What if the same theology that makes people fear God also makes them afraid to see a doctor? This week's guest, Reverend Michael Thompson — an ordained Episcopal priest and corporate attorney based in Boston — joins us to trace the through-line between punishing religious frameworks, political authoritarianism, and a public health crisis hiding in plain sight.

We cover a lot of ground: from the "dad-in-a-bad-mood God" that conditions people to expect judgment, to the zero-sum logic that makes Americans think someone has to go to hell for heaven to mean something. We talk about why cancer patients hide their diagnoses, why depression is still shameful, and why the pediatrician who makes kids go home whistling might be practicing the most important medicine of all.

And we ask: can love — as a choice, a practice, a civic and biochemical act — be the path out?

Chapters:

 * 00:00 — Introduction
 * 01:36 — When people act against their own interests
 * 02:07 — The punishing God and fear-based faith
 * 07:31 — Love as a biochemical reality
 * 10:18 — Divide and conquer: how fear destroys community
 * 15:25 — Why authoritarianism is tempting
 * 16:31 — America's need for losers
 * 19:25 — Grace and why Americans can't accept it
 * 20:20 — What facing mortality clarifies
 * 28:49 — Spirituality and physical health
 * 29:50 — Trust as the foundation of medical care
 * 33:50 — Two Bostons: cancer care and the inequality of fear
 * 37:59 — Addiction, depression, and the "just fix yourself" culture
 * 39:13 — The hardest kind of love

Tags: public health, theology, Episcopal, faith, mental health, cancer, trust, community health, democracy, grace, love, stigma, fear, authoritarianism, wellness

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Why Does America Need Winners and Losers? | Rev. Michael Thompson

Chadwick Boseman tragically died at the age of 42 from a case of aggressive colon cancer. Worryingly, he was not an isolated case but a part of a wider trend of younger and younger people getting diagnosed with cancer, especially colon cancer. 

Although cancer usually presents in older people, since about the 1960s younger and younger cases have started appearing with increasing frequency. At the same time, the global production of plastic has multiplied since... around 1960.

Today, in the US, we consume about 18$ worth of pennies in microplastics every year.   As concerning as it is, we still do not understand the true mechanics behind this phenomenon. Research is still needed.

Meanwhile, instead of focusing on pressing public health issues such as this, our administration is choosing to funnel funding into wars, surveillance, and the pockets of their rich buddies.

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Why Are More Young People Getting Colon Cancer?

Human lives all over the world are haunted by an all too familiar threat, and it's getting worse.

Under our current global economic system, the majority of human lifestyles globally are becoming increasingly unhealthy.  Yes, there's GLP-1s, and new research, and advancements in nutritional science, but obesity is the result of one's way of life in its totality.

There's no wonder drug that will fix it for us, unless we stop treating our bodies like labor machines.

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Why Is Obesity Getting Worse?

There's a multitude of factors that determine one's physical and mental health as they progress through life and reach their older years.

Genetics, physical activity, nutrition, mental health history and environment are just a few examples.

Of course these play a big role, but there's one thing that always, always comes first in importance: human relationships.

A robust social life and an abundance of human connection is the #1 factor that determines happiness and mental (as well as physical!) wellbeing into old age.

Take care of yourselves, don't neglect your family, your friends, your communities, and never hesitate to reach out to someone, even for no reason.

We hold the most powerful medicine and we can give it freely to each other. Love truly is the answer.

Thanks for tuning in!

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What's the key to a happy and healthy old age?

Many people think that obesity is a personal issue, caused by individual bad decisions, and that you should simply eat better, exercise more, and just get over it. But the truth is much more complex.

There are environmental, systemic and even racial factors at play.  In order to combat obesity, we must first truly understand it.

Thank you for tuning in.

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The Truth About Obesity

Today we talk about how Nixon accidentally made the US a virology superpower, the intricate ways that HPV may lead to cancer, the dangers of high-risk strains of HPV for BOTH men and women, and the necessity of just getting that damn vaccine. If not for you, for others.

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Sex, Viruses, and Cancer

In this episode, Gerry speaks with Michael Seen, clinical coordinator and researcher, about the troubling intersection of metabolic disease and cancer disparities.

They explore how metabolic dysfunction fuels cancer aggression, the societal and environmental roots of the obesity epidemic, and the compex role of the infamous "wonder drug" Ozempic.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of public health communication and its important role in rebuilding trust in an age of rampant misinformation and skepticism towards science.

Despite the sobering realities, Michael shares a hopeful vision for rebuilding public trust. If experts are willing to step out of the lab and meet people where they are, true progress can be made.

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Metabolic Disorders' Effect on Cancer, the Ozempic Era, and the Crisis of Trust in Science with Michael Seen

State violence doesn't fade away with the day's end - it echoes down through future generations. The brutality we are currently witnessing is a full blown public health emergency.

Kids are being arrested; communities terrorized; streets don't feel safe anymore. People of all races and backgrounds are in constant fear for their lives, their jobs, their physical and mental health, or that of their neighbors, their loved ones, their community. Our nervous systems are constantly on edge. There is no moment of true, restorative relaxation under this administration.

This is the mental health legacy of fascism; and we've seen it before. 

We must take a stand, for our own sake, but for mostly for the sake of our kids, who are living their innocent formative years in a constant state of fight-or-flight.

We must put an end to the marching songs, the war drums, the brutish yelling of these angry, power hungry men. 

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ICE-induced PTSD: Fascism is a Public Health Emergency

My father was a brutal dictator. His iron fist created an atmosphere of fear, and left lasting wounds on his children. This kind of trauma stays. Festering, ugly, screaming to be healed.

Following the same brutal, heartless methods, ICE agents showed us their true colors once again last week, as they teargassed a family in their car, leaving their kids traumatized, and one of them in respiratory arrest.

Our kids are in immediate danger of state violence. They do not have the mental capacity to process what is happening. They are the most vulnerable group in all of this madness.

The scars of this kind of violence will echo through generations. We must take a stand. For the sake of our kids, for the sake of their future.

Stay safe, friends. Band together, and don't lose hope.

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12 - Minneapolis will scar. Children are a mirror.

It has long been a dream of science fiction to enable us to do things just with our thought. We envision operating machinery, controlling robots, or communicating telepathically. Today's guest, Tom Deuel, took us one step closer to this future with his invention - the Encephalophone. 

The Encephalophone is a brain-computer interface that enables its user to play music just by thinking about it. By analyzing brain activity via EEG in real time, the Encephalophone converts brainwaves to sound, creating melodies, rhythms, patterns, without the push of a single key. 

The applications of Tom's brainchild, which started as an art project, are not just creative, but might help patients with aphasia or severe motor disabilities to retrain their brains and speed up their recovery. 

In this episode, Gerry and Tom explore the conception of the encephalophone from dream to reality, its artistic and therapeutic potential, and what the future of this fascinating project looks like.

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11 - Playing Music with Brainwaves? | Tom Deuel, creator of the Encephalophone

The American healthcare system is failing us. Our physical and mental health is deteriorating. Our anxiety is rising. Our civil rights are slowly being taken away, one by one. Why is this happening? What can we do about it?

Our Public, Our Health is an inquisitive exploration of the US public health system and its intimate interplay with our increasingly authoritarian politics. Through razor-sharp commentary and expert interviews, we aim to dissect the whys and hows of our dysfunctional system, and to carve ways forward with more empathy, more equity, more humanity. 

Hosted by Gerald Denis, PhD, molecular biologist and cancer researcher based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Gerald Denis

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