Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
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Send us Fan Mail How dietary polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-6 from seed oils, influence inflammation & heart health. Topics Discussed: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): Omega-6 from seed oils like safflower and corn can convert to pro-inflammatory molecules, while omega-3s produce resolving ones; imbalance biases toward chronic inflammation. Inflammation regulation: Acute inflammation aids healing but requires active “on” and “off” signals from lipid mediators; chronic inflammatio...
Send us Fan Mail Methods & challenges of establishing causal relationships in health research, emphasizing epidemiology, randomized trials, and genetic approaches. Topics: Epidemiology: Studies disease influences using observational designs like case-control and prospective cohorts, plus trials, to identify patterns and test hypotheses. Hierarchy of evidence critique: Rejects rigid pyramids favoring RCTs, as all studies can be biased; advocates triangulation integrating varied data types for...
Send us Fan Mail Integration of brain metabolism with neural signaling, highlighting how core metabolites regulate energy use and protect neurons. Topics Discussed: Brain energy efficiency: Brains are much more energy-efficient than computers for similar processing, relying on adaptive metabolic strategies evolved under energy scarcity. Metabolism vs. information processing: Core metabolites like glutamate bridge basic cellular energy production and neural signaling. Lactate as a signal: Produce...
Dr. Sara Nowinski explores mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mitoFAS), a vital but little-known pathway where mitochondria synthesize their own fats rather than just burning them. This process is crucial for producing lipoic acid, an essential enzyme cofactor, and for the proper assembly of the electron transport chain. Disrupting mitoFAS severely impairs respiration, glucose handling, and insulin sensitivity, leading to neurodegenerative disorders like MEPAN syndrome, while enhancing it shows protective effects against obesity and heart injury.
Send us Fan Mail How internal states like hunger and hormones shape instinctive behaviors, particularly parental care Episode Summary: Dr. Johannes Kohl explains instinctive behaviors in mammals, emphasizing how states like hunger and hormonal cycles modulate actions such as parental care; they discuss hypothalamic circuits, hormone integration, and pregnancy-induced brain changes, highlighting the balance between motivations like feeding and nurturing offspring. About the guest: Jonny Kohl, PhD...
Dr. Jon Brestoff explains mitochondrial dynamics, including their horizontal transfer between cells, which is distinct from inheritance. He delves into how this intercellular communication impacts metabolism and immunity, particularly in adipose tissue where healthy adipocytes donate mitochondria to macrophages. The conversation highlights how high-fat diets disrupt this process, potentially diverting mitochondria to other organs and offering hormetic benefits. Furthermore, the episode explores the therapeutic promise of mitochondrial transplantation for conditions such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, obesity, and genetic mitochondrial diseases like Leigh syndrome, concluding with an evolutionary perspective on this fundamental biological process.
Biophysicists Martin Picard and Nirosha Murugan introduce the Energy Resistance Principle, which posits that life is fundamentally about energy flow through resistance, not just molecular machinery. They explain how mitochondria transform electrons from food to oxygen, and how an optimal range of resistance is crucial for health. The discussion links ERP to concepts like insulin resistance, psychiatric disorders, aging, and healing, offering a new perspective on these states as dynamic energetic processes. The episode also explores the future of energy-based diagnostics and therapies, and how resistance drives growth.
Send us Fan Mail How artificial light impacts female menstrual cycles and their relationship to lunar cycles of the moon. Summary: Dr. Förster talks about how biological clocks, including circadian, tidal, lunar, and annual cycles, regulate behaviors in various species, with a focus on lunar cycle effects on human menstrual cycles. They explore historical and modern data suggesting that menstrual cycles may synchronize with lunar phases, a phenomenon potentially disrupted by modern artificial li...
Send us Fan Mail The genetic & developmental changes behind bipedalism & human anatomy. Wide release date: October 15, 2025. Episode Summary: Dr. Terence Capellini talks about the evolution of bipedalism in humans, exploring when and why it emerged, the anatomical changes required, and the genetic mechanisms behind these adaptations. They discuss how environmental shifts, like shrinking forests, drove the need for upright walking, the gradual skeletal changes in the pelvis and limbs, and...
Dr. Gero Miesenböck explores the fundamental, ancient metabolic origins of sleep, revealing how mitochondrial energy production in neurons inevitably generates harmful reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides. He discusses the discovery of cellular sensors that track these byproducts, signaling the need for sleep to facilitate repair. The conversation also delves into how body size and metabolic rates influence sleep duration across species, suggesting sleep's primary role is to manage the side effects of efficient oxygen-based metabolism.
