Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman

TAB SALSMAN
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CURIOSITY HAS NO CATEGORY. One guest. One haircut. One real conversation. Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman brings people from the arts, medicine, science, media, business, politics and beyond into the chair. The conversation is as long as the haircut—long enough to get somewhere.

  1. 6d ago

    What Is Homeopathy? PANS/PANDAS, Symptoms and Root Cause Medicine | Erin Paige

    Erin Paige, HHP, is a homeopath and host of The Remedy Revolution Podcast. Her path into homeopathy began after her young son developed a series of neurological and behavioral symptoms that eventually led to a PANDAS diagnosis. In this episode, Erin explains what homeopathy is, how remedies are selected, and how the practice differs from conventional and holistic medicine. We discuss individualized care, the immune system, symptom suppression, common remedies, and the history of homeopathy in the United States. Erin also shares the experience that changed the direction of her life. Her son began experiencing tics, personality changes, pain, episodes in which he appeared unreachable, violent rages, and an increasing unwillingness to leave home. After years of searching for answers, Erin tried homeopathy. That experience eventually led her to study the practice and begin working with families navigating PANS/PANDAS, autism, mental health challenges, and other complex conditions. What begins as a conversation about tiny sugar pellets becomes a larger question: What if some of the symptoms we continually try to eliminate contain useful information about what the body is trying to do? Whether you already use remedies such as Arnica or Oscillococcinum or have never heard of homeopathy, this conversation offers an introduction to a form of care centered on understanding the individual rather than relying on a diagnosis alone. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Erin Paige 03:16 What Is Homeopathy? 06:30 How Homeopathic Remedies Work 11:40 The Royal Family and Homeopathy 13:30 Rockefeller, the AMA and the History of Homeopathy 21:00 Healthcare and “Sick Care” 24:10 Autism and Profound Autism 28:15 The Illness That Changed Erin’s Son 32:15 What Are PANS and PANDAS? 38:00 When Her Son’s Symptoms Became Severe 41:30 The Homeopathic Remedy That Changed Everything 48:00 Nonverbal Autism and Spelling to Communicate 53:30 How Homeopathic Remedies Are Made 56:30 Arnica, Oscillococcinum and Common Remedies 1:01:00 Why Symptoms Are Not Always the Enemy 1:06:30 Why More People Are Exploring Homeopathy 1:09:00 Chronic Conditions and Mental Health 1:13:30 Treating the Person, Not Only the Diagnosis 1:18:00 What a Homeopathic Appointment Looks Like 1:22:00 Finding the Right Homeopath 1:25:00 Homeopathy as a First Line of Defense FIND ERIN PAIGE Pre-order Erin’s book https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Healed-Roadmap-Parents-Patients/dp/1648212832 The Remedy Revolution Podcast https://www.theremedyrevolution.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/remedyrevolutionpodcast/ Heartwing Healing https://heartwinghealing.com/ FIND TAB SALSMAN Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ Podcast Instagram https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoP1NNmqoeqaxvrMV5SnyQ This episode presents Erin Paige’s personal experiences and views for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or a substitute for care from a qualified healthcare professional.

