Last Podcast On The Left – Side Stories: CTE Stories w/ Dr. Chris Nowinski

Original Air Date: December 31, 2025
Host(s): Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski
Guest: Dr. Chris Nowinski

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the real-life horror of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in sports, particularly wrestling and football, with Dr. Chris Nowinski—former WWE wrestler, Harvard football player, neuroscientist, and co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Marcus and Henry use their signature irreverent humor to frame a serious, heartfelt conversation about head trauma, the mounting evidence around CTE, how it connects to mental health, and the urgent need for public education and change in youth sports.

Key Sections, Discussion Points & Timestamps

1. Opening: New Year's Resolutions, Life Updates & Setting up the Interview

• [02:12] – [06:58]
• The hosts riff about the New Year, joke about bizarre gifts, and share personal reflections on relationships and self-improvement.
• Marcus introduces his new posthumous cause—donating his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation—and sets the tone for the interview.
• Marcus emphasizes the significance of landing Chris Nowinski for the show:

  “This is one of the… handful of people… looking into CTE, and Chris Nowinski is one of them.” ([06:38], Marcus)

2. Dr. Chris Nowinski: Background & Personal Injury

• [07:36] – [11:14]
• Nowinski’s transformative journey from WWE wrestler and Harvard football player to neuroscientist and CTE activist is described.
• He recounts wrestling concussions, the onset of post-concussion syndrome, and long-term effects:

  “With the post-concussion syndrome, you basically get a brain injury where you don't recover the same way… some people are just left with permanent symptoms.” ([09:39], Nowinski)

• Outlines symptoms: headaches, REM behavior disorder, and years-long recovery.

3. The Hidden Toll in Sports Culture

• [11:45] – [14:45]
• The hosts discuss social resistance (especially in football and wrestling culture) to confronting the dangers of concussions:

  "The NFL did a good job of making this not about player safety, but about anti football…” ([13:38], Nowinski)

• Nowinski laments that as athletes, “we didn’t take care of each other.”

4. Life Inside Football and Wrestling (Hazards, Denial, and Personal Accounts)

• [14:45] – [18:52]
• Marcus and Dr. Nowinski recall violent practice drills and locker room culture.
• Description of pivotal concussive events, and athletes’ reluctance to self-report injuries due to stigma or reputation fears.

  “I wrestled for five more weeks basically lying about how horrible I felt, thinking I was doing the right thing.” ([16:51], Nowinski)

• Explores dangerous changes in wrestling due to the ECW & MMA’s influence, leading to “the most dangerous time in wrestling.”
• Notable anecdote: Mick Foley was forced into retirement after failing memory tests due to repeated head impacts ([18:05], Nowinski).

5. CTE in Wrestling: Case Studies & Prevalence

• [19:08] – [20:33]
• Difficulties in estimating CTE prevalence due to small sample size, and the role of other contact sports.
• Discussion of famous cases like Chris Benoit, and Nowinski’s personal interactions:

  “He was the only guy in the locker room who asked me about the book I was writing... he said, ‘I want to talk about concussions, because I’ve had more than I can count.’” ([21:14], Nowinski)

6. Research, Brain Donation, and the Process

• [30:06] – [31:27]
• Protocol for contacting families after a player’s death (critical 48–72 hour window).

  “We’ve made brain donations so normal. We get more offers... than we can afford to study at the brain bank.” ([30:46], Nowinski)

• Demand and expense for brain donation research has greatly increased.

7. CTE Mechanisms, Genetics, and Drugs

• [33:15] – [35:04]
• Explains the science: CTE is linked to repeated “rotational acceleration” or twisting of the brain—not just single impacts.
• Discusses uncertain link between concussions, steroids, and other drugs; drugs and alcohol contribute to decision-making deficits in those with CTE.

  “You cannot battle addiction with a damaged frontal lobe…” ([54:54], Nowinski)

8. Football, CTE, & Quantifying Risk

• [34:38] – [37:52]
• CTE risk correlates with years played and total brain impacts, not just diagnosed concussions (“number and strength of head impacts—it’s a math problem” [35:44], Nowinski).
• Positions at higher risk include linemen and those participating in special teams.
• Most CTE in football is caused by repetitive sub-concussive hits, not the “big” visible concussions.

9. High School Players, Youth Sports & Epidemic Concern

• [41:22] – [45:44]
• CTE is not limited to pro athletes—30% of brains from high school-only football players showed signs of CTE ([41:22], Nowinski).
• Deeply personal stories: Marcus shares his and his father’s football experiences and subsequent behavioral struggles.
• No significant genetic resistance found; “almost everybody” with high exposure gets CT (but severity may differ due to genetics).

