Jack Westin MCAT Podcast

A 9,300-year-old skeleton. A magazine headline calling it an "invasion." A scientific debate that became a political battleground. How do you read a CARS passage where every paragraph is fighting over who gets to tell the story of the past?In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT CARS Podcast, Hunter and Molly break down the Kennewick Man passage, a dense, multi-layered piece about archaeology, colonialism, Indigenous rights, and media sensationalism. This one is packed with long sentences, buried parentheticals, and several groups with competing interests, making it a great case study in separating what's core argument from what's supporting detail.Get started with our resources!

A virus isn't even alive. It's just genetic material in a protein coat. So how does something that basic manage to take over an entire cell? In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly tackle viruses, the topic their last two episodes on cellular trafficking were quietly building toward. Now that the mechanisms for moving things in and out of a cell are established, this episode shows exactly how viruses exploit those same pathways to infect, replicate, and spread, with a deep dive into the single most MCAT-tested virus of all: HIV.Get started with our resources!

Were Neanderthals hunted to extinction, or did they simply become us? A special guest returns to help break down one of the most fascinating CARS passages yet.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT CARS Podcast, Molly is joined by a returning co-host, Jack Westin himself, for a passage on the Vindija Neanderthals. It's a passage built around a genuine scientific dichotomy: the "common picture" of Neanderthals as brutish and driven to extinction by modern humans, versus new archaeological and DNA evidence suggesting interbreeding and coexistence. Molly and Jack model exactly how to track an author's evolving argument across six paragraphs, without getting distracted by all the geography, dates, and researcher names along the way.Get started with our resources!

Vesicles don't just float where they need to go. They're driven there, on tracks, by literal motor proteins. Here's how that actually works.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly finish their cell trafficking series by answering the question the secretory pathway episode left open: how do vesicles actually move through the cell? The answer involves microtubule highways, two different motor proteins, and a whole system for bringing things into the cell that viruses have learned to exploit.Get started with our resources!

A protein has no idea where it's going. So how does it end up exactly where it needs to be, inside the nucleus, in the mitochondria, or shipped out of the cell entirely?In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly pick up where cell biology left off. After breaking down individual organelles in the last episode, they now tackle the mechanism that connects them all: the endomembrane system and the secretory pathway. This is the process by which proteins get tagged, routed, folded, modified, and shipped to their final destination, and it's one of the most overlooked-yet-testable systems on the MCAT.Get started with our resources!

Sealed cans, mysteriously empty. A puddle that appears out of nowhere. What does any of this have to do with land ownership? Everything.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT CARS Podcast, Hunter and Molly break down a passage that starts like a supernatural mystery and ends as a sharp political and philosophical argument about land, ownership, and Indigenous belief in Papua New Guinea. They model exactly how to read a passage that shifts tone and topic mid-stream, without losing the thread.This passage covers anthropology and land rights, a topic combo that can feel unfamiliar, but the underlying skills (tracking contrast, spotting conclusions, separating detail from argument) apply to every CARS passage you'll see on test day.Get started with our resources!

Are you more bacteria than human? The answer might surprise you, and it's just the beginning of this deep dive into cell biology.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly go inside the cell. After covering membrane transport last episode, they now unpack everything happening on the other side of that membrane, from the nucleus outward into membrane bound organelles like the mitochondria (and its wild evolutionary story), while contrasting important features that differentiate eukaryotes and prokaryotes.Get started with our resources!

Can history replace literature as the way we tell the human story? A 1980s essay makes the case, and it's more entertaining than you'd expect.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT CARS Podcast, Hunter and Molly tackle a passage on history and literature, one of the topics students often dread, and prove it can actually be a blast to work through. They break down the full passage sentence by sentence, modeling exactly how to map an argument in real time so you can walk into test day with a repeatable strategy.Get started with our resources!