  2. Aug 24

    Breast Implant Illness: What Dr. Rob Whitfield Found in Explant Patients

    In 2016, a patient asked plastic surgeon Dr. Rob Whitfield to remove her breast reconstruction and let her go flat. Rob says routine testing of tissue from her surgery found an E. coli infection. After treatment, he says, her fatigue resolved. It was one case, not an answer for everyone. But it changed the questions he began asking of patients who came to him for explant surgery. Rob spent years reconstructing patients after cancer. Breast implants are often the most accessible option, though his training also taught him to rebuild a breast using a patient's own tissue. He does not argue that implants should simply disappear. He wants patients to understand their options and the possible trade-offs. Tab brings him questions he has heard behind the chair: Could an implant cause inflammation? Is that like organ rejection? If someone feels unwell, what can a surgeon actually see or test? Rob explains why an implant and a transplanted organ do not provoke the same response. Rob describes an analysis of 694 scar-tissue samples, 203 of which returned positive microbiological findings. He and Tab discuss what those results may suggest, what they cannot prove, and why patients with similar implants may have different outcomes. Tab presses him on whether common blood tests can answer every patient's question. Rob also describes his efforts to track inflammation in patients following his program, and the limits of that work without a control group. The conversation moves from the textured-implant recall and Rob's 2019 FDA testimony to sleep, nutrition, and the emotional weight of explant surgery. Tab shares his mother's difficult recovery and asks what informed consent should sound like when a patient is weighing reconstruction, implants, or removal. Rob explains the preparation and follow-up built into his S.H.A.R.P. program, and why the decision belongs to the patient. Rob's medical observations and recommendations are his own; this conversation is not personal medical advice. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Dr. Rob Whitfield 04:25 From cancer reconstruction to plastic surgery 09:23 Can breast implants cause inflammation? 13:22 Implants, autoimmunity, and organ rejection 18:46 Why breast implants are used in reconstruction 20:29 Implant safety and informed consent 24:29 Why every body responds differently 26:15 Genetics, detoxification, and environmental toxins 29:18 What toxins are we being exposed to? 31:03 Nutrition and preparing the body to recover 33:38 Why sleep matters for healing 45:30 Women and undiagnosed sleep problems 48:00 Preparing patients before surgery 57:25 Inside Dr. Whitfield's recovery process 58:38 What inflammation actually looks like 1:08:00 The patient who changed Dr. Whitfield's direction 1:13:28 Breast implant illness and medical censorship 1:17:14 Dr. Whitfield's FDA testimony 1:20:37 Detoxification after explant surgery 1:23:38 The S.H.A.R.P. Protocol FIND DR. ROB WHITFIELD Website: https://www.drrobertwhitfield.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertwhitfieldmd/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@robertwhitfieldmd S.H.A.R.P. program: https://www.drrobertwhitfield.com/sharp Books: https://www.drrobertwhitfield.com/books#books Published tissue study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39338504/ FIND SPLITTING HAIRS Splitting Hairs: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tabcutshair Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/

  3. Jul 27

    Are We Raising Kids Who Can Handle the Real World? | David Scott

    What if one of the most useful things you can give a child is a bigger comfort zone? At Earth Native Wilderness School, David Scott sees what happens when kids spend a day outdoors: getting wet, building forts, learning to use tools safely, identifying trees through games, and discovering that they can handle more than they thought. David's route here was anything but straight. As a child, he tagged along on his father's search-and-rescue calls in Colorado. As a teenager, he helped at the scene of a mountain plane crash. He went on to serve six years in the Army Military Police Corps, including a deployment to Guantanamo Bay. Then a chance movie screening during a travel delay led him to a wilderness survival school—and eventually to founding Earth Native with his wife Mikki in his hometown of Austin. Tab and David talk about childhood in a world of screens and instant answers. David worries about risks parents cannot fully see yet. Instead of stopping at screen limits, he describes experiences that make children curious and capable: a rainy day they get through, a fire they learn to tend, a game that teaches them to recognize plants before they realize they're studying anything. He calls that approach “invisible school.” The conversation also gets practical. What does age-appropriate risk look like when knives and fire are involved? How do you teach a child to try something difficult without treating them as fragile? Where does an outdoor program fit alongside public school, private school, or homeschooling? David is clear that Earth Native supplements academic education; it does not replace it. The school offers programs from forest preschool through adult survival classes, including an intensive that ends with a five-day trip using limited gear. For David, the real payoff is not the survival skill itself. It is the moment someone realizes, “I can handle this.” CHAPTERS 00:00 Innate survival skills in children 00:46 Meet David and Earth Native Wilderness School 05:50 Growing up outdoors 09:45 Search and rescue as a kid 15:05 Joining the Army Military Police 16:40 Working at Guantanamo Bay 18:12 Thirteen days on, one day off 20:20 The movie that changed his career 23:05 Becoming a wilderness survival instructor 27:30 Building Earth Native Wilderness School 35:20 Kids, social media, and screen time 39:00 What screens may be doing to children 44:30 Risk, parenting, and the unknown 49:00 Getting kids back outside 56:30 Survival skills and self-reliance 1:02:45 Homeschooling and alternative education 1:06:25 Where Earth Native fits into education 1:10:40 What survival training teaches adults 1:16:30 Why kids need challenge 1:21:00 Why kids are drawn to fire, forts, and the wild FIND DAVID SCOTT Earth Native Wilderness School: https://www.earthnativeschool.com/ David's bio: https://www.earthnativeschool.com/staff-bios Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earth_native/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@earthnativewildernessschool Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bird-Feathers/S-David-Scott/9780811736183 SPLITTING HAIRS WITH TAB SALSMAN Podcast: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tabcutshair Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/

