This week, Leah and Jamie discuss a short article that summarizes a longer article from the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS). Both articles are found in the citations listed below, but the longer article is behind a paywall. Jamie gives a pretty good review of both articles, and they both discuss how white matter can be affected by the stability of the environment in which children live. A sobering and crucial discussion that has significant impact on children of color and those who live in struggling family environments.

Citations:

1. Black, R. (2025, April 14). Is this really a dire wolf? Here’s how the ‘de-extinct’ pups compare to the real thing. Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/dire-wolf-deextinction-colossal-paleontology
2. Early experiences shape the brain’s ‘communication superhighways’ to affect cognition. (2025, April 7). American Academy of Applied Science. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://www.science.org/content/article/early-experiences-shape-brain-s-communication-superhighways-affect-cognition
3. Ghosh, P. (2025, April 17). Scientists find promising hints of life on distant planet K2-18b. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o
4. Wikipedia contributors. (2025, February 16). Timeline of the James Webb Space Telescope. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_James_Webb_Space_Telescope

Hi there! Jamie and Leah took the week off last week to get some personal things done. Hope you didn't miss us too much. This week, we re-recorded an episode that didn't work out because of bad audio. We focused on an article of the 50 things women couldn't do before 1970. It's quite a list. Hope you enjoy!

Citations:

1. 40 basic rights women did not have until the 1970s - History collection. (n.d.). History Collection. https://historycollection.com/40-basic-rights-women-did-not-have-until-the-1970s/
2. Erber, E. (2025, March 26). The real Story - Kathrine Switzer - Marathon Woman. Kathrine Switzer - Marathon Woman. https://kathrineswitzer.com/1967-boston-marathon-the-real-story/

It's getting trickier than ever to be a skeptical thinker. This week's episode wades into the turbid waters of genetics and the views coming from the fringe that there are real genetic differences between races - in particular the idea that white genetics are superior to any other race. While this is preposterous, there appears to be groups who are feeling more emboldened to push these false narratives using pseudoscience. Leah and Jamie try to debunk without giving voice to the platform. Check out our show citations below. Also, like us on any of the platforms. We don't do this for any monetary gain, but it would be great to hear if you are out there listening. you can email us at this link: email. You can also like us on our Facebook Page.

Citations:

1. Smart, A. (2025, March 26). In genetics, a tense coexistence of mainstream and fringe views. Undark Magazine. https://undark.org/2025/03/26/unleashed-genetics-intelligence/?et_cid=5575266
2. Smithsonian Natural Museum of American History. (n.d.). Homepage The Bias inside Us. https://biasinsideus.si.edu/
3. Staff, H. B. (2025, April 2). The Moments that Change Us | Hidden Brain Media. Hidden Brain Media. https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-moments-that-change-us/
4. Wikipedia contributors. (2025a, March 14). Human Genome Project - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project
5. Wikipedia contributors. (2025b, March 22). Mankind quarterly. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mankind_Quarterly

This week Jamie and Leah try to tackle an article that discusses the need for better representation of transgender and gender nonconforming people in the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) Fields. We try really hard to stay on topic, but the Transgender issues are so large, that we tend to struggle with focus. No doubt, we will be covering this issue and gender issues again. We do think that this is a great episode - and one that will get you thinking different about gender. Check out the original article here, and check out all the interesting sources in the show notes below.

Sources:

