How People Are Changing Their Approach to Work & Why Your Allergies Are Getting Worse - SYSK Choice

Summary

Podcast Summary: Something You Should Know
Episode: How People Are Changing Their Approach to Work & Why Your Allergies Are Getting Worse - SYSK Choice
Release Date: June 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Something You Should Know, host Mike Carruthers delves into two critical and timely topics: the evolving landscape of work and the rising prevalence of allergies. The episode features insightful discussions with Bruce Fieler, author of Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World, and Theresa McPhail, a medical anthropologist and author of Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World.

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Part 1: The Changing World of Work

Reimagining Employment Structures

Bruce Fieler provides a groundbreaking perspective on how the traditional concept of a single, linear career is rapidly dissolving. He introduces the idea that most individuals now juggle multiple roles simultaneously, challenging the longstanding notion of a single "main job."

• Multiplicity of Roles:
  "Each of us has up to five jobs. Many of us have a main job, but actually the statistics show fewer than half of us even have a main job anymore." ([05:28])

Statistics Highlighting Workforce Discontent

Fieler underscores the extent of dissatisfaction within the current workforce:

• Unhappiness and Turnover:
  "70% of people are unhappy with what they do. 75% plan to look for new work this year. A million people a week quit a job. That's 50 million people a year." ([02:06])

Types of Jobs in the Modern Economy

Fieler categorizes the various roles individuals occupy beyond their primary employment:

1. Care Jobs:
   "2/3 of us have a care job, which is caring for young children or aging relatives."

2. Side Jobs:
   "Three quarters of us have a side job, which you do for love or for money."

3. Hope Jobs:
   "86% of us have what I call a hope job... something that you hope becomes something else." ([05:28]-[06:00])

4. Ghost Jobs:
   "93% of us have what I call a ghost job, which is an invisible time suck that feels like a job like battling self doubt or discrimination or sobriety or mental health." ([05:28])

The Historical Shift in Career Perspectives

Fieler traces the transformation of work culture over the past century:

• Origin of the Career Concept:
  "In 1908, Frank Parsons invented the idea of the career... but it was only for boys." ([07:50])

• Modern Workforce Demographics:
  "Beginning in 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the majority of all people hired are black and brown women." ([07:50])

Implications for Employers and Employees

Fieler emphasizes the necessity for companies to adapt to these changes to attract and retain talent:

• Need for Meaningful Work:
  "Companies have to realize whether it's mental health, whether it's family leave, whether it's finding ways for your workers to feel engaged, if you don't offer these opportunities to your workers, they're going to leave in two and a half years." ([07:50])

Finding Meaning in Work

The conversation shifts to how individuals can find meaning within this multifaceted work environment:

• Definition of Meaning vs. Happiness:
  "Happiness is present oriented... meaning is about stitching together past, present, and future." ([22:24])

• Narrative Career Construction:
  "The cutting edge of career counseling is what's called narrative career construction. The idea that your work is a story." ([22:24])

Challenges and Opportunities

Fieler discusses both the difficulties and the potential benefits of this shift:

• Increased Job Flexibility:
  "We're living a better quality of life because maybe your allergies are a bit better than they used to be when you were younger." ([45:58]) – Note: This may be a transcript error; context suggests focus on work flexibility.

• Reprioritizing Life Goals:
  "64% said working hard. The number one downside was working too hard and sacrificing the family." ([20:15])

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Part 2: The Rise of Allergies

Understanding Allergies

Theresa McPhail offers an in-depth explanation of what allergies are and why their prevalence is increasing:

• Definition of Allergy:
  "It's basically an immune reaction... your immune cells are responding to an allergen, whatever it is, peanut protein or oak tree pollen in the air." ([31:52])

Prevalence of Allergies

McPhail provides statistics on the global and regional impact of allergies:

• Global Statistics:
  "We think anywhere between 30 and 40% of the total global population has an allergic response to at least one thing." ([33:37])

• Regional Differences:
  "There tends to be more allergies in developed countries." ([34:09])

Factors Contributing to Increasing Allergies

Several theories and factors are discussed regarding the rise in allergies:

• Environmental Changes:
  "Their bodies are being introduced to things that they've never seen before... their immune system might think, hey, wait a minute, we've never seen this before." ([35:45])

• Hygiene Hypothesis:
  "Kids who grow up on farms with animals tend to have extremely low rates of allergies." ([40:32])

• Dietary Changes:
  Shift in dietary habits also plays a significant role in allergy development.

Impact of Early Exposure and Medical Guidelines

McPhail highlights how changes in medical advice have inadvertently contributed to allergy rates:

• Introduction of Allergenic Foods:
  "Parents are now advised to introduce things like peanuts as soon as possible to potentially prevent allergies." ([38:22])

• Historical Missteps:
  Earlier guidelines recommended delaying allergenic foods, which may have worsened allergy prevalence.

