The Drop the Needle Podcast

Dr. Joy Kong left post-Tiananmen Beijing at 20 with a rejected visa and almost nothing in her pockets. What she did next is something most of us would never try. She opened the Beijing Yellow Pages, found the best hotels in the city, and started calling rooms at random until somebody, somewhere, opened a door.She calls it poking at the universe. That poking turned into a job as a tour guide in Tibet, a way to America, and eventually a seat at UCLA medical school. Joy became a psychiatrist, spent years watching the psychiatric emergency room work like a revolving door, and went looking for a way to help people actually heal. Today she's a triple board certified physician who trains doctors around the world in regenerative medicine, and her memoir is The Tiger of Beijing.We talk about the day her visa was denied and the three days of grief that turned into fuel, and the grandmother who nicknamed her "rolling knife meat" because no knife could cut her. Joy opens up about the darkest stretch of her life, surrounded by brilliant classmates at UCLA and feeling so small she questioned why she was here, and about cutting anatomy class to go sit in temples. She explains why she heals on three fronts, mind, body and spirit, and which one most people skip. She shares her mother's story and the Chinese medicine she grew up with, and why she believes East and West need to borrow from each other. I share how meditation became the linchpin of my own weight loss, and for anyone who can't afford treatment right now, Joy gives three things you can start on this week.And stay for the Playlist Round: a Taiwanese pop song about a kid daydreaming in class, the first American song she ever heard, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," discovering Carole King in San Francisco, and "Amazing Grace."Dr. Kong shares her own views and experience; nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk with your own doctor before starting or stopping any treatment.KEY TOPICSLeaving post-Tiananmen Beijing · A visa denial and the Yellow Pages · Poking at the universe · Tour guide in Tibet · From psychiatrist to regenerative medicine · The psychiatric ER as a revolving door · Spirituality in medical school · The darkest point at UCLA · Mind, body and spirit · Chinese and Western medicine · Three things you can do this week · Meditation, flow and TaoismSOUND BITES"You have to poke at the fabrics of the universe.""Taking care of your vessel is a spiritual act.""We're actually very, very complex, and this is an interconnected little universe that we carry around with us.""Be who you are. Just be true to yourself.""Life is very fluid, and we have to go with what life gives us."CHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:38 Meet Dr. Joy Kong1:46 From Beijing to psychiatry5:06 The psychiatric ER's revolving door6:09 Chinese medicine and functional medicine8:57 Her first stem cell patient9:33 Jim's knees, hips and chronic pain13:44 Treating the whole person15:50 Movement, genes and Jim's weight loss19:35 The rotator cuff story21:46 Insurance, big pharma and thinking for yourself23:45 Blending Eastern and Western medicine24:56 Where medicine is headed26:13 "Rolling knife meat"27:36 Spirituality in medical school30:54 August 21, 1991: the visa denial35:25 The Yellow Pages and poking at the universe37:33 A tour guide in Tibet40:26 Vulnerability as a superpower41:47 The friend who hung up43:38 What being the patient taught the doctor48:51 The dark night of the soul53:29 Healing on three fronts54:56 Where Chinese medicine fits56:37 Her mother's story59:16 Energy channels and Western skepticism1:01:45 Advocating for yourself1:03:12 Is stem cell therapy legal in the US?1:04:52 Arthritis and back pain1:08:04 How many treatments?1:10:35 Three things you can do this week1:12:50 Meditation, flow and Taoism1:17:40 The Playlist Round1:26:37 OutroCONNECT WITH DR. JOY KONGWebsite: https://joykongmd.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joykongmdInstagram: @dr_joy_kongBook: The Tiger of BeijingTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/6l9FlZNOMLP2kbQJPliaxOFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.

