Jessica Wilson is joined by author Tessa Rapaczynski for the next episode in the re-grifting series. Tessa's article for Medium titled "The Long Con and dirty dong of Andrew Huberman, PhD" immediately caught my eye. Today's episode is their conversation about the evolution of Huberman and his path from nerdy professor who didn't leave his lab to podcast bro with 7.3 million followers and multiple identities. The two discuss Tessa's initial connection to Huberman and his work and the evolution of Wellness spaces to use words like "optimization." The two also reference the Mar. 25, 2024,New Yorker article by Kerry Howley titled: "Andrew Huberman's Mechanisms of Control; The private and public seductions of the world's biggest pop neuroscientist." Links mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFVtQ3MSVgn/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/p/DGoFgqCPr85/?hl=en McGill article You can buy awkward merch! You can contact the show at makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com Follow dietitian Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica's dad will read reviews and comments on the air! Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Cheryl Hines, wife of RFK Jr, wrote a memoir and "wrote" is used loosely in this context. Her publication team didn't do her any favors with this lightly edited, sprawling account of Cheryl's life and path to becoming the unwilling wife of the Secretary of HHS–or is he the secretary of HHR? Cheryl doesn't understand that her choices have consequences, even as they continue to pile up, including the demise of her podcast and relationship with Tig Notaro. Jessica talks to Natalie Ingraham and Alison Pill about the book and Cheryl's life. Olivia Nuzzi's book Secretary of HHR Cheryl photoshoot This would have been a better cover photo RFK Poem Slate article Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Jocelyn Green of @audhd_academic joins Jessica to discuss the concept of "losing an autism diagnosis" and what's often missing when discussing autism research. The two discuss the limitations of autism statistics and how their misuse can become unethical. They also talk about disability, what conditions may present to make someone seek an autism diagnosis later in adulthood, support needs for autistic people, and of course RFK. This conversation was inspired by last week's episode with Dr. Theresa Lyons and includes listener feedback. Dr. Lyons anchored her work in the idea that 37% of autistic kids will lose their autism diagnosis with behavioral changes. She based this on one study and didn't represent the research to the degree it deserved. Theresa also claimed that people don't learn to mask their autism until they're teenagers, when in fact young children can learn to mask. Some parents want to split the autism spectrum Referenced in last week's episode: Life's Best Medicine Podcast FDA approves leucovorin Frat test Suing tylenol Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Today Dr. Theresa Lyons, founder and CEO of Navigating AWEtism joins Making it Awkward. She reached out to Jessica sharing that as an Ivy League scientist and mom to a non-speaking autistic daughter, she's used her expertise to guide other parents of autistic children. Dr. Lyons introduces a study that says 37% of kids can go on to lose their autism diagnosis and Jessica has follow-up questions. Their conversation includes discussions about folinic acid, sleep, dysbiosis, diet, Tylenol and camel milk. There will be follow-up episodes to come! Teresa has offered to return to the show to answer any listener questions so if you have any feel free to email the pod! Life's Best Medicine Podcast FDA approves leucovorin Frat test Suing tylenol Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Dr. Bethany Johnson returns to the show to share the deep history of the plague, and how we should be thinking about it today. She talks about how anti-Chinese and anti-Mexican sentiment impacted the mitigation and spread of the plague in the early 1900s. Bethany also talks about how climate change may impact infectious disease, antibiotic resistance, lyme disease, pet safety, mitigation measures, and what the defunding of government organizations will mean for us. She also has advice for all of those of us–and our dads out there–with wood piles in our backyard. Plus a few updates about The Means Sibs. Bethany's first episode on measles! You can buy awkward merch! You can join the Patreon! You can contact the show at makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review! Jessica's dad will read reviews and comments on the air! Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies ABC News: Casey Means Senate statement Breaking Big Food Calley Means has left the White House 1630 plague WHO Manual for plague surveillance, diagnosis, prevention and control CDC page on plague Traces of life in the death registries of the 1630 plague in Milano