Societal and Personal Implications

The discussion touches on the societal challenges and personal impacts of allergies:

• Quality of Life:
  "For those people who are having serious responses, it's really important to go to a specialist because you can get stronger antihistamines." ([48:51])

• Limited Treatment Options:
  "There's no cure, partially because you can't turn off the immune response." ([44:33])

Unique Allergies and Their Effects

McPhail mentions less common allergies and their implications:

• Rare Allergies:
  "Occasionally you'll get someone who's allergic to cold or allergic to sun." ([50:19])

Gender Differences in Allergies

An interesting point on how allergies manifest differently across genders:

• Asthma and Gender:
  "More boys have asthma than girls, but adult females have asthma at higher rates than males." ([43:15])

• Hormonal Influence:
  "Testosterone dampens down the immune response." ([43:36])

Potential Benefits of Having Allergies

Despite the challenges, McPhail notes a silver lining for individuals with allergies:

• Cancer Prevention:
  "Allergic people may have a slightly lower chance of developing certain cancers, specifically certain types of skin cancers." ([50:38])

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Conclusion

This episode of Something You Should Know offers a comprehensive exploration of two significant modern challenges—redefining work in a volatile job market and understanding the surge in allergy cases. Through expert insights from Bruce Fieler and Theresa McPhail, listeners gain valuable knowledge on navigating career transitions and managing allergic conditions effectively.

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Notable Quotes:

• Bruce Fieler [05:28]:
  "Each of us has up to five jobs... Code, summarizing meeting notes, finding files, managing."

• Bruce Fieler [07:50]:
  "The career... was only for boys. You only did it once. And if you ever changed your career, there was something psychologically wrong with you."

• Bruce Fieler [22:24]:
  "Happiness is present oriented... meaning is about stitching together past, present, and future."

• Theresa McPhail [31:52]:
  "It's basically an immune reaction... your immune cells are responding to an allergen."

• Theresa McPhail [50:38]:
  "Allergic people may have a slightly lower chance of developing certain cancers."

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For more detailed insights, listeners are encouraged to read Bruce Fieler's Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World and Theresa McPhail's Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, available through the show's links in the show notes.

Transcript

[Mike Carruthers]

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[Bruce Fieler]

Let's look at the numbers Mike. 70% of people are unhappy with what they do. 75% plan to look for new work this year. A million people a week quit a job. That's 50 million people a year. That number is twice what it was 10 years ago.

[Mike Carruthers]

Also, people who exercise have a lot more sex appeal and a lot more sex and allergies. Why we have them and the one good thing about them, if you are.

[Theresa McPhail]

Allergic you may might have a slightly lower chance of developing certain cancers. Specifically certain types of skin cancers. And the reason is is that your immune system is actually really strong and healthy and is constantly on the lookout.

[Mike Carruthers]

All this today on something you should know.

[Jim]

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[Bruce Fieler]

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[Jim]

A schedul and responding to Jim's long emails. Leaving all the time in the world for the things you actually want to do. No offense Jim. Get a new Dell AI PC at Dell.com AI PC how those ahead? Stay ahead.

[Mike Carruthers]

Something you Should Know Fascinating intel, the world's top experts and practical advice you can use in your life today.

[Bruce Fieler]

Something you Should Know with Mike Carruthers.

[Mike Carruthers]

Hi, welcome to Something you should Know. I was just reading some very nice reviews about this podcast. Was it on Apple Podcasts and somewhere else too. I certainly appreciate that and invite you if you have a moment to leave us a review. A rating for this podcast. It really does help us first up today. If you've got a secret, and I think everybody probably has a secret, if you've got a secret, the sooner you tell someone, the better. A study from Tufts University confirms that keeping a secret can affect everything else you do. It could be good news you're waiting to announce or something not so good that you feel you need to hide. But holding it in can actually hurt. The burden of suppression can act as an emotional and physical weight in your day to day life. People who keep secrets tend to move slower and require more energy to get things done. And that is something you should know. The world of work has changed a lot. Certainly Covid rattled the whole working landscape with so many people working from home. But there's more to the change than that. This whole idea of having a job, a career that follows this path that guides your life, that just isn't the way for so many people anymore. Things are different. I mean, I can feel it. And someone who's really been looking closely at this is Bruce Fieler. Bruce is the author of six consecutive New York Times bestselling books, including the Secrets of Happy Families, the Council of Dads, and his latest is called the Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World. Hey Bruce, welcome to Something youg Should Know.

[Bruce Fieler]

Thank you so much, Mike. It's great to be with you.

[Mike Carruthers]

So paint this picture for me of how work has changed because I think many of us still have this view that you have a job. That's what pays the bills. Hopefully it's a job you like. You work at your job, you move up in your career and that's how it goes.

[Bruce Fieler]

But that's actually not the way it works today. The way it works is that each of us has up to five jobs. Many of us have a main job, but actually the statistics show fewer than half of us even have a main job anymore. In my study it was 39% 2/3 of us have a care job, which is caring for young children or aging relatives. Three quarters of us have a side job, which you do for love or for money. But then there's two other categories that just became clear the longer I listened to the hundreds of hours of interviews that I collected is that 86% of us have what I call a hope job, which is a term that I coined just because I was hearing it all the time. And a hope job is something that you do, that you hope becomes something else, right? Like writing a screenplay or selling jewelry on Etsy or pickles at the farmer's market. And many of these hope jobs people actually pay out of pocket to do, like starting a podcast or something like that, because they think and they hope that it might lead to something else. And then quickly. The fifth job is that 93% of us have what I call a ghost job, which is an invisible time suck that feels like a job like battling self doubt or discrimination or sobriety or mental health. And the way you described it, I think is 1,000% accurate. But I think it's worth pausing and celebrating that this a powerful change. Because what you said was, is that one or two of these jobs we might do because we need the salary or the income or the benefits, but if we don't get meaning out of that job and then we take another job, which is where we get the meaning in our lives. And that actually is an incredible opportunity because where do we begin? The thing that's not negotiable is that people want work with meaning these days, but because we have this kind of collection, this 360 degree relationship with work, if one of our jobs doesn't get meaning for us because the meaning is non negotiable, we'll go to another job and do that because it gives us the meaning that we want and that we crave.

