Causes or Cures

Dr. Eeks
  • 4.7 (55)
  • Health & Fitness
  • Updated Weekly

For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots Causes or Cures is an independent health podcast hosted by "Dr. Eeks" (ErinKate Stair, MD, MPH). It is an offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a genuine love of making complicated health topics easier to understand.  Dr. Eeks is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology & health communication. By day, she works on challenging public health issues. By choice, she spends some of her free time asking scientists, physicians, researchers, authors, clinicians, and other fascinating people questions she hopes everyone else is wondering too. Along the way, the podcast has wandered into everything from memory and longevity to self medicating animals, migraines, gene drive mosquitoes, strange public health history, the spiritual realm, and the occasional existential detour. If it has something to teach us about health or what it means to be human, it is probably fair game. Recurring segments include Public Health is Weird, which uncovers strange but true stories from public health history, WTF Health News, where Dr. Eeks breaks down bizarre or buzzworthy health headlines, and Eeks Speakeasy, a more personal corner of the podcast where curiosity occasionally spills over into life, philosophy, and whatever else deserves a drink and a discussion. A few housekeeping notes... This podcast is for information, curiosity, and conversation. It is not medical advice. Although Dr. Eeks has an MD, she does not practice medicine. She is a full time public health nerd and will never tell you what to do with your own health. If you have a medical question, your healthcare provider knows you far better than a podcast ever could. Guests are invited because they have something interesting to contribute, not because Dr. Eeks agrees with every opinion they hold. Likewise, she does not endorse miracle supplements, mysterious oils, magic socks, potions, or anything that promises to solve all of life's problems.  If an episode is sponsored or underwritten by a company she genuinely enjoys working with, she will always tell you. Causes or Cures is also not a news site. It is a place for thoughtful conversations. Dr. Eeks believes people can disagree respectfully, ask difficult questions, change their minds, and occasionally laugh at themselves along the way. Some of the best conversations she has ever had happened in hole in the walls, on sidewalks, and in places where nobody was trying to win an argument. Sometimes Barnaby, her dog and unofficial executive producer, contributes his thoughts as well. Fortunately, he is a pretty smart dog. Above all, Dr. Eeks hopes this podcast encourages people to stay curious, compassionate, honest, open minded, and engaged. Freedom of discussion is a beautiful, delightfully messy thing, and one worth protecting. The views expressed on this podcast are Dr. Eeks' own and do not reflect the views of any organization she contracts with or consults for. Want to help keep Causes or Cures independent and ad free? Click the Support button at the top of the page. Want to sponsor or underwrite an episode? Causes or Cures works with a limited number of sponsors and episode underwriters in health, science, and public health. Partnerships are kept separate from editorial content and guest selection. If your organization might be a fit, reach out at: erin@bloomingwellness.com Want more weird health news & public health oddities? Sign up for the Eeks Weekly newsletter (10,000 + subscribers)  The Eeks Weekly

  1. 4h ago

    Can an Air Purifier Actually Help Your Brain? With Professor Doug Brugge

    Send us Fan Mail Can cleaning the air in your home affect how your brain works?  In this episode, Eeks talks with Prof Doug Brugge, Professor and Chair of Public Health Sciences at UConn, about a randomized crossover study testing HEPA air filtration in people living near busy highways.  Researchers gave participants both real HEPA filtration and sham filtration and measured cognitive performance along the way.   Overall, the study did not find a statistically significant improvement in cognitive-test performance with HEPA filtration. But researchers found something interesting when they looked at age: among participants 40 and older, performance on one test of executive function and cognitive flexibility was about 12% faster following HEPA filtration compared with sham filtration. The finding was not seen among younger participants or on the other cognitive test.   Eeks and Doug talk about what we're breathing when we live near heavy traffic, how air pollution could potentially affect the brain, what HEPA filters actually remove, the study's unusual crossover design, the very real problem of getting better at a cognitive test simply because you've taken it before, and whether these results mean those of us over 40 should be shopping for an air purifier.  And, importantly: what this study does and does not prove.  Read the study in Scientific Reports  Link to how to build your own Hepa Filter UCONN Indoor Air Quality Initiative  **************************************************************** Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Can an Air Purifier Actually Help Your Brain? With Professor Doug Brugge

  2. Sep 29

    Would You Want to Know? A Family’s 50% Chance of Inheriting Dementia, with Robert Kolker

