Podcasts about National Health Service

-Wired uncovered the dormant tool that contained algorithms which would have converted photos of faces into biometric identifiers stored on-device and cross referenced with each new facial scan. -Meta is once again asking a court to intervene in its long-running battle against spyware maker NSO Group. -The UK government is reviewing its National Health Service partnership with US data firm Palantir to decide if it will end the contract early. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Labour government has embarked on a reorganisation of the NHS in England. And now the Health Bill (also known as the ‘NHS Modernisation Bill') has been introduced in parliament to effect the changes. Key provisions include merging NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care, reforming data sharing to support creating a single patient record and shaking up patient voice functions by abolishing Healthwatch. But will any of this make a real difference to patients and the public? We take a closer look at what's in the bill and what it really means, and ask how Wes Streeting's departure as health secretary is likely to affect the government's reform agenda. Hugh Alderwick, Director of Policy and Research at the Health Foundation, is joined by: Clare Gerada, a GP and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. Nicholas Timmins, an author and journalist who writes about the welfare state and the NHS and a senior fellow at the Institute for Government. Show notesUK parliament. Health Bill.  Department of Health and Social Care (2024). Independent investigation of the NHS in England: Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England.BMJ (2026). Health bill brings NHS management back into government.  NHS Assembly (2023). NHS in England at 75: Priorities for the future.  The King's Fund (2026). Before the next bill lands: what history tells us about NHS reorganisation. Health Foundation (2026). Health bill hands power to ministers, but misses the biggest health challenges. 

In Singapore, a group of runners charge 50p per kilometre to run on strangers' Strava accounts.  That's how far people will go to look fit online.  This episode explains the psychology behind why being watched changes everything. --- Owain's book: https://amzn.to/4smVtrP  Owain's company CogCo: https://cogco.co/  Unlock the Nudge Vaults: ⁠https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults⁠  Join 11,626 readers of my newsletter: ⁠https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list ⁠ Connect on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/⁠ --- Today's sources:  Gerber, A. S., Green, D. P., & Larimer, C. W. (2008). Social pressure and voter turnout: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment. American Political Science Review, 102(1), 33–48. Sallis, A., Harper, H., & Sanders, M. (2018). Effect of persuasive messages on National Health Service organ donor registrations: A pragmatic quasi-randomised controlled trial with one million UK road taxpayers. Trials, 19, 513. Service, O., & Gallagher, R. (2017). Think small: The surprisingly simple ways to reach big goals. Michael O'Mara Books.Triplett, N. (1898). The dynamogenic factors in pacemaking and competition. American Journal of Psychology, 9, 507–533.

In this thought-provoking episode, host Gabe Howard sits down with child psychiatrist and author Dr. Sami Timimi to challenge some of the most widely accepted ideas in modern mental health care. Drawing from his latest book, “Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress, and Neurodiversity,” Dr. Timimi explores why diagnoses like ADHD, depression, and anxiety may be less about biology and more about cultural context. The conversation dives into how labeling distress can sometimes obscure the real drivers of human experience—life experiences, relationships, and environments. Listeners will learn: the risks of viewing mental health challenges as lifelong disorders how context, development, and adversity shape emotional experiences what a more humane, supportive approach to distress could look like This episode invites listeners to reconsider what it means to be “normal,” and whether our current mental health framework is helping — or limiting — our understanding of the human condition. If you've ever questioned the labels, wondered about overdiagnosis, or wanted a deeper conversation about mental health beyond the surface, this episode is for you. “We have this fantasy that we can live lives that are devoid of any sort of emotional suffering, but that creates a really artificial idea about what life should be like." ~Dr. Sami Timimi, author of Searching for Normal Our guest, Dr. Sami Timimi, is a practicing consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychotherapist in the UK's National Health Service. He has contributed to over forty books on subjects related to critical psychiatry, childhood, psychotherapy, depression, behavioral problems, and cross-cultural psychiatry; authored six books, including “Naughty Boys: Anti-Social Behaviour, ADHD, and the Role of Culture” and “Insane Medicine: How the Mental Health Industry Creates Damaging Treatment Traps and How You Can Escape Them”; co-edited four books, including “Liberatory Psychiatry: Philosophy, Politics and Mental Health with Carl Cohen”; and co-authored two others, including “The Myth of Autism: Medicalising Men's and Boys' Social and Emotional Competence” with Neil Gardiner and Brian McCabe. His most recent book is “Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress and Neurodiversity.” Our host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe is also the host of the "Inside Bipolar" podcast with Dr. Nicole Washington. Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can't imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com. Please share the show with everyone you know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this new episode of THE POLITICRAT daily podcast Omar Moore plays the audio of the entire May 5, 2026 CNN California governor candidates' debate in Monterey Park, California. And a correction: Nye Bevan, not Nan Bevan, as Omar incorrectly stated in this episode, was the architect of the National Health Service in the UK.WARNING: This episode contains foul language. Listener discretion is advised.Recorded May 6, 2026.Subscribe on Substack: https://popcornreel.substack.comSubscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thepoliticratpodBUY MERCH FROM THE POLITICRAT STORE:https://the-politicrat.myshopify.comBUY BLACK!Patronize Black-owned businesses on Roland Martin's Black Star Network: https://shopblackstarnetwork.comBLACK-OWNED MEDIA MATTERS:(Watch Roland Martin Unfiltered daily M-F 6-8pm Eastern)https://youtube.com/rolandsmartin

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Privacy Please, Cameron Ivey investigates Palantir Technologies — a data analytics company founded in 2003 with CIA backing that has quietly become embedded across nearly every major arm of the U.S. federal government.This week's investigation covers:The USDA Deal On April 22nd, the Department of Agriculture signed a $300 million blanket purchase agreement with Palantir to build "One Farmer, One File" — a unified digital profile for every American farmer. The deal was awarded without competitive bidding.The IRS Bombshell The same week, The Intercept revealed — based on documents obtained by watchdog group American Oversight — that Palantir has been running financial crime surveillance operations inside the IRS since 2018. The IRS has paid Palantir over $130 million for access to a platform that cross-references bank records, tax filings, transaction histories, and more across millions of Americans.The Immigration Enforcement Machine Palantir's ICE contracts — now over $145 million — power the agency's case management, deportation targeting, and real-time location tracking of immigrants. A tool called ELITE creates individual dossiers on deportation targets by pulling data from the Department of Health and Human Services.The Pushback That's Working New York City's public hospital network canceled its Palantir contract after community organizing and City Council pressure. In the UK, 229,000 people have signed petitions to remove Palantir from the National Health Service. Public pressure is moving the needle.Five Things You Can Do Right Now Cameron closes with specific, actionable steps every listener can take — from requesting your IRS transcript to freezing your credit to contacting your representative about sole-source contracting.Privacy Please is part of the Problem Lounge Network. New episodes weekly. theproblemlounge.comChapter Markers 00:00 — Cold Open01:30 — Intro & Show Welcome02:45 — Act One: The USDA Deal06:00 — Act Two: Who Is Palantir?11:30 — Act Three: The Empire Expands (ICE, Policing)17:00 — Act Four: Your Tax Returns Are In There Too24:00 — Act Five: The Layer Nobody's Talking About30:00 — Act Six: The Part That Gives Me Hope34:30 — What You Can Actually Do (5 Tips)39:00 — Closing Reflection (Adjust timestamps after editing)Support the show

DW's Lars Bevanger reports on a new a controversial contract between Britain's National Health Service and the US data and spy tech company Palantir. The post Increasing frustration over UK deal with spy tech company appeared first on The World from PRX.

DW's Lars Bevanger reports on a new a controversial contract between Britain's National Health Service and the US data and spy tech company Palantir. The post Increasing frustration over UK deal with spy tech company appeared first on The World from PRX.

President Donald Trump has struck a deal with the UK that exempts prescription drugs imported to the United States from tariffs for three years. In exchange, Britain’s National Health Service will pay 25% more for new drugs. The question now is: Can the U.S. negotiate similar deals with other countries? In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," we examine the drug pricing agreement between the UK and the U.S. Fierce Pharma’s Kevin Dunleavy explores the issue with Jeffrey Gerrish, who served as deputy U.S. trade representative for Asia, Europe and the Middle East during the first Trump administration. They break down the specifics of the UK-U.S. partnership and whether the deal could be applied to other countries to bring drug prices more in line with those in the U.S. They also discuss Trump’s other attempts to use America’s economic power to secure drug pricing agreements. To learn more about the topics in this episode: UK signs off on US pharma deal, ensuring tariff reprieve as Britain aims to reattract investments Merck executes its own Brexit, moving all R&D operations out of UK AstraZeneca's Soriot is considering move of stock listing to the US: Times See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A transgender doctor at the centre of a costly legal battle in the UK has been registered as female by Australia’s medical regulator. Plus, Xi Jinping calls for passage through Strait of Hormuz to be restored and Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO. Read more: Trans doctor Beth Upton at centre of UK dispute now working in Australia China's Xi calls for normal Hormuz passage Vance set to depart for talks as Iranians stall: report Apple hardware executive John Ternus to become CEO after Tim Cook steps downSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this gentle and deeply grounding episode, Gabby talks to psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and bestselling author Sue Stuart‑Smith to explore the profound connection between gardening, nature, and our mental wellbeing. Drawing on her acclaimed book "The Well Gardened Mind", Sue reflects on her journey from clinical psychiatry into the therapeutic world of gardening, sharing powerful stories of people who have found healing, resilience, and renewed purpose through tending to plants. Together, Gabby and Sue delve into the emotional and psychological benefits of reconnecting with the natural world. They discuss how gardening can soothe the nervous system, why sensory experiences in nature offer such deep comfort, and how even the smallest moments of green space can help us feel more regulated and grounded. Sue explains the symbolism and emotional power of flowers, the importance of community gardens in fostering connection, and the impact that modern screen culture and urban living have on our mental health. This conversation isn't about being a “good” gardener or having a perfect green thumb. It's about remembering our innate relationship with nature and recognising that nurturing something living - even a single plant on a windowsill - can quietly nurture us in return. As Sue beautifully says, “When we work with nature outside us, we work with nature inside us.” Whether you're an experienced gardener or someone who has never planted a seed, this episode offers a calming reminder that nature is always available to support us. It's a conversation about what it means to be human, to be rooted, and to rediscover the grounding power of the natural world. Sue Stuart‑Smith is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist and the author of The Well Gardened Mind, a Sunday Times Bestseller that was named one of The Times' 37 best books of 2020 and awarded Gardening Book of the Year by The Sunday Times. She originally studied English Literature at the University of Cambridge before qualifying as a doctor and spending many years working in the National Health Service, where she became the lead clinician for psychotherapy in Hertfordshire. Sue now teaches at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London and works as a consultant at DocHealth, a not‑for‑profit psychotherapeutic consultation service for doctors. ​​To download the free My Possible Self App: https://mypossibleself.app.link/podcast To follow My Possible Self on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mypossibleself/ For more on Sue, her projects and book: https://www.suestuartsmith.com/ To follow Sue on Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/suestuartsmith  

Good morning. The strike by resident doctors highlights the severe tensions faced by the National Health Service. The tragedy of the dispute, and any disruption experienced by patients, is that all sides involved no doubt very much want health services to improve. So as resolution is sought can this also be a moment to ask again an increasingly pressing question. What exactly is health? The issue often came to the fore when I worked in the NHS. My role was as a psychotherapist in a psychiatric hospital. We worked with older adults who had often suffered for not just years but decades. Their pain was substantial and entrenched. What could be offered to such folk? What did we mental health professionals think we were doing? There were no easy answers. Suffering is hard. But a light might flicker in the darkness when a patient felt heard. They realised, even momentarily, that they were with someone who didn't have any immediate remedy but did appreciate the depth of their torment. Many doctors will know such moments. There is a glimpse of connection that is potentially healing and powerful. But why? The answer provides a clue to a notion of health that is not only about an absence of symptoms, valuable though that most certainly is. With a patient who feels heard, you together enter a field of existence that is wider than the previously isolated, suffering soul knew was possible. A dimension of life, not determined by having solutions, is discovered as a release or expansion. The word “health” itself recognises the possibility as it comes from the old English for “whole”. Believers in God will recognise that wholeness as an intuition: our existence as individuals is actually a sharing in the existence of God. We are as many reflections of the one divine light. A shift of perspective, a kind of conversion, is required for this transcendent awareness to become a steady part of life. The difference with this fuller notion of health or wholeness is that you don't privately possess it, let alone control it, but rather it holds you and you might collaborate with it more fully. The NHS will likely continue to struggle with the demands it faces, even as - and perhaps because - remarkable improvements in treatments will continue, too. In this context, a cultural and spiritual conversation about the wider nature of health is crucial. Like the patient who feels better because they are heard, a more expansive vision of what health entails, and indeed what it is to live well, will alleviate stresses on us all.