1. Adamczeski, R. (2024, June 28). Gender-affirming care is primarily used by cisgender people. Advocate.com. https://www.advocate.com/health/gender-affirming-surgery-minors-rate
2. Honoring Nex Benedict, a 16-Year-Old Non-Binary Oklahoma High School. . . (2024, April 18). HRC. https://www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating
3. Jacobs, P. (n.d.). ‘We’re hurting.’ Trans scientists call for recognition and support from research community. https://www.science.org. https://www.science.org/content/article/we-re-hurting-trans-scientists-call-recognition-and-support-research-community?et_cid=5575266
4. Krisha Et Al., A. (n.d.). Rigorous science demands support of transgender scientists. Cell, 6, 1327–1334. https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00187-9
5. Sex and gender in science. (n.d.). https://www.nature.com/immersive/sex-and-gender-in-science/index.html
6. The Hastings Center. (2023, June 14). Gender-Affirming Care for Cisgender People: Q&A with Theodore Schall and Jacob Moses - The Hastings Center. https://www.thehastingscenter.org/news/gender-affirming-care-for-cisgender-people-qa-with-theodore-schall-and-jacob-moses/
7. Turban, J. (2024, February 20). The Disturbing History of Research into Transgender Identity. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-disturbing-history-of-research-into-transgender-identity/
8. Why it’s essential to study sex and gender, even as tensions rise. (2024). Nature, 629(8010), 7–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01207-0

This week Leah and Jamie discuss a newsletter link that Jamie's representative sent him. This link took us to the conservative publication: The Federalist. The article alleges that colleges are selling student data to the Get Out The Vote groups for nefarious leftist - leaning voter registration drives. See the sources below for a link to the article and a couple of other places we were looking to verify the information!

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Hope you like the cozy picture of Leah's cat Ciel!

Sources:

1. ALL IN Challenge - about. (2025, March 5). ALL IN Challenge. https://allinchallenge.org/about/
2. Fleetwood, S. (2023, April 4). Texas Bill models how to stop DEMs’ exploitation of colleges for partisan Get-Out-The-Vote OPs. The Federalist. https://thefederalist.com/2023/04/04/texas-bill-models-how-to-stop-dems-exploitation-of-colleges-for-partisan-get-out-the-vote-ops/
3. Fleetwood, S. (2025, March 21). Legal complaint asks Education Department to probe alleged Left-Wing GOTV scheme at colleges. The Federalist. https://thefederalist.com/2025/03/21/legal-complaint-asks-education-department-to-probe-alleged-left-wing-gotv-scheme-at-colleges/
4. Influence Watch. (2024, May 17). ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) - InfluenceWatch. InfluenceWatch. https://www.influencewatch.org/organization/all-in-campus-democracy-challenge-all-in/
5. Kittle, M. (2024, March 4). Wisconsin complaint exposes Leftist-Led vote drives on college campuses. The Federalist. https://thefederalist.com/2024/03/05/wisconsin-complaint-exposes-leftist-led-vote-drives-on-college-campuses/
6. Oconnell, L. (2025, January 15). Universities sharing student records: What you need to know. ShunStudent. https://shunstudent.com/article/are-student-records-shared-between-universities

Hi there! In this episode, we talk about an article (and some other sources) that links how we eat with mental health. I have linked all the sources below. Take good care of yourself!

Sources:

1. Colino, S. (2025, March 14). Scientists are uncovering surprising connections between diet and mental health. Health. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/health/article/diet-mental-health-foods?rid=18C5F3C8000430FA93B55AE508ED0886&loggedin=true&rnd=1742336980879
2. Lane, M. M., Gamage, E., Du, S., Ashtree, D. N., McGuinness, A. J., Gauci, S., Baker, P., Lawrence, M., Rebholz, C. M., Srour, B., Touvier, M., Jacka, F. N., O’Neil, A., Segasby, T., & Marx, W. (2024). Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses. BMJ, e077310. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-077310
3. McKeever, A. (2024, October 10). 9 simple ways to boost your mental health, according to science. Premium. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/mental-health-boost-science-tips
4. Professional, C. C. M. (2024a, May 1). Aerobic exercise. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7050-aerobic-exercise
5. Professional, C. C. M. (2024b, December 19). Serotonin. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22572-serotonin

Ignorance, what more do I have to say? This episode, Leah and Jamie try to understand the myriad of ways ignorance wreaks havoc in our world.

We had some technical difficulties with the recording of this episode, which required some new technical skills stitching two audio files together - We think it worked out, but you may hear some slight background noises while listening. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In this episode, Leah and Jamie are just trying to keep up with the speed of change happening in the United States. We spend some time looking at the things we can control and the things we can't.