Brad Pitzele beat Lyme disease, then autoimmunity, then melanoma. And somewhere in the middle of all that, he stopped just trying to survive and started asking a bigger question: what does the body actually need to heal?In his thirties Brad developed autoimmune arthritis and ended up on a treadmill of drugs that helped a little less each time, until a known side effect showed up as melanoma. His doctor's answer was another drug in the same class, and to hope for the best. Those words kept ringing in his ears. Years of diets, supplements and treatments later, a test finally came back positive for Lyme disease and a co-infection called Bartonella, and the doctor who ordered it sent him out the door with one suggestion: look into oxygen.We talk about the dark, isolating side of chronic illness, faking it through the workday with a young family at home, and why Brad says you can't just have a seat at the table when it comes to your health. You need to be at the head of it. He walks us through the day his symptom journal showed him 13 symptoms had quietly disappeared, breaks down oxygen, inflammation and mitochondria in plain English, names the biggest mistakes people make while trying to heal, and explains why he believes hope may be the most powerful tool you have. I share a family story of my own about being told to trust the experts, and we get into how a homemade oxygen setup became 1000 Roads.And stay for the Playlist Round: Joan Jett, Led Zeppelin, Phish, the Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic, "Eye of the Tiger," Paolo Nutini, Neil Young, and the one song Brad's daughter has played more than 5,000 times.Brad shares his own experience; nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk with your own doctor before starting any new therapy.KEY TOPICSAutoimmune arthritis and the medication treadmill · When a side effect becomes melanoma · A late Lyme disease and Bartonella diagnosis · The isolation of chronic illness · Owning your own health · Oxygen, inflammation and mitochondria · Exercise with oxygen therapy and red light · Progress over perfection · Hope, the mind and the spirit in healing · Depression as energy conservationSOUND BITES"A healthy person has a thousand wishes and a sick person only has one.""You need to own your own health. Not just have a seat at the table. You need to be at the head of the table.""I was a denier until it became undeniable.""Progress is more important than perfection, I always say, in the path to healing.""Everyone has to travel their own road to wellness."CHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:40 Meet Brad Pitzele1:13 Where Brad was and where he is today5:43 Lyme disease, autoimmunity and melanoma8:45 The emotional side of chronic illness10:23 From waiting to be fixed to figuring it out13:44 Jim's story: becoming your own advocate18:02 Energy, oxygen and mitochondria20:21 What feeling better actually felt like24:27 When your tests are clean but you still feel terrible27:54 Oxygen and mitochondria, explained simply31:16 The biggest mistakes that slow healing33:57 Adding more vs. stripping it back36:01 What 1000 Roads does and who it's for40:01 Red light therapy explained42:53 Body, mind and spirit43:49 Depression and the body45:51 The Playlist Round51:39 OutroCONNECT WITH BRAD PITZELE1000 Roads: onethousandroads.comYouTube: youtube.com/@OneThousandRoadsHQInstagram: @onethousandroadshqSPECIAL LISTENER OFFERhttps://www.onethousandroads.com/drop-the-micLearn more about exercise with oxygen therapy (EWOT): https://www.onethousandroads.com/pages/exercise-with-oxygen-therapyLearn more about red light therapy: https://www.onethousandroads.com/pages/red-light-therapy-educationTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/56TSEx94PmOsu1S4moF7fVFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate?🌐 jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.

He drowned in his own pool, woke up on the bottom under a full moon, and came back with an equation for happiness.For years, Thayne Martin looked like a man who had it all figured out: six-time President's Club, top 10% nationwide, a career built on breaking sales records. Underneath it he was carrying a secret from childhood, abuse that began when he was a boy in Phoenix, and a stack of diagnoses that included dissociative identity disorder, bipolar I and complex PTSD. He tells us how he hid it, how it surfaced in a board meeting, and the woman who never gave up on him.Then, on August 13, 2023, alone in the pool late at night, he had a seizure and drowned. It was his second near-death experience. He woke up at the bottom of the pool, calm, an atheist with no idea how to get out, until a voice said: move your head. What came back with him