Welcome to Ozempic Weightloss Unlocked, where we dive into the latest on Ozempic, from medical breakthroughs to lifestyle impacts.Listeners, big news from the British Heart Foundation: over one million people with cardiovascular disease will soon get Wegovy, which contains semaglutide like Ozempic, on the National Health Service to prevent heart attacks and strokes. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends it for those with a body mass index of twenty-seven or higher who have had a heart attack, stroke, or severe artery issues. Clinical trials show it cuts cardiovascular risks, independent of weight loss, and it's given as a weekly injection with diet and exercise.The Obesity Medicine Association reports that in December twenty twenty-five, the Food and Drug Administration approved an oral Wegovy pill for obesity, starting at one point five milligrams and titrating up. It matches the injectable's side effects like stomach issues but offers a no-needle option, taken on an empty stomach.Tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound, leads in effectiveness per their data, with up to twenty-two point five percent average weight loss in trials, beating semaglutide's fourteen point nine percent. Expect one to two new GLP-one drugs yearly from twenty twenty-six, like Lilly's orforglipron oral pill showing eleven point two percent loss, and Novo Nordisk's amycretin with twenty-four point three percent in phase two.Beyond weight, Advisory Board notes semaglutide's approvals for chronic kidney disease in type two diabetes patients and cardiovascular benefits, reducing major events by twenty percent. Studies link it to lower cognitive decline risks and possible fertility boosts from weight loss improving hormones.Always pair these with healthy eating, exercise, and behavioral changes for best results and to preserve muscle.Thanks for tuning in, listeners. Subscribe for more updates. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

In this episode of Dean's Chat, Dr. Jeffrey Jensen and Dr. Joanna Richey welcome Professor Dr. Lyndon Mason, an internationally recognized foot and ankle orthopedic surgeon based in the United Kingdom. The conversation offers a comprehensive look at his career journey, the structure of UK surgical training, and the foundational principles that have guided his success in clinical practice, research, and education.Dr. Mason, shares insights into his early path into medicine. Unlike the United States, where pre-medical education precedes medical school, Dr. Mason entered medical training directly at age 18. He outlines the UK system, which includes medical school, foundation years, core surgical training, registrar-level specialization, and fellowship.A central theme throughout the discussion is the profound impact of mentorship. Dr. Mason credits several key mentors with shaping his career trajectory, not only by providing guidance but also by challenging him to pursue opportunities beyond his comfort zone. He emphasizes that mentorship is not a short-term relationship but a lifelong influence, often continuing decades after initial training. These relationships also play a critical role in helping trainees navigate self-doubt and imposter syndrome—an experience Dr. Mason openly acknowledges as part of professional growth.Dr. Mason's career has been marked by extensive international experience, including training and observerships in Australia, Germany, and the United States. These opportunities exposed him to high-volume, complex pathology and diverse surgical approaches. Importantly, he highlights that the greatest value of these experiences lies not just in learning surgical techniques, but in understanding how different systems and surgeons approach problem-solving and patient care.With over 300 publications and more than 50 awards, Dr. Mason's academic productivity is driven by what Dr. Richey calls “insatiable curiosity.” He underscores the importance of questioning established practices, encouraging trainees to ask “why” at every step rather than accepting tradition at face value.The discussion also explores differences between the UK and U.S. healthcare systems, particularly in relation to industry collaboration. Dr. Mason explains that opportunities for device development and commercialization are more limited within the UK's National Health Service, where intellectual property is often institutionally held. As a result, relationships with industry differ significantly from those in the United States.Education remains a cornerstone of Dr. Mason's career. He describes a deep passion for teaching, especially at the level of early learners, and has developed numerous educational resources over time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he launched a YouTube channel to make high-quality lectures accessible to trainees who might otherwise be restricted by paywalls. For him, teaching and curiosity are inherently linked—those who are driven to learn are naturally inclined to teach.Ultimately, Dr. Mason finds the greatest fulfillment in mentorship and the success of his trainees. He takes pride in seeing students progress through their careers, with the hope that they will surpass his own accomplishments. This long-term investment in others reflects his broader philosophy of growth, both personal and professional.The episode concludes with advice for students and early-career professionals. Dr. Mason encourages aspiring clinicians to question everything, work diligently, and pursue opportunities with persistence. He emphasizes that background does not define potential, and that growth often occurs in moments of discomfort. Hard work, curiosity, and a willingness to step outside one's comfort zone, he notes, are the keys to building a meaningful and impactful career.

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about how Donald Trump has taken aim again at the UK and how the National Health Service is starting to encounter shortages as a result of the Iran war. She also spoke about how Donald Trump is set to meet King Charles.

In this episode of JCO Article Insights, host Dr.  Ash Gurumurthi summarizes JCO articles, "Phased Variant–Supported Circulating Tumor DNA as a Prognostic Biomarker After First-Line Treatment in Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Findings From the DIRECT Study" and " Prospective Validation of Circulating Tumor DNA Measurable Residual Disease After First-Line Therapy in Large B-Cell Lymphoma" TRANSCRIPT Ash Gurumurthi: Hi and welcome to JCO Article Insights. I'm your host, Ash Gurumurthi, and today we will be discussing two articles, both published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, on the real-world utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) MRD in newly diagnosed large B-cell lymphoma. The first study is the article "Phased-Variant-Supported Circulating Tumor DNA as a Prognostic Biomarker After First-Line Treatment in Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Findings From the DIRECT Study" by Dr. Joanna Krupka and colleagues in the United Kingdom. For the sake of convenience, I'll refer to this as the DIRECT study. The second study is "The Prospective Validation of Circulating Tumor DNA Measurable Residual Disease After First-Line Therapy in Large B-Cell Lymphoma" by Dr. Steven Wang and colleagues in the Netherlands, referred to as the HOVON 902 study. By way of background, I wanted to talk about MRD in hematolymphoid malignancies. Nodal diseases have lacked a robust biomarker for end-of-treatment response. They have relied historically on PET scans interpreted using the semiquantitative Deauville 5-point scale, which has a high negative predictive value but a limited positive predictive value. The poor positive predictive value for survival results in extended follow-up with serial imaging for risk stratification with unnecessary and invasive biopsies. There have been recent revolutionary advancements in ctDNA MRD in B-cell lymphoma. The use of ctDNA in lymphoma began with CAPP-seq, which tracked single nucleotide variants that were tumor specific but was limited by excessive background sequencing noise with false negatives. To overcome this, Dr. Kurtz and colleagues developed the proprietary PhasED-seq assay. This tracks well-recognized phased mutations on the same DNA strand in cis configuration within hypermutated regions that are unique to B-cell lymphoma. Using this method, they pushed their limit of detection at 95%, the so-called LOD95, to 0.7 parts per million under optimal circumstances with 120 nanograms of input cell-free DNA from plasma. Based on the use of the PhasED-seq assay in trials of newly diagnosed large B-cell lymphoma with the use of investigational agents, the NCCN currently recommends consideration of ctDNA MRD assay with a detection limit of less than 1 part per million if biopsy is not feasible for a positive end-of-treatment PET. However, I believe this threshold needs reconsideration given it is based on an ideal assay LOD95 under optimal circumstances rather than sample-specific LOD95. Real-world validation of the role of end-of-treatment ctDNA and appropriate thresholds for sample-specific LOD95 were lacking until the publication of these two studies. The DIRECT and the HOVON 902 studies were multicenter, prospective trials using real-world cohorts of newly diagnosed large B-cell lymphoma treated with standard anthracycline immunochemotherapy, ie, R-CHOP chemotherapy. They validated end-of-treatment ctDNA MRD response measured on a phased-variant platform and found them to be strongly prognostic for relapse and survival. This was independent of PET imaging or baseline clinical prognostication like the International Prognostication Index, the IPI. They also demonstrated a threshold with an LOD95 of approximately 1 in 100,000 is necessary for clinical utility. Both trials recruited over a similar period between 2020 to 2023, with the DIRECT study conducted within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom and the HOVON 902 as a national study in the Netherlands. For survival analysis, only patients who reached the landmark event of end of treatment with an available ctDNA MRD sample without progressive disease or death at that time point were included. These studies evaluated similar-sized cohorts with 134 patients for HOVON 902 and 151 patients for the DIRECT study. As expected, their baseline demographics are reflective of a real-world population of newly diagnosed cases with large B-cell lymphoma. Although both used comparable statistical methodologies with time-to-event analysis, the primary outcomes vary, making headline comparisons quite challenging. The DIRECT study utilized the time to tumor progression, censoring death unrelated to disease. This was done to isolate the molecular impact of detectable ctDNA at the end of treatment. In contrast, the HOVON 902 study used progression-free survival, which counts all-cause mortality as an event. This naturally results in lower event-free rates for PFS compared to TTP in the DIRECT study. The trials differed in their choice of phased-variant platforms, with the DIRECT study developing an independent, fully open-source phased-variant ctDNA assay. This has been released on GitHub. In contrast, the HOVON 902 study utilized PhasED-seq by Foresight Diagnostics, which is currently the only proprietary and commercially available phased-variant assay for lymphoid malignancies. Interestingly, despite the differences in platforms and the primary end points, the results were remarkably consistent. The DIRECT study found a highly significant difference in the 2-year TTP rate of 96% in those with undetectable ctDNA MRD at the end of treatment compared to 45% in those with detectable ctDNA, with a hazard ratio of 15. Similarly, the HOVON 902 study found a significantly superior 3-year PFS of 85% in those with undetectable ctDNA compared to 17% with detectable ctDNA, with a hazard ratio of 10. Crucially, both studies found end-of-treatment ctDNA MRD significantly outperformed PET response assessment for long-term PFS. In fact, for the end point of PFS in both trials, the baseline IPI lost all statistical significance in both univariate and multivariable analysis when accounting for ctDNA MRD and PET status at the end of treatment. While both studies demonstrate the superiority of ctDNA MRD compared to PET in predicting survival, interestingly, the combination of both tests appeared to be complementary in identifying the highest-risk group. The HOVON 902 study identified 13 patients who were double positive, ie, they were positive with end-of-treatment PET and detectable ctDNA MRD. Every single one of these patients progressed over a 3-year period with a dismal overall survival of 17%. The DIRECT study mirrored these findings with the same double-positive group having a 2-year time to progression rate of 23%. Given consistency in identifying the poor outcome of this double-positive population in both studies, this is clearly a group that would benefit from trial-based approaches like consolidation or, alternatively, frequent surveillance for clinical relapse. On the other hand, the best-performing group was the double negative, ie, those who had achieved PET negative and ctDNA undetectable at the end of treatment. The double-negative group had a 2-year time to progression of 97% in the DIRECT study and a 3-year PFS of 88% in the HOVON 902 trial. This is quite impressive. Based on these findings, we can anticipate that ctDNA may complement rather than wholly replace PET at the end of treatment for response assessment. Perhaps the most critical finding from both studies challenged current NCCN-recommended ctDNA MRD sensitivity threshold of achieving less than one part per million. While phased-variant assays can theoretically detect this, this is under optimal conditions, specifically 120 nanograms of input cell-free DNA. In both trials, only 3% of samples could achieve this sensitivity, with the vast majority limited to a sample-specific LOD95 of approximately 1 in 100,000 informative reads. The primary constraint was simply limited plasma volume collected, a denominator problem of input cell-free DNA. For example, the HOVON 902 study had a median plasma volume of 5 mL, yielding 20 nanograms of input DNA. The DIRECT study elegantly demonstrated bridging the gap to attain the NCCN standard of LOD95 of less than 1 part per million is practically impossible. This would require greater input DNA, attained through a 20- to 30-milliliter collection of plasma rather than the standard 10 milliliters, and a massive 20- to 40-fold increase in sequencing depth. With the current real-world sensitivity of roughly 1 in 100,000 in both these studies, the negative predictive value is already nearly at 90%. There is going to be diminishing returns for further analytical sensitivity. This strongly suggests that the NCCN guidelines should be updated to prioritize achievable sample-specific LOD95 rather than assay-specific theoretical limits. Collectively, these studies validate the real-world utility of ctDNA MRD as an independent predictor of long-term outcomes following first-line therapy of large B-cell lymphoma. Finally, after two decades of the default R-CHOP for all, the field of aggressive large B-cell lymphoma is taking leaps and bounds by integrating ctDNA MRD with the current wave of bispecific and cellular therapies. I want to now leave you with my five key clinical takeaways from both these studies. ●        Firstly, ctDNA MRD is a more potent independent predictor of outcome than end-of-treatment PET/CT and baseline IPI. ●        Second, ctDNA MRD in first-line large B-cell lymphoma is already reshaping clinical trial space with therapeutic escalation and de-escalation strategies based on ctDNA kinetics during treatment, as well as identifying candidates with persistent ctDNA at the end of treatment for consolidation approaches. ●        Thirdly, this technology is ready for prime time. Whether this is through Foresight's PhasED-seq assays or the open-source method released by the DIRECT group, academic centers can now operationalize this in routine clinical care. ●        Fourth, biology clearly provides a ceiling. Current sensitivity goals of less than one part per million as recommended by the NCCN are limited by the actual amount of cell-free DNA we can extract from a patient's blood, not just the assay's technology. I believe these two studies will inform the NCCN's next revision to move away from theoretical assay limits to a more realistic sample-specific LOD95 of approximately 1 in 100,000. ●        Finally, it appears that the end-of-treatment ctDNA MRD test may be complementary to PET/CT rather than a replacement. Clearly, the best outcomes are seen in double-negative patients, while double-positive results, ie, positive end-of-treatment PET and detectable ctDNA at the end of treatment, identify a group with an extremely high risk of early progression who may need early intervention. Thank you for listening to JCO Article Insights. Please come back for more interviews and article summaries, and be sure to leave us a rating and review so others can find our show. For more podcasts and episodes from ASCO, please visit asco.org/podcasts. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.  

Moira Newiss spent 20 years running hospitals for the UK's National Health Service before her body and mind staged a slow, invisible collapse that no blood panel could explain — and the system she'd devoted her career to had nothing to offer but a prescription she didn't want to fill. What she found instead was a framework rooted in mitochondrial biology that reframes mental illness, chronic fatigue, and burnout as problems of cellular energy rather than brain chemistry. BIG IDEA"Psychological stress adversely affects the mitochondria just like high-sugar diets do — and a ketogenic diet can correct things that psychological interventions alone sometimes cannot."Moira Newiss Contact InfoWebsite: moiranewiss.co.ukLinkedIn: Moira NewissYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moiranewissChange.Org : Overhaul the UK dietary GuidelinesSend Dr. Ovadia a Text Message. (If you want a response, you must include your contact information.) Dr. Ovadia cannot respond here. To contact his team, please send an email to team@ifixhearts.com Pre-Order Stay Off My Kitchen Table at Amazon. Like what you hear? Head over to IFixHearts.com/book to grab a copy of my book, Stay Off My Operating Table. Ready to go deeper? Talk to someone from my team at IFixHearts.com/talk.Stay Off My Operating Table on X:   Dr. Ovadia: @iFixHeartsJack Heald: @JackHeald5Learn more:Stay Off My Operating Table on AmazonTake Dr. Ovadia's metabolic health quiz: iFixHearts Dr. Ovadia's website: Ovadia Heart HealthJack Heald's website: CultYourBrand.comTheme Song : Rage AgainstWritten & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey(c) 2016 Mercury Retro RecordingsAny use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Dr. Philip Ovadia.