Can a cell control what gets in and what stays out? Here's how membrane transport actually works.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly break down one of the most tested concepts on the exam: how molecules move across the cell membrane. Building on last episode's dive into lipids, they explore what makes a membrane selectively permeable and why that matters for medicine as a whole.

Welcome back to the Jack Westin CARS Podcast with Hunter and Molly! In this episode we walk through the August 12th daily CARS passage titled Television and Life, from Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, a media criticism passage about how television has stopped being just entertainment and quietly become the invisible architecture of modern culture.Fair warning: if you spend any time on a screen, this passage will make you feel deeply seen. Hunter and Molly had a lot of feelings about it too.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode was DNA techniques. This episode we finally give some love to the most underappreciated of the four macromolecules: lipids.Lipids do not get the same attention as proteins or carbohydrates on the MCAT, but Mike makes a strong argument in this episode that lipids are actually the macromolecule that defines the cell. Without them, there is no inside versus outside. Without them, nothing gets concentrated, nothing gets protected, and nothing gets separated from the environment.This episode covers everything from the chemistry of fatty acids to why fish in cold water have healthier fats than you do.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin CARS Podcast with Hunter and Molly! In this episode we walk through the August 5th daily CARS passage titled Man the Hunter, an anthropology passage about whether early humans were primarily hunters or scavengers, and what the fossil evidence from Olduvai Gorge actually suggests.This is a great representative CARS passage: medium density, a clear competing theory structure, and plenty of hedged language that will absolutely trip up students who are not paying attention to tone and author confidence. Hunter and Molly show you exactly how to navigate all of it.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we covered DNA and RNA structure. Now we put that knowledge to work and answer the question that follows naturally: how do scientists actually study DNA, and how does the MCAT test those techniques?This is the DNA techniques episode, and it connects back to nearly everything you have already learned including amino acids, protein structure, hemoglobin, gel electrophoresis, blotting and central dogma.

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode was hemoglobin. This episode we zoom out even further and ask the question that underlies everything: what is the blueprint that tells your cells what to make in the first place?This is the DNA and RNA episode. And yes, it connects to basically everything you have already studied.

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! This episode is unlike any other we have done. We are focusing on just one protein.Hemoglobin is arguably the most important protein on the entire exam, and the reason is simple: it touches everything. Amino acids, protein structure, acid-base chemistry, electrostatics, metabolism, spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis, chromatography, mass spec, muscle contraction and more.This is the episode that shows you what real MCAT studying looks like, finding connections instead of memorizing isolated facts.

