Causes or Cures
"For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots" Causes or Cures is a public health podcast hosted by Dr. Eeks (ErinKate Stair, MD, MPH). It's an independent, offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a passion for breaking down complex health topics into bite sized, easy to understand insights. There are no institutional affiliations. *FOLLOW PUBLIC HEALTH IS WEIRD ON INSTAGRAM: @doctoreeks Dr. Eeks is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology and health communication. She works on complex and timely national public health issues and is all about making the science relatable...often using a blue collar (probably irreverant) sense of humor to drive the message home. Why? Because in public health, you can be completely accurate and still fail if the message does not connect. On this podcast, Dr. Eeks talks with experts from around the world (doctors, researchers, public health pros, clinicians and more) to dive into the latest hot topics in public 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" and not embrace the weird. ;) 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 or underwritten by a company she thinks is cool, she will say so in the show notes.) While she has a MD, she does not practice medicine (she's a full-time public health nerd), 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 down-to-earth 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 sidewalks across the world. 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 help keep Causes or Cure independent and ad-free by hitting the "Support" button in the upper corner. ***Want to work together or share a thought? You can contact Dr. Eeks through her website, bloomingwellness.com. ****SIGN UP for her Newsletter HERE: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/xnqmy06
Episodes
Do you cough a lot?
Does someone you know cough a lot?
What if you could actually measure it, continuously?
For people with chronic cough, those question matters.
Because right now, most of what we know about cough comes from self-report. And that’s not very precise.
In this episode, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Peter Small from Hyfe, a company using AI to continuously detect and count coughs, turning a common but poorl...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Amrita Vijay, a gut microbiome scientist who studies how diet shapes the microbiome and influences inflammation, mood, and overall health.
Her research tested three different dietary approaches over six weeks: a prebiotic fiber (inulin), omega 3 supplementation, and a synbiotic combining fermented kefir with prebiotic fiber. All three interventions red...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks sits down with transplant surgeon and author Dr. Josh Mezrich to talk about xenotransplantation—the use of animal organs, primarily from pigs, to try to address the massive shortage of human donor organs.
More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are currently waiting for a transplant. For many, time runs out. Xenotransplantation offers a possible path forward, but it’s not a s...
Can what you eat influence your risk of colorectal cancer?
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Dr. Fred Tabung, PhD, MSPH, a researcher studying diet, metabolism, and cancer prevention, about how certain dietary patterns may reduce colorectal cancer risk.
Drawing on data from nearly one million people across the United States and Europe, Dr. Tabung explains how low insulinemic and anti-inflammator...
Can a plant-derived polysaccharide formula affect Alzheimer’s symptoms? A researcher explains his study, and its limits.
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with researcher Dr. John Lewis about his study investigating an aloe polymannose multinutrient supplement in Alzheimer’s disease.
We discuss what polymannose is, why he feels mainstream wellness gets sugar wrong, why the intervention combines mul...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Majid Fotuhi about brain aging, memory, intelligence, Alzheimer’s disease, and his new book: The Invincible Brain: The Clinically-Proven Way to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life
We explore whether Alzheimer’s is being overdiagnosed and the idea that what we call Alzheimer’s may actually be a mix of different conditi...
Exploring the Spiritual Realm
Where spiritual belief meets health, culture, and skepticism
Disclaimer: This episode discusses spiritual and metaphysical beliefs that are not evidence-based medical treatments. Nothing in this conversation is medical or public health advice. If you have a health concern, please seek care from a licensed clinician. This is entertainment only.
In this episode, Dr. Eeks sits down wit...
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Gil Bashe, author of Healing the Sick Care System, about why the US healthcare system is failing the very people it is meant to serve.
Bashe argues that the problem isn’t a lack of innovation or investment, but a system that has drifted away from empathy, human connection and patient-centered care. We discuss the growing disconnect between physicians, insurers,...
In this episode of the Causes or Cures Podcast, Dr Eeks speaks with Dr. Sam West, a researcher at the University of Oxford, about his study on what happens after people stop taking GLP 1 weight loss medications.
While much of the attention has focused on how these drugs work while people are taking them, this conversation looks at what happens when people stop. Dr West discusses how quickly weight tends to return (an...
"So how'd that person die?"
In this episode of Causes or Cures, I’m joined by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Byard, an internationally recognized expert who has spent decades investigating deaths that are rare, misunderstood, and often deeply unsettling.
We talk about what really happens at the edges of life and death, including:
- Fatal animal encounters involving kangaroos, roosters, cattle...
In this episode, Dr. Eeks talks with Joel Stanley, entrepreneur and biotech founder, about the long and often misunderstood road from plant based therapies to FDA approved medicines.
Joel shares the personal story behind building Charlotte’s Web, the company named after a young girl whose experience with severe epilepsy helped spark a global conversation about medical cannabis. He reflects on what it was like to grow...
Healthcare corruption doesn’t just happen in broken systems or far away countries.
It happens in hospitals with shiny floors.
In billion dollar healthcare industries.
In systems filled with rules, audits, and professionals sworn to protect patients.
It happens quietly. And it happens everywhere.
In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks speaks with Professor Graham Brooks, an international expert on healthca...
Exploring the Spiritual Realm
Where spiritual belief meets health, culture, and skepticism
Disclaimer: This episode discusses spiritual and metaphysical beliefs that are not evidence-based medical treatments. Nothing in this conversation is medical or health advice. If you have a health concern, please seek care from a licensed clinician. This is entertainment only.
Recent surveys suggest around 69% of American...
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 a...
*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 antifre...
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 f...
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...
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 t...
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