Podcast
Medicine Stories
Hosted by Amber Magnolia Hill · EN
Together, we are remembering what it is to be human upon the Earth- through connection to the natural world, ancestral wisdom, nourishment, story, and community. Blending thoughtful research with deeply personal conversations, the show explores herbalism, women's metabolic health, burnout recovery, motherhood, lineage, and the practices that help us feel more resilient and alive in modern life. Hosted by Amber- a mother and herbalist who has healed from devastating midlife fatigue- Medicine Stories invites listeners into a slower, more relational way of caring for themselves, their families, and the living world around us.
23episodes
Episodes
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German New Medicine: A Lot of Magical Thinking & A Little Bit Culty Too - Demetra Gray
Feb 5, 202501:38:28Tap to summarizeGNM is an alt health trend that has grown in popularity in recent years. It is attractive to so many (including me and my guest, once) because it acknowledges the role that emotions and trauma play in physical health and symptom manifestation, something that mainstream medicine still somehow refuses to do. But just because some aspects of an ideology are true and helpful does not mean that the entire framework is valid. Critical thinking and humility are essential tools for navigating information overload and complex frameworks, especially when it comes to health. The allure of certainty and specialized knowledge can lead people to adopt rigid belief systems that don't hold up to critical thinking, and the the zealotry of believing that your group's belief system will save the world only further strengthens unconscious confirmation bias (along with other logical fallacies common in GNM- loading the language, heads you lose tails I win, us v them thinking, bizarre antisemitic conspiracies, etc). But what might be most worrisome about this growing movement is the purity mindset demanded of its more extreme adherents- the belief that nothing outside of us can affect us if only we believe strongly enough in our own omnipotence and prove our righteousness and purity by attaining a total lack of symptoms. What is viewed as radical sovereignty and empowerment is really just outright magical thinking reinforced by an absence of humility, mystery, and the reality that ultimately we are not in control of what happens to us. The body is not a closed system; we are deeply embedded in overlapping ecologies. This episode has been years in the making, and I have been asked time and time again for my take on GNM. When I was sent Demetra's essay on the subject I knew that I had finally found the right person to have this conversation with. Her past cult experience, and my years of deep dives into culty thinking and behavior, provide a lens through which to view this phenomenon. Though we do not claim that GNM is a cult in the traditional sense, cultishness is a spectrum and GNM is definitely on that spectrum. Also its tenets are demonstrably false, and have led to death in some cases. NBD. In our Patreon bonus conversation Demetra shares her cult story- joining what she thought was a good thing, slowly realizing it wasn't, leaving, being attacked by the leader and other members, and the long "deprogramming" and stabilization process that all cult survivors undergo Demetra's essay The Culty Fraud of German New Medicine Dr. Moss's report German New Medicine- Hope or Hoax? Demetra's podcast Impolite Company on Spotify and Apple Amber's website MythicMedicine.love Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy? Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Mentioned in this episode: Tension Myositis Syndrome Cell Danger Response A Little Bit Culty podcast (the best!) Cult documentaries (by no means an extensive list)- The Vow (NXIVM), Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, Breath of Fire (Kundalini yoga), The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin Steven Hassan's BITE model Cult expert Robert Jay Lifton
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Elemental Inheritance: Minerals & Metals in Modern Life - Niecia Nelson
Jan 13, 202501:35:22Tap to summarizeWhat metabolic patterns did you inherit from your parents, and what may you have passed down to your own children? Many behavioral issues, and even what are usually considered personality traits (like that of high sensitivity), can be linked to mineral imbalances and overall health. Heavy metals often accumulate in individuals due to stress, compromised metabolic function, or ancestral imprints, not necessarily always due to direct exposure. Heroic detoxification protocols should be approached with caution, as forcing the removal of metals without addressing underlying nutrient deficiencies can have unintended consequences. Let us welcome in the medicine of sitting with the right questions as we collectively navigate information overwhelm, and walk slowly together toward ever deeper levels of self attunement and inner resourcing. Resources: Niecia on Instagram Medicine Stories Patreon (extended convo w/ Niecia + more) Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy? MythicMedicine.love Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Mentioned in this episode: Lead Safe Mama
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Fertility is a State of Being: Metabolic Wellness Through a Woman's Lifespan - Niecia Nelson
Dec 5, 202402:06:42Tap to summarizeFertility is not just the ability to conceive, but is an indicator of overall health and the capacity to nurture life; it is how we extend genetic strength across time and space into generations we will never know. Pregnancy and menopause are transformative states that reveal underlying metabolic and hormonal imbalances, emphasizing the complex interplay between biochemistry, psychology, and lifestyle. In an age of rampant metabolic dysfunction, let us together find our way to renewed vitality, for ourselves and for those yet to come. Resources: Medicine Stories Patreon (extended convo w/ Niecia) Niecia on Instagram Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy? My website MythicMedicine.love Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Get the transcript here Mentioned in this episode: Wise Women Diaries podcast interview w/ Niecia telling the story of her first birth, instagram of podcast host is Trusting Life Casey Means Niecia has learned about biomechanics in pregnancy and birth from Adelaide Meadow Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel Reed Mary Lou Singleton on early motherhood
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