The Brazilian Butt Lift surgery is one of the fastest growing cosmetic surgeries in the world, but it is also one of the most dangerous. The risk of death from having a BBL is at least 10 times higher than many other procedures – that's according to the UK's National Health Service. In several countries in Africa, the demand for BBLs is on the rise, but there are still challenges around regulation. Just recently in Lagos, a young woman reportedly died after a BBL procedure, prompting Nigeria's Lagos State Government to launch an investigation into her death. In this episode, we hear from two young women, in Kenya and Nigeria, who recently got BBLs to hear about the risks, the post-surgery recovery and the influence of social media on body image.Presenter : Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Fana Negash Technical Producer: Mbarak Abdallah Senior Producers: Carolyne Kiambo Jotham and Priyanka Sippy Editors: Samuel Murunga and Maryam Abdalla

United Kingdom correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about the findings from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry revealing the National Health Service was 'on the brink of collapse' during the pandemic, as well as health officials currently struggling to keep up with demand for students seeking the Meningitis B vaccine.

Arts On Prescription: What if your doctor prescribed an arts-based treatment for what ails you and your health insurance paid for it.YEAH RIGHT! Actually, Yeah, right, and REALLY! In this episode we learn all about it in Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for U. S. CommunitiesBIO'sDr. Tasha Golden directs research for the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins Medicine. As a national leader in arts + public health, Dr. Golden studies the impacts of arts & culture, music, aesthetics, and social norms on well-being, health research, and professional practice. She has authored many publications related to arts and health, served as an advisor on several national health initiatives, and is adjunct faculty for the University of Florida's Center for Arts in Medicine.In addition to her research, Golden is a career artist and entrepreneur. As singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Ellery, she toured full-time in the U.S. and abroad, and her songs appear in feature films and TV dramas (ABC, SHOWTIME, FOX, NETFLIX, etc). She is also a published poet and has taught university courses in public health as well as in writing, rhetoric, and literature. Holding a Ph.D. in Public Health Sciences, Dr. Golden draws on her diverse background to develop innovative, interdisciplinary presentations and partnerships that advance health, health equity, creativity, and well-being.Dr. Golden is also the founder of Project Uncaged: an arts-based health intervention for incarcerated teen women that amplifies their voices in community and policy discourses. These young folx are among her greatest teachers.Jill Sonke, PhD, is director of research initiatives in the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida (UF), director of national research and impact for the One Nation/One Project initiative, and co-director of the EpiArts Lab, a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab. She is an affiliated faculty member in the UF School of Theatre & Dance, the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, the Center for African Studies, the STEM Translational Communication Center, and the One Health Center, and is an editorial board member for Health Promotion Practice journal. She served in the pandemic as a senior advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Confidence and Demand Team on the COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Task Force and currently serves on the steering committee of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS.With 28 years of experience and leadership in the field of arts in health and a PhD in arts in public health from Ulster University in Northern Ireland, Jill is active in research and policy advocacy nationally and internationally. She is an artist and a mixed methods researcher with a current focus on population-level health outcomes associated with arts and cultural participation, arts in public health, and the arts in health communication. Notable MentionsNotable MentionsArts On Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities.: A roadmap for communities to develop programs that integrate arts, culture, and nature resources into local health and social care systems. prescription Anne Basting, Creative Care: Basting pioneers a radical change in how we interact with older loved ones, especially those experiencing dementia, as she introduces a proven method that uses the creative arts to bring light and joy to the lives of elders.Atlantic Fellowship:Through seven global, interconnected programs, Atlantic Fellows collaborate across borders and disciplines to address the root causes of inequity.Veronica Rojas is an Atlantic Fellow who works in different art programs in the San Francisco Bay Area that either serve adults with developmental disabilities or older adults, many with dementia. She is both a practicing and teaching artist.Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida (UF): Using creativity to advance health, wellness, and equity as a trained arts in health professional. Promote health one creative moment at a time.International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins Medicine,Tennessee Whiskey, Tasha Golden, from Over Land, Over SeaInterlochen Arts Academy: “A global community of like-minded artists, you'll discover a high school for the arts (grades 9-12) you may only have dreamed about.”Mass Cultural Council, CultureRX: Mission - To build a public infrastructure that supports the role of cultural experiences as a protective factor in the health and well-being of all people in the Commonwealth.United Kingdom, National Health Service, social prescribing infrastructure is an approach that connects people to activities, groups, and services in their community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing.. Alan Siegel advocate for social prescribingHorizon Blue Cross Blue Shield in New Jersey/New Jersey Performing Arts Center: Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has made a $3 million gift to NJPAC to support new arts and wellness programming both at the Arts Center and throughout Newark. Health Organization's definition of health, World Health Organization published a social prescribing toolkit.Federal Reserve Bank of New York/Social Prescribing: On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in partnership with Social Prescribing USA, hosted an in-person event discussing how medical prescriptions for patients to participate in community activities such as walking in nature, creating and viewing art, joining social groups, and volunteering can improve public health.Quebec, Mediateur Culturel, For several years, the City of Quebec has been developing cultural mediation projects between professional artists and citizens. By bringing art into their living environment and involving them in the creative process, cultural mediation places citizens at the heart of the artistic process. Here are the works of art created so far in all the boroughs of Quebec.Dr. Daisy Fancourt, is a British researcher who is an Associate Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London.[3][4][5] Her research focuses on the effects of social factors on health, including loneliness, social isolation, community assets, arts and cultural engagement, and social prescribing.[6Social Prescribing USA: “Our mission is to make social...

Cybercrime's escalation has reached a projected $12.2 trillion annual impact by 2031, with a notable surge in remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool abuse—up 277% year-over-year, according to Huntress and supporting vendor reports. Attackers utilize legitimate IT tools to facilitate stealthier ransomware and phishing campaigns, amplifying structural vulnerabilities within MSP technology stacks. Key metrics from Acronis, WatchGuard, and Vectra AI indicate a shift to smaller, more evasive malware campaigns, longer times to ransomware deployment (averaging 20 hours), and widespread unaddressed security alerts, raising questions about the adequacy of current defenses and incident response practices. Vendor-supplied threat intelligence further shows that MSPs' reliance on signature-based platforms and insufficient visibility leaves them exposed to evolving attack techniques. Data reviewed suggests phishing footholds can quickly compromise cross-client environments, and legal ramifications heavily fall on the service provider when RMM or monitoring tools act as entry points. Notably, only about 58-60% of organizations report full visibility across their systems, with a majority of alerts remaining unaddressed, underscoring gaps in operational maturity and preparedness. Adjacent coverage highlighted Microsoft Copilot's repeated security control failures within regulated environments, specifically its inability to enforce sensitivity labels and boundaries across emails—most recently affecting the UK's National Health Service. The lack of vendor-announced architectural changes calls into question the viability of deploying AI tools in compliance-driven contexts. Separately, political and public backlash against surveillance technologies (such as Flock cameras) demonstrates that unchecked data collection is no longer a manageable passive risk, as data becomes increasingly actionable and retains liability beyond technical considerations. The practical takeaway for MSPs and IT leaders is a need to prioritize audit, documentation, and enforcement of controls within their technology stacks, especially where vendor tools or AI-driven automation intersect with compliance and client trust. Preserving operational optionality and scrutinizing vendor terms—particularly data sharing and architectural enforcement—are essential to reduce exposure. Waiting for vendor patches, disregarding documented control failures, or underestimating public scrutiny elevate liability across legal, reputational, and client relationship domains. Four things to know today: 00:00 Vendor Threat Reports Converge on One Risk MSPs Can't Outsource: The RMM as Breach Vector 05:11 Copilot Failed Compliance Controls Twice in Eight Months — A Patch Won't Fix That 07:03 Flock Backlash Exposes the Liability Hidden in Every Vendor Data-Sharing Contract 09:42 GTDC Summit: Distributors Pitch AI On-Ramp as Hyperscalers Compress Their Margin Sponsored by:  

Welcome to Ozempic Weightloss Unlocked, where we dive into the latest on Ozempic from medical breakthroughs to real-life health impacts.Recent research from the University of Cambridge highlights a key nutrition risk with Ozempic and Wegovy. These drugs slash calorie intake by sixteen to thirty-nine percent by mimicking glucagon-like peptide-one, curbing appetite and boosting fullness. But without proper guidance, users risk muscle loss up to forty percent of total weight shed and deficiencies in protein, vitamins, and minerals, leading to fatigue, hair loss, or weakened immunity. Experts like Doctor Marie Spreckley urge structured nutrition support, drawing from bariatric surgery principles: prioritize nutrient-dense foods and high-quality protein spread across meals. Doctor Adrian Brown from University College London notes most users, about ninety-five percent in the United Kingdom, get these privately without follow-up, unlike National Health Service programs pairing them with diet and exercise.Sex differences are emerging too. A study in PubMed Central reports glucagon-like peptide-one receptor agonist use surged from twenty nineteen to twenty twenty-two, especially among women, where obesity links strongly to prescriptions and yields greater weight loss, like fifteen point three kilograms in semaglutide trials.Looking ahead per GoodRx projections for twenty twenty-six, Ozempic is under Food and Drug Administration review for peripheral artery disease, improving walking in diabetes patients, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Higher Wegovy doses up to seven point two milligrams could hit nearly twenty-one percent weight loss. Exciting combos like CagriSema show twenty-three percent loss in trials, outpacing rivals. Oral options expand too: Wegovy pills launched this year, and orforglipron may approve mid-year, easing access without needles.The Food and Drug Administration warns against unapproved versions mimicking semaglutide, sold illegally online. Experts from George Mason University, like Martin Binks and Raedeh Basiri, stress holistic care: pair drugs with dietitians, exercise, and mental support to avoid regain, as a twenty twenty-six BMJ review notes two-thirds weight return within a year off meds.Ozempic transforms lives but thrives with lifestyle integration for lasting health.Thanks for tuning in, listeners. Subscribe for more updates. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out Quiet Please dot ai. Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Is your teen's behavior a sign that something is “wrong”… or could it be part of normal development in a high-pressure world?When should parents seek help—and when might labels actually do more harm than good? In this powerful and thought-provoking episode, Colleen O'Grady sits down with child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Sami Timimi, author of Searching for Normal. With over 35 years in the UK's National Health Service, Dr. Timimi challenges many of the assumptions parents have been taught about teen mental health. Together, they explore why diagnoses like ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression have exploded—and why medicalizing distress can sometimes steal hope instead of restoring it. This conversation reframes teen behavior through the lens of context, development, relationships, and resilience, reminding parents that emotions are not emergencies and that most teens are not broken—they're responding to a stressful world. About Dr. Sami Timimi Dr. Sami Timimi is a British child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than three decades of clinical experience in the UK's National Health Service. He has authored numerous academic papers and books and is widely known for his critiques of the over-medicalization of mental health. In Searching for Normal, Dr. Timimi offers a deeply humane, evidence-based challenge to psychiatric labeling and invites families to reclaim a more hopeful, relational understanding of distress. Three Takeaways for Parents Distress is not the same as disorder. Many teen struggles are understandable responses to pressure, change, and context—not signs of lifelong pathology. Labels shape identity—and not always in helpful ways. Diagnoses can unintentionally limit teens, increase fear, and turn temporary struggles into permanent stories. Relationships matter more than control. Teens don't need to be “fixed”—they need connection, patience, and adults who aren't afraid of emotions. Follow at: https://www.instagram.com/dr_samitimimi/?hl=en Learn More at: https://www.samitimimi.co.uk/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW RICHARD Website: https://www.strangeplanet.ca YouTube: @strangeplanetradio Instagram: @richardsyrettstrangeplanet TikTok: @therealstrangeplanet EP. #1313 Murdered by Protocol: COVID and the NHS Death Machine For years, we were told the greatest threat to humanity was a virus. But what if the real danger wasn't the pathogen—it was the protocol? Tonight on Strange Planet, Richard Syrett ventures into one of the darkest, least examined chapters of the COVID era. Drawing on firsthand testimony, medical records, and hard data, this episode investigates allegations that thousands of vulnerable patients in the UK's National Health Service may not have died from COVID, but because of policy-driven medical decisions. Sedation. Isolation. Denial of treatment—carried out under emergency authority and bureaucratic language. GUESTS: Jacqui Deevoy is an investigative journalist and filmmaker who spent decades writing for Britain's mainstream press before becoming persona non grata for asking forbidden questions. During the COVID era, she uncovered alarming patterns inside UK hospitals and care homes—blanket DNR orders, family exclusion, and the widespread use of end-of-life drugs on non-terminal patients. After the sudden death of her own father, Deevoy compiled testimonies from 42 families into Murdered by the State, a chilling civilian record of alleged involuntary euthanasia carried out under emergency powers. Richard Cox is an author, researcher, and host of The Deep State Consciousness Podcast. As co-editor of Murdered by the State, Cox provides the book's analytical backbone, examining excess mortality data, NHS protocols, drug procurement records, and historical precedents like the Liverpool Care Pathway. His work frames the COVID death surge not as medical chaos, but as systemic compliance—raising disturbing questions about how policy, not pathology, may have driven outcomes, and why those powers never fully disappeared. WEBSITES/LINKS: https://substack.com/@jacquideevoy https://www.deepstateconsciousness.com BOOK: Murdered by the State: Involuntary Euthanasia in Plain Sight SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! QUINCE Luxury, European linen that gets softer with every wash! Turn up the luxury when you turn in with Quince. Go to Quince dot com slash RSSP for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!!⁠ ⁠https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm⁠ Three monthly subscriptions to choose from. Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum. Visit ⁠https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm⁠ Use the discount code "Planet" to receive $5 OFF off any subscription. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/

