The Curious Introvert
A weekly podcast covering societal taboos & cultural blind spots. Join host Meredith Hackwith Edwards as she deep dives with curiosity & nuance into philosophy, society & culture with expert guests.
Episodes frequently feature philosophers, researchers, historians & journalists.
Episodes
351 episodes
Ep. 350: Are We Rehabilitating Criminals … or Just Recycling Them?
Does “tough on crime” actually work? Could Ban the Box policies backfire? Jen Doleac, PhD, is Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures, a philanthropy maximizing evidence based policy & minimizing i...
Ep. 349: Hot Car Infant Deaths: Just Bad Parents? [REMASTERED]
She used to ask "how could anybody do that?" Then it happened to her family. Laura & Aaron Beck were devoted parents who, like many, were in the habit of judging other parents who left their child in the back seat of a ca...
Ep. 348: Are Your Breast Implants Making You Sick? (What they don’t tell you)
Is the skepticism around breast implant illness driven by science or the cosmetic surgery industry? What protocols (for keeping & removing) are working for patients? Robert Whitfield, MD is a fellow of the American Colleg...
Ep. 347: Trigger Warnings: Making us Fragile or Helping us Heal? [REMASTERED]
Could your mouthwash be causing high blood pressure? Can your spit predict cancer? Nikki Eisenhauer is a licensed professional counselor, chemical dependency counselor, and professional psychotherapist. She is also an incest ...
Ep. 346: Could your spit predict CANCER? Testing & Warning Signs with an Oral Microbiome Expert!
Could your mouthwash be causing high blood pressure? Can your spit predict cancer? Dr. Staci Whitman is a Functional Dentist board-certified in pediatrics with additional certifications in functional medicine, integrative and...
Ep. 345: Is Premarital Sex Bad? [REMASTERED]
What is it like to change your mind on something you wrote a best seller on? Joshua Harris is the author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a best-selling book in the late ’90s touting courtship as the superior way to find ...
Ep. 344: Lucid Dreams & OBEs: One Researches. The Other Explores it First Hand.
Do dreams happen in our minds? What can lucid dreaming tell us about the nature of consciousness? Dave Green is a London-based artist who creates drawings not FROM his dreams, but IN his dreams, which he re-creates upon...
Ep. 343: Developing Psychic Abilities in a World on Fire (is this really that important?)
Would you go to a psychic Olympics? Does psi have real-world benefits or is it just a way to make people feel like their special? Hakim Isler served 4 years in the Army as a psi op specialist in special operations forces, is ...
Ep. 342: The Cult That Sold Orgasms
What is orgasmic meditation? Where is the line between cutting-edge wellness & cult behavior? Is the word “cult” too divisive to be helpful? Ellen Huet is an award-winning investigative journalist who writes for Bloomberg...
Ep. 341: Lost at Sea at 16: Killer Whales & Courage [REMASTERED]
"We made an agreement with each other that we would not eat each other no matter how hungry we got." Douglas Robertson is the author of The Last Voyage of the Lucette. He was just a teenager when his family was lost at sea for 38 days....
Ep. 340: Funerals in America: Status FOR SALE?
What made the American funeral industry what it is today? Why do we embalm? How do societal status & funeral styles overlap? Gary Laderman, PhD, is the Goodrich C. White Prof of Amer Religious History & Cultures at Em...
Ep. 339: Cannibalism – Communion to Placenta – Where Do We Draw the Line? [REMASTERED]
Is the “ick” factor of cannibalism nature or nurture? What does history tell us (& how much of it is a lie)? Bill Schutt, a PhD zoologist & author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, answers these qu...
Ep. 338: COMMON GROUND: AI Grief Bots - Solving Grief or Distorting it?
This is the first of a series of episodes that feature opposing sides of a hot topic. Today it’s the a tech entrepreneur who founded a grief bot service vs a cyberpsychologist specializing in the ethics of death & the digital. <...
Ep. 337: Can a Sexless Marriage Survive? [REMASTERED]
What exactly is considered "sexless"? What are we counting as sex? What would cause someone to not want to have sex all of a sudden? These are all questions I unpacked with Xanet Pailet. She was a successful healthcare lawyer...
Ep. 336: Prescription NAPS??! Toddler Protocol for High Achievers
Can napping replace medication? How do you get your brain to slow down enough to take a nap? Dr. Hector Rodriguez is a psychiatrist, who views naps as medicine for your brain. He is the owner of the White Butterfly Clin...
ANNOUNCEMENT! New name & logo
Meredith for Real: the curious introvert is now The Curious Introvert!When I started this show in 2019, there were a few other shows with the words curious & introvert in them, but fewer with the name Meredith. Now that t...
Ep. 335: Anxiety: Where does it come from & what do we do with it?? [REMASTERED]
What’s the difference between social anxiety & social anxiety disorder? What should you do if you’re spiraling? Dr. Ali Mattu was so socially anxious as a child, that he had selective mutism. Since then, he’s become...
Ep. 334: Football: Are We Cheering for Brain Trauma?
Did the NFL cover up what they knew? Is football causing early dementia? Mark Fainaru-Wada is an award-winning investigative reporter & journalist with ESPN. He’s also the co- author of League of Denial, the book...
Ep. 333: Does Age = Pain? How to NOT Age Like Everyone Else!
Is it possible to age without aches & pains? Are some people just cursed with bad genes? Eileen Kopsaftis is a physical therapist with a Fellowship in Applied Functional Science & a nutrition educator diploma wi...
Ep. 332: The Cult Origins of Teen Rehab: How are these places still open??
How are these abusive teen rehab centers still open? Why are parents still sending their kids there? Can’t they be shut down? Maia Szalavitz is an award-winning author and journalist who covers addiction and neuroscience. Her...
Ep. 331: Disentangling Faith from Religious Trauma [REMASTERED]
What do you do if you have religious trauma, but don't want to abandon your faith?Catherine Quiring is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in helping ex-evangelicals overcome religious trauma. In this episode, s...
Ep. 330: Is Your Happiness Being Politicized? [REMASTERED]
If you're not happy, it means something is wrong ... right? Dr. Loretta Breuning is a PhD researcher & author. Since becoming unconvinced by prevailing theories on human behavior, she has researched everything from ...
Ep. 329: Antique Vibrator Museum: Bees, Buffalos & Stigma [REMASTERED]
How old is the oldest vibrator? Does self-pleasure steal affection from your partner?Carol Queen has a Ph.D. in Sexology & a passion for pleasure. She is the curator of the Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum in San Francisco, CA...
Ep. 328: What If It’s Not in Your Head? Mold Illness & Medical Blind Spots
Dr. Neil Nathan is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Pain Management as well as a Founding Dip-low-mitt of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine & International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illnesses.He spe...
Ep. 327: He Ate His Own Foot!? Grief, Friendship & Foot Tacos [REMASTERED]
When the Redditor known as Incrediblyshinyshart lost part of his leg in a motorcycle accident & had to have it amputated, he made an unusual choice – to eat it. He shares his thoughts on mourning, cannibalism & why eating part of his ow...