[Mike Carruthers]

And so do you think that this is new or this is just new research on something that's been going on for a long time and now you've put a face on it?

[Bruce Fieler]

The short answer is I think that it's new. For most of human history, people lived where they worked and they worked where they lived. Okay? There was no word for career. There was no word for job. It wasn't until the 19th century that for the first time, two things happened. A third of the country left rural areas and moved to cities. And this massive wave of people emigrated to the United states. And in 1908, a man named Frank Parsons invented the idea of the career. The career is a Latin word for chariot that goes around a course. And in 1908, he opened the first career counseling center in Boston. And within two years, that went everywhere around the country. And every college had a career counseling program. So, in effect, he invented the idea of the career. But what did he say? It was only for boys. You only did it once. And if you ever changed your career, there was something psychologically wrong with you 50 years later, then the embodiment of that linear career was created, and it was the resume. Before 1950, no one ever needed or had a resume. And what was the resume but a linear trajectory of jobs that you did. And that was an age when the only people doing this were a certain kind of person, and that was a person who left home, went to work, and there was somebody back at home who took care of the kids and the laundry. Well, now the workforce is entirely different. Beginning in 2019, the Bureau of labor statistics said the majority of all people hired are black and brown women. Okay, so the workforce is changing, and as a result, they've changed the way we think about work. So I think that this is a long historical shift, and it's something that we have to reckon with. And by the way, if you work in a company and you want to recruit and retain talent, the old days where you can say, I'm paying you, that should make you happy, that doesn't work anymore. Companies have to realize whether it's mental health, whether it's family leave, whether it's finding ways for your workers to feel engaged, if you don't offer these opportunities to your workers, they're going to leave in two and a half years. So this is a massive inflection. And what are the stakes? Let's look at the numbers, Mike. 70% of people are unhappy with what they do. 75%. In a poll released in May of this year, 75% of people plan to look for new work. This year. A million people a week quit a job. That's 50 million people a year. That's a third of the workforce. That number is twice what it was 10 years ago. And another third is saying, I don't want to come into the office every day. I want to maybe come in several days. That's 100 million people who are in a state of flux. These numbers are unprecedented. This is new. We have to grapple with it, and it creates great opportunity. But we need help trying to figure out how do we ask the questions and make the decisions we all need to make.

[Mike Carruthers]

What is the impact of this? And when you say people have up to five different jobs, they have side jobs. What is the impact of that? Is that a good thing or is that a bad thing or. It just depends.

[Bruce Fieler]

The research on this is actually quite interesting, Mike. Okay, so let's just take a side job, which, as we said, three quarters of Americans have a side job. Here, the research is quite telling. If you have a side job that is the same as what you do during the day, it will actually make you less happy and less productive. So, for example, if you work in a design shop and you spend your weekend calligraphing wedding invitations, it actually will undermine your performance at work. But as in the case with most people, if your side job is something different, if you, as I said, make jewelry or sell pickles, right, Or a notary public or do a DJ at weddings and you work in a design office, because those are different, because it gives you meaning in that other part, you'll actually be more effective, more productive, and happier at work. So this is not a threat to the workplace. It's an opportunity. But it requires a rethink and a reframing on everyone's part.

[Mike Carruthers]

Why do people have side jobs? Typically, is it just for the money or what?

[Bruce Fieler]

The short answer to that question is people have side jobs because it will give them meaning. For some, that meaning is money. Okay, I need to replace the tires or put a new roof on my house or prepare to send my kid to college. But for others, it's a sense of service or getting back. So I'm going to serve on the condo board, right?

[Theresa McPhail]

Or.

[Bruce Fieler]

I'm going to write a memoir, right? Or I'm going to do something else that gives me meaning. Because we don't just make meaning in one area of our lives.

[Mike Carruthers]

So how are you supposed to find. Or what are the questions you ask to find out what it means to find meaning in your career or in your work?

[Bruce Fieler]

What is a problem you've been trying to solve since you were a child? What were the upsides and downsides? You learned about work from your parents. And by starting in the past and then moving to the present and filling out basic questions like, I'm in a moment in my life when. Or my purpose right now is. People begin to find out that they have a variety of things they want to accomplish. Sure, they need to support their families if that's their role in the family, but also, they also need to support their own life story. I want to give back. I want to have purpose. I want to somehow make the world a better place. And by the way, that's a lot of people. There are 3 million school teachers in this world. There are 5 million people in arts and culture. There's 10 million people who work in religious institutions or higher education, and there's 20 million people who work in public service. That's 50 million people. That's 30% of the workforce that is saying meaning is not exclusively about money. For me, I draw a broader definition and I seek a more fulfilling story.

