Critically Speaking Therese Markow

Infertility is on the rise, leading otherwise healthy young couples to seek a form of assisted reproductive technology appropriate for their particular situation. This increase infertility of considerable concern. Is one sex affected more than the other? What are the long-range implications if the trend keeps going? Is it only humans that appear to be affected? And the critical question is why? In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Shanna Swan, author of the new book Count Down, answer many of these questions, including discussion of the types of chemicals and other factors that may contribute to the rising infertility.
 
 Key Takeaways:
The number of “good” sperm observed in human populations (as indicated by the WHO) has dramatically decreased. Other characteristics for function, such as abnormal shape, inability to swim correctly, and chromosomal abnormalities are increasing as well. Male and female infertility is about 50/50. Newborn babies are being born “pre-polluted” with up to 100 environmental chemicals.  One solution you can undertake yourself is to determine where your food comes from, as that’s what’s going into your body.  
"I'm convinced that a large proportion of the decline we're seeing is due to chemical exposures, man-made chemicals." —  Dr. Shanna Swan
 
Connect with Dr. Shanna Swan:
Professional Bio: mountsinai.org/profiles/shanna-h-swan  
Website: shannaswan.com 
Book: Count Down - shannaswan.com/countdown
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shanna-swan-phd-339a4258
Instagram: instagram.com/drshannaswan
Twitter: twitter.com/DrShannaSwan
 
Reference:
Environmental Working Group: ewg.org
 
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
 
 
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Dr. Richard P. Phelps is founder of the Nonpartisan Education Group, editor of Nonpartisan Education Review (http://nonpartisaneducation.org), a Fulbright Scholar, and fellow of the Psychophysics Laboratory. He has authored, or edited and co-authored Correcting Fallacies about Educational and Psychological Testing (APA); Standardized Testing Primer (Peter Lang); Defending Standardized Testing (Psychology Press); Kill the Messenger (Transaction), and several statistical compendia. Phelps has worked with several test development organizations, including ACT, AIR, ETS, the OECD, Pearson, and Westat. He holds degrees from Washington, Indiana, and Harvard Universities, and a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
 
In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Richard Phelps discuss the education system in the United States, especially in comparison with Western Europe and other industrialized societies. They look at how Common Core, No Child Left Behind, and the changes to the SAT test have affected the curriculum, learning, and student preparedness both for further education as well as life after school. These trends in educational standards and standardized tests continue to impede our students compared to those of the industrialized world. Students from all levels and backgrounds are affected by these programs and the changes that need to be made are discussed.
 
 Key Takeaways:
The U.S. is falling behind other countries, even those with less spending on education. Common Core and No Child Left Behind have caused progress to be lost in elementary and secondary education standards. The SAT has become less of an aptitude test and more of an achievement test, and can discriminate against talented students from underrepresented groups that attended lower quality high schools.  
"Most information is not on the world wide web, much of what is there is wrong, and search rankings are easily manipulated by money and interests." —  Dr. Richard Phelps
 
Connect with Dr. Richard Phelps: 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardPPhelps
Website: https://richardphelps.net/ &https://nonpartisaneducation.org/
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Phelps
SSRN Scholarly Papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1592150
Academia: https://204.academia.edu/RichardPhelps
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpphelps/
LinkedIn Learning: https://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=Richard+P+Phelps
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:  www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticiallyspeaking.net 
 

In this culture where dreams and nightmares are such a part of our everyday language, the question becomes, what is dreaming? We all dream, so what does it mean, and how does it impact other areas of our lives, such as our mental health? In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Michael Nadorff discuss these questions, as well as diving deeper into the different cycles of sleep, the changes in our dreams and sleep as we age, different types of nightmare therapies, and the relationship between nightmares and suicide.  
 
