Melissa and Steve are joined by Dr. Samuel Thulin—artist, composer, sound designer, educator, and researcher—to wrestle with the question: what role can art play in helping us understand life with Diabetes? And is it possible to think about the MASSIVE amounts of data created by CGMs and BG meters in creative ways, or even... outside of biomedicine? Sam details some of his works that transform blood sugar numbers into audio-visual-material art, and challenges us to think about how relationships ...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 14
On this episode of our limited series Highs & Lows, Melissa talks with her mom Loree about Diabetes in school, understanding diagnosis when it’s your child, negotiating responsibility for care and treatment—all interrupted by an untimely (and classic...) low blood sugar while they were recording. And since it’s her favorite, it is all too appropriate that we are talking about focaccia on Loree’s episode! This olive oil-rich sheet-pan baked bread is delicious, easy (and forgiving), and can be...
Apr 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Why is Diabetes always the butt of the joke? Dr. Bianca C. Frazer joins us to discuss Diabetic performance: on stage, on screen, and among society more broadly. Jokes about Diabetes usually follow the same uncreative (and stigmatizing) formulas, and they recreate a lot of damaging assumptions about Diabetic people in the process. But comedy, and performance in general, CAN be a valuable means for pushing back against those systems that shame and defame. We are also talking about everyone’s favor...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Melissa and Steve are joined by Taylor Johnson (@taylorbetic on Instagram) for a conversation about Diabetes service animals. Johnson has been active in work related to medical racism, insulin affordability, mental health and chronic illness—and especially over the past few years, her Diabetes Service Dog Claire. She talks about the intensive application process and years-long training regimes involved in establishing a working relationship with a service animal. But it’s about more than the wor...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 33 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode of our limited series Highs & Lows, Melissa talks with her younger brother Marcus about Squeezits and school lunch, blood spurts, bedtime scrambled eggs, and how Diabetes has always been a “normal” part of life around him—until moments of crisis reveal those difficult bits. And since we're months into the show and have never breached the topic: it's sandwich bread time! Old reliable doesn't get much love but it doesn't get much better (and easier) than a basic sandwich bread ...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Insulin Pumps and CGMs can be life-changing--miraculous even. But as always-connected medical devices, that influence can be... complicated. These devices, and the many others used in treating Diabetes, leave physical traces behind that stay present for people as they go about their day-to-day life. Melissa and Steve talk through what it means that pumps and monitors have to be right there with you AT ALL TIMES (better have a bag ready). And what is more, they are attached to the skin and insert...
Mar 16, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode of our limited series Highs & Lows, Melissa talks with her older brother Christopher about Diabetic camp, changes to their relationship in adulthood, and the family's infamous Diabetes emergency at Media Play. And per Christopher's suggestion, we made Claire Saffitz's Sour Cream and Chive Rolls from her book Dessert Person. It's one of his family's favorites, and it is quickly becoming one of ours as well. You can find the book here (or at your local library!): https://www.de...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Highs & Lows is a limited series exploring what life with chronic illness means for those who live alongside diagnosis—not in it themselves. In each episode Melissa sits down with a member of her family to talk through their personal memories of shared experiences with Diabetes, treatments, and all the funny/difficult bits in-between. In this first episode, Melissa interviews Steve, her spouse and partner, about new encounters as teenagers, mishaps with skittles and BLTs, and some (admittedl...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 7
It's Pizza Night! Dr. Josh Iddings, Assistant Professor of Writing and Communication at Siena College, joins us for a conversation about his Diabetes diagnosis, years of treatment & consistent frustrations... and then ANOTHER Diabetes diagnosis. Can a T1D diagnosis (usually a jarring and traumatic moment) actually be a relief? And what does misdiagnosis mean for people with chronic illness over the long term? Melissa and Steve have been making a lot of pizza over the past couple of years -- ...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 6
"This thing is keeping me alive, but it's also ruining my life" Diabetic treatment devices, such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), make SO MANY things about life with Diabetes easier. They are also... built by people, and can make some everyday things more complicated. Dr. Laura Forlano, Associate Professor of Design and Director of the Critical Futures Lab at the Illinois Institute of Technology, talks about her complicated relationship with her devices and the ways that ...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"Is that a pager?" We are talking miniature garlic naan and how Diabetes treatment devices such as insulin pens, insulin pumps, and blood glucose meters train us to think and act as we use them. Our guest is Dr. Carrie Rentschler, Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies and Associate Member of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, who talks through her experiences with these devices in the 49 years since her diagnosis. The designs of th...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Melissa and Steve talk everything bagel pumpkin bread and give a general primer on Diabetes and its treatments. Type 1 and Type 2 are widely known but often less-widely understood. What is the difference between each diagnosis? And how does that affect what is happening with the body—and with people in general? Navigating these intertwined chronic illnesses makes it possible to see some interesting human experiences a little more clearly How can you get seeds to stick to the outside of your brea...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Melissa and Steve talk cardamom bread and Diabetes identity with special guest, Dr. Heather R. Walker! From diagnosis to her personal blog to her academic research and writing, Dr. Walker discusses how the largescale misunderstanding of Diabetes, Diabetics, and their devices creates stereotypes that affect (and live inside) all of us—and how radical trust is the way forward. How can you tell if your bread is ready to bake? And what’s with the SUPER under-estimated proofing times all over the foo...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Melissa and Steve talk sourdough starters and introduce their personal and professional connections to bread, Diabetes, and treatment technologies. What is Diabreadic and how did it come about? What is a sourdough starter and how can you make one? What do you do when things get a little… sour? And don’t forget to boil your water! Melissa talks life with Diabetes and maneuvering work, family life, and the weight of chronic illness; Steve talks connecting research with lived experience, & ment...
Nov 17, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Join host Stephen Horrocks and producer Melissa Horrocks, an expert in Diabetes & medical devices and an artist living with Type 1, as they bake delicious bread together… then “break bread” with a variety of smart and interesting guests as they uncover the human in health and technology. Follow us on Instagram @diabreadic. Music: September Rain by Yme Fresh https://bit.ly/yme-fresh Creative Commons Attribution licence Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3FfoBtA Music promoted by Audio Lib...
Oct 21, 2021•6 min•Ep. 1