    Send us Fan Mail Would you want to know if you had a 50% chance of developing an inherited form of dementia? In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Kolker about his new book, The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia. The book follows a Pennsylvania family across generations as they confront a rare inherited form of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) associated with a mutation involving tau. For family members, genetic testing can answer an extraordinary question: Did I inherit the mutation or not? But knowing the answer can affect virtually everything that follows—relationships, having children, plans for the future and how someone interprets changes in their own behavior.  Eeks and Robert discuss the very different ways family members approached genetic testing; whether getting older without symptoms means you're in the clear; having children when there's a chance of passing on the mutation; and the unsettling way FTD can first appear as changes in personality, judgment and behavior rather than something obviously recognizable as neurological disease. They also get into some of the bigger questions raised by the book: How much of who we are is our brain? Would you want the option to end your life before a degenerative disease changed who you were? Can lifestyle meaningfully alter the course of a strongly inherited dementia? And what can medicine actually offer someone who learns today that they carry one of these mutations? Finally, they discuss why researchers are so interested in this family's rare form of FTD. The mutation affects tau, a protein also implicated in Alzheimer's disease, making families like this scientifically valuable for understanding how dementia develops and potentially how it might someday be prevented or treated.  Robert Kolker is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection and a New York Times Book Review Top 10 book of the year. He is also the author of Lost Girls. The Vanishing Family is published by Doubleday on September 29, 2026.  The Vanishing Family — official publisher page *Robert Kolker photo credit: Jeff Zorabedian Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Would You Want to Know? A Family’s 50% Chance of Inheriting Dementia, with Robert Kolker

  3. Sep 24

    Can Reddit Reveal GLP-1 Side Effects that Clinical Trials Miss? With Neil Sehgal

    Send us Fan Mail What can hundreds of thousands of Reddit posts tell us about the side effects of GLP-1 medications? In this episode of Causes or Cures, I talk with researcher Neil K. R. Sehgal about his recent study examining self-reported side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide, commonly known by brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. Neil and his colleagues used AI to analyze more than 410,000 Reddit posts mentioning the medications. Among users who reported taking them, researchers found plenty of familiar side effects, particularly gastrointestinal symptoms, but they also identified potential signals involving fatigue, menstrual changes, and temperature-related symptoms such as chills and hot flashes.  We talk about why clinical trials can't capture every possible side effect before a drug reaches the broader population, how AI can sift through enormous amounts of online conversation, and why finding a signal on Reddit is not the same thing as proving that a medication caused it. We also get into a bigger question: Could social media eventually become a useful early-warning system for drug safety? In this episode, we discuss: why Neil turned to Reddit to study GLP-1 experiences; how AI analyzed more than 400,000 posts; which potential side-effect signals emerged; the difference between correlation, a safety signal, and causation; how researchers distinguish genuine signals from social-media influence; and how AI and online communities could complement traditional pharmacovigilance. About Neil: Neil K. R. Sehgal is a researcher affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Computer and Information Science and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. His research includes using large-scale digital data to better understand patient experiences and healthcare. He led the analysis and was first author of the study discussed in this episode.  Read the study: Self-reported side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide in online communities — Nature Health Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Can Reddit Reveal GLP-1 Side Effects that Clinical Trials Miss? With Neil Sehgal

  4. Sep 13

    Wait... How Did This Drug Cost $25 in India and $1,000 in the U.S.? | WTF Health News

    Send us Fan Mail A woman named Victoria went viral after sharing that a prescription medication that would have cost her $1,000 out of pocket in the U.S. cost just $25 when obtained through a Canadian pharmacy from an Indian manufacturer. But perhaps the most interesting part wasn't the price difference. It was the reaction. The comments filled with people sharing their own stories about prescription prices, insurance, and the sometimes absurd cost of healthcare in America. In this episode of WTF Health News, Eeks looks at why Victoria's story struck such a nerve, touches on some of the mysteries of U.S. prescription drug pricing, and asks what our collective reaction says about the American healthcare experience. Because maybe the biggest WTF isn't that one medication cost $25 instead of $1,000. It's how many Americans heard the story and thought: Yep. Sounds about right. Here's the original IG video: https://www.instagram.com/lemonsnlyme/reel/DZYgShBBKIP/ Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Wait... How Did This Drug Cost $25 in India and $1,000 in the U.S.? | WTF Health News

  5. Sep 9

    Smart Underwear: Because Regular Underwear Wasn't Doing Enough. With Dr. Brantley Hall

