Podcast
Wellness, Actually with Emily Oster & Perry Wilson, MD
Hosted by iHeartPodcasts · EN
A staggering amount of health and wellness news and information is bombarding us everywhere we look – and who’s got time to parse it out, to verify it, and then to actually do the work of improving our health?
We do! We are Emily Oster, best-selling author and data expert, and Perry Wilson, a medical doctor. And unlike the influencers, we actually know how to read a medical paper. This podcast separates fact from fiction, causality from correlation, so that you can stay informed without being overwhelmed. Every episode, we cover the health news of the week, take listener questions, and do a deep dive into a buzzy and misunderstood wellness topic so that you can actually make the best decisions for your own health.
27episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
What's the deal with red meat?
6d ago00:56:46Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry pull out their steak knives to cut through both the hypers, and the detractors, of red meat. Is it as bad for you as people say? Is there value to a (fiberless) carnivore diet? What makes it red, anyway? And why is nutritional science such a heap of hot, correlation-is-not-causation garbage? Plus: a peptide scandal in the running world, myths around mitochondria, and more Ebola, unfortunately. Past episodes discussed: What's the deal with peptides? What's the deal with protein? Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with methylene blue?
2w ago00:57:02Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry bravely platform methylene blue, a synthetic dye with almost godlike properties according to the influencers, and some fascinating uses (and risks) in reality. Fatigued (?) mitochondria, the electron transport chain, and blue poop? AP Bio was never this fun. Plus: strawberries won't kill you, Ebola might, and keeping teens out of tanning beds. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with psychedelics?
3w ago00:58:40Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry take a trip into the groovy world of psychedelics: what they are, what they do to our brains, and the myriad mental health problems that they seem to have a pretty interesting effect on. Join us for the most uniquely incredible experience of your life, we promise. Plus: hantavirus redux, the (now former) FDA commissioner pressured to approve flavored vapes, and a bad breast cancer study regarding perennial topic GLP-1s. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with colostrum?
4w ago00:52:31Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry explore bovine colostrum, the alleged secret weapon for muscle growth and immunity, and cure for the much-maligned leaky gut. Does it actually work, who does it work for, and how do you know when it's safe? What's so wrong with having a gut that leaks anyway? And should someone be thinking about the poor deprived baby cows? Plus: Ozempic for Alcohol Use Disorder, the hantavirus outbreak on that cruise ship, and, finally, an end to the saga of perennial-no-longer Surgeon General candidate Casey Means. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with testosterone?
Apr 3000:57:23Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry take on testosterone, the raging yang to last week's sober estrogen yin. Do men actually experience "manopause" in ways similar to women? How much testosterone is not enough, what are the risks of too much, and how do you know if you need an extra boost? And what does testosterone do for men anyway? (Note: this episode on both endogenous and exogenous male sex hormones contains the existence of sex.) Plus: the U.S. military no longer mandating the flu jab, the fishy effects of fish oil on your brain, and promising news about pancreatic cancer treatment. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with hormone replacement therapy?
Apr 2300:53:32Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily, a woman, and Perry, a man, wade into the complicated world of hormone replacement therapy, the first of a two-part series on exogenous hormones and the sexes who love them. What do hormones do for women, and what happens when they recede? And why was HRT so closely -- and erroneously -- linked to breast cancer? Plus: a new type of diabetes, a normie CDC director nominee, and the groovy (?) reclassification of psychedelics. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with continuous glucose monitors?
Apr 1600:49:53Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry discuss continuous glucose monitors -- a gamechanger for diabetics and just kind of an overabundance of information for everyone else. What does glucose do to the body and what's the value of tracking it, along with everything we eat? Should we be using this data to regulate our intake? And what are the risks of knowing so much? Plus: rising and falling birthrates, Jay Bhattacharya's politicized Covid vaccine report, and welcoming folate into our corn tortillas. Registration link for Emily's interview with Jay Bhattacharya. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with protein?
Apr 900:50:41Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry explore the vast array of protein vehicles that's taken over our influencer culture and supermarket aisles. How much protein are we told we need, and what's the over/under on how much we really need? What does protein do for our bodies anyway? And given the protein bars and protein water and protein Pop Tarts available (protein is having a moment, you guys), is it possible to have too much? Plus: GLP-1s all over the news cycle, the rising use of gas station kratom, and, ladies and gentlemen, the American Contact Dermatitis Society presents our 2026 Allergen of the Year. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with creatine?
Apr 200:53:05Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry tackle creatine, a beloved amino acid derivative with surprisingly robust health properties. What is it actually doing to our muscles, and our brain? Pop a gummy, or stir in some powder, and find out. Plus: Casey Means might be out for Surgeon General, stem cells don't help heart attacks, and just how much sugar intake affects your kids. Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What's the deal with stem cell therapy?
Mar 2600:50:12Tap to summarizeThis week, Emily and Perry go toe-to-toe with the scammier side of the wellness industry: regenerative medicine clinics that claim to inject you with stem cells. Are they the fountain of youth? (No.) Are they even injecting you with stem cells? (Not really.) Are they preying on sick people? (Most definitely yes.) From knee cartilage to sickle cell disease, we've got the miraculous, the bad, and the truly ugly of stem cell therapy. Plus: the generational woes of lead poisoning, debunking stress as a cause of cancer, and doulas for all! Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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