[Mike Carruthers]

We're talking about the ever changing world of work and my guest is Bruce Filer. He's author of the book the Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World. I know a lot of business people listen to this podcast because I hear from them on LinkedIn or in emails. And if you're one of those people, there always comes that day when you have to hire someone, which I've had to do as well. And it's tough. Usually you need someone right away. You want to hire the right person, but how do you determine that? Which is why I've come to discover that when it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. INDEED has something called Sponsor Jobs. With Sponsored Jobs. Your post jumps right to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster and it makes a huge difference. According to INDEED data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. And that's what you want. More applications from relevant, qualified candidates. Indeed works. In fact, in the minute I've been Talking to you, 23 hires were made on Indeed According to Indeed Data Worldwide. Look, there's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com something just go to Indeed.com something right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com something terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. I am hardly what you would call a trendy clothes shopper. I know what I like. I buy things that last and that I will wear for a long time. And so now I shop almost [e-mail] and I've come to discover that a lot of people, men and women, shop there too because they have quality, well made clothes for summer that you are going to love. Like organic cotton silk polos. I've got a couple of those European linen beach shorts, comfortable pants that work for everything from backyard parties to nice summer dinners. Out here's the best part about quints, everything with quints is half the cost of similar brands. And how they do that is they work directly with top artisans. They cut out the middlemen so you get luxury clothes without the big markups. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices with premium fabrics and finishes. Quince is all about really great clothes at a very reasonable price. If you saw my closet, what you would see are the Quince clothes hanging right in the center and my other clothes, they keep getting pushed to the sides and the same thing will happen to your closet. Oh, and you're going to love their website. Stick to the staples that last with elevated essentials from quince. Go to quince.comsysk for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince.comsysk to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.comsysk so Bruce, I get what you're saying, that people are rethinking work and career, but aren't there also a lot of people who don't have this deep philosophical inner dialogue about their work? They have a job or they want a job to pay the bills and that's it.

[Bruce Fieler]

I interviewed a woman and she was, she grew up in a horrific self circumstance and she was gang raped as a child and she pursued education and it was not the right fit for her. She went off and worked on a boat for many years and then she began this path to healing and now she does bodywork and she helps people recover their inner trauma and move beyond it and reclaim their lives and their life stories. And I asked her this question in almost exactly the same words and she said, but what if you're just going about your day and you don't feel that you have a story to tell? And what she said has really resonated and stuck with me. She said, if that's where you are right now, keep going. But you're not necessarily always going to be there. And there are going to be moments in your life when you say, ah, now I'm confused. Now I'm stuck. Now I'm unhappy with what I do, as 70% of us are, as we just were saying. And now I want to ask those questions. So if you're not in this place right now, that's great, keep going. But you or someone you know is in that place right now. And for them, this is what they need to do. Because the story that we have told in this country since the very beginning is that success is all about climbing rags to riches, greater salary, higher office, you know, better view, more benefits. But having done this now for 1500 hours of listening to people tell their stories, I can tell you one thing I know with confidence that people who are happiest feel most fulfilled and are most successful in what they do, they don't just climb, they also dig. They excavate the story they've been trying to tell their whole lives, and they say, now is the moment that I'm going to start telling it.

[Mike Carruthers]

Yeah, I mean, I get that. It just seems like those people are more the exception than the rule. But it sounds like what you're saying is it's really the rule.

[Bruce Fieler]

Three quarters of people are looking for new work this year. 70% of us are unhappy. This is what the data are telling us very, very clearly. 80 million of us are in a work quake right now. You or someone you know is going to sit down with someone they love today over breakfast, a cup of coffee late at night, and say, I'm unhappy with what I do and I want to do something that makes me happy. Because here's the thing, Mike. Those of us of a certain age grew up with the expectation that the American dream was that each generation would do better than the prior generation. And that better was almost exclusively defined by one metric, money. And these external metrics of achievement. We still have that desire. But what happens when you go talk to people is that their definition of doing better than their parents is they want to be happier and more fulfilled. I asked everybody. The first question I asked people in my interviews were, what were the upsides or values of work that you learned from your parents? 64% said working hard. Then I asked them, what were the downsides or shadows of work that you learned from your parents? The number one answer, they worked too hard. The number two answer, they sacrificed the family. That is the change. 86% of millennials say that they are more committed to, well, being at work than the generations prior. That's the Xers and the boomer. And 86% of millennials self identify as caring more about a meaningful workplace and work that gives them meaning than their parents or the generation immediately before them. That is a massive change. This is built in. Fewer people are searching merely for work. More people are searching for work with meaning.

[Mike Carruthers]

And what does it mean to have work with meaning? Because you get what from that?

[Bruce Fieler]

I love this question because I think it allows me to do what I know you love to do in your podcast, which is to geek out a Little bit on the science. There's a difference between happiness and meaning. Okay? So happiness is present oriented. It's a fleeting emotion. I cite in the search this incredible research by Roy Baumeister of Florida State, who is the kind of the meaning guru in American academia today. And he says animals can be happy because anybody can be happy in the present. But meaning is different. Meaning is about stitching together past, present and future. And for example, meaning is about accommodating in your own life story, unhappy events as well as happy events. Okay? And the way you do that is with a story. Because what we've learned through neuroscience is that our brains are wired to tell a story. Life is the story that you tell yourself. That story you have in your head about who you are and what brings you purpose and where you came from and where you're going. That's not just part of you, that is you in a fundamental way. Okay? That's what we've learned from neuroscience. And while work is out there, we have a story to tell. For whatever reason, that has not really been in the world of work. So the idea that I explore in this book, that each of us has a work story, that's actually a new way of thinking about it. But that's exactly where career counseling has gone. So now the cutting edge of career counseling is what's called narrative career construction. The idea that your work is a story. And that every time you have one of these workquakes, which as we've been saying is every two and a half years, that's like a plot twist in your own life, and it causes you to revisit the decisions that you're making and the choices that you choose to follow. So that is the big change. Our work is a story, and at different times of our life, we want to tell a different story.