became ELAH, the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division applied to your emotional life, plus "net neutral," the "gratitude cocktail," and why he says fear is a direction, not a stop sign.And stay for the Playlist Round: ZZ Top, Propaganda, Above & Beyond, Donna Summer with the Phoenix Symphony, and the song that carried a little boy over the rainbow.This conversation includes Thayne's account of childhood sexual abuse, addiction and suicide attempts. If it brings something up for you, in the US you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Thayne shares his own experience; nothing here is medical advice.KEY TOPICSHiding childhood trauma behind a high-performing career · Dissociative identity disorder, without the Hollywood myth · Two near-death experiences by drowning · Leaving the victim story behind · ELAH: the Equation of Life and Abundant Happiness · Net positive, net negative and net neutral · Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail" · The principle of abundance · Music as vibrationSOUND BITES"I'm not a victim. I was never a victim. None of us are.""I woke up at the bottom of the pool. That's where I woke up.""Happiness in life comes when we're authentic, a hundred percent who we are without filters.""Fear is a sign and a direction. Fear just says I can learn something here.""There's only one thing on the other side. It's love."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:36 Phoenix, age five, and the secret he carried03:42 "I'm not a victim. I was never a victim."05:24 Every diagnosis was a coping mechanism05:55 Seven pillboxes a day, and then zero06:17 August 13, 2023: alone in the pool at night07:02 Waking up at the bottom of the pool under a full moon08:09 An atheist comes back with a "download"10:02 "Move your head": the breath that got him out12:28 Six-time President's Club: what the man on stage believed14:40 The gap between the facade and the true self17:05 A life of success, and a secret underneath it18:19 The best liar in the world20:40 Gratitude and unconditional love as neuroscience21:56 Every sunrise since September 202422:26 Experiential gratitude and the "gratitude cocktail"25:18 Which diagnosis explained the most28:11 The board meeting that ended his career28:45 A love story: the woman who never gave up29:54 What he wishes someone had said31:38 Net positive, net negative, and living in net neutral34:37 Two near-death experiences: what the first one showed him37:55 The first thing he did when he came back39:18 Love as the power that operates everything40:48 Why we remember what we feel41:59 What happened to the men responsible43:24 A lawsuit, scholarships, and a donation-based program44:24 ELAH: why math is the language of the universe45:44 Add and subtract: balancing to neutral46:49 Multiply and divide: the principle of abundance48:59 From growing up scarce to giving it away50:09 Letting go of ego, and a love that never punishes51:34 Fifty years at the piano: everything is vibration54:21 What he still gets wrong about his own equation55:12 Vasopressin, oxytocin and dopamine58:48 Playlist Round: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"59:53 Road trips: Mom's 70s records, and disco1:00:37 Senior year: ZZ Top's Eliminator1:01:17 College: Propaganda's A Secret Wish1:03:01 Pump-up: his "Shift" playlist and Above & Beyond1:04:30 Guilty pleasure: Donna Summer and the Phoenix Symphony1:05:04 The song written for him: "Blue Sky Action"1:05:48 All-time favorite: why the rainbow1:06:46 Thank-yous, where to find Thayne, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDAbove & Beyond, "Gratitude" and "Blue Sky Action"Propaganda, A Secret WishZZ Top, EliminatorDonna Summer"Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of OzCONNECT WITH THAYNE MARTINIt's Pure Love / ELAH: https://www.itspurelove.comInstagram: @itspureloveofficialTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/089P25t56cNoqYmagZ8yuRFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.#DropTheNeedle #ThayneMartin #NearDeathExperience #Gratitude #UnconditionalLove #SpiritualAwakening #Healing #ELAH

