In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Hussam Mahmoud discuss the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires, citing the 2023 Maui fire and the 2024 Ventura County fire. Dr. Hassam Mahmoud, an expert in wildfire control, explains that wildfires have risen by 5% annually since 2001 and are now more intense. He highlights that 90% of wildfires in the US are human-induced. Dr. Mahmoud discusses his research focusing on a model to predict fire spread in urban areas, considering factors like wind, building materials, and vegetation. This model, which has accurately reproduced historical fires, aims to identify "super spreaders" to target mitigation efforts effectively. The approach could potentially reduce wildfire damage by identifying critical structures and implementing preventive measures.

Key Takeaways:

• Human-caused fires are far more common than weather-caused fires, up to 90% in the United States.

• There are things that can be done in both communities and in wildlands that can help to control wildfires. Preventing and controlling wildfires is more than just a one-person effort.

• Even if you make your house fireproof, there is still a probability of the house burning. But you can minimize the chance of the house burning.

• Communities should look at fire prevention as a collective effort for a collective impact.

"I am incredibly hopeful that in the future we will get to the point where we minimize losses to a great extent. Maybe it will happen. We're not there yet, but I'm confident we'll get to that point." — Dr. Hussam Mahmoud

Episode References:

• TEDxMileHigh: Hussam Mahmoud Wildfires and Pandemics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55uop7jsJaQ

Connect with Dr. Hussam Mahmoud:

Professional Bio: https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~hmahmoud/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussam-mahmoud-4b16754

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Keith McCormick discuss what you need to know about osteoporosis and bone health. Dr. McCormick explains what causes osteoporosis, the importance of early bone density tests, and breaks down some of the lifestyle factors that affect bone health. They discuss the need for personalized treatment beyond only medication, and Dr. McCormick advocates for patient empowerment and comprehensive understanding to improve treatment outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

• 50% of women will get osteoporosis. 20% of men will get osteoporosis.

• People should be getting bone density tests in their forties, not waiting until their fifties or sixties. The sooner it is discovered you are having symptoms, the sooner you can begin to treat and prevent.

• Bone strength is a combination of bone density and bone quality. Get both the DEXA and Trabecular Bone Score or TBS.Usually physicians don’t request the TBS but it is very important. Ask for it.

• Testing should include blood tests for bone turnover markers. Your blood is telling a larger story and it can get complicated.

• Systemic inflammation also can be tested as it can contribute to loss of bone density.

• The more times you stimulate your body, the more you will stimulate the osteoblasts.

"It's important to understand that you, the patient, are the boss, and you're paying that person, you're asking that person for help and that they should be working with you." — Dr. Keith McCormick

Connect with Dr. Keith McCormick:

Website: https://www.osteonaturals.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-keith-mccormick-dc-433a2526/

Twitter: https://x.com/OsteoNaturals

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OsteoNaturals/

Books:

Great Bones: Taking Control of Your Osteoporosis: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Bones-Taking-Control-Osteoporosis/dp/B0BS8RJ2V3

The Whole-Body Approach to Osteoporosis: https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Body-Approach-Osteoporosis-Strength-Harbinger-ebook/dp/B0056JX49Y

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Elizabeth Scott discuss the impact of cognitive distortions on stress. Dr. Scott explains what cognitive distortions are, how they lead to increased stress and emotional difficulties and gives examples of different types of distortions. They discuss how the distortions can be mitigated. They also talk about why addressing cognitive distortions is crucial for mental and physical health, reducing stress, and improving overall well-being. Finally, Dr. Scott provides free or minimal cost resources to help you change cognitive distortions and regain power over your mind.

Key Takeaways:

• Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that skew our perception of reality. They are shortcuts of the brain, but they aren’t always accurate and can lead to increased stress and emotional difficulties.

• Cognitive distortions often prevent us from enjoying the good things in life through distortions such as catastrophizing, jumping to conclusions, emotional reasoning, or disqualifying the positive, among many others.

• Your brain's attempt to protect you from disappointment and from setting yourself up to be hurt can actually create stress. Remember, stress response is triggered when our mind thinks there's a threat, whether there is one or not.

• Over time, we can rewire our brains to think more positively and accurately. Intentionally focusing on the things that are going well and moments of gratitude, will help your brain to help notice the good as well as the bad.

