Causes or Cures
"For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots" Causes or Cures is a health podcast hosted by Dr. Eeks—an independent, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a passion for breaking down complex health topics into bite-sized, easy-to-understand insights. Dr. Eeks (ErinKate Stair, MPH, MD) works as a senior consultant and contractor in the realm of public health, epidemiology, and health communication. She's all about making science relatable and often uses a blue-collar sense of humor to drive the message home. On this podcast, Dr. Eeks talks with experts from around the world (doctors, researchers, public health pros, and more) to dive into the latest hot topics in health and research, all in a down-to-earth kind of way. She also includes people with compelling stories of healing and "characters" because life is too boring and short to leave out characters. ;) DISCLAIMER: Some topics are more controversial than others, so keep in mind that this is information only and not health advice. If you are battling an individual health issue, always check in with your doctor & don't run with anything on podcast as advice. Dr. Eeks doesn't endorse any of her guests' views, and despite a strict health routine, nor does she endorse any products, supplements, oils, magic socks or potions. (If an episode is sponsored by a company she likes, she will say so in the show notes.) She does not practice medicine (only public health) so she does not give out medical advice nor should you treat anything on this podcast as medical advice. Causes or Cures is not a "news site." It's about having conversations, and Dr. Eeks is confident that she can have a respectful conversation with anyone, even people who think far differently than she does. (At least that's been her experience at hole-in-the-walls & on the NYC sidewalks.) The point is to not take anything here as Gospel. Sometimes Dr. Eeks' dog Barnaby makes his opinion known, but the good news is that he's a smart dog. Most importantly, she hopes this podcast encourages folks to stay curious, empathic, hopeful, compassionate, honest, open-minded, and engaged. Freedom of discussion is a beautiful thing, delightfully messy, and one that many take for granted. *The views on this podcast do not reflect the views of anyone she contracts with or consults for on various public health projects. You can contact Dr. Eeks through her website, bloomingwellness.com. If you are interested in sponsoring an episode, write erin@bloomingwellness.com. SIGN UP for her Newsletter HERE: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/xnqmy06 Work with Me: Blooming Wellness
Episodes
What if cancer didn’t have to be eradicated, but could be remembered, monitored, and controlled by the immune system itself?
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Zachary Hartman, the lead researcher who revisited an extraordinary breast cancer vaccine trial conducted over 20 years ago. The trial involved a small group of women with advanced breast cancer. Women who, remarkably, are all still ali...
*Disclaimer* This episode is part of the Causes or Cures Public Health Is Weird bonus series and is for educational and entertainment purposes only. If you’re worried about a child or pet eating a poinsettia, contact a medical professional or veterinarian. This podcast is not a poison control center. :)
Every December, poinsettias show up, and so does the panic.
Suddenly, a festive red plant is treated like antifreez...
Microplastics are everywhere—but what are they doing inside the human body?
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Christian Pacher-Deutsch about his lastest study and the growing evidence that micro- and nanoplastics may affect the digestive system, the gut microbiome, and long-term health. He explains why this problem has reached crisis level.
Rather than focusing on dramatic claims or quick fix...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Zohar Rubinstein, a clinical psychologist, researcher and trauma expert about an early and deeply sensitive study examining how different substances may have influenced early trauma responses among survivors of the October 7 Nova music festival attack.
Many survivors had taken substances just hours before the traumatic event — including classic psychedelics, ...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Dr. Claudia Suemoto in Brazil about her new 8-year study looking at whether artificial sweeteners are linked to changes in thinking and memory.
We cover:
• How she started studying dementia and why she became curious about sweeteners.
• What the research team hoped to learn and what they actually found.
• Why these results are different from older, ...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Dr. Jaap de Roode, an evolutionary biologist and author of Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves, about one of the most fascinating corners of biology: the ways animals use plants, minerals, insects, and even toxins as medicine.
They talk about:
- What sparked his interest in animals treating their own illnesses
- Why medicine isn’t o...
Episode: Why Single Women Are Happier than Single Men, with Elaine Hoan
Guest: Elaine Hoan, PhD Candidate, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Forget the “sad cat lady” cliché. In this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with researcher Elaine Hoan about her new study showing that single women are, on average, happier than single men. They explore what that says about modern love, independence, and the pressure to ...
