#2420 - Chris Masterjohn
Joe Rogan speaks with nutrition researcher Chris Masterjohn about how mitochondrial function underlies many aspects of health, aging, and disease. They discuss topics including creatine for brain and muscle energy, red light and sunlight for mitochondrial support, cautious use of supplements such as methylene blue and CoQ10, the long-term risks of seed oils, and how exercise variety, skill training, and good nutrition can promote healthy longevity. The conversation also covers thyroid health, iodine and selenium, cholesterol and statins, and the potential role of nattokinase in reducing clot-related heart attack and stroke risk.
SYSK's 2025 Shocktober Halloween Spooktacular
Josh and Chuck present their annual ad-free Halloween Spooktacular by reading and lightly commenting on two public-domain horror stories. First they perform E.F. Benson's "Caterpillars," about a haunted Italian villa, grotesque luminous caterpillars, and a possible supernatural link to cancer. Then they read Allison B. Harding's science-fiction tale "The Deep Drowse," in which a writer and his wife survive a mysterious global sleep catastrophe thanks to an air-sealed room, only for animals to inherit the Earth.
How do you turn hope into action? A doctor and a public health expert answer | David Fajgenbaum and Celina de Sola
Host Elise Hu introduces a TED Intersections conversation between public health expert Selena De Sola and immunology researcher David Fagenbaum on how they turn hope into concrete action in their respective fields. Fagenbaum shares how surviving Castleman disease led him to repurpose existing drugs and build the nonprofit EveryCure, now using AI to match old medicines to new diseases, while De Sola explains how her organization, founded in El Salvador, works to create trauma-informed public systems across schools, healthcare, and law enforcement. Together they discuss holding hope and grief simultaneously, navigating setbacks, scaling systemic change, and the leadership, teamwork, and vision required to sustain impact.
(#10) Elise's Top Ten: What almost dying taught me about living | Suleika Jaouad
Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by writer, teacher, and activist Suleika Jaouad, who recounts being diagnosed with leukemia at 22 and spending four years in treatment as "patient number 5624." She explains that surviving cancer did not end her struggle; instead, the hardest part was reentering life afterward, dealing with physical limitations, grief, PTSD, and the myth of the heroic, ever-grateful survivor. Jaouad describes a 15,000-mile road trip to visit readers who had written to her, and shares what she learned about meaning, hope, and living in the in‑between space between sickness and health.
The Spark of Life
Host Molly Webster speaks with applied biophysicist Narosha Murugan about the discovery that living cells emit extremely faint light tied to their metabolism, and explores how this challenges the traditional lock-and-key view of cellular signaling. They discuss possible mechanisms for how this light is generated in mitochondria and potentially guided through cellular structures, its hypothesized roles in brain function and consciousness, and how its distinct signatures can already be used experimentally to detect cancer and distinguish living from dead tissue. The conversation ends with reflections on "life flashes" at fertilization and death, and on thinking of living beings as organized patterns of energy and light.