In this special episode, recorded live at the 2025 Genomics England Research Summit, host Adam Clatworthy is joined by parents, clinicians and researchers to explore the long, uncertain and often emotional journey to a genetic diagnosis. Together, they go behind the science to share what it means to live with uncertainty, how results like variants of uncertain significance (VUS) are experienced by families, and why communication and support matter just as much as genomic testing and research. The panel discuss the challenges families face when a diagnosis remains out of reach, the role of research in refining and revisiting results over time, and how collaboration between researchers, clinicians and participants could help shorten diagnostic journeys in the future. Joining Adam Clatworthy, Vice-Chair for the Participant Panel, on this episode are: Emma Baple – Clinical geneticist and Medical Director, South West Genomic Laboratory Hub  Jamie Ellingford – Lead genomic data scientist, Genomics England  Jo Wright – Member of the Participant Panel and Parent Representative for SWAN UK  Lisa Beaton - Member of the Participant Panel and Parent Representative for SWAN UK  Linked below are the episodes mentioned in the episode:  What is the diagnostic odyssey?  What is a Variant of Uncertain Significance?  Visit the Genomics England Research Summit website, to get your ticket to this years event. You can download the transcript, or read it below. Sharon: Hello, and welcome to Behind the Genes. My name is Sharon Jones and today we're bringing you a special episode recorded live from our Research Summit held in June this year. The episode features a panel conversation hosted by Adam Clatworthy, Vice-Chair of the Participant Panel. Our guests explore navigating the diagnostic odyssey, the often-complex journey to reaching a genetic diagnosis. If you'd like to know more about what the diagnostic odyssey is, check our bitesize explainer episode, ‘What is the Diagnostic Odyssey?' linked in the episode description. In today's episode you may hear our guests refer to ‘VUS' which stands for a variant of uncertain significance. This is when a genetic variant is identified, but its precise impact is not yet known. You can learn more about these in another one of our explainer episodes, “What is a Variant of Uncertain Significance?” And now over to Adam. -- Adam: Welcome, everyone, thanks for joining this session. I'm always really humbled by the lived experiences and the journeys behind the stories that we talk about at these conferences, so I'm really delighted to be hosting this panel session. It's taking us behind the science, it's really focusing on the people behind the data and the lived experiences of all the individuals and the families who are really navigating this system, trying to find answers and really aiming to get a diagnosis – that has to be the end goal. We know it's not the silver bullet, but it has to be the goal so that everyone can get that diagnosis and get that clarity and what this means for their medical care moving forwards.    So, today we're really going to aim to demystify what this diagnostic odyssey is, challenging the way researchers and clinicians often discuss long diagnostic journeys, and we'll really talk about the vital importance of research in improving diagnoses, discussing the challenges that limit the impact of emerging research for families on this odyssey and the opportunities for progress. So, we've got an amazing panel here. Rather than me trying to introduce you, I think it's great if you could just introduce yourselves, and Lisa, I'll start with you. Lisa: Hi, I'm Lisa Beaton and I am the parent of a child with an unknown, thought to be neuromuscular, disease. I joined the patient Participant Panel 2 years ago now and I'm also a Parent Representative for SWAN UK, which stands of Syndromes Without A Name. I have 4 children who have all come with unique and wonderful bits and pieces, but it's our daughter who's the most complicated. Adam:  Thank you. Over to you, Jo. Jo:  Hi, I'm Jo Wright, I am the parent of a child with an undiagnosed genetic condition.  So I've got an 11-year-old daughter. 100,000 Genomes gave us a VUS, which we're still trying to find the research for and sort of what I'll talk about in a bit.  And I've also got a younger daughter. I joined the Participant Panel just back in December. I'm also a Parent Rep for SWAN UK, so Lisa and I have known each other for quite a while through that. Adam:  Thank you, Jo.  And, Jamie, you're going to be covering both the research and the clinician side and you kind of wear 2 hats, so, yeah, over to you. Jamie:  Hi, everyone, so I'm Jamie Ellingford and, as Adam alluded to, I'm fortunate and I get to wear 2 hats. So, one of those hats is that I'm Lead Genomic Data Scientist for Rare Disease at Genomics England and so work as part of a really talented team of scientists and engineers to help develop our bioinformatic pipelines, so computational processes. I work as part of a team of scientists and software engineers to develop the computation pipelines that we apply at Genomics England as part of the National Health Service, so the Genomic Medicine Service that families get referred to and recruited to, and we try to develop and improve those. So that's one of my hats. And the second of those is I am a researcher, I'm an academic at the University of Manchester, and there I work really closely with some of the clinical teams in the North West to try and understand a little bit more about the functional impact of genomic variants on kind of how things happen in a cell. So, we can explore a little bit more about that but essentially, it's to provide a little bit more colour as to the impact that that genomic variant is having. Adam: Great, thank you, Jamie. Over to you, Emma. Emma: My name's Emma Baple, I'm an academic clinical geneticist in Exeter but I'm also the Medical Director of the South West genomic laboratory hub, so that's the Exeter and Bristol Genomics Laboratory. And I wear several other hats, including helping NHS England as the National Specialty Advisor for Genomics. Adam: Thank you all for being here. I think it's really important before we get into the questions just to ground ourselves in like those lived experiences that yourself and Jo and going through. So, Lisa, I'm going to start with you. The term ‘diagnostic odyssey' gets bandied around a lot, we hear about it so many times, but how does that reflect your experience that you've been through and what would you like researchers and clinicians to understand about this journey that you're on, essentially? Lisa: So I think ours is less an odyssey and more of a roller-coaster, and I say that because we sort of first started on a genetic journey, as it were, when my daughter was 9 weeks of age and she's now 16½ – the half's very important – and we still have no answers. And we've sort of come a bit backwards to this because when she was 6 months old Great Ormond Street Hospital felt very strongly that they knew exactly what was wrong with her and it was just a case of kind of confirmation by genetics. And then they sent off for a lot of different myasthenia panel genes, all of which came back negative, and so having been told, “Yes, it's definitely a myasthenia, we just need to know which one it is,” at 4 years of age that was removed and it was all of a sudden like, “Yeah, thanks, sorry.” And that was really hard actually because we felt we'd had somewhere to hang our hat and a cohort of people with very similar issues with their children, and then all of a sudden we were told, “No, no, that's not where you belong” and that was a really isolating experience. I can remember sort of saying to the neuromuscular team, “Well is it still neuromuscular in that case?” and there was a lot of shrugging of shoulders, and it just…  We felt like not only had we only just got on board the life raft, then we'd been chucked out, and we didn't even have a floaty. And in many ways I think I have made peace with the fact that we don't have a genetic diagnosis for our daughter but it doesn't get easier in that she has her own questions and my older children – one getting married in August who's already sort of said to me, you know, “Does this have implications for when we have children?”  And those are all questions I can't answer so that's really hard. Adam:  Thank you, Lisa. Yourself, Jo, how would you describe the odyssey that you're currently experiencing? Jo: So my daughter was about one when I started really noticing that she was having regressions. They were kind of there beforehand but, I really noticed them when she was one, and that's when I went to the GP and then got referred to the paediatrician. So initially we had genetic tests for things like Rett syndrome and Angelman syndrome, which they were all negative, and then we got referred on to the tertiary hospital and then went into 100,000 Genomes. So we enrolled in 100,000 Genomes at the beginning of 2017, and we got our results in April of 2020, so obviously that was quite a fraught time. Getting our results was probably not as you would want to do it because it was kind of over the phone and then a random letter. So, what I was told in that letter was that a variant of uncertain significance had been identified and they wanted to do further research to see if it might be more significant. So we were to be enrolled into another research project called Splicing and Disease, which wasn't active at the time because everything had been put on hold for COVID, but eventually we went into that. So, I didn't know what the gene was at that point, when I eventually got the form for going to get her bloods done…  So that went off and then that came back and the geneticist said, “That gives us some indication that it is significant.” So, since that point it's been trying to find more information and research to be able to make it a diagnosis. There have been 2 sort of key things that have happened towards that but we're still not there. So one of the things is that a research paper came out earlier this year so that's kind of a little bit more evidence, it's not going to give us a diagnosis but it kind of, you know, sits there. And the other thing is that my geneticist said, “Actually, yeah, it looks like it's an important change.”  That's as far as we've got. So we've still got work to do to make it a diagnosis or not.  Obviously if it is a diagnosis, it is still a one-of-a-kind diagnosis, so it doesn't give me a group to join or that kind of thing. But now I've got that research paper that I've read and read, and asked ChatGPT to verify that I've understood it right in some places, you know, with the faith that we put into ChatGPT (laughs), I've got a better understanding and I've got something now that I can look back on, the things that happened when my daughter was one, 2, 3, 4 and her development was all over the place and people thought that I was slightly crazy for the things I was saying, that “Actually, no, I can see what's happening.” So, it's like the picture's starting to come into focus but there's work to do. I haven't got a timeframe on that, I don't know when it's going to come together. And I always say that I'm a prolific stalker of the postman; ever since our first genetic tests you're just constantly waiting for the letters to drop through the door. So a diagnostic odyssey to me is just waiting for random events. Adam: I think what you've both kind of really clearly elaborated on is how you're the ones that are having to navigate this journey, you're the ones that are trying to piece this puzzle together, and the amount of time you're investing, all whilst navigating and looking after your child and trying to cope with the daily lived experience as well. And something you've both touched on that I'd love to draw out more is about how exactly was the information shared with you about the lack of diagnosis or the VUS or what's going on, because in our case you get this bit of paper through the post that has all these numbers and it's written in clinical speak and we had no conversation with the geneticist or the doctors. You see this bit of paper and you're reading it, scared for what the future will hold for your child, but I'd love to know like how were you communicated whilst all this is going on, how did you actually find out the next steps or any kind of future guidance. Lisa: So I think in our case we kept sort of going onto neuromuscular appointments, and I think for probably the first 5 years of my daughter's life I kind of had this very naïve thought that every time we turned up to an appointment it would be ‘the one' and then…   I think it would've been really helpful actually in those initial stages if they had said to us, “Actually, we don't know when this is going to happen, if it's even going to happen, you need to kind of prepare yourself for that.” It sounds fairly obvious to say but you don't know what you don't know. And in some ways we were getting genetic test results back for some really quite horrible things and they would tell us, “Oh it's good news, this mitochondrial disorder hasn't come up,” and so part of you is like, “Yay!” but then another part of you is thinking, “Well if it's not that what is it?” And we've very much kind of danced around and still don't really have an answer to whether it's life-limiting. We know it's potentially life-threatening and we have certain protocols, but even that is tricky. We live in North Yorkshire, and our local hospital are amazing. Every time we go in, if it's anything gastro-related, they say to me, “What's the protocol from Great Ormond Street?” and I say, “We don't have one” (laughs) and that always causes some fun. We try to stay out of hospitals as much as we absolutely can and do what we can at home but, equally, there's a point where, you know, we have to be guided by where we're going with her, with the path, and lots of phone calls backwards and forwards, and then is it going to be a transfer down to Great Ormond Street to manage it. And actually the way I found out that nothing had been found from 100,000 Genomes was in a passing conversation when we had been transferred down to Great Ormond Street and we'd been an inpatient for about 6 weeks and the geneticist said to me, “So obviously with you not having a diagnosis from the 100,000 Genomes…” and I said, “Sorry?  Sorry, what was that?  You've had the information back?”  And she said, “Well, yes, did nobody write to you?” and I said, “No, and clearly by my shock and surprise.” And she was a bit taken aback by that, but it happened yet again 2 years later (laughs) when she said, “Well you know everything's been reanalysed” and I said, “No.”  (Laughs)  And, so that's very much, it still feels an awful lot like I'm doing the heavy lifting because we're under lots of different teams and even when they're working at the same hospital they don't talk to each other. And I do understand that they're specialists within their own right, but nobody is really looking at my daughter holistically, and there are things that kind of interrelate across.    And at one of the talks I attended this morning they were talking about the importance of quality of life, and I think that is something that has to be so much more focused on because it's hard enough living without a diagnosis, but when you're living with a bunch of symptoms that, I think the best way I can describe it is at the moment we've got the spokes of the umbrella but we don't have the wrapper, and we don't know where we're going with it. We can't answer her questions, we can't even necessarily know that we're using the most effective treatments and therapies for her, and she's frustrated by that now, being 16, in her own right, as well as we are. And I'm panicking about the navigation towards Adult Services as well because at the minute at least we have a clinical lead in our amazing local paediatrician but of course once we hit and move into that we won't even have him and that's a really scary place to be, I think. Adam: Jo, is there anything you wanted to add on that in terms of how you've been communicated to whilst all this is going on? Jo: Yeah, so I think part of what makes it difficult is if you're across different hospitals because they're not necessarily going to see the same information. So obviously it was a bit of a different time when I got our results, but I got our results on a virtual appointment with a neurologist in one hospital, in the tertiary hospital, and because he could see the screen because it was the same hospital as genetics, and he said, “Oh you've got this” and then the letter came through later. When I had my next appointment with the neurologist in our primary hospital, or secondary care, whatever it's called, in that hospital, he hadn't seen that, so I'm telling him the results, which isn't ideal, but it happens quite a lot. What I think is quite significant to me is the reaction to that VUS.  I have to give it, the doctors that look after my daughter are brilliant, and I'm not criticising them in any way but their reaction to a VUS is “I'm so grateful for the persistence to get to a diagnosis.” Neurologists are a bit more like “Oh it's a VUS so it might be significant, it might be nothing.” Actually, as a patient, as in a parent, you actually want to know is it significant or not, “Do I look at it or not?” And, I mean, like I said, there were no research papers to look at before anyway until a few months ago so I didn't have anything to look at, but I didn't want to look at it either because you don't want to send yourself off down a path. But I think that collective sort of idea that once someone gets a VUS we need a pathway for it, “What do we do with it, what expectation do we set the patients up with and what is the pathway for actually researching further?” because this is where we really need the research. Adam:  Thank you, Jo. So, Emma, over to you in terms of how best do you think clinicians can actually support patients at navigating this odyssey and what's the difference between an initial diagnosis and a final diagnosis and how do you then communicate that effectively to the patients and their family?   Emma: So I think a key thing for me, and it's come up just now again, is that you need to remember as a doctor that the things you say at critical times in a patient's or parent's journeys they will remember – they'll remember it word for word even though you won't – and thinking about how to do that in the most sensitive, empathetic, calm, not rushed way is absolutely key.   And there are some difficulties with that when you're in a very high-pressure environment but it is absolutely crucial, that when you are communicating information about test results, when you're talking about doing the test in the first place, you're consenting the family, you're explaining what you're trying to do and those conditions, you balance how much information you give people.    So, you were talking earlier about “So you haven't got this diagnosis, you haven't got that diagnosis,” I often think it's…  We're often testing for numerous different conditions at the same time, I couldn't even list them all to the parents of the children or the patient that I'm testing. It's key to try and provide enough information without overwhelming people with so much information and information on specific conditions you are just thinking about as a potential.  Sometimes very low down your list actually but you can test for them.    Because people go home and they use the internet and they look things up and they get very, very worried about things. So, for me it's trying to provide bite-sized amounts of information, give it the time it deserves, and support people through that journey, tell them honestly what you think the chance of finding a diagnosis is. If you think it's unlikely or you think you know, sharing that information with family is helpful.   Around uncertainty, I find that a particular challenge. So, I think we've moved from a time when we used to, in this country, declare every variant we identified with an uncertain significance. Now, if we remember that we've all got 5 million variants in our genome, we've all got hundreds and hundreds… thousands and thousands, in fact, of variants of uncertain significance in our genetic code. And actually, unless you think a variant of uncertain significance genuinely does have a probability of being the cause of a child's or a patient's condition, sharing that information can be quite harmful to people.    We did a really interesting survey once when we were writing the guidelines for reporting variants of uncertain significance a few years ago. We asked the laboratories about their view of variants of uncertain significance and we asked the clinicians, and the scientists said, “We report variants of uncertain significance because the clinicians want them” and the clinicians said, “If the labs put the variant of uncertain significance on the report it must be important.” And of course, if you're a parent, if the doctor's told you the variant is a variant of uncertain significance of course you think it's important.    So, we should only be sharing that information, in my opinion, if it genuinely does have a high likelihood of being important and there are things that we can do. And taking people through that journey with you, with the degree of likelihood, the additional tests you need to do and explaining to them whether or not you think you will ever clarify that, is really, really key because it's very often that they become the diagnosis for the family.  Did I cover everything you think's important, both of you?  Lisa: I think the one thing I would say is that when you are patient- or parent-facing, the first time that you deliver that news to the parent… you may have delivered that piece of news multiple times and none of us sit there expecting you to kind of be overcome with emotion or anything like that but, in the same way that perhaps you would've had some nerves when, particularly if it was a diagnosis of something that was unpleasant, you know, to hold onto that kind of humanity and humility. Because for those patients and parents hearing that news, that is the only time they're ever hearing that, and the impact of that, and also, they're going on about with their day, you don't know what else they're doing, what they're juggling.    We're not asking you all to be responsible for kind of, you know, parcelling us up and whatnot but the way information is imparted to us is literally that thing we are all hanging our hats on, and when we're in this kind of uncertainty, from my personal experience I'm uncomfortable, I like to be able to plan, I'm a planner, I'm a researcher, I like to sort of look it up to the nth degree and that, and sitting in a place without any of that is, it's quite a difficult place to be. And it's not necessarily good news for those parents when a test comes back negative, because if it's not that then what is it, and that also leaves you feeling floundering and very isolated at times.  Adam: Yeah, and you touched upon the danger of like giving too much information or pushing families down a particular route, and then you have to pull them out of it when it's not that.   You talked about the experience you had, you felt like you'd found your home and then it's like, “Well, no, no, sorry, actually we don't think it's that.” And you've invested all of your time and your emotion into being part of that group and then you're kind of taken away again. So it's to the point where you have to be really sure before you then communicate to the families, and obviously in the meantime the families are like, “We just need to know something, we need to know,” and it's that real fine line, isn't it?    But, Jamie, over to you. Just thinking about the evolving nature of genomic diagnosis, what role does research play in refining or confirming a diagnosis over time?  Jamie: So it's really, really difficult actually to be able to kind of pinpoint one or 2 things that we could do as a community of researchers to help that journey, but perhaps I could reflect on a couple of things that I've seen happen over time which we think will improve things. And one of that's going back to the discussion that we've just had about how we classify genetic variants. And so, behind that kind of variant of uncertain significance there is a huge amount of effort and emotion from a scientist's side as well because I think many of the scientists, if not all, realise what impact that's going to have on the families.   And what we've tried to do as a community is to make sure that we are reproducible, and if you were to have your data analysed in the North West of England versus the South West that actually you'd come out with the same answer. And in order to do that we need guidance, we need recommendations, we need things that assist the scientists to actually classify those variants.  And so, what we have at the moment is a 5 point scale which ranges from benign to likely benign, variant of uncertain significance, unlikely pathogenic variant and pathogenic variant. It's objective as to how we classify a variant into one of those groups and so it's not just a gut feeling from a scientist, it's kind of recordable measurable evidence that they can provide to assist that classification.   So in many instances what that does is provide some uncertainty, as we've just heard, because it falls into that zone of variant of uncertain significance but what that also does is provide a framework in which we can generate more evidence to be able to classify it in one direction or another to become likely pathogenic or to become likely benign. And as a research community we're equipped with that understanding –– and not always with the tools but that's a developing area – to be able to do more about it.   What that doesn't mean is that if we generate that evidence that it can translate back into the clinic, and actually that's perhaps an area that we should discuss more. But kind of just generating that evidence isn't always enough and being able to have those routes to be able to translate back that into the hands of the clinicians, the clinical scientists, etc, is another challenge. Adam:  And how do you think we can drive progress in research to deliver these answers faster, to really try and shorten those diagnostic journeys, like what are the recommendations that you would say there? Jamie:  So being able to use the Genomics England data that's in the National Genomic Reference Library, as well as kind of other resources, has really transformed what we can do as researchers because it enables teams across the UK, across the world to work with data that otherwise they wouldn't be able to work with.   Behind that there's an infrastructure where if researchers find something which they think is of interest that can be reported back, it can be curated and analysed by teams at Genomics England and, where appropriate, kind of transferred to the clinical teams that have referred that family. And so having that pathway is great but there's still more that we can do about this. You know, it's reliant on things going through a very kind of fixed system and making sure that clinicians don't lose contact with families – you know, people move, they move locations, etc. And so, I think a lot of it is logistical and making sure that the right information can get to the right people, but it all falls under this kind of umbrella of being able to translate those research findings, where appropriate, into clinical reporting.   Adam:  Thank you. And, Emma, is there anything you would add in terms of like any key challenges that you think need to be overcome just to try and shorten the journeys as much as possible and find the answers to get a diagnosis?  Emma: I think trying to bridge that gap between some of the new technologies and new approaches that we've got that we can access in a research context and bringing those into diagnostics is a key area to try to reduce that diagnostic odyssey, so I really want to see the NHS continuing to support those sorts of initiatives.   We're very lucky, as Jamie said, the National Genomic Research Library has been fundamental for being able to reduce the diagnostic odyssey for large numbers of patients, not just in this country but around the world, and so trying to kind of look at how we might add additional data into the NGRL, use other research opportunities that we have in a more synergistic way with diagnostics I think is probably key to being able to do that.    We are very lucky in this country with the infrastructure that we've got and the fact that everything is so joined up. We're able to provide different opportunities in genomics for patients with rare conditions that aren't so available elsewhere in the world.  Adam: Great, thank you. I think we're it for time, so thank you very much to the panel. And I'd just say that if you do have any further questions for ourselves as participants then we're only too happy to pick those up. Thank you for lasting with us ‘til the end of the day and hope to see you soon.  -- Sharon: A huge thank you to our panel, Adam Clatworthy, Emma Baple, Jo Wright, Lisa Beaton and Jamie Ellingford, for sharing their insights and experiences. Each year at the summit, the Behind the Genes stage hosts podcast style conversations, bringing together researchers, clinicians and participants to discuss key topics in genomics.  If you're interested in attending a future Genomics England Research Summit, keep an eye out on our socials. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, please like and subscribe to Behind the Genes on your favourite podcast app. Thank you for listening.    I've been your host, Sharon Jones. The podcast was edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital and produced by Deanna Barac.

