The House of Pod

Before Europe built its universities, before the Renaissance "rediscovered" science, and before the West even had the vocabulary to describe diseases, there was a young man from the Persian heartlands who was diagnosing rulers, running clinical trials, and building a system of knowledge that would dominate European medical schools for over 600 years. His name was Ibn Sina — you might know him as Avicenna. This week on Persian of Interest, Kaveh takes Shauhin on a wild ride through the life of a 10th-century Persian polymath who was too smart for his own good: a child genius who became a physician at 17, a vizier he never wanted to be, a fugitive who wrote his masterpiece by candlelight on the run, and a man whose ideas about medicine, philosophy, and the universe were centuries ahead of anyone else on Earth. Also: how much of his work was lost to book burnings, why he's the only non-Greek in The School of Athens, and whether Doogie Howser was secretly Persian.

It's part history lesson, part cultural reclamation, and part excuse for two middle-aged friends to hang out. They welcome corrections and look forward to hearing from you!

Have a figure you'd like them to cover? Email shauhin@youlouder.org.
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Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by OB/GYN and bestselling author Dr. Jen Gunter and esthetician Naomi Laguana to learn about perimenopause — what it actually is, why it's so misunderstood, and who's profiting from the confusion. They break down the chaos of hormone fluctuations, the Women's Health Initiative and what it really showed, why hormone testing is mostly useless for diagnosis, the dangers of pellet therapy, and how the wellness industry exploits women's legitimate grievances with the medical system. Plus: brain fog, the "grievance economy," and why menopause care might be simpler than the internet wants you to believe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 2 of the Raw Milk Saga: The Reckoning. Dr. Kaveh Hoda and Dr. Rakesh Jatwani take on raw milk's health claims one by one — lactose intolerance, nutrition, gut health, and asthma — and the evidence doesn't hold up. Then: the legal loophole that lets producers sell raw milk as "pet food," why aged cheese isn't as safe as you'd think, RFK Jr.'s role in gutting enforcement, and a recent outbreak across nine states. Plus a devastating story of a toddler poisoned by raw goat milk bought through a chiropractor's Facebook group — and how public health officials can find common ground with the MAHA movement without sacrificing kids' safety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is raw milk the health miracle its advocates claim, or a dangerous gamble with children's lives? In this two-part deep dive, Dr. Kaveh Hoda sits down with Dr. Rakesh Jatwani (Dr. Rak) — double board-certified physician in Internal and Lifestyle Medicine, and the host of The Health Feast podcast — to unpack the raw milk debate from every angle.

Part 1 tells the story of Mary McGonigle-Martin, a Southern California mother who gave her seven-year-old son raw milk from Organic Pastures dairy, only to watch him land in a medically induced coma with kidney failure from E. coli O157:H7. We trace the suprising actions of dairy owner and the real clinical consequences: hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), long-term kidney damage, and the pathogens lurking in unpasteurized milk.
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What did The Matrix actually say — and what did men hear? Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by writer/podcaster Margaret Killjoy and psychiatrist Dr. Tyler Black to dissect the 1999 classic and its most co-opted symbol: the red pill. They explore how the Wachowskis' trans allegory was hijacked by the manosphere, the "chosen one" fantasy and its pull toward conspiracy culture; and why Cypher is the real incel of the movie.

Make sure to also listen to Margaret's history podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff and Tyler's podcast Suicidology Data and Evidence. Also, check out Kaveh's new podcast Persian of Interest, exploring stories of Persian history. Send topic ideas and movie suggestions for this series at hopquestions@gmail.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.