  4. Jul 13

    Emmy Robbin on the Birth That Changed Her Life—and Why She Became a Doula

    Emmy Robbin says her first birth ended in a C-section and a recovery that nearly killed her. At 41, she chose a home birth for her second child. Those two experiences changed the direction of her life—and the questions she now asks about pregnancy, medical care, and who gets to make the decisions. Emmy is a doula, birth-trauma coach, educator, and author of Faithful Beginnings. While Tab cuts her hair, she makes the case for understanding what she calls physiological birth: what the body does on its own, what can change when an intervention is introduced, and why she believes a person's sense of safety matters during labor. She explains the different roles of a doula and a midwife, talks through induction, Pitocin, epidurals, C-sections, breech birth, and the decisions families may face when a home birth needs to move to a hospital. Tab meets Emmy's convictions with specific questions about how labor is measured, when an intervention helps, and who decides. He also brings his own family's experience into the room. After an induced birth, his newborn son spent 11 days in the NICU. Tab describes the moment he and his wife knew something was wrong, how they advocated for their baby, and the questions he still carries from that experience. Emmy also tells the story behind her work: feeling unheard during her first birth, choosing a different path with her second, and helping other families prepare to ask informed questions. She is an outspoken advocate for home birth, but she also describes a recent case in which a midwife recommended a hospital transfer when a baby's heart rate raised concern. That distinction—between trusting a process and knowing when to seek medical help—is worth hearing in her own words. There is a personal reason this haircut matters, too. Emmy's mother was a hairdresser and cut her hair until she died when Emmy was 25. Tab tells Emmy he hopes she feels a little of her mother in the room when she sees the finished cut. The conversation moves from birth-room decisions to Emmy's own fertility fears, her wider beliefs about children's health, and what it means to feel heard when the stakes are high. It is personal, funny, and at times fiercely argued—a close look at the experiences behind her convictions. Emmy's medical and health claims reflect her own views and experiences. This conversation is not medical advice or a substitute for individualized care from a qualified professional. CHAPTERS 00:00 Meeting Emmy and the haircut 05:45 From acting to birth work 08:20 Why home birth? 18:25 Birth trauma and feeling unheard 25:00 Home birth, hospital birth, and transfers 29:20 Cervical checks, Pitocin, and labor 42:00 Birth, breastfeeding, and early health 50:45 Birth control and fertility 56:20 Knowing when to transfer—and Emmy's birth story 1:06:45 Parents, children, and medical decisions 1:16:00 Epidurals, hormones, and breech birth 1:29:25 Doula vs. midwife 1:37:20 Tab's son and 11 days in the NICU FIND EMMY ROBBIN Website: https://www.emmyrobbindoula.com/ Book — Faithful Beginnings: https://www.emmyrobbindoula.com/book Podcast — Empowered Birth, Love & Life: https://empoweredbirthloveandlifepodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Instagram, Facebook, TikTok & YouTube: @emmyrobbindoula FIND SPLITTING HAIRS Website: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splittinghairspod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ What question about birth would you ask if you knew you would be taken seriously? Leave it in the comments, and subscribe for more conversations from the chair.

  5. Jun 15

    Andrew Wakefield: Would He Do It All Again?