[Mike Carruthers]

And so what's going to happen or what is happening with those jobs that are inherently fairly meaningless? If you're working the fry machine at the fast food place, hard to imagine you're going to find a lot of deep meaning in that. But somebody has to do it well.

[Bruce Fieler]

In fact, what happens when you talk to people is that they find great meaning. I tell the story about an iconic study at the University of Michigan Hospital where researchers talk to people who worked, mostly women, in janitorial roles. And when they ask somebody, they ask a woman, what does it mean to empty a bedpan? What do you do? She doesn't say that I empty a bedpan. She doesn't say that I do. The most menial and meaningless job you can imagine. She says, I'm an essential part of the care team, that that's what I am. I am making people's lives better. And when you ask people, as I did, all of the hundreds of people that I interviewed, what is the thing that is, who are the. And when I ask people, as I've done for hundreds of people, like, what is it that brings you most meaning? They say the people, but they don't mention the colleagues, okay? They mention the people that they help. So if you talk to people, as I have done now for years, and say, what is it that does make you happy and bring you meaning from what you do? They tell a story. So somebody in the cement business. My father was a builder, okay? And I remember a conversation from when I was 10, and I was like, dad, like everybody else's parent seems to have a job. Like, you seem to do, like, four or five different things, okay? You work in multifamily and solo family, and you have apartments, and every two years it's changing because that's what the real estate business was like in the 1970s. I was like, what do you do, dad? And he said, I'm in the shelter business. And now, almost 50 years later, I can remember the beauty and power of that statement. Wow. He's in the shelter business. And that's one of the essential things that we all need as human beings, okay? He doesn't see it the way I do. He's going to apartments and houses and construction sites. He is serving a purpose that we all have, and that's what people do no matter what job they have.

[Mike Carruthers]

So there's a difference, or maybe there isn't a difference between finding work with meaning and finding meaning in your work.

[Bruce Fieler]

Ooh, that's a beautiful, beautiful question. And I do think I love that question. And I'm reflecting on it as I'm absorbing it as you ask. The way to think about that beautiful question is each of us wants a life with meaning, and the work is only one part of that. And at different times in our lives, we may prioritize different things. So maybe we say, my family is most important to me right now, so therefore, I'm willing to take work that has less meaning because I need other things from it. A sense that I can provide for my family and the security and the benefits and things like that. But then maybe in a few years, we become empty nesters. And we all know people like this who say, okay, you know what? I devoted myself to belonging. I want to do something for myself now. Or we also know people who said, I've been focused on myself and my agency and my contributions and my own salary and title and status. You know, I'd like to give back first. I'd like to give back now. So my answer to your question is what's most important to us is that we have a meaningful life and we can adjust how we find meaningful work to suit that larger purpose.

[Mike Carruthers]

You know, I think everybody who works at some point has that sense of, you know, is this all there is? Is this, is this really what I want to do? And it's remarkable that so many people are having that kind of epiphany moment and saying, oh, let's think about something else. Let's find meaning in what I do. And this is a whole new world of work. I appreciate you sharing it. I've been talking with Bruce Fieler. The name of his book is the Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World. And there's a link to that book in the show notes. Appreciate it. Thanks for being here. Bruce.

[Progressive]

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[Mike Carruthers]

You know, some summer days you just don't want to cook, going out or even getting takeout. I mean, that's gotten so expensive. So our solution is Factor Factor delivers fresh, chef crafted meals. They're ready in just two minutes and then you're eating a restaurant quality meal that is so good and cheaper than going out or getting takeout. With 45 weekly menu options, you can pick gourmet meals you will love here. This is right off their website. On their menu, salmon piccata with cauliflower mash and garlic broccoli or chimichurri filet mignon and shrimp or smoky Gouda chicken with red potatoes and green beans. Now, being a Factor veteran, let me explain. These are not frozen meals. These are fresh restaurant quality meals delivered to your door. Now, you don't have to, but we always put them on dinner plates because they're too good to eat out of the container. They come in two minutes in the microwave and you're having a real delicious dietitian approved gourmet meal. That is so not fast food. Now here I'm going to make this very easy to try. Get [e-mail] something50off and use code something50OFF to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. That's code [e-mail] something 50 off for 50% off plus free shipping. Factormeals.com something50OFF and that promo code is in the show notes. I don't know too many people who don't have allergies. Seems like everyone's allergic to to something and a lot of times it's just stuff in the air. I have that allergy. I have no idea what specifically I'm allergic to. But on certain days I and a lot of other people start sneezing and get watery eyes, get stuffed up and then there are food allergies. Seems like a lot more people today have food allergies than in the past. Why is that? What is an allergy? Why do we get them? Can you get rid of them? Here to explain all this is Theresa McPhail. She is a medical anthropologist, associate professor of science and technology studies, and author of the book Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. Hi, Teresa, thank you for coming on. Something you should know.

[Theresa McPhail]

Hi.

Thanks so much for having me.

[Mike Carruthers]

So what exactly is an allergy? What's going on? When you have an allergic reaction to.

[Theresa McPhail]

Something, it's basically an immune reaction and.

It'S basically just a hypersensitive immune system response.