What if you reach the top of your mountain and it turns out to be the wrong one?In 2000, Matt Ludmer and his partner were named the No. 1 producing team at DLJ. He walked up to collect the award, and his very next thought was, "Where do I go from here?" Earlier that year he had wandered into a matinee of a play called Wrong Mountain, and its question never left him.Matt grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a man who sold staples and nails up and down the Turnpike. He talked his way into the University of Chicago by sitting outside the dean's office, talked his way into Morgan Stanley by walking into a recruiting lunch uninvited, and spent decades building wealth for other people while quietly studying meditation, Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism on the side. For years, none of those worlds knew about the others. At his 50th birthday, none of his best friends knew each other.We talk about the thirteen years between knowing and leaving, why a risk manager decided the risk of staying was worse, the day he wrote ARTICULATION on his daughter's wall and saw her light dim, a week alone in a Vermont cabin where he started laughing on day three, and what his father knew about contentment that took Matt forty years on Wall Street to learn. His new book, The Right Mountain, comes out October 20.And stay for the Playlist Round: Led Zeppelin, Queen, Al Green, a tenor aria, and the Knicks.KEY TOPICSReaching the top and asking "where do I go from here?" · Living two lives: Wall Street and the meditation cushion · The four dimensions of true wealth · Intelligent risk and the decision to leave · Money as achievement, not fulfillment · Being spiritual in business · Parenting and the achiever mindset · A solo retreat and laughing at your own story · Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants · What a father's contentment teachesSOUND BITES"Did it ever occur to you that you may be on the wrong mountain?""I'm a wealth manager and I didn't feel wealthy.""My job is not managing money. My job is managing risk.""Money is achievement, but it's not fulfillment.""Wisdom has many, many lifetimes."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:06 Matt's thumbnail: Teaneck, a staples salesman's son, and the road to Wall Street02:14 Tibetan teachers at 18, and camping outside the dean's office03:35 Two lives: meditation in the dorm, Morgan Stanley by day04:35 Unintentional Fridays and a play called Wrong Mountain05:29 The lightning moment, and the No. 1 producer award07:04 Uncle Marvin the headhunter, and where the nerve came from08:36 A motivation box on the wall and reading Emerson10:07 Walking uninvited into Morgan Stanley's recruiting lunch11:58 The downside of the achiever mindset12:28 His daughter Grace and the word ARTICULATION14:48 Scottsdale, 2000: "Where do I go from here?"15:37 Thirteen more years, and a wealth manager who didn't feel wealthy16:15 Ken Wilber and a map for a fragmented life18:10 A 50th birthday where none of his best friends knew each other19:58 The four dimensions of true wealth21:28 Fear, money, and a family to support22:57 "My job is managing risk"23:57 Losing his light, and the decision to leave25:14 Stay with the question: advice for anyone at a crossroads27:05 What he yearns for now, and the purposes of money29:31 Money is achievement, not fulfillment30:30 You don't have to renounce the world to be spiritual31:58 Can you be spiritual and still sell?34:21 "Your dad's a really good guy"35:49 The secret life: who he hid from the longest38:26 Imams, priests and rabbis: the result that matters39:47 "I want to be wise"41:10 The kinds of wealth AI won't change43:31 2008, a cabin in Vermont, and a laugh on day three47:24 Labels, identity, and laughing at yourself48:59 Must do, fun to do, and what your heart wants51:06 Having a view: a map made of other people's wisdom54:07 Being lit up about your life55:08 The Old Croton Aqueduct and the sound of a basketball56:16 What his father knew that took 40 years on Wall Street to learn58:04 Ma Tovu: arms wide open in Central Park1:01:19 Playlist Round: Led Zeppelin and an omen1:02:08 Road trips with three daughters and Diana Ross1:03:01 Senior year: Queen1:03:36 College, his friend Dave Goldberg, and Pat Metheny1:05:03 Pump-up song: the Knicks, NBA champions1:05:58 Guilty pleasure: Otis Redding and a tenor aria1:07:25 Al Green and Sly and the Family Stone1:08:40 The song that stops him: The Right Mountain album1:10:52 Healing frequencies and three bodies1:12:28 Today's song: James Taylor's "Secret O' Life"1:13:46 Where to find Matt, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDKen Wilber, A Brief History of Everything (Integral theory)George Kinder, the "father of life planning"Wrong Mountain (the play, 2000)The Aligned Center, Irvington, NYRobert Peng, qigong masterPat MethenyAl Green, "Love and Happiness"James Taylor, "Secret O' Life"CONNECT WITH MATT LUDMERThe Right Mountain (out October 20, 2026; pre-order now): https://therightmountainbook.comAligned Wealth: https://alignedwealthmanagement.comTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gMES9eaRTwgDa0ehP8zWQFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.#DropTheNeedle #MattLudmer #TheRightMountain #TrueWealth #Meditation #SpiritualAwakening #MoneyAndMeaning #WallStreet