    Andrew Wakefield has spent years at the center of a debate that changed the course of his life. Near the end of this haircut, Tab asks him a simple question: knowing what he knows now, would he do it all again? Wakefield's answer is immediate. Getting to that answer is the conversation. Tab first heard Wakefield's name from clients who believed their children had changed after routine vaccinations. He wanted to know how Wakefield himself arrived at the center of that argument. Wakefield traces his work back to 1995, when, as a gastroenterologist researching inflammatory bowel disease, he says parents came to him describing both developmental changes and gastrointestinal symptoms in their children. He explains why he investigated the bowel complaints, how the question of a possible connection to MMR entered his work, and what followed his team's 1998 paper in The Lancet. Tab also asks about the professional and public consequences: the allegations of research fraud, his dispute with the British Medical Journal, and the way he believes the press told his story. Wakefield shares his account of a deposition and the Texas litigation. Then the story takes a different turn. Wakefield recalls standing in a field in Bandera, Texas, deciding that instead of fighting the same battle through courts and journals, he would make films. He describes the Chicago family and the death of teenager Alex Spourdalakis behind his first documentary, Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis?, and explains why that experience convinced him of film's power. Tab asks about his later narrative feature Protocol 7 and why he moved from documentaries into scripted stories. The final part of the conversation is about the question behind Wakefield's novel The Bequest: who will care for a person with profound autism when their parents can no longer do it? He tells Tab about an encounter with a mother that made that question impossible for him to put aside. Before the haircut ends, Tab returns to the choice that changed Wakefield's life: would he make it again? CHAPTERS 00:00 Why Tab wanted to meet Andrew Wakefield 03:03 The parents who came to his clinic 06:39 Gut symptoms and the questions he investigated 10:55 Asking about MMR—and a warning about his career 19:41 The 1998 Lancet paper 29:18 The British Medical Journal dispute, in Wakefield's account 36:11 Why he became a filmmaker 39:26 The story behind Who Killed Alex Spourdalakis? 45:11 Autism, genetics, and the environment 55:26 Protocol 7 and telling the story through film 1:00:35 Responding to the fraud allegations 1:07:23 The Bequest: who cares for a child when the parents are gone? 1:18:34 Would he do it again? FIND ANDREW WAKEFIELD Website: https://wakefieldmediagroup.com/ Book — The Bequest: https://www.thebequest.co/ Instagram: @andrewjwakefield X: @drandywakefield FIND SPLITTING HAIRS Website: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splittinghairspod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ What question would you have asked Wakefield in the chair? Leave it in the comments, and subscribe for the next conversation. Andrew Wakefield's views and claims are his own. This episode is not medical advice.

  6. Jun 1

    Can Mouth Breathing Affect Sleep, ADHD Symptoms, and Jaw Development? | Dr. Hilary Fritsch

    Can mouth breathing change how a child sleeps or how their jaw develops? Could it also play a part in symptoms that look like ADHD? Dr. Hilary Fritsch, a biological and airway dentist, believes those questions deserve attention alongside the usual conversation about braces. During her haircut, Tab asks her to explain the connections she sees, what parents might notice at home, and why straight teeth do not always tell the whole story. They start with the choices made long before anyone visits an orthodontist: how children eat, how their jaws develop, and what happens when the tongue does not have enough room. Hilary explains why she pays attention to nasal breathing, sleep, jaw width, and the space behind the teeth. Tab presses her on what a parent can really see, especially when a child seems fine and has never been told there is a problem. Hilary shares her own history of congestion and the questions that eventually changed how she practices dentistry. The conversation gets practical. Hilary walks through the four things she examines—the nose, room for the tongue, tongue function, and the airway itself—and describes the remote-care model she uses to reach families who cannot easily find an airway-focused dentist. She and Tab compare what they noticed with their own children, talk about grinding and restless sleep, and discuss why she considers the airway when families are weighing orthodontics or treatment for enlarged tonsils and adenoids. Tab also asks the question adults will have: if you missed this as a kid, is there anything you can do now? Hilary explains the expansion, aligners, and myofunctional therapy she uses in her practice. Near the end, Tab asks what she would say about her profession if she did not have to worry about blowback. Hilary answers without softening it. From there, Tab asks why she wants families to look at sleep when a child shows ADHD-like symptoms, what signs she notices during ordinary daily life, and why she urges families to ask questions early. You do not need a dental background to follow the discussion—Tab is learning in the chair alongside the audience. CHAPTERS 00:00 The question she thinks orthodontics is missing 00:30 Meet Dr. Hilary Fritsch 03:16 Food, chewing, and jaw development 07:02 When straight teeth are not the whole picture 10:45 Hilary's own search for answers 16:15 Finding airway-focused care, even from a distance 21:49 The four parts of her airway evaluation 25:19 What families might notice at home 30:02 Tonsils, adenoids, and treatment decisions 32:25 What options do adults have? 34:43 Retainers and myofunctional therapy 37:09 Her unfiltered view of orthodontics 41:02 Sleep, attention, and why she favors early questions FIND DR. HILARY FRITSCH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hilaryfritschdmd/ Saddle Peak Dental: https://saddlepeakdental.com/ WATCH NEXT Anthony Lolli on biohacking, biological dentistry, and the documentary he is making: https://youtu.be/A7NHV5xYjKY FIND SPLITTING HAIRS Website: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splittinghairspod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ What would you ask Dr. Fritsch if you were in the chair? Leave your question in the comments, and subscribe for the next conversation. Dr. Fritsch's clinical opinions and health claims are her own. This conversation is not individualized medical or dental advice.