So your immune cells are responding to an allergen, whatever it is, peanut protein or oak tree pollen in the air, grass pollen, and it's deciding that that thing should not be part of you. And it's triggering the a similar immune response that we have to things like bacteria and viruses. So it's basically just gearing up the immune system to attack, to cope, I would say. So it's mistaking a pollen grain for something that is potentially harmful. A normal person will just tolerate a piece of pollen that enters your nasal passageways. But for those of us who have allergies, your immune system cells respond to that pollen as if it's a bacteria or a virus. So it starts turning on inflammation. So that's why you get the swelling. It turns on the mucus production, which is why you get all sneezy and your nose starts to run and your eyes start to itch.

So all of the same mechanisms come on.

Which is why it's sometimes, especially in the spring, it's really Hard to tell sometimes if you have a cold or.

Allergies because the initial response is the same.

[Mike Carruthers]

So you said something a moment ago that if a normal person does this and someone with an allergy does that, well, it seems like it's pretty normal to have an allergy. I mean, what are the numbers of who has allergies and who doesn't?

[Theresa McPhail]

Well, it's growing.

It's about.

It's hard to get an accurate number because it's really hard to measure these things. But we think anywhere between 30 and.

40% of the total global population has an allergic response to at least one thing.

So that's a ginormous number of people.

[Mike Carruthers]

And I think that sounds low to me because I don't know anybody that doesn't say, oh God, my allergies. Oh my God. Right, yeah. Well, what about in Western society? Is it worse?

[Theresa McPhail]

Yes, there tends to be more allergies.

In developed countries, or I would say richer countries. And there are various theories for why that is.

And it all boils down to our lifestyles.

And one of the interesting things that might surprise people is that you often see, like, say someone is living in sub Saharan Africa and then they immigrate to the United States or England. In about three years, a lot of.

Them will develop allergies and they had.

Absolutely no allergic response in their country.

[Mike Carruthers]

You mentioned a moment ago, asthma and eczema, are those considered allergies?

[Theresa McPhail]

That is such a tricky thing to answer. Most of the researchers and clinicians that I talk to would say yes.

There are some people that hold out a no.

And the reason is that something like asthma, even though it's a similar immune response, it uses the same pathways. You can get asthma from exertion, and.

That'S not an allergy.

So a lot of people want to keep asthma separate and then refer to people who have allergic triggers. They'll call it allergic asthma.

[Mike Carruthers]

So here's what I'm trying to understand here is that you say that people, for example, come from the desert and move to the west, within three years, they have an allergy. Why? What happened in those three years that they now have an allergy? Because they came here.

[Theresa McPhail]

It could be a variety of things. The number one reason is probably that.

Their bodies are being introduced to things that they've never seen before. So the immune system, before we turn three years old, your immune system is learning the world, if you want to think of it that way. So your early exposures really train your immune system to respond to the things in your environment. So if you grew up in one.

Area and then you moved to another.

Area, your immune system, if you've never.

Been around elm trees and suddenly you're breathing in elm pollen, there's a chance.

That your immune system might think, hey, wait a minute, we've never seen this before, this shouldn't be here and react. So that's the primary way. But the secondary way is that their.

Diets change, likely in all likelihood. And also their lifestyles are changing.

So if you think about people moving from more rural areas to more urban centers, they're being exposed to more particulate.

Matter in the air from air pollution.

And things like that.

So their immune systems are being bombarded.

With a lot of things that they haven't seen before. So that can go either way. Some people are fine and then other people who would never have developed possibly an allergy in their home country then start their immune system, start having trouble with coping with all of the new things in their environment.

[Mike Carruthers]

So help me understand something. When I was a kid, I don't remember many people having allergies and I certainly don't remember people, very many people having food allergies today. You know, you can't bring peanuts to school. This is a peanut free zone. There seems to be a lot more people with food allergies than there used to be. These aren't people coming from another climate, met from another part of the world. So what happened? What changed that now this is such a thing and it didn't used to be.

[Theresa McPhail]

It's interesting because allergic responses to food were likely around for a very long time, but they flew under the radar. And there are possible reasons for this. A, we weren't looking for them. And there's always the, the trope of if you're not looking for something, you don't see it. But also, you know, children were, they were just growing up in a different way. The other problem is that we gave mothers and fathers bad advice, especially in.

In terms of peanuts.

As I, you're probably some of your listeners are aware we changed the guidelines.

A few years ago.

So up until fairly recently they would advise mothers not to ingest certain during.

The latter stages of their pregnancy and.

Not to give toddlers and young children.

Things like peanut butter just in case. And it turns out that was the exact wrong advice. That early introduction is better even though someone might still have an allergic response.

But we, we kind of created a.

Bigger problem because again that training.

So if you withhold it until older, then the immune system doesn't get trained on it. So they've actually reversed course and they, they want parents to introduce things like peanuts as, as soon as possible into.

The diet to see if there is.

A problem and if there's not, to potentially prevent a problem from developing by getting the baby immune system used to that form of protein. So that is another reason that we saw this explosion of food allergies.

[Mike Carruthers]

I remember hearing someone explain that the increase in allergies in people has something to do with the fact that we tend to live in a very clean environment. We're not exposed to a lot of things. It's kind of that argument of, you know, you should let your kids play more in the dirt and get dirty because the more things we're exposed to, then that helps our immune system and that because we live in such a clean environment, the immune system gets bored and it needs something to do so it attacks itself. And that's why we have all these allergies. Does that explanation line up with what you found in the research?

