Causes or Cures
"For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots"
Causes or Cures is a health podcast hosted by Dr. Eeks—an independent, offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a passion for breaking down complex health topics into bite-sized, easy-to-understand insights. Dr. Eeks (ErinKate Star, MD, MPH) is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology and health communication. She works on complex and timely public health issues and is all about making science relatable, often using a blue-collar sense of humor to drive the message home. .
On this podcast, Dr. Eeks talks with experts from around the world (doctors, researchers, public health pros, and more) to dive into the latest hot topics in 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 by a company she likes, 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 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 the NYC sidewalks.) 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.
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Causes or Cures
A Collection of Bizarre Deaths, Including Rasputin’s, with Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roger Byard
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"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, and donkeys
- Whether pets truly consume their deceased owners, and what the evidence shows
- The real story behind the death of Rasputin and why the myths refuse to die
- Cannibalism, including its different forms and the true cases that shaped how we understand it
- Historical fears of being buried alive and the strange methods once used to confirm death
- The one case that has stayed with Dr. Byard long after the autopsy was finished
Dr. Byard is a repeat guest on Causes or Cures. The topic of his first episode was the forensic elements of killer selfies.
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Topics include forensic pathology, unusual causes of death, animal attacks, Rasputin’s death, cannibalism case studies, and historical death practices.