Mass spectrometry and ¹H NMR can look intimidating but the MCAT does not expect you to approach them like a full organic chemistry lab exam.In this episode of the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast, Mike and Molly break down the essential concepts you need to interpret mass spectra and proton NMR questions confidently. You'll learn how to focus on the information that actually matters, eliminate incorrect answer choices faster, and avoid getting distracted by unnecessary complexity.Mike and Molly also walk through ethanol as an example, showing how different analytical techniques can be combined to determine a molecule's identity.Whether these topics bring back stressful memories from organic chemistry or you are learning them for the first time, this episode will help you understand exactly what the MCAT expects you to know and what you can safely ignore.Next episode: Hemoglobin and the major biochemistry concepts connected to its structure and function.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we laid the foundation with absorption, emission and the electromagnetic spectrum. Now we finally get to use all of that to actually identify molecules.This is the episode most students dread. Spectroscopy diagrams, wave numbers, peaks, and graphs that look like complete gibberish. Mike and Molly break it all down so it actually makes sense, without the memorization spiral that trips everyone up.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! We just finished chromatography and separation techniques. Before we dive into spectroscopy, there is foundational science that makes all of it make sense: how atoms absorb and emit light, why energy levels are quantized, and why some molecules are colored while others are not.This episode is the one most students skip and then regret when spectroscopy questions show up in their passages and nothing clicks.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin CARS Podcast! In this episode we walk through the June 17th daily CARS passage titled Treason, a history passage about how English kings treated rebellion and how Edward the First transformed the legal definition of treason in medieval England.History passages can feel dense and full of unfamiliar names and dates. This episode shows you exactly how to cut through all of that and find the arguments that actually matter.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we tackled gels, SDS-PAGE and Western blots. Now we move into one of the most high-yield experimental technique topics on the MCAT: chromatography.If you have ever seen a chromatography question in a passage and had no idea where to start, this episode gives you a framework that works for every single type. No memorizing, just understanding.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin CARS Podcast with Usher and Molly! In this episode we walk through the June 10th daily CARS passage titled Play, a surprisingly engaging read about the nature of play, why Americans crave it, and what professional sports have lost along the way.This one is a great example of a passage that draws you in naturally but still demands sharp critical thinking on the questions. If you have ever let your guard down on an interesting passage and paid for it on the questions, this episode is for you.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! We just finished amino acids and protein structure. Now it is time for one of the most feared topics in MCAT biochemistry: analytical and separation techniques.If you have ever stared at a Western blot figure in a passage and had absolutely no idea what you were looking at, this episode is exactly what you need. Mike spent years running these experiments in the lab and still has the PTSD to prove it. Together, Mike and Molly break down every technique you need to know, from the foundational logic of electrophoresis all the way to interpreting banding patterns on a gel.Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin CARS Podcast with Usher and Molly! In this episode we walk through the June 3rd daily CARS passage titled Averoes, a philosophy passage about the 12th century Muslim thinker Ibn Rushd and his exploration of the relationship between faith and reason.If philosophy passages make you nervous, this one is a great study tool. It is dense, it builds slowly, and it rewards students who know how to track arguments across paragraphs without getting lost in the details. Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we broke down all 20 amino acids. Now we take it to the next level and answer the question every biochemistry student eventually has to face: how do these amino acids actually come together to build the machines that run your entire body?This episode is a deep dive into all four levels of protein structure, why structure and function are completely inseparable, and exactly how the MCAT will test you on this material. Get started with our resources!

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! This episode covers the single highest yield topic on the entire MCAT: amino acids. And no, memorizing structures is not enough. If you have ever known your amino acids cold and still gotten questions wrong, this episode is exactly what you need.Mike and Molly go way beyond the list. They break down every amino acid by category, explain what makes each one chemically unique, and show you exactly how the MCAT connects amino acids to neurotransmitters, protein structure, acid-base chemistry, lab techniques, enzyme regulation, and more.

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! Last episode we broke down the neurobiology of language; Broca's, Wernicke's, split-brain patients. This episode we zoom all the way out and ask a question that's fascinated scientists for centuries:Does the language you speak actually shape the way you think?This is one of the most debated topics in MCAT psychology and one of the most fascinating. Mike and Molly break it all down, name by name, theory by theory.

Welcome back to the Jack Westin MCAT Podcast with Mike and Molly! In this episode, we're breaking down one of the most high-yield neuroscience topics on the MCAT, the biology of language and the brain areas behind it.Ever wonder why some people lose the ability to speak clearly after a stroke, while others speak fluently but make zero sense? That's not random, it comes down to specific brain regions, and the MCAT loves to test exactly this.

In this episode of the Jack Westin CARS Podcast, Usher and Molly tackle one of the trickier philosophy passages in recent memory, "Moral Relations" from May 6th. If philosophy passages make you nervous on the MCAT, this one's for you.Get started with our resources!

Is stress a bad thing? Not according to the science. In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly flip the coin from last episode's neurobiology of emotion to the psychology of emotion and stress. They walk through the major theories of emotion, break down eustress vs. distress, explain cognitive appraisal, and connect it to the MCAT study experience in a way that might actually change how you approach test day.Get started with our resources!

Did chimpanzees domesticate us? And if wild chimps don't exploit each other, why do captive chimps exploit humans? In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Chimpanzee Domestication" (April 29th), a surprisingly philosophical passage about the mutual relationship between humans and chimps that's way more nuanced than it first appears.Get started with our resources!

Why do you remember your most stressful moments so vividly but can't recall what you had for lunch last Tuesday? It's all about the limbic system. In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down the biology of emotion and stress, covering every limbic system structure, the HPA axis, cortisol, and general adaptation syndrome, plus how all of it directly applies to surviving your MCAT prep without burning out.Get started with our resources!

What do you do when a CARS passage gives you a laundry list of examples in one paragraph and then repeats the same idea with a new layer in every paragraph after that? You learn to recognize the pattern and stop over-mapping.In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Ritual Failures" (April 22nd), an unusual passage that blends philosophy, anthropology, and speech act theory to explore why rituals go wrong. This one is packed with examples, parallel structure across paragraphs, and a rare gift-wrapped thesis statement that makes the main idea surprisingly clear if you know what to look for.Get started with our resources!

Alpha, beta minus, beta plus, gamma. Do you know which decay changes mass, which changes identity, and which changes nothing? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly finally cover the topic they've been putting off for over a year: atoms and radioactive decay. They build from the ground up, starting with atomic structure, isotopes, and stability, then walk through every type of decay and connect it all back to PET scans and carbon dating.Next episode: The limbic system, emotion, and stressGet started with our resources!

What do you do when a CARS passage goes back and forth on the same idea for six paragraphs and only gives you the answer in the last sentence? You stay calm and trust the process.In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Philosophical Driving" (April 15th), one of the toughest and least interesting passages they've covered on the podcast. This episode is essential for anyone who struggles with dense philosophical CARS passages or who panics when the author doesn't take a clear stance until the very end.This is one of the best episodes for building your tolerance for uncomfortable, unclear CARS passages where the author makes you wait for the punchline.Get started with our resources!

There are only two scenarios in MCAT magnetism. That's it. In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down everything you need to know about magnetic fields, both right hand rules, the key equations, and how it all connects to how MRI machines actually produce those high-resolution images of your brain.Next episode: Atoms and radioactive decay (and how it connects to PET scans)Get started with our resources!

How do you find the main idea when every paragraph has a different argument? In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Teacher's Merit Pay" (April 8th), a passage they've both taught many times in their CARS strategy courses. This one is packed with arguments, counterarguments, examples, and named individuals, making it the perfect passage to practice identifying what actually matters.Get started with our resources!

You probably had a psychoactive drug today and didn't even realize it. In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down every major class of psychoactive drugs you need to know for the MCAT, including how each one hijacks your synapses, which neurotransmitters are involved, and why some are incredibly addictive.Next episode: Magnetism and how MRIs actually workGet started with our resources!

Why did humans invent the wheel when animals never did? And what does a running spider have to do with your CARS score?In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Wheels" (April 1st) sentence by sentence. This passage blends history, evolutionary biology, and a surprisingly entertaining argument about why human legs are, well, mid. Together they show you how to stay engaged with a fun passage without letting your reactions pull you off track.Get started with our resources!

You spend a third of your life doing it, but do you actually understand how sleep works? In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down everything you need to know about consciousness, sleep stages, circadian rhythm, and dream theories for the MCAT, plus how all of it connects directly to optimizing your own study schedule.Get started with our resources!

70+ med schools now require or recommend the Preview exam. Do you know how to answer it?In this Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast episode, Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 35+ years on admissions committees) gives a complete breakdown of the AAMC Preview Professional Readiness Exam. She walks through the format, scoring system, and decision-making framework, then applies it to real practice scenarios so you can see exactly how to rate responses on the four-point effectiveness scale.Get started with our resources!