We've been a lot of places with RFK Jr, his conspiracy theories, magical thinking, lies, his meltdowns in front of Senate committees, and seen that he doesn't understand half of the things he talks about. Exhibit A: He thinks babies are grown in placentas Let's make sure we're clear on RFK's indisputable, irrefutable cause of autism going forward. Today I share his gold standard science-certified cause of autism. Selena Salfen's quote Tylenol ad Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Leave a review or comment and my dad will read it on the show! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Kyle Davis, MSW, LICSW, joins the show to talk about his experience with Assertive Community Treatment for supporting people with severe and persistent mental illness. He shares details of that model today and what autonomy can actually look like when people are out of institutions and living in society. In Jessica's interview with psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman, Dr. Carole shared her belief that one of the biggest problems in psychiatry is that people with mental illness were released from institutions, and given the least restrictive environment for their care. This claim warranted a full follow-up episode and Kyle joined the show to share his thoughts about the claim that people can develop insight while living in institutions and he shares how a multi-disciplinary approach proves that people heal best in their communities and is more beneficial long-term than having more community clinics. Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
MAHA and Cuteservatives are okay with spending millions on measles outbreaks yet want to control people's food choices in the name of "health." People are able to buy raw milk with SNAP, yet shouldn't be allowed to buy a candybar? The math is not mathing. Today's episode is a follow up to the episode released 10/1/25, "Fauci Needs to Be Locked Up!" with Dr. Carole Lieberman. Jessica responds to some of Dr. Carole's claims, and has a good time with her own acronym for ways to avoid getting COVID. THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS! Buy raw milk with SNAP ADHD medications and substance use RFK's CDC on vaccines Herd immunity Clip Jessica posted on Instagram of Dr. Carole Jessica's MAHA Mindy makeover RFK fires CDC workers and then brings them back Dr. Fauci work timeline Measles can cost $47K per case Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman, M.D., M.P.H. joins Jessica Wilson, M.S. RD. for a robust conversation about COVID, Dr. Fauci, RFK Jr., the MAHA report and whether supplements can fix our mental health. Dr. Carole specializes in the psychology of terrorism, criminal behavior, and political breakdown. She's a frequent guest on Fox News, Newsmax, OAN, and leading patriot platforms. Her bold insights expose how psychological tactics once used by foreign enemies are now being weaponized against the American people. Dr. Lieberman connects the dots between radical indoctrination, media-fueled hysteria, and how psychological warfare is now being deployed inside the U.S.—not just abroad. I was so compelled by this interview that I'll be having a follow up episode exploring her ideas! If you have thoughts, ideas or want to send a voice memo with your feedback about this episode you can email them to MakingitAwkwardpod@gmail.com. Dr. Carole on FOX news re: the VP debate RFK Jr. and wellness farms Elizabeth Blackwell First MAHA report Second MAHA report Recent Interviews with Carole Lieberman Real America's Voice with Eric Bolling NY Post on Bryan Kohberger OAN with Dan Ball Joe Pags Show
Kaila Yu, author of the newly released Fetishized; A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty, joins Jessica Wilson, MS RD the show to talk about the fetishization of Asian women. Kaila reflects on the women in the media who influenced her, and her path into the pinup and import modeling industry. She devotes a chapter to the book and film Memoirs of a Geisha and Jessica and Kaila talk about the ways the book and movie continue to impact societal views of Asian women. They also got into the origins of the model minority myth and the connections to trad wives today. In Fetishized Kaila also explores the legacy of U.S. occupation in shaping Western perceptions of Asian women. Kaila in Teen Vogue re: Love Island Fetishized; A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty Kaila on Instagram Fetishized in NYT! Atlanta spa shooting "Oxford Study" on social media Debunking "Oxford Study" Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode on the Spotify app and https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
MAHA's Making Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report is out, and "strategy" is a generous term for this document. Beef farmer Trampus Harmon and public health dietitians Selena Salfen and Meghan Cichy return to the show to share their thoughts. Post production note: Dr. Casey Means has resumed the path to becoming Surgeon General and is declaring her conflicts of interest. Dr. Jessica Knurick newsletter Marion Nestle Wellness Farms RFK Jr on autism Trampus on collagen and beef tallow Trampus on raw milk Meghan and Selena on the first MAHA report Meghan and Selena on Levels and CGMs Meghan and Selena on the first 100days of RFK Selena and the Levels intro Selena's Regrifting episode on Casey and Calley Means Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Your Apple Podcast reviews will be read by my dad! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Would you ever add chia seeds to your latte? Levels Health, a health-tech startup co-founded by presumptive Surgeon General Casey Means, is a deeply unserious company and provides both hilarious and irresponsible guidance on its app. Public health dietitians Selena Salfen and Meghan Cichy return to the show to discuss our 30 days of using a CGM paired with the Levels app. Jessica didn't find what she was looking for in her CGM data and laughed at the app's inaccuracies. Meghan thought she was working harder than Levels, and found both more helpful and nicer CGM feedback with ChatGPT. Selena shared her history with health anxiety and her longer term use of a Stelo CGM. She shares how her experience was impacted when Levels provided her with incorrect data and biometric analyses. The three get into whether we should be using CGMs and if so, under what conditions. The three also discuss the most recent Levels podcast #280 and how it seems to answer a lot of concerns Selena and Jessica had in the CGM intro episode. The episode also discussed a lack of research to back up claims made by Levels and Casey Means herself. Host Ben Grynol and guest Dom D'Agostino, PhD took an unexpected turn and veered into the closed off "adult" section of Blockbuster; could there be a tie to food choices and curiosity? Imprecision Nutrition? Intraindividual Variability of Glucose Responses to Duplicate Presented Meals in Adults Without Diabetes Casey's Instagram post with her food scores Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Re-release! Jessica talks with Sherene Chou about the whiteness of the Mediterranean Diet and its origins. The two chat about their mixed reviews of speaking at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health's Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives. Sherene discusses a variety of "healthy diets" out there and how they fall short of meeting the moment. She also spills the beans on the next superfood. Jessica is very excited that Sherene has worked at the restaurant at the center of Bad Vegan! Should the two watch and review for an episode!? Blue Zones, Planetary Diet/EAT-Lancet diet, EAT-Lancet diet twitter war Info on MedDiet research The Whiteness of the Mediterranean Diet https://www.sherenechou.com/ https://foodandplanet.org/ You can become a podcast patreon! You can rate and review this show! You can email the show at makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson You can watch this episode on Spotify and at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Jessica's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Dietitian Sherene Chou returns to the pod, this time to talk about her experience having a confinement nanny for a month after giving birth. Confinement nannies families in the post-partum period, to help manage household tasks, and prepare nutritious meals according to Chinese postpartum rules, and also helps with feeding of the infant. Leslie Voorhees Means, wife of White House food and nutrition advisor Calley Means, recently posted a video of everything that her confinement nanny had done for her during her confinement period, and it was dripping with appropriation. It was especially disturbing as Leslie actively supports and advocates for the current presidential administration which is dedicated to the deportation of immigrants. Asian immigrants are being targeted for deportation around the country, and today Sherene has a direct message to Leslie. People who drink the MAHA Kool-Aid have the luxury of taking from other cultures. Sherene also has some advice for people who are on the fence about having kids. Leslie Voorhees Means video about her confinement nanny RFK talking about breast milk Fei Zheng separated from son Jessica got to interview the initial spokesperson of MAHA before Calley Means took the torch and ran with it Myasiannanny.com RFK and breast milk talk Sherene talking about the Mediterranean diet with Jessica Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson
Calley Means has returned to the White House as a Senior Advisor supporting food and nutrition policy. Since his return the Dietary Guidelines have been delayed and should(may) now be delivered to us in January 2026. Additionally, TIME has reported that there may be a return to the Food Pyramid in the updated Guidelines. Selena Salfen returns to the show to share the many reasons why Calley should be a White House intern and not a Senior Advisor, and definitely not in charge of nutrition policy. Jessica and Selena discuss Calley's "documentary" Breaking Big Food; an infomercial that went on for way too long. The "doc" was presented by Jigsaw Health, which is a wellness company that sells supplements to consumers, and, of course, partners with Calley Mean's Truemed. Jessica also shares details of Calley and Casey Means's childhood that have been left out of the narrative of their mother's illness and death. It seems like Gayle Means was quite a character! Calley never registered as a lobbyist and was in a sweat lodge with RFK Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Selena Selfan, MPH, RD is back for the next installment in the re-grifting series! She is the resident Means Siblings Scholar and talks to host Jessica Wilson, MS RD about her deep dive! Dr. Casey Means is currently the presumptive nominee for Surgeon General. Her brother Calley Means is a special advisor to RFK Jr and cofounder of Truemed. The two are fervent MAHA supporters and foot soldiers in RFK's