 Key Takeaways:
All dreams, good and bad, occur during the REM cycles of our sleep. The amount of REM sleep increases as the night goes on and, consequently, dreams get longer too.   Sleep loves the cold. If you fall asleep in too warm of an environment, during REM sleep when your temperature drops, you are more likely to wake up feeling overheated.  Having nightmares significantly increased the likelihood of future suicide attempts in those who had previously attempted suicide.   
"REM is so important to us that, if you are sleep deprived, your body actually prioritizes REM, and it makes it even that much more intensive." —  Dr. Michael Nadorff
 
Connect with Dr. Michael Nadorff:
Professional Bio: psychology.msstate.edu/people/michael-r-nadorff/  
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
 
 
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Various forms of cold therapy, from ice on wounds to cold showers, have been successfully used for ages. And ice baths help athletes after an event. But these temperatures don't fall below freezing, or 32°F, and are usually above this. Recently, tanks providing whole body cryotherapy have been promoted for a wide range of health problems, some serious and progressive. This involves subjecting the body to anywhere from minus 160°F to 250°F, for several minutes. While this extreme exposure, even if for only a minute or so, definitely causes physical reactions, there have been no clinical trials to demonstrate their efficacy for the medical conditions supposedly helped. Furthermore, the tanks are not FDA approved.
 
 Key Takeaways:
Whole body cryotherapy is being promoted for a wide range of medical conditions. The WBC tanks are not FDA approved medical devices. The facilities offering WBC rarely have any medical personnel present during the treatments. No standard clinical trials have been conducted demonstrating their efficacy, as claimed, for the medical conditions mentioned. People considering using the treatment should consult their physicians, rather than the internet, as to the benefits, prior to spending the money to expose themselves to these extremes.  
"Don't get all your information from celebrity testimony or social media promotions. Things that pass for research on the internet are not what serious investigators would define as quality research." —  Therese Markow, Ph.D.
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
 
 
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Breast cancer is on the rise, especially in women under 40. This is pretty scary and the increase points to something environmental. In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Kris McGrath talk about one of these environmental factors and how our individual underarm hygiene may play a role in our risk for breast (and prostate) cancers earlier in life. Dr. McGrath has had a long time interest in this trend and they discuss some of his work on the relationship between underarm shaving and the use of deodorants and antiperspirants.
 
 Key Takeaways:
The majority of breast cancer is environmental or lifestyle. Only 5-10% of breast cancer is due to genetic causes. So what are the factors? Both breast cancer and prostate cancer are hormone-driven cancers. More research needs to be done, but there already is a significant and scary relationship between underarm hygiene and beast and prostate cancers.   
"In my paper, I showed that the earlier you began underarm habits, shaving your underarm and applying antiperspirant deodorant three times a week or more, the diagnosis of breast cancer began at a younger age, especially if you started using these products before the age of 16." —  Dr. Kris McGrath
 
Connect with Dr. Kris McGrath:
Professional Bio: feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=15819  
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
 
 
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

What's the placenta? Some people think of it as a bag filled with fluid that protects the fetus inside from accidental blows, or a structure that sends maternal nutrients to the fetus while removing its waste products. Well, it's actually much more than this. When we may think that the placenta is protective, it can also create detrimental effects to the fetus - effects that can be lifelong. In fact, the placenta is a complex organ on its own and we've only recently been discovering some of the things that the placenta really does, and also what it can't do. Every new person that has arrived on this planet developed in a placenta, so to ensure the health and wellbeing of future generations, understanding what goes on with the placenta has become more critical. Today's guest is a leader in the field of placental biology. Dr. Cheryl Rosenfeld is professor of biomedical sciences and her cutting edge research on the multiple roles of the placenta and fetal development provides critical guidance for prenatal maternal lifestyle and care.
 
 Key Takeaways:
The placenta does have some ability to metabolize things, and it does offer some buffering capacity to the fetus. The placenta is an endocrine organ. It also produces neurotransmitters.  Endocrine disrupters can be found in household items and everything around us. Understanding the green chemistry movement can help us lead a healthy life style.   
"Even though we can't really, completely, eliminate our exposure to environmental chemicals. We can try to offset it by living with good healthy practices." —  Dr. Cheryl Rosenfeld
 
Connect with Dr. Cheryl Rosenfeld:
Professional Bio: https://biomed.missouri.edu/cheryl-s-rosenfeld-phd-dvm/ 
The United States Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Society:  https://www.usdohad.org/ 
 
Connect with Therese:
Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
 
 
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.