The Equity Podcast

Grant Longwe

🎙️ The Equity Podcast Welcome to Equity Unfiltered — the podcast digging into brain health with honesty, equity, culture, science, and community at the centre. 🧠 Each episode brings REAL, UNFILTERED conversations with experts, advocates, caregivers, and everyday changemakers pushing for a world where brain health is understood, accessible, and stigma-free. From dementia and mental wellness to research, innovation, caregiving, and lived experience, we unpack the stories that matter, exactly as they are. 🌍 Our mission to amplify voices, challenge inequities, and spark bold ideas for health

Episodes

  1. “We’ve Been Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Too Late" | Professor Craig Ritchie

    May 25

    “We’ve Been Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Too Late" | Professor Craig Ritchie

    What if Alzheimer’s disease could be detected—and even prevented—decades before memory loss begins? In this eye-opening conversation, Professor Craig Ritchie challenges everything we think we know about dementia care, early diagnosis, and the future of Alzheimer’s treatment. From blood biomarkers to prevention in midlife, he explains why the biggest breakthroughs in brain health are happening outside traditional healthcare systems—and why that gives real hope for the future. For too long, Alzheimer’s has been treated like a death sentence diagnosed too late. But what if we’ve been looking at it the wrong way all along? Professor Ritchie takes us inside the next frontier of brain science:🧠 Why amyloid plaques alone don’t define Alzheimer’s🧠 How blood tests could transform early detection🧠 Why memory clinics may already be outdated🧠 The urgent shift from late-stage care to prevention🧠 Why dementia should be understood as a spectrum, not one disease🧠 How innovation outside hospitals could accelerate a cure This conversation is filled with optimism, scientific honesty, and bold ideas that could redefine the future of brain health globally. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, researcher, caregiver, policymaker, or simply someone worried about the future of dementia, this episode will leave you thinking differently about what’s possible. Professor Craig Ritchie is a leading clinician and researcher at Scottish Brain Sciences, where he is pioneering new approaches to neurodegenerative disease, prevention, and early intervention. 🎙 Topics covered:Alzheimer’s diseaseBrain healthDementia preventionBlood biomarkersAmyloid plaquesEarly diagnosisPrecision medicineNeurodegenerative diseaseCTE and brain injuryFuture of dementia care If this conversation gives you hope, insight, or challenges your thinking, subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it. #Alzheimers #BrainHealth #Dementia #Neuroscience #CraigRitchie #AlzheimersResearch #BrainHealthPodcast

    22 min
  2. He Told Me I Had Dementia… Then Hung Up | Living With Lewy Body Dementia EP07

    May 18

    He Told Me I Had Dementia… Then Hung Up | Living With Lewy Body Dementia EP07

    In this powerful and emotional episode, I sit down with John Richard Pagan to discuss his journey living with younger-onset Lewy body dementia, navigating stigma, surviving healthcare trauma, and becoming a global advocate for people living with dementia. John shares the devastating moment he received his dementia diagnosis over a telehealth call, the mental health struggles that followed, and how faith, community, and advocacy helped him rebuild his life. This conversation goes beyond medicine and explores the real human experience of dementia, caregiving, diagnosis, mental health, LGBTQ+ identity, healthcare systems, and hope. In this episode, we discuss:🧠 Younger-onset dementia🧠 Lewy body dementia symptoms and diagnosis🧠 Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)🧠 Dementia stigma in healthcare and society🧠 Mental health after diagnosis🧠 LGBTQ+ experiences in healthcare🧠 Caregiving and support groups🧠 Brain health advocacy🧠 Living with dementia🧠 The importance of patient voices in research This episode is essential viewing for: caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, students, advocates, and anyone interested in brain health and dementia awareness. If this conversation moved you, please:👍 Like the video💬 Leave a comment📢 Share with others🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on dementia, brain health, caregiving, advocacy, and global health #Dementia #LewyBodyDementia #YoungerOnsetDementia #BrainHealth #MentalHealth #Healthcare #Caregiving #DementiaAwareness #GlobalHealth #Neurology #MildCognitiveImpairment #Podcast

    35 min
  3. Delirium vs Dementia: Signs, Risks, and Why It’s Often Missed | Dr. John-Paul Omuojine

    Mar 30

    Delirium vs Dementia: Signs, Risks, and Why It’s Often Missed | Dr. John-Paul Omuojine

    Delirium vs Dementia: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Prevention Delirium is one of the most common yet underdiagnosed conditions affecting older adults—especially in hospitals. Often mistaken for dementia, delirium is a sudden and serious change in brain function that can lead to increased mortality, long-term cognitive decline, and higher healthcare costs if missed. In this episode, psychiatrist Dr. John-Paul Omujune breaks down the critical differences between delirium and dementia, including symptoms, causes, risk factors, and why accurate diagnosis matters. We explore how delirium presents as sudden confusion, inattention, and fluctuating mental status—often triggered by infections, medications, or acute illness. You’ll learn how to recognize early warning signs of delirium in elderly patients, practical strategies for prevention, and simple, non-pharmacological approaches to management. We also discuss the challenges of diagnosing delirium in low-resource settings and the urgent need for culturally appropriate screening tools and better healthcare training. Whether you're a caregiver, healthcare professional, or interested in brain health and aging, this episode offers essential insights into improving patient outcomes and reducing preventable deaths. Key topics:delirium vs dementia, delirium symptoms, causes of confusion in elderly, hospital delirium, cognitive decline, brain health, geriatric care, delirium prevention, mental health in aging, global health

    35 min
  4. Ringing in Your Ears? What Tinnitus Reveals About Brain Health and Dementia Risk | Dr. Anusha Mohan

    Mar 9

    Ringing in Your Ears? What Tinnitus Reveals About Brain Health and Dementia Risk | Dr. Anusha Mohan

    Can tinnitus signal deeper changes in the brain? In this episode, neuroscientist Dr. Anusha Mohan joins The Equity Podcast to explore the fascinating relationship between tinnitus, hearing loss, brain health, and dementia risk. Often described as ringing in the ears, tinnitus may actually reflect how the brain processes sound, stress, and sensory signals—offering new insights into neurological health. Dr. Mohan shares her journey from biomedical engineering into neuroscience and explains the latest research on how the brain generates tinnitus. We also discuss how hearing loss and chronic stress can influence neural pathways associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This conversation highlights emerging research exploring how tinnitus might provide clues about brain function, perception, and early neurological changes. In this episode, we explore: • The neuroscience of tinnitus and how the brain processes sound• The connection between hearing loss, stress, and dementia risk• Key differences between Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s disease• Early symptoms such as loss of smell, visual hallucinations, and sensory changes• How patient involvement and lived experiences are shaping neuroscience research• Practical ways young adults can build brain resilience and protect long-term cognitive health Whether you're interested in brain health, dementia prevention, neuroscience research, or hearing health, this episode offers valuable insights into how the brain interprets signals and how lifestyle, environment, and research innovation can support cognitive well-being. 🎧 Subscribe to The Equity Podcast for weekly conversations on brain health, dementia equity, neuroscience, and global health innovation.

    46 min

About

🎙️ The Equity Podcast Welcome to Equity Unfiltered — the podcast digging into brain health with honesty, equity, culture, science, and community at the centre. 🧠 Each episode brings REAL, UNFILTERED conversations with experts, advocates, caregivers, and everyday changemakers pushing for a world where brain health is understood, accessible, and stigma-free. From dementia and mental wellness to research, innovation, caregiving, and lived experience, we unpack the stories that matter, exactly as they are. 🌍 Our mission to amplify voices, challenge inequities, and spark bold ideas for health