fight. Listeners will learn about the Means siblings's upbringing and the love and support for their parents. And then plot twist: their father, Grady Means wrote a gender expansive children's book. Selena shares how Cassie has evolved in her career, and spits Calley's facts like a pro. The two talk about the grift of the Means siblings and Selena's prediction for Calley's future. The Means siblings have direct connections to Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Andrew Huberman, our first and second grifters. Stay tuned for the next one about Dr. Paul Saladino. See Selena's bibliography below! Calley's Politico interview Tucker Carlson interview Deadly Lightbulbs Surgeon shortage Oregon Medical Board Casey's Instagram posts about Jessica: August 28, 2024 - https://www.instagram.com/p/C_QjRljJ1mr/?hl=en August 29, 2024 - https://www.instagram.com/p/C_N6qSPPcT2/?hl=en Instagram - Never. Buy. Ultraprocessed. Food. Ever. Again. Casey's sponsors with conflicted research: Pendulum, newsletter, study funded by Pendulum Mitopure, Newsletter, study funded by Mitopure Life expectancy data health insurance stat FSA/HSAs: https://www.numerator.com/resources/blog/fsa-hsa-consumer-spending/ https://www.ebri.org/content/new-analysis-of-3.2-million-flexible-spending-accounts-finds-average-contributions-increasing-while-half-forfeiting-funds-to-their-employers Forbes list of growing industries Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson
Jessica Wilson, MS. RD. is joined by Blake Flaugher, MPH, to give Jessica a full breakdown of poppers and RFK Jr.'s AIDS denialism. Jessica is very curious about butt stuff and Blake expertly answers her questions. He also answers a listener question about the spectrum of asexuality. The two have this conversation at a brewery and got the opportunity to make things awkward! Blake updates Jessica on the state of sex education in 2025 and shares what he's found grounding and motivating as he continues to do this work. Blake's first Making it Awkward ep AIDS denialism FDA crackdown on poppers Legality of poppers Go Ask Alice Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson How to support this podcast? Follow/subscribe, rate and review and share with a friend! Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Dr. Maisha Davis joins the pod for a hilarious chat about using constant glucose monitoring devices (CGMs), the Levels app and the Oura ring. The two talk about how and why collecting and reviewing health data can be comforting to some people, and also how using a CGM could be a slippery slope. Jessica and Maisha are currently using the Dexcom 7 and they share what their experiences have been using that brand. Maisha took extra steps to calibrate the CGM while Jessica didn't go through the trouble and the two talk about how a CGM is only as good as its reliable responses. The two discuss the case of Cassie Cattie, a Nurse Practitioner, whose Oura ring detected her cancer 8 months before she received a diagnosis, but was that information helpful? Maisha also introduces us to their newest bff, the Ninja Creami and the secret to eating ice cream for breakfast. You can find more information about CGMs in this episode. Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
Dr. Lexi Brown returns to the show to talk to Jessica about her hospitalization last year and the options she was given to treat her epilepsy. Not interested in brain surgery, Jessica was willing to try the next option: a ketogenic diet. Since January Jessica has been trialing a ketogenic diet to mixed results, mostly due to her questionable choices. Today she's sharing what impact the diet has had on her for the past seven months and what she, reluctantly, should do going forward. Lexi talks to Jessica about taking her health seriously and how she should go about her CGM experiment. Ketogenic diet history Keto diets for epilepsy in kiddos Jayson Carr recently died from a brain eating amoeba 🙁 Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies
RFK Jr wants us all to be using wearable devices! Presumptive Surgeon General, Casey Means, co-founded Levels Health which pledges to unlock our metabolic health through the use of a constant glucose monitor(CGM). What is a CGM, what promises are made by Levels, and should we care? Jessica and Selena Salfen are going to find out! The two have teamed up in August to use a CGM, link it to Levels and let the app work its biometric magic. The two will be optimized in just two weeks, according to Dr. Robert Lustig, medical advisor to Levels. Today is just an introduction, there's so much more to say about wearables and personal data, we will be back with more of a conversation and our metabolic results! Lustig on Levels; understanding your lab results RFK Jr at Energy and Commerce hearing Take Back Your Health campaign Levels podcast archives What is a CGM Like this episode? You can rate, review, subscribe, follow, share and comment! Questions about the show? Guest pitches? Email makingitawkwardpod@gmail.com You can buy awkward merch! You can become a Patreon member! You can watch this episode at https://www.youtube.com/@MakingItAwkwardPod Follow Jessica Wilson on Instagram @jessicawilson.msrd and TikTok @byjessicawilson Jessica Wilson's book: It's Always Been Ours; Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies