begins with understanding those systems, listening to the people affected by them, and asking better questions.

We are not interested in partisan outrage or ideological echo chambers. We are interested in curiosity, accountability, and practical solutions.

Sources:

• https://archive.org/details/3304680.med.yale.eduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Days_in_a_Mad-House
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/women-reporters-undercover-most-important-scoops-day-180960775/
• https://time.com/6074783/psychiatry-history-women-mental-health/
• https://juliamartins.co.uk/the-yellow-wallpaper-behind-the-madness-in-the-pattern
• https://nyccivilrightshistory.org/topics/seeking-equity-for-disabled-students/beginnings-of-special-ed/map-nyc-islands/

This is The Squeaky Wheel with Shannon and Shanna. We explore the human stories behind the systems we all move through—healthcare, work, media, and more. Some of the topics that we discuss can be heavy, or difficult, so, listener discretion is advised. We’re not here for outrage or division, and we don’t condone violence. We’re here to ask a simple question: how can we make this better?

In this episode, Shannon shares the challenges she and her husband faced while navigating the healthcare system during her husband’s cancer relapse and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Shannon shares the challenges she and her husband faced while navigating the healthcare system during her husband’s cancer relapse and the COVID-19 pandemic.