Send us Fan Mail The surprising link between oral bacteria and heart disease. Episode Summary: Dr. Pekka Karhunen explains the connection between oral bacteria, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease, discussing how oxidized LDL cholesterol triggers inflammation in arteries, how bacteria from the mouth can infiltrate arterial plaques to form biofilms, and the implications for heart disease prevention through lifestyle changes like better oral hygiene. About the guest: Pekka Karhunen, MD, PhD is...
Dr. Chris Masterjohn discusses the overlooked impact of widely used drugs like acetaminophen and SSRIs on mitochondrial health, highlighting how they can disrupt inflammation resolution, deplete glutathione, and impair cellular energy production, especially in hypoxic conditions. He also explains the extensive roles of serotonin beyond the brain, the limitations of pharmaceutical approaches, and introduces Mitome, his company's personalized mitochondrial testing to optimize cellular energy through targeted nutritional and lifestyle interventions.
Send us Fan Mail Genetic & environmental factors that affect brain health, including why people age faster in outer space. (Note: technical difficulties affected the audio quality of this recording somewhat) Episode Summary: Dr. Jacob Raber explains how apolipoproteins, particularly ApoE, influence brain health and disease risk; their role in cholesterol metabolism, Alzheimer’s disease, and responses to environmental stressors like radiation and viral infections; interplay between genetics, ...
Send us Fan Mail How maternal obesity epigenetically reprograms liver metabolism in offspring, predisposing them to metabolic disease. Episode Summary: Dr. Elvira Mass talks about macrophages, specialized immune cells that vary by tissue and play crucial roles beyond fighting infections, such as supporting organ function; Kupffer cells (liver macrophages) and how maternal obesity during pregnancy reprograms these cells in offspring, leading to fatty liver disease, fibrosis, and even cancer later...
Send us Fan Mail Aging, tissue repair, and the longevity benefits of psilocin. Episode Summary: Dr. Louise Hecker discusses her research on tissue repair and regeneration, explaining how fibroblasts drive wound healing by forming scar tissue but fail to resolve properly with age, leading to fibrotic diseases like pulmonary fibrosis and liver cirrhosis; they discuss aging hallmarks such as oxidative stress and telomere shortening, and highlight Hecker's study showing psilocybin's active metabolit...
Send us Fan Mail The effects of protein restriction on metabolism, liver hormones, brain, and behavior. Episode Summary: Dr. Christopher Morrison talks about how animals sense and prioritize nutrients like protein, discussing defense mechanisms for essentials such as oxygen, water, sodium, and energy; the brain's role in detecting protein deprivation via signals like FGF21; trade-offs between growth, reproduction, and longevity under protein restriction; and reconciling high-protein diets for sa...
Send us Fan Mail Where does biological complexity come from and how is it generated? Episode Summary: Dr. Michael Levin talks about cognition manifesting at scales beyond brains, including in cells and tissues via bioelectric networks; analog vs. digital coding in biology; how bioelectric patterns guide development and regeneration (e.g., in planarians); creation of novel life forms like xenobots and anthrobots; philosophical ideas on a "platonic space" of mathematical patterns influencing biolo...
Send us Fan Mail Cellular clean up by immune cells and how early-life fructose exposure leads to neurodevelopmental problems. Episode Summary: Dr. Justin Perry talks about the body's constant cellular turnover—about 3 million cells die per second in adults (double in children and women)—handled by phagocytes like macrophages that engulf and digest debris to prevent diseases like lupus. They explore phagocytosis steps, macrophage adaptations in tissues like the brain (microglia), and how high fru...
Send us Fan Mail The potential link between acetaminophen (Tylenol) and autism, with a surprise phone call from RFK partway through. Episode Summary: Dr. William Parker talks about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), its rising prevalence since the 1980s, and the controversial hypothesis that acetaminophen exposure in susceptible infants and children triggers most cases via oxidative stress. They discuss ASD's clinical definition; historical misconceptions like the "refrigerator mother" theory; gene...
Send us Fan Mail Wide release date: August 25, 2025 Episode Summary: Dr. Uffe Ravnskov talks about his decades-long career challenging the idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease, discussing LDL's protective role in the immune system by binding to bacteria, the harms and biases in statin research influenced by pharmaceutical companies, evidence that high cholesterol benefits the elderly and reduces infection/cancer risks, and how mental stress or infections elevate cholesterol as a respo...