It's Thursday, January 22nd, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Chinese-American Christians pray for those in China Chinese-American Christians are praying for their persecuted brothers and sisters back in China. Earlier this month, Harvest Chinese Christian Church in Los Angeles held an event called “Fasting Prayer Meeting for Persecuted Churches in China.” The event comes shortly after Chinese authorities detained the leaders of Early Rain Covenant Church. The congregation, like many “unregistered” churches in China, faces relentless persecution. International Christian Concern commented, “Please pray for these house church members in China, especially those who have been imprisoned or are missing after the police raids.” 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” China's birth rate plunged to a record low in 2025 Speaking of China, the country's birth rates plunged to a record low in 2025. New data from China's National Bureau of Statistics found there were 7.92 million births last year, down 17% from 2024. The birth rate in 2025 was 5.63 per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, the death rate rose to 8.04 per 1,000 people. Despite China's recent attempts to incentivize families to have children, the population has now fallen for the fourth consecutive year. In Genesis 1:28, God commanded, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the Earth and subdue it.” British Christian nurse vindicated for calling a man “Mister” In the United Kingdom, a National Health Service hospital recently dropped its case against a Christian nurse. Jennifer Melle worked at St. Helier Hospital in south London. She faced suspension after referring to a man, pretending to be a woman, as “Mister.” Listen to comments she made after her vindication. MELLE: “I am deeply relieved and grateful to hear that St Helier [Hospital] has confirmed it would no longer take further action against me. This has been an incredibly long and painful journey.   “Today, I want to give thanks, first and foremost, to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has sustained me every step of the way.” Young Canadians are planning to vote conservative Young adults in Canada are planning to vote conservative in the country's next election. A survey by Abacus Data found 50% of Canadians aged 18 to 29 would vote for the Conservative Party. Only 27% of that demographic would vote for the Liberal Party. The strongest support for the Liberals comes from people over 60. A decade of liberal polices has led to higher living costs, higher inflation, and higher taxes. Trump: “I will not use force” to get Greenland Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.  Notably, he announced that the United States would not use force to acquire Greenland. TRUMP: “We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay. Now everyone's saying, ‘Oh, good!' “That's probably the biggest statement I've made because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force.” President Trump also announced he will not be imposing tariffs on Denmark over the acquisition of Greenland. He wrote on Truth Social, “We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.” Arrests coming for Minneapolis leftists who invaded church service The Trump administration is investigating anti-ICE protesters who disrupted a house of worship in Minneapolis on Sunday. Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, wrote on X, “Arrests coming. … The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. … These agitators will be held accountable.” The Department of Justice is also investigating the incident at Cities Church. Major snowstorm hits East Coast to Rocky Mountains The National Weather Service is expecting a significant winter storm to hit a large portion of the U.S. starting Friday. Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain is forecast all the way from the southern Rockies to the East Coast.  Much of the U.S. is already experiencing dangerously cold weather. Over 40 million people were under cold weather alerts as of Tuesday. Even parts of Florida are under alert. 463rd anniversary of Heidelberg Catechism And finally, this week marks the 463rd anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism. The Protestant catechism was commissioned by Frederick III, the ruler of Germany's most influential province of Palatinate. The purpose of the catechism was for instructing the youth and for guiding pastors and teachers The catechism was the product of two young Protestant scholars—Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus. The catechism was approved by a church synod in Heidelberg, Germany and published in German on January 19, 1563. It would become the most widely used catechism of the Reformation period.  The catechism's opening question reads, “What is your only comfort in life and death?” The answer begins, “That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” Romans 14:8 says, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”  Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, January 22nd, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Dr. Sarah Myhill has worked full time in National Health Service and independent medical practice. She has a special interest in CFS and ME. Show partners:  LMNT - Claim your free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase by using this link Ketone-IQ - Save 30% off your subscription order plus youʼll get a free gift with your second shipment by using this link Troscriptions - 10% off your first order by using the code "JESSE" at checkout Quicksilver Scientific - 15% off your first order by using the code "jesse15" at checkout Show notes: https://jessechappus.com/688

Send Vikki any questions you'd like answered on the show!A critical inner voice is one of the most common and difficult experience as a PhD student or academic. In this episode, you get to hear me coaching TWO of my current students in the PhD Life Coach membership, who are both part time PhD students while holding down demanding careers in our National Health Service. It runs like one of our group coaching sessions, where they each get coached AND hear each other get coached on self-talk, prioritisation, and compassion. If you have a critical inner voice, or if you've ever wondered about the benefits of group coaching, then you're in the right place!If you liked this episode, you should check out my episode on How Winnie the Pooh can help you manage your mind.****I'm Dr Vikki Wright, ex-Professor and certified life coach and I help everyone from PhD students to full Professors to get a bit less overwhelmed and thrive in academia. Please make sure you subscribe, and I would love it if you could find time to rate, review and tell your friends! You can send them this universal link that will work whatever the podcast app they use. http://pod.link/1650551306?i=1000695434464 I also host a free online community for academics at every level. You can sign up on my website, The PhD Life Coach. com - you'll receive regular emails with helpful tips and access to free online group coaching every single month! Come join and get the support you need.

In this episode, we tackle the contentious issue of socialized medicine in America, with a spotlight on the failures of the National Health Service in Great Britain. John Solomon welcomes former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who shares her firsthand experiences and insights into the pitfalls of government-run healthcare. We also discuss the implications of free speech in today's political climate with author Stuart Brotman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special end-of-year episode of Behind the Genes, host Sharon Jones is joined by Dr Rich Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Genomics England, to reflect on the past year at Genomics England, and to look ahead to what the future holds.  Together, they revisit standout conversations from across the year, exploring how genomics is increasingly embedded in national health strategy, from the NHS 10-Year Health Plan to the government's ambitions for the UK life sciences sector. Rich reflects on the real-world impact of research, including thousands of diagnoses returned to the NHS, progress in cancer and rare condition research, and the growing momentum of the Generation Study, which is exploring whether whole genome sequencing could be offered routinely at birth.  This episode offers a thoughtful reflection on how partnership, innovation, and public trust are shaping the future of genomic healthcare in the UK and why the years ahead promise to be even more exciting.  Below are the links to the podcasts mentioned in this episode, in order of appearance:  How are families and hospitals bringing the Generation Study to life? How can cross-sector collaborations drive responsible use of AI for genomic innovation? How can we enable ethical and inclusive research to thrive? How can parental insights transform care for rare genetic conditions? How can we unlock the potential of large-scale health datasets? Can patient collaboration shape the future of therapies for rare conditions? https://www.genomicsengland.co.uk/podcasts/what-can-we-learn-from-the-generation-study “There is this view set out there where as many as half of all health interactions by 2035 could be informed by genomics or other similar advanced analytics, and we think that is a really ambitious challenge, but also a really exciting one.”  You can download the transcript, or read it below. Sharon: Hello, and welcome to Behind the Genes.   Rich: This is about improving health outcomes, but it's also part of a broader benefit to the country because the UK is recognised already as a great place from a genomics perspective. We think playing our role in that won't just bring the health benefits, it also will secure the country's position as the best place in the world to discover, prove, and where proven roll out benefit from genomic innovations and we think it's so exciting to be part of that team effort.  Sharon: I'm Sharon Jones, and today I'll be joined by Rich Scott, Chief Executive Officer at Genomics England for this end of year special. We'll be reflecting on some of the conversations from this year's episodes, and Rich will be sharing his insights and thoughts for the year ahead. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love your support, so please subscribe, rate, and share on your favourite podcast app. So, let's get started.  Thanks for joining me today, Rich. How are you?  Rich: Great, it's really good to be here.   Sharon: It's been a really exciting year for Genomics England. Can you tell us a bit about what's going on?  Rich: Yeah, it's been a really busy year, and we'll dive into a few bits of the components we've been working on really hard. One really big theme for us is it's been really fantastic to see genomics at the heart of the government's thinking. As we'll hear later, genomics is at the centre of the new NHS 10-year health plan, and the government's life sciences sector plan is really ambitious in terms of thinking about how genomics could play a role in routine everyday support of healthcare for many people across the population in the future and it shows a real continued commitment to support the building of the right infrastructure, generating the right evidence to inform that, and to do that in dialogue with the public and patients, and it's great to see us as a key part of that.  It's also been a really great year as we've been getting on with the various programmes that we've got, so our continued support of the NHS and our work with researchers accessing the National Genomic Research Library. It's so wonderful to see the continued stream of diagnoses and actionable findings going back to the NHS. It's been a really exciting year in terms of research, publications. In cancer, some really exciting publications on, for example, breast cancer and clinical trials. Really good partnership work with some industry partners, really supporting their work. For me, one of the figures we are always really pleased to see go up with time is the number of diagnoses that we can return thanks to research that's ongoing in the research library, so now we've just passed 5,000 diagnostic discoveries having gone back to the NHS, it really helps explain for me how working both with clinical care and with research and linking them really comes to life and why it's so vital.   And then, with our programmes, it's been great to see the Generation Study making good progress. So, working with people across the country, more than 25,000 families now recruited to the study, and we're beginning to hear about their experiences, including some of the families who've received findings from the programme. It's really nice to see and hear from Freddie's family, who talked to the press a bit about the finding that they received. Freddie was at increased risk of a rare eye cancer, and really pleasingly, it was possible to detect that early through the screening that was put in place. Again, it really brings to life why we're doing this, to make a difference and improve health outcomes.  Sharon: That's an incredible 12 months. Diving into that Generation Study piece and for listeners who don't know what that is, it's a research study in partnership with the NHS that aims to sequence the genomes of 100,000 newborn babies. On an episode from earlier in the year, we had mum, Rachel Peck, join the conversation, whose baby Amber is enrolled on a study. Let's year from Rachel now.  Rachel: From the parents' point of view, I guess that's the hardest thing to consent for in terms of you having to make a decision on behalf of your unborn child. But I think why we thought that was worthwhile was that could potentially benefit Amber personally herself or if not, there's the potential it could benefit other children.  Sharon: Consent has been such a big area of focus for us, Rich, and Rachel touches on that complexity, you know, making a decision on behalf of her unborn child. Can you talk a bit about our approach to consent in the Generation Study and what's evolving in that model?  Rich: Yeah. It's been for the whole study, really, starting out asking a really big question here, what we're aiming to do is generate evidence on whether and if so, how whole genome sequencing should be offered routinely at birth, and that's responding to a really ill need that we know that each year thousands of babies are born in the UK with treatable rare conditions. We will also need to see if whole genome sequencing can make a difference for those families, but we realise to do that, as with all screening, that involves testing more people than are going to benefit from it directly themselves. So, you have to approach it really sensitively. There's lots of complicated questions, lots of nuance in the study overall. One of them is thinking really carefully about that consent process so that families can understand the choices, they can understand the benefits and risks. This is still a research study. We're looking to understand whether we should offer this routinely. It's not part of routine care at this point. The evidence will help decision-makers, policymakers in the future decide that.  At the beginning of the programme, we spent a lot of time talking to families, talking to health professionals who understand the sorts of decisions that people are making at that time of life, but also are experts in helping think about how you balance that communication. That involved, as I say, a lot of conversations. We learnt a lot, lots of it practical stuff, about the stage of pregnancy that people are at when we first talk to them about the study, so that people aren't hurried and make this decision. What we've learnt in the study, right from the outset, is talking to people from midway through the pregnancy so that they really have time to engage in it and think about their choice. So, it's an important part of getting the study design right so that we run the study right. It's also a really crucial element of the evidence that will generate from the study so that we can understand if this is something that's adopted, how should we communicate about it to families. What would they want to know? What's the right level of information and how do we make that accessible in a way that is meaningful to people from different backgrounds, with different levels of interest, different accessibility in terms of digital and reading and so on. There's a lot that we've learnt along the way and there's a lot that we're still learning. And as I say, important things that we'll present as evidence later on.  Sharon: Thank you. It's fascinating there are so many moving parts and a lot to consider when you're building the design of a programme like this or study like this.  Earlier in the year you had a great conversation with Karim Beguir about the developments of AI in genomics. Let's revisit that moment.  Karim: We live in an extraordinary time. I want to emphasise the potential of scientific discovery in the next two or three years. AI is going to move, let's say, digital style technologies like coding and math towards more like science and biology. In particular, genomics is going to be a fascinating area in terms of potential.  Sharon: So, Karim talks about AI moving from maths and coding into biology. Why is genomics such a natural area for AI?  Rich: It's really fascinating. I think it links a lot to how we think about genomics and how you get the most value in terms of health benefit and sort of the progress that we can see could come through genomics more generally. So, your genome, which is your DNA code, written in 3 billion little letters across each one of us, one copied from mum, one copied from dad, even just our genomic code of one person is a large amount of data. That is just part of the story because we're not just interested in DNA for DNA's sake, this is about thinking about health and how we can improve health outcomes. So, it's also thinking about the other sorts of information that needs to link to genomic data to make a difference. Whether that's just to provide routine healthcare with today's knowledge, or whether it's about continuing to learn and discover.  As I mentioned at the beginning, I think a really important part of this whole picture is we've learnt a lot in the last 20/30/40 plus years about genomics. It's incredible how much progress has been made, and we're really just scratching the surface. Take rare disease and the progress that's been made there, it's wonderful how many more families we're able to help today. We know that many thousands of families we still can't find a diagnosis for when we know that there is one there for many of them. That theme of ongoing learning is at the centre of all of our work, and that will continue as we look about broader uses of genomics in other settings beyond rare conditions and cancer. It's also that ongoing learning, but also the amount of, at the moment, manual steps that are required in some of the processes that we need to, for example, find a diagnosis for someone or to make sure the tools that we use are the most up to date, the most up to date with the medical literature, for example. AI is a tool that we're, as the whole of the society, we're beginning to see how it can play a role. We see it as important today for some of the just really practical things. I mentioned it, staying up to date with the medical literature, making sure that we and our systems are aware of all of the knowledge that's coming in from around the world. It's got real potential there.  I think the biggest bottom line here is that it's got the potential to be a really important tool in terms of our ongoing learning and improvement. I'm a doctor by background, the human intelligence alone is fantastic, it's moved us a long way, but we know it also has tremendous blind spots. AI has the potential to complement us there. I guess another thing to really call out here, AI isn't a panacea, it's not suddenly going to answer all of the questions. And, just like human intelligence, it will have its own biases, have its own strong points, and less strong points.  One of the things we're really committed to is working with people like Karim, and many others, to understand where AI could make a difference, to test it, to generate evidence on how well it works and an understanding in all sorts of ways about how that might play out. And, make sure that as AI becomes a tool, that we in genomics, but also in other areas, we understand its strong points and where we need to be more careful and cautious with it. That's a really important part of what we're going to be doing in the coming years here, is making sure that we can maximise the impact of it, but also be confident, so that we can explain to people whose data we might use it on how we're doing it and what it's bringing.  Sharon: Thanks Rich. It's definitely a fast-moving conversation of which we really want to be part of. One of the things that's come up again and again this year is participation and co-production. Let's hear quote that really captures that.  Bobbie: In an earlier conversation with Paul, which you might find surprising that it's stuck with me so much, he used the word ‘extractive'. He said that he'd been involved in research before and looking back on it, he had felt at times it could be a little bit extractive. You come in, you ask questions, you take the data away and analyse it, and it might only be by chance that the participants ever know what became of things next. One of the real principles of this project was always going to be co-production and true collaboration with our participants.  Sharon: That was Professor Bobbie Farsides talking about moving away from extractive research towards true co-production. How are we making that shift in practice here at Genomics England?  Rich: It's a great question. It's one of the areas where I think we've learnt most as an organisation over the years about how really engaging from the beginning with potential participants in programmes, participants who join our programmes, people who are involved in delivering our programmes and healthcare is so important at the beginning. I mentioned earlier the work to think about the consent process for the Generation Study, and that's one of the areas where I think from our first programme, 100,000 Genomes Project, we learnt a lot about how to do that well, some of the pitfalls, some of the bits that are most challenging. And really, right from the start of our programmes, making sure that people who will potentially benefit from the programmes, potentially join them, can be part of that engagement process, and really part of the design and the shaping of the research questions, the parameters around research, but also the materials and how people will engage with them. And that's one of the key capabilities we have internally as an organisation, so we work with partners externally, but also it's a really key part of the team that we have at Genomics England.  Sharon: So, whilst Bobbie talked about moving away from research that can feel one-sided and towards true collaboration, in another episode, Lindsay, a parent of a child with a rare condition, reflected on what that change really means for families and how it's empowering to see their voices and experiences shaping future treatments.  Lindsay: Historically, there's been a significant absence of a patient voice in rare disease research and development. And knowing that that's changing, I think that's really empowering for families. To know that professionals and industry are actually listening to our stories and our needs and really trying to understand, that offers much greater impact on the care and treatments of patients in the future.  Sharon: So, what role do you see participants as partners in shaping the next phase of Genomics England's work?  Rich: So, as you probably detected from my last answer, we see it as absolutely vital. One of the really exciting things here at Genomics England, we've had a participant panel from very early in our life as an organisation. That's one really important route to us at the heart of our organisation, part of our governance, making sure that participants representing all sorts of parts of our programme, but rare conditions being a really large focus for us. And I think, what's so striking as someone with a medical and a research background can see how I think historically medics and researchers have sometimes not known, sort of maybe been a bit scared about knowing how to involve participants from the outset. Often, because they're worried that they might ask the wrong questions in the wrong way, they just don't have the tools.   One of the things I often say now to people we work with is one of the most empowering and positive experiences we have at Genomics England is the power of our participants helping to, right from the beginning, shape what the questions are that we should be asking. Realise some of the challenges that you can't possibly, if you're not in their shoes, understand are the most important to really shape how we prioritise our work internally, the problems that we need to solve first, how we think about some of the practical impacts on people's lives that, again, without hearing from their voice you just wouldn't know. And again, to help our researchers, people accessing data in the National Genomic Research Library, helping them make sure that they involve participants in their work and the confidence and tools to do that.  Sharon: That's great, thank you. Another big theme this year has been collaboration across the NHS, academia, and industry. Dr Raghib Ali puts this really well.  Raghib: There are areas where academia and the NHS are very strong, and there are areas where industry is very strong, and why working together, as we saw, you know, very good examples during the pandemic with the vaccine and diagnostic tests, etc., a collaboration between the NHS, academia, and industry leads to much more rapid and wider benefits for our patients and, hopefully, in the future for the population as a whole in terms of early detection and prevention of disease.  Sharon: So, how does collaboration fit into the 10-year health plan and what's next for 2026 in that space, Rich?  Rich: I think one of the most enjoyable parts of my role at Genomics England and our role as an organisation is the fact that we see ourselves very much as part of a, sort of team across the UK and in fact internationally in terms of delivering on the potential we see for genomics. So, we have a vision as an organisation, which has been the same the last 5 or so years, which is a world where everyone can benefit from genomic healthcare. In fact, that vision is now shared by the NHS from a genomics perspective, and really demonstrably, the 2 parts of the system absolutely pointing in the same direction. And when we've been thinking, looking forward with that 10-year lens on it, what we always like to do, and I think it's a real privilege to be able to do, because we're here in the UK, because we have a National Health Service, because there's been that long-term commitment from government on genomics and really taking a long-term investment view there, and because of so many other parts of the ecosystem, other experts who access data in the National Genomic Research Library, research organisations like Our Future Health, UK Biobank, all teaming together, and the expertise that's there in genomics more broadly. So we've, if you like, worked back from what the UK could do as whole, and in the 10-year health plan, as I said earlier, genomics is at the heart of that.  There's a double helix on the front cover and, in fact, on the watermark on almost every page. And, there's this view set out there where as many as half of all health interactions by 2035 could be informed by genomics or other similar advanced analytics. And we think that that's a really ambitious challenge. We see a really important role for us, as Genomics England, in contributing to that, but it's very much a team effort. Our role is around where we have the biggest capabilities, so around building and running digital infrastructure at a national scale for healthcare delivery and for research, to building evidence to inform future policies, so running programmes like the Generation Study to inform future policy. And really, as part of that, that evidence piece, being driven by engagement, ethics, and work on equity, to really make sure that evidence that future policy can be built on is informed by a fully rounded view. We think if we do that right that we could as a country with others, the NHS, research organisations, many others could live up to that ambition that's set out there in the 10-year plan.   And the 10-year plan is really clear, and government is really clear that this is about improving health outcomes. But it's also part of a broader benefit to the country because the UK is recognised already as a great place from a genomics perspective. We think playing our role in that won't just bring the health benefits, it also will secure the country's position as the best place in the world to discover, prove and where proven role out benefit from genomic innovations. And we think it's so exciting to be part of that team effort.  Sharon: So, Genomics England's refreshed mission and direction of travel is really setting out how we move from research to routine care, and how we embed genomics across the health system. Carlo Rinaldi captured the idea perfectly, imagining a future where diagnosis and hope arrive hand in hand.  Carlo: My dream is that in five to ten years' time an individual with a rare disease is identified in the clinic, perhaps even before symptoms have manifested. At that exact time the day of the diagnosis becomes also a day of hope, in a way, where immediately the researcher, the genetic labs, flags that specific variant, that specific mutation. We know exactly which is the best genetic therapy to go after.   Sharon: And Rich, what are your thoughts on that?  Rich: I think Carlo captures it really well. And for us, I think a really big theme is for that potential for genomics to make a difference, a continued and in fact increased difference for people with rare conditions and cancer, areas where it's already making a difference, but also with the potential to make a much broader impact for people across the population. The real theme is embedding genomics into routine care, making it something that you don't need to know that you're seeing an expert in genomics to benefit from it, really make sure that those benefits can be felt as just part of routine care. It's not something separate where we recognise that the best healthcare is healthcare that's supported by all sorts of inputs, with genomics being a key part of that, and that we can continue to learn as we do that. So that with people's consent, with their understanding of how their data is being used, we know that if we don't have the best answer for them today, we give the best answer we can today, and we can continue to learn, and they can benefit from that in the future.   I'm a rare disease doctor by background, and one of the really most enjoyable parts of my job is seeing that come to practice. In the last year or so I've had a number of families where I've been seeing the family for years, and a researcher accessing data in the National Genomic Research library has found an answer that we've not been able to find for maybe their child's whole life, and then finally we're able to feed it back. Seeing that come to life is just so wonderful, and I think gives us a bit of a blueprint for how things could work more generally.  Sharon: That's great. I mean, what a feeling for those families who do get those answers. As we look ahead to 2026 and beyond, the conversation is starting to include prevention, using genomics not just to diagnose conditions but to predict and treat and even prevent them. Alice Tuff-Lacey summarised this nicely in an episode about Generation Study.  Alice: This is quite an exciting shift in how we use whole genome sequencing, because what we're talking about is using it in a much more preventative way. Traditionally where we've been using it is diagnostically where we know someone's sick and they've got symptoms of rare condition, and we're looking to see what they might have. What we're actually talking about is screening babies from birth using their genome to see if they're at risk of a particular condition. And what this means is this raises quite a lot of complex ethical, operational, and scientific and clinical questions.  Sharon: Rich, when you think about 2026, what's your biggest hope for where we'll be this time next year?  Rich: I think it's a really exciting time. As you can tell from how we've been speaking, I'm really excited about the direction of travel and how over the next 5 and 10 years we can really make a transformational shift because of how well placed we are in the UK from a genomics perspective. Where we are with today's knowledge, where we could be because of the continued government and NHS commitment to genomics being at the heart of this, if we build the right infrastructure, if we generate the right evidence to inform what's adopted, I think we're in a really exciting place.  From a 2026 perspective, I think what we're really committed to is continuing to do the work, the day-by-day-by-day work that is to build that incrementally. So, a really big focus for us is continuing to support the NHS and making sure researchers can access data, so that flow of answers for families can continue and grow, accelerate, to continue delivering the Generation Study because it's a really important part of that wider jigsaw to generate the evidence that can inform future policy on whether this is something that's adopted and offered routinely to every child when they're born.  I think a really important time now that the government's provided the opportunity for us as a team, as a UK genomics and life sciences ecosystem, is to really put in place some of the next steps, the building blocks that can take us towards that 10-year vision. So for us also, a really important part of the year is beginning the design process for an adult population genomics programme, where we're looking at what evidence it's important that we can provide that's complementary to different work around by others in the ecosystem that needs to be there if we're going to think about that potential broader use of genomics.  Sharon: That's great. It sounds like another exciting year ahead. So, we're going to wrap up there. Thank you to Rich Scott for sharing your reflections on the key milestones this year, and for your thoughts on the year ahead. Thanks, Rich.  Rich: Thanks very much for having me.  Sharon: If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love your support, so please subscribe, share, and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts. I've been your host, Sharon Jones. This podcast was produced by Deanna Barac and edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital. Thank you for listening. 