Electrostatics doesn't have to be the topic you dread. In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down everything you need to know about charge, forces, electric fields, potential energy, and voltage, then connect it all back to how EEGs and ECGs actually work.Whether electrostatics is your weakest topic or you just need a solid review, this episode gives you the conceptual foundation and equation relationships to handle any question the MCAT throws at you.Next episode: Consciousness, sleep stages, and psychoactive drugsGet started with our resources!

Can evolution explain why you love your family? In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly break down the daily CARS passage "Family Genes" (March 18th) sentence by sentence. This passage blends biology and philosophy in a way that feels familiar to pre-meds but still requires pure CARS reasoning to navigate.Get started with our resources!

What's the difference between a weak CASPer answer and one that lands in the top quartile? Structure.In this Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast episode, Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 35+ years on admissions committees) walks through her exact 6-step framework for answering any CASPer question, then applies it to six real practice scenarios (three typed, three video) so you can see exactly what a strong response looks like.Get started with our resources!

Which brain imaging technique should you pick on the MCAT? In this episode, Mike and Molly break down every major brain imaging method you need to know: EEG, CT, PET, MRI, and fMRI. They cover what each technique actually measures (structural vs. functional), when to use each one, key limitations, and how to answer those tricky "which imaging method is most appropriate?" questions. Includes a rapid-fire quiz to test your understanding.Next episode: Electrostatics and how it connects to brain imaging.Get started with our resources!

In this Jack Westin CARS Reading Skills Workshop, Usher and Molly walk through a daily CARS passage about Quentin Tarantino's use of pop music in violent film scenes. Together they break down each paragraph in real time, showing you how to identify arguments, separate key ideas from supporting details, and build a passage map that actually helps you answer questions.In this episode, you'll learn:

Do you actually need to stress about CASPer and Preview? What do admissions committees really do with your scores? And how do you answer these situational judgment questions the right way?In this Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast episode, Molly Kielty (Director of Instruction) hosts Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 35+ years on admissions committees) for a complete breakdown of both the CASPer and Preview exams. Dr. Paschal shares insider committee perspective on how these scores are actually used, walks through real practice scenarios with strong and weak responses, and gives you the exact framework to approach every question.In this episode, you'll learn:

What's the actual difference between sensation and perception? And why does the MCAT test it so heavily?In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down one of the most commonly confused topics in psych/soc: sensation vs. perception. They walk through the key definitions, thresholds, theories, and perceptual principles you need to know, all with real-world examples, MCAT applications, and even a few optical illusions to prove how easily your brain can be tricked.In this episode, you'll learn:

How does your brain actually detect smell and taste? And why does the MCAT care so much about the difference between flavor and taste?In this Jack Westin MCAT Podcast episode, Mike and Molly break down everything you need to know about olfaction and gustation for the MCAT. Building on our previous episode about GPCR signaling, we walk through how smell and taste both rely on chemoreceptors, why they use different signaling pathways, and how they combine to create your perception of flavor.In this episode, you'll learn:

Mike and Molly just dropped a clear, test-focused breakdown of G protein coupled receptors that covers everything the AAMC expects you to know without the textbook overwhelm.Here's what we walk through:

Mike and Molly just dropped a clear, test-focused breakdown of G protein coupled receptors that covers everything the AAMC expects you to know without the textbook overwhelm.Here's what we walk through:

What do med school admissions committees actually look for after the GPA/MCAT screen? In this Jack Westin Pre-Med Admissions Podcast episode, Molly Kilty (Director of Instruction) hosts Dr. Anita Paschal (MD, double PhD, 30+ years on admissions committees) as she breaks down the CLASS framework for building a well-rounded application: Clinical, Leadership, Academic enrichment, Service, and Social.Dr. Paschal explains why acceptance rates hover around 40–44%, why many applicants with strong stats still get rejected, and how committees review your application through categories, hours, time commitment, and evidence of core competencies.In this episode, you'll learn:- How med schools screen applications and what happens after GPA/MCAT ✅- The CLASS framework to assess your readiness for med school