Send us Fan Mail The appendix's hidden role and how "good" parasites like helminths shape immune health. Episode Summary: Dr. William Parker discusses gut anatomy, the appendix's role in harboring beneficial bacterial biofilms and immune tissue, and how modern hygiene depletes helminths (intestinal worms), causing immune overreactions like allergies, autoimmunity, and psychiatric conditions. He explores helminth self-therapy for treating relapsing MS, depression, and allergies; challenges in cli...
Send us Fan Mail What is the core evolved function of the endocannabinoid system? Episode Summary: Dr. Giovanni Marsicano is a neuroscientist based in Bordeaux, France, where he leads a research group at INSERM focusing on the endocannabinoid system. About the guest: Giovanni Marsicano, PhD discusses the endocannabinoid system, starting with its core components like CB1 receptors and lipid-based molecules derived from omega-6 fatty acids; its cellular signaling, evolutionary role in energy stora...
Send us Fan Mail Overview and alternative interpretation to the mainstream view on how dietary fat and cholesterol relate to cardiovascular disease. Episode Summary: Tucker Goodrich is an engineer by training who has become a prominent independent researcher and blogger on nutrition and metabolic health, focusing on the harms of seed oils and polyunsaturated fats. About the guest: Nick Jikomes and Tucker Goodrich explore atherosclerosis and heart disease, critiquing the standard model that blame...
Send us Fan Mail Human metabolism, primate evolution, and modern health challenges with evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer. Episode Summary: Anthropologist Dr. Herman Pontzer discusses human evolution and metabolism, comparing humans to primates like chimps and gorillas to explain our higher energy use, bigger brains, and longer lives despite trade-offs in reproduction and activity; they discuss dietary shifts from plant-based to hunting-gathering, metabolic adaptations, and modern issue...
Send us Fan Mail The deep connection between sunlight and life, from the scale of the cosmos to the quantum. Episode Summary: Astrophysicist Dr. Robert Fosbury discusses the sun's characteristics as a star, its analogies to living systems via entropy and complexity, and Erwin Schrödinger's insights on life as order-maintaining entities; he explores how near-infrared (NIR) light from the sun penetrates bodies to enhance mitochondrial function and metabolism, critiques modern artificial lighting's...
Send us Fan Mail How brain synapses work and fuel themselves with fat. Episode Summary: Dr. Timothy Ryan talks about the high energy costs of synapses, the role of mitochondria and glycolysis, and challenge the long-held view that the brain relies solely on glucose by discussing new evidence that neurons burn fats from lipid droplets for fuel, especially during activity. The talk touches on metabolic flexibility, links to epilepsy treatments like ketogenic diets, neurodegenerative diseases, and ...
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary: Dr. Eugene Chang talks about the microbiome’s role as a vital organ, the impacts of antibiotics and Western diets on microbial health, and strategies for restoring a damaged microbiome through diet and fecal microbial transplants. They delve into microbiome dysbiosis, its links to modern diseases, and Chang’s research on personalized microbiome interventions. About the guest: Eugene Chang, MD is a physician-scientist and Professor of Medicine at the University o...
Send us Fan Mail The genetics of sleep duration and sleep timing. Episode Summary: Dr. Ying-Hui Fu discusses her research on the genetics of sleep, focusing on natural short sleepers who thrive on 4-6 hours of sleep and the heritability of sleep traits like duration and timing. She explores how sleep efficiency, rather than just duration, may explain why some need less sleep without health deficits, and delves into the molecular and circadian mechanisms regulating sleep. About the guest: Ying-Hu...
Send us Fan Mail A blend of biology, philosophy, and history exploring how hormones and endocrine disruptors affect social behavior and society. Episode Summary: Dr. Charles Cornish-Dale discusses the decline of masculinity in modern society, linking it to falling testosterone levels, environmental endocrine disruptors, and the limitations of liberal democracy. Drawing on Francis Fukuyama’s “End of History & the Last Men” and historical perspectives, Cornish-Dale argues that biological and s...
Send us Fan Mail How our biological clocks shape biology from the molecular to behavioral level. Episode Summary: Dr. Joseph Takahashi discusses circadian rhythms, exploring their biological basis, from molecular mechanisms to their impact on metabolism and health; the discovery of circadian clock genes; role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and how light, feeding, and oxygen influence these rhythms. The conversation highlights practical implications, such as the effects of artificial light and m...