Dr. Alexandra Markou-Guzman is a pediatric dentist who works in a public health center treating children from a Hasidic Jewish population in New York City. She shares her experience working with this population, and the cultural challenges that come with it. We discuss some of the unique dental considerations that come into play with treatment planning and working with these families. Dr. Alex is a recent graduate of an NYU residency. She shares how she was able to apply for and receive a National Health Service scholarship to help pay for school. By qualifying for this scholarship and completing two years of work in public health, she was able to significantly reduce her student loan burden.

Welcome to the Planet MicroCap Podcast's Due Diligence series. I'm your host, Robert Kraft. My guest today is Dan Goldberger, CEO of electroCore (NASDAQ: ECOR). electroCore is a commercial-stage neuromodulation company developing a suite of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation devices—delivering a two-minute therapy session designed to rebalance the autonomic nervous system. Built around its nVNS platform, the company operates across three channels: prescription medical devices for headache and migraine, the fast-growing Truvaga direct-to-consumer wellness brand, and a specialized military and government division built around its ruggedized tac-stim product.   Founded in 2006 as a non-invasive alternative to implanted vagus nerve stimulators, electroCore has evolved into a multi-indication business with seven FDA authorizations for headache, serving major customers like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the UK's National Health Service. I invited Dan to the show to discuss all of this, as well as: How nVNS platform works and the science behind vagus nerve modulation electroCore's evolution from implanted alternatives to multi-channel neuromodulation The prescription business model across the VA, NHS, and managed care Truvaga's growth in the wellness market and why awareness is the primary competitor The tac-stim military program and its role as a meaningful revenue stream Strategic priorities heading into 2026—profitability, capital allocation, and commercial execution Challenges around insurance coverage and overcoming the “chicken and egg” problem The path toward becoming a $150–200 million business and the long-term vision for the platform For more information about electroCore, please visit: https://www.electrocore.com/ This podcast was recorded and is being made available by SNN, Inc. (together with its affiliates and its and their employees, “SNN”) solely for informational purposes. SNN is not providing or undertaking to provide any financial, economic, legal, accounting, tax, or other advice in or by virtue of this podcast. The information, statements, comments, views, and opinions provided in this podcast are general in nature, and such information, statements, comments, views, and opinions, and the viewing of/listening to this podcast are not intended to be and should not be construed as the provision of investment advice by SNN. The information, statements, comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast do not constitute and should not be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities or to make or consider any investment or other course of action. The information, statements, comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast (including by guest speakers who are not officers, employees, or agents of SNN) are not necessarily those of SNN and may not be current. Reference to any specific third-party entity, product, service, materials, or content does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the SNN. SNN assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. The views expressed by guest speakers are their own and their appearance on this podcast does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. SNN does not make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information, statements, comments, views, or opinions contained in this podcast, which may include forward-looking statements where actual results may differ materially. SNN does not undertake any obligation whatsoever to provide any form of update, amendment, change, or correction to any of the information, statements, comments, views or opinions set forth in this podcast. SNN EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. By accessing this podcast, the listener acknowledges that the entire contents and design of this podcast, are the property of SNN, or used by SNN with permission, and are protected under U.S. and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this podcast may save and use information contained in the podcast only for personal or other non-commercial educational purposes. No other use, including without limitation, reproduction, retransmission, or editing of this podcast may be made without the prior written consent of SNN.

In case you didn't see our major announcement this week… The OCTOBER 7 play is having its most high profile performance to date! You won't believe where it will be showing next. Hint: It's right in the belly of the beast and we want to see you there. All will be revealed soon. And just when we thought the trans madness was dying in the UK, we discover that the Dr Frankensteins/Mengeles of the world are alive and well in that country's National Health Service. They want to recruit 250 humans for gender experiments.Oh but don't worry, these patients/victims will be at least at the ripe old age of 10, and totally understand what they're in for. Of course they can give informed consent. Not. Watch the Scoop this week to hear about the latest attack on children whose bodies are being destroyed on the altar of progress. And our home country of Ireland is constantly proving that it is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe. Now they've somehow sunk to a new low by deciding to rename a park, which was dedicated to a local Jewish hero. Dublin City Council's scheme was thwarted by a technicality, for now… Watch this week's episode to get all of the infuriating details. You can also learn more through Phelim's coverage on Substack(linked below).And in Crazy California, we reveal why the homeless problem will never be solved. It's because Democrats are making just too much money maintaining the problem - as the rest of us suffer from their corruption.And is Ann McElhinney safe to drive on the nation's roads? According to the DMV - she is a danger. If it's true, then how did hundreds of thousands of Indian immigrants get truck driving licenses when they obviously were not qualified? Watch this week to hear our answer. And we have a new “no recipe recipe” for salmon this week. Watch this week to learn how to make one of Ann's favorite dishes. You will also need Ann's recipe for Kale Salad(linked below) for a side and we let you in on our secret for the perfect French Fries. For those who missed last week's episode, we looked back at the first Thanksgiving episode of the ANN AND PHELIM SCOOP when we interviewed our dear friend, Dennis Prager. Dennis, who has suffered a catastrophic injury, is the embodiment of the spirit of Thanksgiving and our interview with him and hearing his message promoting happiness and gratitude still warms the heart. Dennis has had a tough time since then, but he says he is still thankful to be alive. As you know we read all of your comments and loved all of the encouragement that you sent his way. We will be passing on your messages to Dennis.Watch the episode where we will read some of those comments on the air. Please keep leaving comments wherever you get our content and you may get a shoutout on our show. While you will be getting this message after Giving Tuesday, we do ask that you go to Unreportedstorysociety.com(also linked below) and give what you can so that we can keep producing new projects, and keep our latest projects like OCTOBER 7 the play running. We are a 501(c)(3) so your donation will be tax deductible.If you want to see OCTOBER 7 the play come to a location near you please donate at October7theplay.com(also linked below). And if you are already doing your Christmas shopping and waiting in another loooong line at the mall, please consider subscribing to our Stories.io substack(linked below) so that you can get informed and engaged in matters that we talk about beyond just our weekly show.To donate click here:To subscribe to our substack click here:To help us continue to tour OCTOBER 7 the play, please go here:http://October7thePlay.com To read Phelilm's latest substack about anti-Semitism in Ireland click here. To make Ann's kale salad recipe click here:

Dr. Colin Robertson suggests we look at our lives on a day to day basis making sure that we are "earning our dopamine" in a way that creates long term benefits, mixing nature into our daily routine, and creating health that allows us to wake up painless.Some key takeaways from the conversation:Health, wellness, and fitness are fundamental building blocks of a life worth living, more important than financial wealthPhysical health enables people to fully experience life and create lasting memoriesThe gut is "the center of the human universe" - optimizing gut health has multiplying effects on all other aspects of healthNatural, unprocessed foods are essential for proper gut function and overall healthActive experiences in nature create deeper, more lasting neural connections than passive screen-based activitiesTesting gut health provides objective data to guide personalized health improvementsDr. Colin Robertson (Dr. Col) is an environmental physiologist with a PhD in Exercise Physiology who helps translate cutting-edge sport science into practical strategies for athletes, adventurers, and everyday health seekers. For more than two decades, he has helped shape health strategies and standards for organizations worldwide, including EuropeActive, UKactive, and the National Health Service. A specialist in human performance and sports science, he has coached and prepared global adventurers to tackle extraordinary challenges, from climbing Everest to rowing the Atlantic, and supported athletes in strength and conditioning across various sports, including rugby, wrestling, and wheelchair basketball, in national and international competitions. He is an accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach (UKSCA), accredited Kinanthropometrist, and a qualified Nutritionalist, blending elite-level sport science and clinical health research into practical lifestyle strategies. His research is widely published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including co-authoring the notable Sleep and the Athlete: Narrative Review and 2021 Expert Consensus Recommendations (British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021). He also co-hosts the Common Knowledge podcast, a go-to channel for useful and meaningful health and lifestyle information that is free and accessible to everyone. Zinzino is a global health tech company from Scandinavia, pioneering products and services in the health and wellness space for over two decades. Driving a new standard in personal health, the company's test-based, personalized nutrition approach provides tools for a healthier future by enabling individuals to take charge of their personal well-being through science-based insights and targeted solutions. Offerings include a portfolio of advanced at-home health tests and an extensive range of nutritional supplements scientifically proven to meet individual needs. Visit ConfidenceThroughHealth.com to find discounts to some of our favorite products.Follow me via All In Health and Wellness on Facebook or Instagram.Find my books on Amazon: No More Sugar Coating: Finding Your Happiness in a Crowded World and Confidence Through Health: Live the Healthy Lifestyle God DesignedProduction credit: Social Media Cowboys

The UK's consumer healthcare industry association, PAGB is publishing a series of blog posts for Self-Care Week – an annual awareness campaign in the UK organized by the Self Care Forum, held this year from 17-23 November. In this second part of a special episode of HBW Insight's Over the Counter podcast, we catch up with the association's CEO Michelle Riddalls, to talk about what the association is doing to promote digital health. As part of the UK government's plans for reforming the country's National Health Service, PAGB is asking for the widely used UK NHS app to not only advise people on how to self-care but also to take users to OTC brand websites that can help them to self-manage their conditions appropriately. We also discuss the advantage of having digital apps and self-care information generally linked to trusted umbrella brands. Timestamps 2:00 – PAGB's digital health strategy 6:00 – The NHS app and self-care brands 12:00 – Self-care apps 15:30 – The importance of brands Guest Bio Michelle Riddalls OBE is chief executive officer of PAGB, the consumer healthcare association, which represents the manufacturers of branded OTC medicines, self-care medical devices and food supplements in the UK. Prior to joining PAGB, Riddalls was director of regulatory affairs for the Northern European Cluster at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, where she was integral in the highly successful POM to GSL reclassification of Nexium Control and the Viagra Connect POM to P switch. Michelle has been recognized across a number of industry awards, including the Women in Trade Powerlist in 2024, and was awarded an OBE for outstanding services to consumer health in the King's 2025 New Year Honours.