What happens when a guy runs for mayor of Los Angeles on a platform of love?Helix Wolfson did exactly that. He legally changed his name to Paul E. Amori, put on a three-piece red suit, and ran for mayor on one question: what would love do? He came in last. He also walked off a debate stage with a dozen people telling him he'd earned their vote, and he says it felt like winning.That's one chapter. Helix grew up in the theater, made films, built stages at Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle, and when COVID cancelled Burning Man he helped build the Infinite Playa, a virtual version of it. That project grew into Infinite Reality, a metaverse company that reached a $12 billion valuation. Then he walked away.We talk about what survives when you move a sensory experience like Burning Man into a virtual world, the difference between the cutting edge and the bleeding edge, and why the people who start a company usually aren't the ones who end up running it. Then we get into AI, and his answer surprised me: he thinks we're not scared enough. We go back and forth about jobs, fulfillment, and what's happening in the workforce I see every day in my recruiting work, and we land on the one thing he believes technology can't replace: being in a room with other humans.And stay for the Playlist Round: Helix shares some big personal news for the first time, right here on the show.KEY TOPICSRunning for mayor as Paul E. Amori · Leading with love instead of fear · Career politics and liquid democracy · Building a virtual Burning Man · Amori's Casino and Burlesque · From startup to $12 billion, and walking away · Cutting edge vs. bleeding edge · Founders vs. operators · AI fear, AGI and superintelligence · Jobs, fulfillment and the changing workforce · What technology can't give usSOUND BITES"What would love do was my mantra.""To become authentic while assuming a role is quite a feat.""The bleeding edge… is as painful as it sounds.""I'm not sure you'll like this answer, but I actually think we're not scared enough.""Those are the places where we will always want to be in human connection."CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:12 Helix's thumbnail: theater kid, filmmaker, Burning Man builder03:34 COVID, a cancelled Burning Man, and a $12 billion detour05:35 Paul E. Amori and the Love Party05:57 The alter ego came first: mayor of Lightning in a Bottle08:05 Legally changing his name to run for mayor of LA09:47 Trump wins, a dark night of the soul, and "what would love do?"12:06 What a festival taught him about fear and love13:44 3,300 votes: love came in last15:06 Getting Candid with the Candidates over coffee16:30 The debate nobody else would hold20:23 Authentic in a wig: the night he earned their votes21:26 What losing taught him about career politics26:03 Liquid democracy and the most loving solution27:59 Burning Man goes virtual: what survived the crossing33:52 Amori's Casino and Burlesque39:04 From a startup to $12 billion, and walking away41:00 The cutting edge vs. the bleeding edge43:22 Why founders leave what they built44:52 Three new companies in a few months47:05 AI and fear: "I actually think we're not scared enough"50:29 AGI, superintelligence, and the robots53:54 Jim's view from hiring: who shows up for work56:22 Fulfillment: human work vs. machine work59:14 Eighteen job changes in one career1:02:06 What employers can do about it1:03:40 What technology can't give us1:07:14 Playlist Round: Bennie and the Jets1:08:08 Reggae road trips, Toots, and a rubber chicken1:10:24 Hip-hop, jazz, and anything with brass1:11:53 Pump-up songs and a guilty pleasure1:13:46 Sleeping at Last's "Saturn"1:15:01 Tears for Fears in the desert1:16:15 Big news: Helix is about to become a dad1:17:56 Where to find Helix, and we drop the needleRESOURCES MENTIONEDMeow Wolf (immersive art experiences)Lightning in a Bottle (music festival)Burning Man and its Ten PrinciplesThe Midnight Mission, Skid Row, Los AngelesSleeping at Last, "Saturn"Tears for Fears, "Rivers of Mercy" (2022)CONNECT WITH HELIX WOLFSONWebsite: https://heliximagen.aiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helixwolfson/Instagram: @helixalotTODAY'S PLAYLISThttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/2C1Isy7ZizMYackwMq4ukrFROM YOUR HOSTMentioned in this episode or just want to go deeper?📖 Did I Just Have a Spiritual Awakening, or Was It Something I Ate? https://a.co/d/020nrzCH🌐 jimalstott.com https://www.jimalstott.com🎙️ dtnpodcast.com https://www.dtnpodcast.comIf this episode found you at the right moment, the best thank-you is simple: like, comment, and subscribe so you never miss what's next.#DropTheNeedle #HelixWolfson #BurningMan #ArtificialIntelligence #Metaverse #LeadWithLove #ImmersiveExperience #SpiritualAwakening