• It is never too early to teach children about thoughts and recognizing patterns.

"Once we can identify these distortions, we can challenge them and begin to think more realistically and positively." — Dr. Elizabeth Scott

Check out Dr. Scott’s link for a new course Designed for anyone tired of being held back by negative thought loops. Take charge of your thoughts.

https://drelizabethscott.com/mindset-makeover-masterclass-landing-page/

Episode References:

• Woebot: https://woebothealth.com/

• CBT Thought Diary: https://www.thinkwithclarity.com/

• The Five Minute Journal: https://www.intelligentchange.com/collections/all/products/the-five-minute-journal

Connect with Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D.:

Twitter: https://x.com/ElizabethScott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AboutStressManagement/

Website: https://drelizabethscott.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.elizabethscott/

Book: 8 Keys to Stress Management: amazon.com/Keys-Stress-Management-Mental-Health-ebook/dp/B00AJUKO5M

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In a world full of media, which may contain misinformation or fake news, there are conspiracy theories abounding. However, conspiracy theories, and the spreading of those theories, are not a new practice, it has been around and transmitted in any way that people communicate. In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Joseph Uscinski talk about the origin of conspiracy theories and how these formal theories differ (and are similar) to the fake news and misinformation that fills our media screens today. They discuss some of the earliest US conspiracy theories, as well as some of the more modern ones, and how they are different now, with our current political climate, from what they may have done in the past. They also discuss why people believe these conspiracy theories, as well as why people believe in them, even in the face of refuting evidence.

Key Takeaways:

• The internet did not introduce the spread of conspiracy theories. They will always be spread in any way that people communicate.

• Our worldviews impact the media that we access, which then can filter which conspiracy theories we are likely to believe.

• The two most consistent predictors of those who believe in conspiracy theories are education and level of income.

"Most of the arguments about evidence, really aren’t about evidence - they’re just about subjective judgments about evidence, which gets us away from evidence and gets us back into how people interpret information and what the world views are they bring into interpreting that information." — Dr. Joseph Uscinski

Connect with Dr. Joseph Uscinski:

Twitter: @JoeUscinski

Website: JoeUscinski.com

Books: American Conspiracy Theories & Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. John Sweller discuss the decline in student preparedness for college and how the modern education system, which has shifted from knowledge acquisition to inquiry-based learning, is at the root of that decline. Dr. Sweller explains his Cognitive Load Theory, breaks down the differences between working memory and long-term memory, and why ineffective teaching methods continue to survive. Finally, they talk about the changemakers in education and how political and bureaucratic intervention can drive educational reform.

Key Takeaways:

• Education changed about 1-2 decades ago. The emphasis switched from the acquisition of knowledge to how to acquire knowledge itself. We need to emphasize the acquisition, not the discovery, of knowledge in education.

• Students who are subjected to inquiry-based educational approaches do substantially worse on international tests than students who are exposed to a knowledge-rich curriculum. The more emphasis your education system places on inquiry learning, the worse the students do.

• If you don’t show students how to do something and they don’t figure it out themselves, it cannot go into long-term memory.

• The best way to obtain information is to obtain it from somebody else. If you want to efficiently have somebody learn something, the best way to do it is to have somebody explicitly explain it.

"An educated person who can do things, think about things, solve problems, which otherwise they couldn't dream about solving, is somebody who's got enormous amounts of information in long-term memory, and that immediately tells us what education should be about. You need to have lots of information in long term memory, and an educated person is different from an uneducated person because of that and solely because of that." — Dr. John Sweller

Episode References:

• Greg Ashman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-ashman-phd-790b59ab/

Connect with Dr. John Sweller:

Professional Bio: https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/john-sweller

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Hussam Mahmoud discuss the vulnerability of bridges to climate change. When we think about climate-related disasters, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires come to mind. Probably the last thing we think about is a bridge collapsing, but we should. With over half a million bridges in the US, each with a life expectancy of 75 years, it is more important than ever to consider the role of climatic factors on bridge stability. Dr. Mahmoud discusses how flooding, extreme temperatures, erosion, and extreme heat are affecting the bridges and he emphasizes the need for proactive inspection and maintenance to mitigate these risks.