    Send us Fan Mail Yes, scientists have invented smart underwear.  And yes, we're going to have to talk about farts.  But this isn't really a story about underwear or even intestinal gas. It's about finding a new way to study the gut microbiome in real time. In this episode, researcher Dr.  Brantley Hall joins me to talk about the development of wearable “smart underwear” that continuously measures hydrogen produced by gut microbes. We discuss why hydrogen can provide clues about what's happening inside the gut, how the device compares with traditional breath and stool testing, and what happened when participants wore it for more than 11 hours a day.  We also get into the engineering challenges of making smart underwear both comfortable and safe, including the rather important matter of not putting a lithium-ion battery in your underwear. Brantley also explains how the device detected changes after participants consumed inulin, what this technology could teach us about individual responses to food, and whether continuous monitoring could someday have applications for personalized nutrition, IBS, food intolerances, and other digestive conditions. And, naturally, we address the important question: When you've helped invent smart underwear, how exactly do you explain what you do for a living? Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Smart Underwear: Because Regular Underwear Wasn't Doing Enough. With Dr. Brantley Hall

  6. Aug 27

    Are You Sharing Your Microbiome with Your Romantic Partner or Your Roommate? With Dr. Nicola Segata

    Send us Fan Mail Are you sharing your microbiome with your roommate? What about your romantic partner? In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with microbiome researcher Dr. Nicola Segata about new research showing that we may share parts of our microbiome with the people we live with—including family members, roommates, and romantic partners. They discuss how our microbiomes are shared between people, why romantic partners show particularly high levels of oral microbiome sharing, and whether kissing may be partly responsible. They also explore the surprising connection between the oral and gut microbiomes and what the findings could mean for our health. Dr. Segata and Dr. Eeks also discuss whether some microbes are better at spreading than others, what the research does—and doesn't—tell us about cardiometabolic health, whether probiotics can meaningfully change our microbiome, and how much control we really have over the microbial communities living within us. And if we're sharing our microbiomes with the humans we live with...what about our dogs? About Dr. Nicola Segata: Dr. Nicola Segata is a professor and microbiome researcher at the University of Trento in Italy and a principal investigator at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. He founded his research laboratory in 2013, bringing together computational scientists, experimental biologists, statisticians, and clinicians to study the human microbiome, its diversity, and how it may influence human health and disease.  Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Are You Sharing Your Microbiome with Your Romantic Partner or Your Roommate? With Dr. Nicola Segata

  7. Aug 23

    When Tuberculosis Was Blamed on Vampires | Public Health is Weird

    Send us Fan Mail Once upon a time, people blamed tuberculosis on vampires. Seriously. In this Public Health Is Weird episode, we head to 1892 Rhode Island, where the deaths of several members of one family led to an exhumation, a suspected vampire, and a truly horrifying attempt at a cure. The real culprit was tuberculosis.  We explore the strange connection between TB and vampire folklore, the discovery and treatment of tuberculosis, a messy Nobel Prize controversy, and a bigger question: Why do humans reach for supernatural explanations when something frightening happens that we can't explain?  Vampires, tuberculosis, human psychology, and somehow, Dr. Eeks' great grandfather and groundhog grease. Welcome to Public Health Is Weird.  Be sure to check out the other Public Health is Weird episodes too!  Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Sources used in the podcast are listed below and in my blog here.  Food for the Dead, by Michael Bell Mysterious, medieval child vampire, The Independent Consumptive Chic, by Carolyn Day Smithsonian Magazine, Kat Eschner, March, 2017 CDC MMWR, 1982 Streptomycin, American Chemical Society, 2014 World's Top Infectious Killer, Science Alert, 2025 Support the show

