Causes or Cures
For the Nerds and the Nerd Nots
Curious about health? So is Dr. Eeks.
Causes or Cures is an independent health podcast hosted by Dr. Eeks (ErinKate Stair, MD, MPH). It is an offbeat, grassroots show driven by curiosity and a genuine love of making complicated health topics easier to understand. Science is fascinating. It does not have to sound corporate to be credible.
Dr. Eeks is a public health professional specializing in applied epidemiology and health communication. By day, she works on complex national public health issues. By choice, she spends her free time asking scientists, physicians, researchers, authors, clinicians, and other fascinating people questions she hopes everyone else is wondering too.
The goal is simple. Make good science understandable without watering it down.
Along the way, the podcast has wandered into everything from memory and longevity to self medicating animals, migraines, gene drive mosquitoes, public health history, the spiritual realm, and the occasional existential detour. If it has something to teach us about health or what it means to be human, it is probably fair game.
Recurring segments include Public Health is Weird, which uncovers strange but true stories from public health history, WTF Health News, where Dr. Eeks breaks down bizarre or buzzworthy health headlines, and Eeks Speakeasy, a more personal corner of the podcast where curiosity occasionally spills over into life, philosophy, and whatever else deserves a drink and a discussion.
A few housekeeping notes...
This podcast is for information, curiosity, and conversation. It is not medical advice.
Although Dr. Eeks has an MD, she does not practice medicine. She is a full time public health nerd and will never tell you what to do with your own health. If you have a medical question, your healthcare provider knows you far better than a podcast ever could.
Guests are invited because they have something interesting to contribute, not because Dr. Eeks agrees with every opinion they hold. Likewise, she does not endorse miracle supplements, mysterious oils, magic socks, potions, or anything that promises to solve all of life's problems.
If an episode is sponsored or underwritten by a company she genuinely enjoys working with, she will always tell you.
Causes or Cures is also not a news site. It is a place for thoughtful conversations. Dr. Eeks believes people can disagree respectfully, ask difficult questions, change their minds, and occasionally laugh at themselves along the way. Some of the best conversations she has ever had happened in hole in the walls, on sidewalks, and in places where nobody was trying to win an argument.
Sometimes Barnaby, her dog and unofficial executive producer, contributes his thoughts as well. Fortunately, he is a pretty smart dog.
Above all, Dr. Eeks hopes this podcast encourages people to stay curious, compassionate, honest, open minded, and engaged. Freedom of discussion is a beautiful, delightfully messy thing, and one worth protecting.
The views expressed on this podcast are Dr. Eeks' own and do not reflect the views of any organization she contracts with or consults for.
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Causes or Cures
How the Pandemic is Changing the Opioid Epidemic, with Dr. John Kelly
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Prior to the current pandemic, the news cycle was dominated by the opioid epidemic, a beast that has taken the lives of many people from all walks of life. Just yesterday, the Sackler family's Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to the marketing and selling of opioids. Universities, like NYU, just announced that they are removing the Sackler family name from their campuses. Many other drug companies face serious legal issues. Prior to COVID-19, the opioid crisis was the top public health issue that everyone was talking about. National, state and local governments were desperate to find ways to address it. It was a top election issue. Since COVID-19, the opioid epidemic has been removed from the spotlight..., but it has not gone away. In fact, it's gotten significantly worse. We just aren't talking about it as much.
In this podcast, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. John Kelly about the current state of the opioid epidemic. Dr. Kelly will identify who is getting hit the hardest, why the epidemic is getting worse, overdose deaths, why stress and isolation affect a person struggling with opioids more than a person who is not, and if someone is in recovery, when is the most critical time period he or she is most likely to relapse. He will also discuss changes to treatment, telemedicine, digital Apps and what he thinks is the best path forward for putting a major dent in this public health crisis.
Dr. Kelly is a Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine, and the Program Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service. He is a former President of the American Psychological Association's Society of Addiction Psychology and has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions, as well as foreign governments and the United Nations. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, chapters and books in the field of addiction medicine. Finally, he was the author on the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health.
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