[Theresa McPhail]

Yes, that is usually called the hygiene hypothesis. So the idea is that when you're not exposed to a lot of bacteria and viruses when you're young, the immune system was evolved to deal with a lot of that.

And so in the absence of it.

Your immune system is rather like a toddler that has not been given anything to do. It's bored and wants to do something, and so it's actively looking for something to do. I mean, the evidence does show that.

Kids who grow up on farms particularly.

So if you grow up on a farm, but interestingly enough, it has to.

Be a farm with animals. And there's something about being in the barn. Like, so if you carry your infant into the barn and they're exposed to.

All these animals and dirt in the barnyard, those kids tend to have extremely.

Low rates of allergies.

So we know that at least partially the gene hypothesis is definitely true.

[Mike Carruthers]

Can you give me a sense of like, what are the most common allergies and what are, you know, like how many people have peanut allergies and how many people have allergies to, you know, stuff in the air? I mean, I have allergies to stuff in the air. I don't know too many people who don't.

[Theresa McPhail]

It's really hard to say.

And the reason is we usually rely on self reported surveys. So you're basically asking people who may never have been to an allergist to say if they have an allergy.

So it's really hard to get a.

Good number on this.

Obviously hay fever or Respiratory allergies are really prevalent. It's probably so.

Again, this number, you're like, why is it this big?

It's the difference. It's either 10% to 30%. I like to go right in the.

Middle and say about 20% of the.

Whole global population has hay fever or respiratory allergies. It could be more than that, but it's definitely not less than that. Like you said, almost everyone I talk to has something. Food allergy typically is smaller.

The best information we have is around 9%.

8 or 9% of children are having.

Issues with one or more food allergens. And that seems fairly stable.

But again, it's really hard to get.

Those numbers because not everyone has access.

To an allergist, which is, you know.

Another huge problem everywhere.

[Mike Carruthers]

Is it true that allergies will sometimes just disappear?

[Theresa McPhail]

Yes.

Yes, because the. Especially food allergies, a lot of them.

Like nut allergies, seems to persist over time.

But a lot of allergies that people have when they're younger tend to disappear over time because for whatever reason, your immune system develops a tolerance over time.

Also, your immune system function changes in.

Relationship to things like stress hormones.

One of the really interesting things I.

Learned was that more boys have asthma than girls, but adults, females have asthma.

At higher rates than males. And the reason is that testosterone is.

Protective because it dampens down the immune response.

So testosterone kind of turns the dial.

Down on the immune system, which is exactly why more men were prone to.

Dying in response to Covid.

And that's also why you might have heard that sometimes when women get pregnant or go through menopause, they'll develop new allergies that they haven't had before.

[Mike Carruthers]

But the truth is, if you have an allergy, pretty much the best thing you can do is to avoid, as best you can, whatever it is you're allergic to, because there's. There's no cure, typically for an allergy. And so you just have to avoid it or live with it. Right?

[Theresa McPhail]

Yep. That's one of the worst parts about writing this book, is that there's no happy ending. Like, I would love to say that.

We'Re so close to solving this problem.

But you can't solve it, partially because.

You can't turn off the immune response. I mean, none of us want that.

Because then you might die of pneumonia.

I mean, you can't.

You have to modulate it.

So there's no cure that we know of. Like I said, you can learn to tolerate it.

So the treatments coming online now, that's what they're aiming to do is like, can you moderate the immune response so that it turns it down a notch so that your immune system learns to tolerate or you just shut off that part of your immune response that is reacting. And that is the best we can do for now. So there really isn't a possibility for a cure that we know of?

[Mike Carruthers]

Well, the one thing that seems to help with allergies is just getting older, right? I mean, a lot of kids have allergies and those allergies as they age will disappear. Is it just the immune system just gets tired of it and just stops responding?

[Theresa McPhail]

So your immune response will get less.

Strong as you age. So often the allergies will fade because it's just your immune system overall is not as robust as it used to be. So in a sense it's kind of a double edged sword, right? You're, you're living a better quality of life because maybe your allergies are a.

Bit better than they used to be when you were younger. But also then you're more vulnerable to things like the influenza virus or Covid.

So it is tricky. It really is tricky.

[Mike Carruthers]

I understand that a lot of people claim to have allergies to foods or whatever that aren't actually allergies, that if you want to know if you really have an allergy, you really need to see an allergist. But a lot of the things that people say are allergies or maybe sensitivities, but they're not allergic reactions, especially with food allergies.

[Theresa McPhail]

I just like to underline that it's.

Really hard to tell because so many things have the same symptoms. So if you're getting stomach upset, it could be an intolerance, right?

You could be lactose intolerant or you.

Could have a milk allergy.

And if it's not a severe response.

Then it's gonna look similar. And the only way to tell is.

To go and have the, the testing done and to go and see a food allergist and do the, the golden.

Test is the double blind food challenge. But even something as simple as a respiratory allergy, you could have something else going on.

And it's always a good idea to.

If you can, to get a referral to an allergist.

Because also, and this is a fun fact that I think will surprise a lot of people is that your GP in medical school, they don't really get.

Allergy training, they get about two weeks.

So most GPs actually are not really.

The right people to diagnose allergies because, yes, While they may see it a.

Lot, they're not exactly trained in the same way and they definitely don't get.

The same level of training.

So even if you get a test at a gp, you should always try to see an allergist if you can.