Key Takeaways:

• There are approximately 600,000 bridges across the US. Of the long-span bridges, there are about 6,000. Many of these bridges are old, some are in poor condition, and all are affected by climate change.

• Owing to the passenger and huge amount of industrial traffic crossing bridges, a collapse could cost trillions of dollars to the economy.

• Bridges are built for a life span of about 75 years, with proper maintenance and care. There was a bridge-building boom in the 1960s and earlier - and the majority were built over 50 years ago.

"Generally speaking, bridges are relatively very safe. Even if you lose an element or something that is carrying the load ends up breaking or cracking, bridges are phenomenal in being able to redistribute the load and figure out how to carry the load with the remaining elements." — Dr. Hussam Mahmoud

Connect with Dr. Hussam Mahmoud:

Professional Bio: https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~hmahmoud/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussam-mahmoud-4b16754

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Ximena Lopez discuss the challenges faced by transgender youth, emphasizing the importance of gender-affirming care. Dr. Lopez explains the difference between sex and gender, noting that gender dysphoria is distress caused by a mismatch between one's gender identity and sex assigned at birth. She describes treatment options, including puberty suppression and hormone therapy, which can significantly improve mental health and reduce suicidality, particularly in teens. Dr. Lopez also criticizes state bans on gender-affirming care for minors and cites numerous studies showing its benefits, as well as discusses the inconsistencies in hormonal therapy for children and teens.

Key Takeaways:

• In medicine and psychology, gender and sex are two different things. While aligned in most people, they are not aligned in those individuals on the transgender, nonbinary, or intersex spectrum.

• Adults who transitioned later in life typically knew they were different when they were young, but didn’t have the language or awareness.

• When a child comes out as transgender, most parents are typically in denial. It is not until their child or teen is depressed and often suicidal, that the parents are willing to take the next steps with their child.

• Gender-affirming care at the beginning of puberty can help to pause the puberty of the incorrect gender where changes happen that cannot easily, if at all, be reversed later in life.

• Puberty suppression can be reversed on the off chance the individual changes their mind.

"Most of the stress comes from the adult world, and if the adults are transphobic and influence their kids to be transphobic, then we can also see kids who are transphobic, and then they can bully and discriminate. If it's a very affirming school where there are policies to protect transgender students, and the teachers and all the staff are on board, then that promotes well-being." — Dr. Ximena Lopez

Episode References:

• TEDMED Talk: How one pediatrician is supporting transgender youth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViqvPknY4HE

Connect with Dr. Ximena Lopez:

Professional Bio: https://profiles.ucsd.edu/ximena.lopez

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Janine LaSalle discuss Dr. LaSalle’s research on autism, focusing on prenatal gene-environment interactions. She explains that autism affects one in 36 children and talks about how genetic and prenatal environmental factors, such as maternal health and chemical exposures, play a role in autism. Dr. LaSalle discusses how they use placental DNA to identify epigenetic marks linked to autism, aiming to predict probability of autism before birth in order to intervene early. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding these factors to develop early intervention strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• It's almost impossible to compare autism incidents across time because the diagnostic criteria have changed many times over this span. There's no definitive laboratory test for autism.

• A number of genes have been identified that increase the risk of autism, genes that affect prenatal neurodevelopment.

• Maternal obesity, maternal asthma or fever during pregnancy, and preterm birth are a few examples of maternal health factors implicated in autism. Environmental exposures during pregnancy that increase risk for autism include air pollution and some pesticide exposures - these have the best evidence because they can be measured easily.

• Prenatal identification of newborns at risk for autism allows treatment to begin immediately after birth to improve their developmental trajectories.

• While little boys have a much higher incidence of autism and ADHD, the mechanism underlying the sex difference is not understood.

"The best explanation for most cases of autism is really the combination of common environmental factors and common genetics." — Janine LaSalle, Ph.D.

Connect with Janine LaSalle, Ph.D.:

Professional Bio: https://health.ucdavis.edu/medmicro/faculty/lasalle/

Website: https://mmi-lab.ucdavis.edu/

UCDavisMind Institute: https://health.ucdavis.edu/mind-institute/

UCDavis Genome Center: https://genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-lasalle-70149415

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.