10. Stop Hitting Kids In The Head Campaign

• [47:29] – [51:21]
• Nowinski’s central call: raise the age for contact in youth sports—“stop hitting children in the head.”

  “It is completely abnormal to hit children in the head hundreds of times a year, but some sports are still doing it…” ([47:29], Nowinski)

• Recommendations: No heading in soccer before 14, flag football until adolescence, avoid tackle football, boxing, MMA, etc.

  “Please don’t let anyone hit your kids in the head.” ([50:09], Nowinski)

11. A Path Forward: Treating CTE, Hope & Ongoing Research

• [52:15] – [55:36]
• While symptoms are treatable, there’s no cure yet, but ongoing research on early detection and targeted drugs (“we can develop a cure in 20 years if we work now” [53:04], Nowinski).
• Common theme: addiction and behavioral issues caused or magnified by CTE.

12. Links to Crime: Serial Killers, Mass Shooters & Head Trauma

• [73:29] – [74:44]
• Dr. Nowinski affirms increased efforts to examine CTE in mass shooters and serial killers, revealing high rates of brain trauma in prison populations.

13. NFL, The Coverup, & Change

• [62:51] – [67:09]
• The NFL’s history of denial, manipulating studies, and discrediting researchers:

  “...if they retired from a concussion in the study, they would drop out ... so you could only study the healthy people.” ([63:57], Nowinski)

• Despite public acknowledgment, the NFL “still recruits children to start playing as young as five” ([66:03], Nowinski).
• Ineffectiveness of helmets/guardian caps against rotational injury is critiqued ([66:41], Nowinski).

14. Final Reflections—Sports, Parenting, and CTE Legacy

• [70:03] – [76:22]
• Nowinski, surrounded by “football players dying and suffering,” says he wouldn’t let his own child play football.
• He advocates finding other ways to teach team-building and resilience without causing brain damage:

  “We need to learn how to teach kids all these valuable lessons without giving them brain damage.” ([70:34], Nowinski)

• The Concussion Legacy Foundation is rebranding to the Concussion and CTE Foundation to better reflect research aims ([71:16], Nowinski).
• Marcus pledges to donate and sign up for brain donation, urging listeners to do the same.

Memorable Quotes

• “I keep telling guys, like, look, you can develop a cure in 20 years easy, if you get things right, if we invest in this thing.”
  — Dr. Chris Nowinski ([53:04])

• “You cannot battle addiction with a damaged frontal lobe as well as you could with a healthy brain.”
  — Dr. Chris Nowinski ([54:54])

• “It's all about the behaviors will kill you, not the disease.”
  — Dr. Chris Nowinski ([52:32])

• “It is completely abnormal to hit children in the head hundreds of times a year, but some sports are still doing it.”
  — Dr. Chris Nowinski ([47:29])

• “Stage three [CTE] to me, helped make sense of this bizarre behavior that [Aaron Hernandez] exhibited.”
  — Dr. Chris Nowinski ([61:11])

Notable Moments

• Nowinski rides the line between humor and gravity, using wrestling and football anecdotes to humanize the risk ("I literally wrestled for five more weeks basically lying about how horrible I felt, thinking I was doing the right thing." [16:51])
• The effort and personal impact involved in securing brain donations—especially from the families of recent mass shooters and infamous criminals ([73:29])
• Harsh critique of the NFL’s misleading safety measures and continued recruitment of children ([66:03])
• The deeply felt moments as Marcus reflects on his own and his father's head trauma, connecting the science to lived experience ([43:41])
• Call to action: the rebranding of the foundation and the campaign to “Stop Hitting Kids in the Head” ([71:16], [47:29])

Takeaways for New Listeners

• CTE is a pervasive problem impacting both pro and amateur athletes in contact sports.
• The symptoms are insidious and often misunderstood, with behavioral consequences including addiction, aggression, and even criminality.
• The show highlights the need for major cultural change in how we approach youth sports, advocating for delayed introduction of contact and a focus on brain health.
• Listeners are encouraged to support research and consider brain donation.

For More Information

• Concussion and CTE Foundation (formerly Concussion Legacy Foundation): concussionandcte.org
• Dr. Chris Nowinski’s book: Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis (documentary also available)
• Follow Dr. Nowinski on Instagram for updates.
• To learn about brain donation, visit the Foundation’s site above.

The hosts encourage sharing this episode with parents, coaches, and anyone engaging with youth sports—especially football—to help spread awareness and protect the next generation.