    When Tuberculosis Was Blamed on Vampires | Public Health is Weird

  8. Aug 7

    Why Are Middle-Aged Americans Doing So Much Worse? With Dr. Frank Infurna

    Send us Fan Mail Why do so many middle-aged Americans feel like they're barely keeping their heads above water? In this episode, Dr. Eeks is joined by Dr. Frank Infurna, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University and lead author of a recent paper examining historical changes in midlife well-being in the United States and Europe. His research paints a concerning picture: today's middle-aged Americans appear to be faring worse than previous generations—and worse than many of their counterparts across Europe—in areas ranging from physical health and memory to loneliness and depression. During the conversation, Dr. Infurna explains why these patterns are emerging, why they seem to be largely unique to the United States, and what they might tell us about the way we live, work, and age. We explore whether Americans are experiencing cognitive decline earlier or simply feeling mentally overwhelmed, how financial stress and "job lock" may be shaping health, why living farther from family could be taking a greater toll than many realize, and why spending more on healthcare hasn't translated into better midlife outcomes. We also discuss the challenges of interpreting these trends, whether today's generations are truly struggling more or simply more willing to talk about it, and what evidence-based strategies may help people navigate midlife more successfully. Whether you're in your 40s or 50s, care for someone who is, or are simply interested in the intersection of psychology, aging, and public health, this episode offers an insightful look at one of the most important—and underappreciated—health trends facing Americans today. In this episode, we discuss: Why middle-aged Americans appear to be doing worse than previous generationsWhy these troubling trends are largely unique to the United StatesThe growing roles of loneliness and depression during midlifeMemory, cognitive health, and the difference between decline and mental overloadWhy education hasn't protected against worsening well-beingThe impact of financial stress, healthcare costs, and "job lock"Whether living farther from family affects health and resilienceWhat the U.S. can learn from European countriesPractical, evidence-based advice for improving well-being during midlifeYou can follow Dr. Infurna's Substack here!  Work with Eeks? Perhaps you are a good match.  Keep Causes or Cures Ad-Free with Listener Support You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com. Follow Eeks on Instagram here. Follow on X.  Or Facebook here. On Youtube. Or TikTok. SUBSCRIBE to the Eeks Weekly here! (the bits not posted on socia media) Support the show

    Why Are Middle-Aged Americans Doing So Much Worse? With Dr. Frank Infurna
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4.7
out of 5
55 Ratings

About

For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots Causes or Cures is an independent health podcast hosted by "Dr. Eeks" (ErinKate Stair, MD, MPH). It is an offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a genuine love of making complicated health topics easier to understand.  Dr. Eeks is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology & health communication. By day, she works on challenging public health issues. By choice, she spends some of her free time asking scientists, physicians, researchers, authors, clinicians, and other fascinating people questions she hopes everyone else is wondering too. Along the way, the podcast has wandered into everything from memory and longevity to self medicating animals, migraines, gene drive mosquitoes, strange public health history, the spiritual realm, and the occasional existential detour. If it has something to teach us about health or what it means to be human, it is probably fair game. Recurring segments include Public Health is Weird, which uncovers strange but true stories from public health history, WTF Health News, where Dr. Eeks breaks down bizarre or buzzworthy health headlines, and Eeks Speakeasy, a more personal corner of the podcast where curiosity occasionally spills over into life, philosophy, and whatever else deserves a drink and a discussion. A few housekeeping notes... This podcast is for information, curiosity, and conversation. It is not medical advice. Although Dr. Eeks has an MD, she does not practice medicine. She is a full time public health nerd and will never tell you what to do with your own health. If you have a medical question, your healthcare provider knows you far better than a podcast ever could. Guests are invited because they have something interesting to contribute, not because Dr. Eeks agrees with every opinion they hold. Likewise, she does not endorse miracle supplements, mysterious oils, magic socks, potions, or anything that promises to solve all of life's problems.  If an episode is sponsored or underwritten by a company she genuinely enjoys working with, she will always tell you. Causes or Cures is also not a news site. It is a place for thoughtful conversations. Dr. Eeks believes people can disagree respectfully, ask difficult questions, change their minds, and occasionally laugh at themselves along the way. Some of the best conversations she has ever had happened in hole in the walls, on sidewalks, and in places where nobody was trying to win an argument. Sometimes Barnaby, her dog and unofficial executive producer, contributes his thoughts as well. Fortunately, he is a pretty smart dog. Above all, Dr. Eeks hopes this podcast encourages people to stay curious, compassionate, honest, open minded, and engaged. Freedom of discussion is a beautiful, delightfully messy thing, and one worth protecting. The views expressed on this podcast are Dr. Eeks' own and do not reflect the views of any organization she contracts with or consults for. Want to help keep Causes or Cures independent and ad free? Click the Support button at the top of the page. Want to sponsor or underwrite an episode? Causes or Cures works with a limited number of sponsors and episode underwriters in health, science, and public health. Partnerships are kept separate from editorial content and guest selection. If your organization might be a fit, reach out at: erin@bloomingwellness.com Want more weird health news & public health oddities? Sign up for the Eeks Weekly newsletter (10,000 + subscribers)  The Eeks Weekly

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Eeks
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    272
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Causes or Cures
  • Show Website
    Causes or Cures

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