#MEDICALINNOVATION #OLYMPICSWIMMING #championmindset This is an inspirational keynote presentation on October 6, 2025, at the Opening Ceremony of the 2025 Medical lnnovation Olympics from Chris Cook, double Olympian swimmer, double Commonwealth Games Champion, World Championship Bronze Medalist, motivational speaker at companies such as Microsoft and some of the largest health systems across the globe, and consultant to the U.K.'s government's National Health Service.Chris shares three specific personal stories that span Olympic level training, building the next generation of Olympic champions, and transformation of teamwork across a Healthcare system with psychological safety.0:00 Timeline - Highlights2:12 - Intro: 3 Key Messages - Evidence-based Confidence, Clarity, and Psychological Safety3:28 - Biggest lesson on Confidence during the Toughest Season (2006)4:57 - Measure what Matters: Heart Rate, Stroke Rate, Time, Perceived Exertion5:35 - Challenge: Beat the Average from Previous Week5:51 - Turning Point: Started to be obsessed with Progress7:10 - Leadership Phase after Retirement7:27 - Ambition Programme - Team Great Britain - less than 8% of first time Olympians medal, intense build-up, media attention of the Olympics8:35 Pilot Project of First-time Olympians Created environment for potential stars to feel like Olympians, media mock-interviews, etc.9:41 Ambition Programme Alumni & Results307 athletes have finished this program40% represent Team GB 11% of the athletes in the program win a medal10:12- When we get clear we level up certainty Ask it, answer it, and action it - the last one drives certainty10:50 - Collaboration with the National Health Service in the UKNew programs: 1) Creating Psychological Safety to share, contribute, and debate; 2) Radical Candor. In less than 18 months, the pilot transformed one department, then started to spread12:34 - Teamwork thrives on Psychological Safety12:56 - Keynote SummaryConfidence is built from evidenceWhen we are unclear, things become uncertain - Challenge to the audience!True teamwork starts when we are safe to take risks

#656: What would you do if someone in authority told you to do something that felt wrong? Most of us like to think we'd speak up, push back, stand our ground. But research tells a very different story. In fact, when Yale researchers conducted a famous experiment in the 1960s, they found that 65% of people would administer what they believed to be deadly electric shocks to another human being... simply because someone in a lab coat told them to. Today's guest has spent over 15 years studying why humans comply with authority - even when every fiber of our being is screaming that we shouldn't. And when it comes to our money, this tendency to comply with authority figures - from financial advisors to real estate agents to car salespeople - can cost us dearly. Dr. Sunita Sah began her career as a physician in the UK's National Health Service. During one particularly exhausting period as a junior doctor, she agreed to meet with a financial advisor who had contacted her at work. That meeting sparked questions that would shape the rest of her career: Why did she feel pressured to trust this advisor, even after learning he had a conflict of interest? Today, she's a tenured professor at Cornell University, where her groundbreaking research on compliance and influence has been featured in The New York Times and Scientific American. She's advised government agencies, served on the National Commission on Forensic Science, and helps leaders understand the psychology behind why we say "yes" when we really want to say "no." Whether you're meeting with a financial advisor, negotiating the price of a home, or discussing rates with a contractor, understanding the psychology of compliance could save you thousands of dollars - and help you make better financial decisions. Today's conversation isn't just about psychology - it's about protecting your wealth by learning when and how to say "no." Resources Mentioned in the Episode: - Website: sunitasah.com - Newsletter: Defiant By Design | Dr. Sunita Sah | Substack - Connect with Dr. Sunita Sah - Follow Dr. Sah on Instagram About Dr. Sunita Sah Dr. Sunita Sah is a tenured professor at Cornell University specializing in organizational psychology. Her research focuses on how and why people comply with authority, even against their better judgment. A former physician in the UK's National Health Service, Dr. Sah brings a unique perspective to understanding human behavior and decision-making. Her work has been featured in leading publications including The New York Times and Scientific American, and she has served as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Forensic Science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Dan Hitchens, senior editor at First Things Magazine. We spoke about assisted suicide: the second and third order consequences of legalisation, why low fertility welfare states are increasingly drawn to this apparent solution to their financial woes, and why Britain's National Health Service would prove to be a particularly dangerous p…

Aneurin Bevan's commitment to social justice led to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 – one of the most ambitious social reforms in British history. He was an MP who stuck to his principles in the face of serious opposition, but was not without criticism in both his professional and personal life. Speaking to Lauren Good, Nye Davies charts Bevan's journey from the coalfields of South Wales to the corridors of Westminster. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to this week's episode of the PEBCAK Podcast!  We've got four amazing stories this week so sit back, relax, and keep being awesome!  Be sure to stick around for our Dad Joke of the Week. (DJOW) Follow us on Instagram @pebcakpodcast   Please share this podcast with someone you know!  It helps us grow the podcast and we really appreciate it!   2016: The Dawn of Modern Ransomware The debut of Petya and Russian-affiliated groups like CryptoWall, TeslaCrypt, and Locky. Attacks were largely indiscriminate, targeting anyone from Fortune 500 companies to "Grandma's laptop." Early mitigation tactics, like installing Russian language packs to avoid infection, highlighted the state-tolerated nature of these groups.   2017: Ransomware Goes Mainstream A pivotal year with the WannaCry attack (attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group) and NotPetya (Russian-backed), causing billions in damages to companies in multiple verticals. The SAMSAM attacks hit U.S. cities like Baltimore and Atlanta, marking Iran's brief foray into ransomware. Ransomware became a household name, sparking executive-level discussions in boardrooms.   2020: The Rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service Groups like Ryuk, REvil, and Conti refined ransomware into a business model, outsourcing tasks like initial access and money laundering. Double extortion emerged, with attackers stealing data and threatening to leak it, even if backups were restored. Some groups introduced “terms of service,” avoiding hospitals and schools to dodge law enforcement scrutiny.   2021: Critical Infrastructure in the Crosshairs High-profile attacks on Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods, and Ireland's National Health Service disrupted daily life, from gas shortages to meat supply issues. These incidents underscored ransomware's real-world impact, elevating cybersecurity to a boardroom priority.   2022: Geopolitical Shifts and New Players Russian-backed groups like Conti and LockBit shifted focus to Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The rise of Scattered Spider, a Western-based group excelling at social engineering and SIM swapping, marked a shift from Eastern state-tolerated actors.   2023: Trust Breaks Down The ALFV/BlackCat group's $22 million rug pull against affiliates signaled the decline of Russian-backed ransomware dominance. Scattered Spider solidified its reputation, targeting major hospitality and cleaning companies with sophisticated social engineering tactics.   2025: The Western Cybercrime Surge Scattered Spider and affiliates like DragonForce dominate, hitting retailers, insurance, aviation, and automotive sectors. The shift to Western-based actors, often young and operating in Five Eyes nations, makes them more vulnerable to law enforcement.   Trends and Takeaways The move from expensive zero-day exploits to cheaper n-day exploits and social engineering highlights attackers' adaptability. Double extortion and even “double dipping” (demanding additional ransoms months later) have become standard tactics. The accessibility of AI tools and open-source platforms like Venice AI has lowered the barrier for creating ransomware, even for non-programmers. Law enforcement's increasing success in arrests and Bitcoin recovery (e.g., DarkSide's downfall) offers hope for curbing cybercrime.       Dad Joke of the Week (DJOW)   Find the hosts on LinkedIn: Chris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chlouie/ Ben - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamincorll/

In this episode with Luke Murray we discuss Paul Ingraham's e-book on plantar fasciitis. We cover:Common causes of plantar fasciitisIs stretching effective for plantar fasciitis?Strengthening for the treatment of plantar fasciitisAnd more!

Roughly 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants. The most common type is SSRIs, or  selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, like Prozac, Lexapro, and Zoloft. But what happens when you stop taking them? Studies don't point to a single conclusion, and there's ongoing debate among physicians and patients about the severity and significance of SSRI withdrawal symptoms. The discourse reached a fever pitch when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compared SSRI withdrawal to heroin withdrawal in January.Host Flora Lichtman digs into the data on SSRI withdrawal with psychiatrists Awais Aftab and Mark Horowitz.Guests: Dr. Awais Aftab is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University.Dr. Mark Horowitz is a clinical research fellow in the UK's National Health Service and  scientific co-founder of Outro Health.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.  Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

This episode of Integrative Cancer Solutions Dr. Karlfeldt features an in-depth conversation with Sarah Marsh, a representative of Genesis Care in the UK, focusing on the integration of exercise medicine into cancer treatment. Sarah introduces Genesis Care's services, which include private chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy across 14 centers, and shares her personal connection to cancer through her husband's experience. She emphasizes the organization's commitment to a personalized approach, offering patients a 12-week exercise program designed to improve strength, manage side effects like fatigue and nausea, and enhance overall quality of life. The discussion explores the differences between private and public healthcare systems in the UK and Sweden, highlighting how Genesis Care collaborates with the National Health Service and runs clinical trials that benefit both sectors. Sarah explains that her five-year tenure at Genesis Care has given her insight into the unique needs of cancer patients, particularly the importance of meeting patients where they are and gradually reintroducing exercise routines that may have been disrupted by diagnosis and treatment. A significant portion of the conversation centers on the evidence supporting exercise as a critical component of cancer care. Sarah details how personalized exercise programs, including strength and balance training, can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and help patients regain confidence and physical capability. She stresses the importance of flexibility and accessibility, encouraging patients to start with small steps and build up their activity levels as they feel able. Beyond exercise, the episode delves into the adjunctive therapies and wellbeing services offered by Genesis Care, such as acupuncture, reflexology, sleep assistance, and menopause support. These services are integrated into the overall treatment plan to address symptoms like hot flushes and fatigue, providing a holistic approach to patient care. Sarah shares that patients who complete the 12-week program often see significant improvements in both strength and quality of life. The conversation concludes with practical advice for cancer patients and their families. Sarah encourages patients to advocate for themselves, seek information, and involve loved ones in their care journey. Drawing from her husband's experience, she underscores the value of structured exercise and a supportive network, reminding listeners that it is never too late to start moving and that every small effort contributes to improved wellbeing and resilience during cancer treatment.Sarah Marshall from Genesis Care UK discusses the benefits of integrating exercise medicine into cancer treatment, emphasizing personalized 12-week programs for patients.Genesis Care offers private chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy services across 14 centers, collaborating with both public and private healthcare sectors.Exercise is shown to help manage side effects like fatigue and nausea, reduce the risk of cancer recurrence, and improve patients' strength and quality of life.Additional wellbeing services such as acupuncture, reflexology, and sleep assistance are provided to support holistic patient care.Sarah encourages cancer patients to advocate for themselves, start with manageable exercise routines, and seek support from professionals and loved ones.Grab my book A Better Way to Treat Cancer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Preventing and Most Effectively Treating Our Biggest Health Threat - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM1KKD9X?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Unleashing 10X Power: A Revolutionary Approach to Conquering Cancerhttps://store.thekarlfeldtcenter.com/products/unleashing-10x-power-Price: $24.99-100% Off Discount Code: CANCERPODCAST1Healing Within: Unraveling the Emotional Roots of Cancerhttps://store.thekarlfeldtcenter.com/products/healing-within-Price: $24.99-100% Off Discount Code: CANCERPODCAST2----Integrative Cancer Solutions was created to instill hope and empowerment. Other people have been where you are right now and have already done the research for you. Listen to their stories and journeys and apply what they learned to achieve similar outcomes as they have, cancer remission and an even more fullness of life than before the diagnosis. Guests will discuss what therapies, supplements, and practitioners they relied on to beat cancer. Once diagnosed, time is of the essence. This podcast will dramatically reduce your learning curve as you search for your own solution to cancer. To learn more about the cutting-edge integrative cancer therapies Dr. Karlfeldt offer at his center, please visit www.TheKarlfeldtCenter.com

Story 1: The term “fascist” has become the go-to insult among politicians and political steamers as of late, but how many of them understand the definition behind it? Will breaks down what the true definition of fascism is and explains how its misuse can potentially embolden some to commit acts of violence. Story 2: Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) joins Will to discuss the rise in support for socialism in Democrats across the country, and the ripple effect it has had amongst the Democratic Party's politics. Plus, Rep. Barr and Will react to a viral clip of Kentucky legend Colonel Sanders' great-great-great nephew denouncing KFC's risqué marketing, before proceeding to reveal what he claims are the secret 11 herbs and spices. Story 3: Host of ‘The Rubin Report,' Dave Rubin helps Will break down the bizarre support from the UK's National Health Service for first cousin marriage, which they now claim leads to stronger social support systems and economic advantages? Will and Dave examine how such a study could have been published despite overwhelming evidence suggesting that such marriages lead to birth defects, and what a sudden influx of Pakistani migrants has to do with it. Plus, in Final Takes, Will and The Crew share their thoughts on last night's tie between the Cowboys & the Packers, before discussing Bad Bunny being selected to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.     Subscribe to ‘Will Cain Country' on YouTube here: ⁠⁠Watch Will Cain Country! ⁠⁠Follow ‘Will Cain Country' on X (@willcainshow), Instagram (@willcainshow), TikTok (@willcainshow), and Facebook (@willcainnews) Follow Will on X: ⁠⁠@WillCain  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At this year's Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress we sat down with Ramani Moonesinghe OBE, and had a conversation about her remarkable journey from her immigrant roots to her influential roles in perioperative and critical care. Hear about her contributions to Britain's National Health Service, her groundbreaking research, and her personal life balancing a demanding career with family. Gain insights into the future of perioperative care, health inequalities, and her thoughts on the nation's COVID-19 preparedness. Presented by Andy Cumpstey with Ramani Moonesinghe OBE, Professor of Perioperative Medicine, UCL, and Honorary Consultant in Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, UCLH, London, UK.

Dr. Sarah Myhill has worked full time in National Health Service and independent medical practice. She has a special interest in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ME. Show partners: Troscriptions - 10% off your first order by using the code "JESSE" at checkout Quicksilver Scientific - 15% off your first order by using the code "jesse15" at checkout Maui Nui Venison - Get yourself some high quality venison using this link Show notes: https://jessechappus.com/670

As natural thyroid ban looms, thyroid sufferers gird for battle with regulators; Rapid weight loss, muscle wasting—what to do? Could overuse of CT scans cause 100,000 extra cancers in the U.S.? Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket residents afflicted with tick-borne meat allergy; Beyond Meat headed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; Searching for the causes of low iron.

The number of people 85 years and older is expected to double in the U.K. over the next couple of decades. Apian, a London-based health care logistics company that partners with the National Health Service, thinks automation can help. We visit Apian to understand how automated robots could ease the burden of caring for an aging population. Also in this episode: A pilot pushes for menopause policies at British Airways, and an entrepreneur launches a skincare business at 50.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

The number of people 85 years and older is expected to double in the U.K. over the next couple of decades. Apian, a London-based health care logistics company that partners with the National Health Service, thinks automation can help. We visit Apian to understand how automated robots could ease the burden of caring for an aging population. Also in this episode: A pilot pushes for menopause policies at British Airways, and an entrepreneur launches a skincare business at 50.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Dr. Sarah Myhill has worked full time in National Health Service and independent medical practice. She has a special interest in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ME. Show sponsors: Quicksilver Scientific - 15% off your first order by using the code "ultimatehealth15" at checkout Troscriptions - 10% off your first order by using the code "JESSE" at checkout Show notes: https://jessechappus.com/657