Episode: Psychedelics and Prolonged Grief with Dr. Greg Fonzo
Guest: Greg Fonzo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Charmaine and Gordon McGill Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy at Dell Medical School.
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Greg Fonzo about how psychedelics might help people suffering from prolonged grief, a form of grief that lasts longer and feels h...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Debbie Dobbins, international prosperity consciousness speaker/teacher and author of Your Inner Billionaire.
Why listen: Debbie’s origin story isn’t a soft-focus vision board. It's not feel-good Instagram or TikTok reels. It’s making millions..., then dollar-store cookies on food stamps; addiction, cancer, and IRS debt..., followed by a rebuild grounded in da...
Dr. Acosta returns to Causes or Cures to talk about the next big leap in obesity research: using genetics and machine learning to predict which patients will get side effects to popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound. Previously, he was on Causes or Cures to discuss your individual obesity type.
He and his team are uncovering why some people experience major weight loss while others face tough ...
Disclaimer: Entertainment only. Eeks is not a public health historian; just a gremlin who reads too much and asks weird questions
BONUS Episodes are part of the "Public Health is Weird" Causes or Cures Series.
What’s inside
- The myth of “truth serum” and why scopolamine never earned the badge
- From twilight sleep in childbirth to spy stories and interrogation lore
- What scopolamine actually does: amnesia, conf...
On this episode, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Carlijn Wagenaar about the Plants for Joints research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), exploring how a plant-centered lifestyle (not just diet) was tested and what changed in disease activity, inflammation, pain, and function.
Episode at a glance:
- Study design, plainly: who enrolled, program length, and how PFJ was evaluated for RA (disease activity &...
What if cancer could be detected years before symptoms ever appear? In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks sits down with Dr. Yuxuan Wang, cancer researcher at Johns Hopkins, to discuss her team’s promising work on multicancer early detection (MCED) blood tests.
These ultra-sensitive sequencing tests can spot tiny fragments of tumor DNA circulating in the blood. In their recent study, the MCED test flagged early ...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Katie Stewart, Holistic Nutritionist and founder of The Clear Skin Solution, about the emotional and physical toll of breakouts and unhealthy skin, and why lasting healing requires more than just spot treatment.
Katie shares how her own struggles with acne led her to ditch conventional prescriptions and create a protocol focused on addressing root causes like horm...
Psychedelics are in the spotlight. Some call them dangerous, others call them life-saving, and many believe they could reshape the future of mental health care. In this episode, Dr. Eeks talks with Martín Polanco MD, founder of The Mission Within Foundation and considered the most experienced ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT physician in North America. Over the past 25 years, he has treated more than 5,000 people — including ov...
What if your biological age could be younger than the candles on your birthday cake? On this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Chris Mirabile who says he did just that. After surviving a brain tumor at just 16 years old, Chris committed himself to mastering his health. That journey led him to found NOVOS, the first health company to develop science-based solutions targeting the 12 biological causes of ag...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Irene Papanicolas, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University, about her recent New England Journal of Medicine paper examining the links between wealth and mortality across the United States and Europe.
There’s a lot of focus on longevity today, from biohackers chasing longer lives to new medical innovations. But how much does the m...
Disclaimer: Causes or Cures is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and no medical claims are being made. Always talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your personal health.
🎙️ In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks talks with Dane Johnson, CEO and founder of Crohn’s Colitis Lifestyle.
Dane shares his story of going from modeling and acting in Los Angeles to a life upended by severe ...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Jerry Avorn, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, drug safety watchdog, and author of Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power, and the Drugs You Take. If you’ve ever felt uneasy about the rising cost of prescription drugs, the process or speed by which new meds are approved, or why the side effects list is longer than your grocery receipt, this epi...
Disclaimer: Causes or Cures is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and no medical claims are being made. Always talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your personal health.
Can a Daily Supplement Really Reverse Biological Age? A 12-Month Study, Explained
What actually happens when real people take a daily “healthy aging” supplement for an entire year?
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