[Mike Carruthers]

But here's the thing. If every spring, when the flowers come out, you start sneezing and your eyes get watery and you don't have a cold, what else could it be?

[Theresa McPhail]

It's probably allergies. Yeah, you could have. I mean, you could have a sinus infection you don't know about that comes.

[Mike Carruthers]

On every year in May, it seems like.

[Theresa McPhail]

Well, exactly, exactly. You can put the pieces together yourself.

Which is what most of us do.

Very few people with hay fever go to see an allergist. I get it, because why? And also, it's really hard to tell what you're allergic to.

And even if you know, like, so.

Say you do go to an allergist.

And you get the panel done and.

They say, oh, you're allergic to grasses and mold.

Well, what are you supposed to do?

[Mike Carruthers]

Right, exactly.

[Theresa McPhail]

Yeah. It's going to be the same. And they're probably just going to tell you to take a daily antihistamine during the season.

[Mike Carruthers]

I could have told you that.

[Theresa McPhail]

Right, exactly.

And so I get it. I get why people wouldn't want to go. But for those people who are having.

Serious responses, but, you know, some of the people I talk to, they can't sleep at night, they're so congested that it really affects their quality of life.

For those people, it's really important to.

Go to a specialist because you. You can get stronger antihistamines that are.

Not available over the counter.

[Mike Carruthers]

So when I think of allergies, I think of food allergies like peanuts and shellfish and respiratory allergies, hay fever, pollen, that kind of thing. What else are people allergic to?

[Theresa McPhail]

Okay, so pollen, dust mites, mold, different chemicals. Milk, egg, wheat, corn, soy. I mean, those are the shellfish, those.

Are the main ones.

Peanuts, obviously. Tree nuts is huge.

Those are the main ones.

I would say, like. And then, though, if we kept going, I can't even list them because there are people who will have allergies to really random things. I mean, you know, during the course of researching this book, I mean, it's not unheard of.

Occasionally you'll get someone who's allergic to.

Cold and it's real or allergic to sun.

[Mike Carruthers]

Is there anything good? Is there any good about allergies or is it just all. It's just a nuisance and it's horrible. Is there any silver lining?

[Theresa McPhail]

If you are allergic, you might have.

A slightly lower chance of developing certain.

Cancers, specifically certain types of skin cancers. And the reason is is that your.

Immune system is actually really strong and healthy and is constantly on the lookout.

So it's possible that an allergic person's immune system is spotting those rogue cells earlier and doing something about them faster than a non allergic person. So that's a little silver lining in an otherwise big cloud.

[Mike Carruthers]

Well, it's such a, it's such a weird thing, allergies. I mean, it's not a sickness, it's not an illness, but it sure is a pain in a lot of ways to deal with. And I appreciate you coming on and explaining it. I've been speaking with Teresa McPhail. She is a medical anthropologist, associate professor of science and technology, and author of the book Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World. And there's a link to that book in the show Notes. Appreciate it. Thanks, Teresa. Aerobic exercise can improve more than just your heart health. It can also improve your love life. A study carried out in Adult runners revealed that 80% of those runners felt more attractive in front of their partner as a result of that exercise. Another study by the University of California found that after following a moderate aerobic regime four times a week for nine months, male subjects had sex 30% more often. People who exercise regularly increase their lovemaking time by 15%. What's more, research in the Electronic Journal of Human sexuality found that 80% of men and 60% of women who exercise three times a week rated their sex appeal as above average. And that is something you should know. Ratings and reviews are really important to us because as well as you can imagine, if someone's looking for a new podcast to listen to and it's got a lot of positive ratings and reviews, they're more likely to give it a listen. So please help us out and give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. I'm Micah Ruthers. Thanks for listening today to something you should know.

[Micah Ruthers]

You might think you know fairy tales and you might think that they are cute and sweet and boring, but the real Grimm fairy tales were not cute at all. They were very dark and they were often very grim. On Grim Grimmer Grimmest, we tell a grim fairy tale to a bunch of kids. Perfect for car rides or screen free entertainment. Grim Grimmer Grimmest activates kids imaginations and instigates fun conversations because fairy tales speak to all of us at a very deep, primal level, and they raise interesting topics and questions that are worth chewing over together as a family. Every episode is rated Grim, Grimmer or Grimmest. So you, your kids, your whole family can choose. What is the right level of Grim for you? Though, if you're listening with Grandma, she's just gonna go for Grimmest. Trust me on this one. Tune in to Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest, and our new season available now.

[Amy Nicholson]

I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times.

[Bruce Fieler]

And I'm Paul Scheer, an actor, writer and director. You might know me from the League, Veep, or my non eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters.

[Amy Nicholson]

We love movies and we come at them from different perspectives.

[Bruce Fieler]

Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't.

He's too old.

[Amy Nicholson]

Let's not forget that Paul thinks that Dune 2 is overrated.

[Bruce Fieler]

It is.

[Amy Nicholson]

Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies, critical hits, fan favorites.

[Bruce Fieler]

Must sees, and in case you missed.

[Amy Nicholson]

Ems, we're talking Parasite, the Home Alone.

[Bruce Fieler]

From Grease to the Dark Knight.

[Amy Nicholson]

We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks, we've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look.

[Bruce Fieler]

And we've talked about horror movies, some that you've never even heard of a day, Kanja and Hess.

[Amy Nicholson]

So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure.

[Bruce Fieler]

Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your.

[Amy Nicholson]

Podcasts, and don't forget to hit the follow button.