  7. May 18

    He Lost 125 Pounds, Built Biohack Yourself, and Faced a Dental Emergency | Anthony Lolli

    Anthony Lolli built a real estate business in New York with a company culture so strong that more than 100 agents tattooed its logo on their bodies. At home, he was 315 pounds, dealing with sleep apnea, and hearing from his wife and children that they wanted him around. Tab asks what it took to change a life that looked successful from the outside. Anthony started renting apartments at 19 and found mentors among the landlords he worked with. He built a brokerage, expanded it, and eventually sold it. He tells Tab that changing his health was harder. After a gastric sleeve, he lost weight and gained back more. So he put his next attempt on camera, knowing a documentary would make it harder to quit. He lost 125 pounds and underwent loose-skin surgery. Tab asks what that experience was actually like and why Anthony chose to share it with strangers. Anthony tells him about the men who began writing after seeing the film. That first documentary led Anthony and his wife to film their fitness competitions and, later, their search for answers about their children's health. Anthony says they interviewed 114 people for Biohack Yourself. Their work grew into a media company and brought them to events such as the MAHA inaugural ball. While all of that was taking off, Anthony says a dental implant led to a severe sinus infection that affected his sight and hearing and required urgent treatment. Tab stops him to ask what a biological dentist is, what happened when Anthony sought help, and why he decided to put this experience on film too. Tab loves documentaries, but he wants to know what happens when the credits roll. Can a viewer actually find someone who can help, or does the film leave them worried? From there, they talk about the small changes Anthony calls “swapportunities,” his next film, and what it means to keep your word to yourself and your children. Anthony calls it “generational health.” It starts with the same people who asked him to change: his family. CHAPTERS 00:00 The sinus infection that changed Anthony's plans 02:30 From a teenage real estate agent to a brokerage owner 09:00 The company-logo tattoo story 10:30 Reaching 315 pounds and deciding to change 13:30 Losing 125 pounds and filming the transformation 19:40 Why making a documentary kept him accountable 27:30 Family health and the origins of Biohack Yourself 35:00 Building a health media company and the MAHA ball 41:00 A dental implant and a severe sinus infection 42:45 What Anthony means by biological dentistry 53:00 Making health documentaries people can act on 1:02:40 “Swapportunities” and small daily changes 1:09:45 The next film and another reinvention 1:14:30 Generational health versus generational wealth FIND ANTHONY LOLLI Biohack Yourself Media: https://www.biohackyourself.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonylolli/ Biohack Yourself Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biohackyourselfmedia/ Lolli Brands Entertainment: https://www.lollibrands.com/ FIND SPLITTING HAIRS Website: https://splittinghairspodcast.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SplittingHairsPod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ Tab: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ Anthony's accounts of his health and dental treatment, and the views he expresses about medical and dental practices, are his own. This conversation is not medical advice.

  8. May 4

    What the U.S. Immigration Debate Leaves Out | Attorney Arslan Chaudhary

    Arslan Chaudhary is an immigration attorney with over 16 years of experience, working across family-based cases, work visas, and earlier in his career, asylum and deportation. In this episode, he breaks down what the U.S. immigration system actually looks like beyond headlines, including why the process is so complex, how policy and reality often don’t match, and what happens when the system starts working against the people trying to follow it. The conversation also touches on the economic side of immigration, including how entire industries rely on labor that exists in a legal gray area, and why that reality makes meaningful reform difficult. FOLLOW / CONTACT ARSLAN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seyje.music Website: https://usicounsel.com FOLLOW TAB SALSMAN Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabcutshair/ Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SplittingHairsPod Subscribe for more conversations like this. Comment or leave a review. It goes a long way.

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About

CURIOSITY HAS NO CATEGORY. One guest. One haircut. One real conversation. Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman brings people from the arts, medicine, science, media, business, politics and beyond into the chair. The conversation is as long as the haircut—long enough to get somewhere.

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