The Referral with Dr. Karan

Dr. Karan brings his high-energy, simplified dissections of medical conditions from TikTok to podcasts. Each episode is neatly divided into medical news updates, mythbusting interviews, and a Q&A with questions from listeners. Medical podcasts tread a fine line between being really informative and too technical. Dr. Karan’s social media experience helps him strike just the right balance in this long-form content. His engaging style encapsulates new information and his guests’ insights into an easy pill to swallow. Bonus: hearing how proud he is to provide access to medical information to millions as a working NHS doctor and social media educator (currently with a combined 7.5 million followers across all his platforms). Listen now >>

The Retrievals

This five-part investigative narrative series is about a federal crime committed at Yale Fertility Clinic (attached to Yale University) in the US. The series explores fertility, female pain, responsibility, justice, and privilege. This podcast had me feeling a lot of things. The details made me squirm, the personal accounts hurt my heart, and as the story unfolded, the residual shock stayed with me for a while. Host Susan Burton leaves so many questions on the table about female health and voice in this cutting podcast. The reality is, we hear stories of female pain being routinely dismissed in the UK too. We shouldn’t have to, but how can we better advocate for ourselves? How do we demand more from our healthcare professionals? Where do we go from here? Listen now >>

ZOE Science and Nutrition

Now, I’m someone whose signature move is unbuttoning my jeans before a meal to prepare for the post-meal bloat. (Anyone else?) The ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast was my gateway show into dietary health. Created by world-leading nutrition and gut scientists, ZOE turns our digestive systems inside out, addressing the benefits and harm, public attitude and lobbying over the food we eat. The main line of messaging is that every body is different, so everybody’s diet should be too. I appreciate that they encourage listeners to use the podcast as a springboard to empower research and investigation into your own health. Listen now >>

28ish Days Later

India Rakusen brought the menstrual cycle to life with this 28-part limited series. The bite-sized episodes take you day-by-day through the biological, emotional, historical and social aspects of a period. I don’t think I’ll ever stop recommending this podcast. With an impressive line-up of contributors, every episode made me feel surprised, confused and seen. Conversations around women’s health still feel shrouded in secrecy until things are really bad. India Rakusen artfully creates a sense of welcoming, community, and belonging in her podcast and the success of 28ish Day Later is a great example of what happens when female voices lead the way. Listen now >>

The Bias Diagnosis

Take a seat and draw back the curtain, Ivan Beckley is about to give you his diagnosis. Medical student Ivan pokes and prods the medical system to find the racial inequalities in education, access, and outcomes. Starting his investigation in the historical roots of medicine, Ivan investigates the stereotypes, misinformation and myths that are still alive in medical practice today. He looks at five dimensions of healthcare and maintains a patient-centred approach throughout. More than anything, this series pulls you out of “normality” and forces you to question how these statistics, care and outcomes have been ignored for so long. Listen on Audible now >>

Let’s talk about sex (education)

Lucy Carr’s documentary on sex education in the UK was a flash-back to the awkward and uncomfortable lessons I experienced at school. Lucy lays out how sex education is driven by political agenda, misinformation and out-dated beliefs. Access to sexual content online is easier than ever before but it doesn’t seem like sex education has caught up with that. Even if you don’t have young people close to you who are directly going through this, it’s interesting to think about the long term effects of this education on our adult perceptions, attitudes and conversations around sex. Listen now >>

Honourable mentions list:

The Neurodivergent Woman – A majorly underrepresented and under diagnosed group, this show does an amazing job of opening up the conversation about and for neurodivergent women. Find out more here or listen now >> 

A thorough examination with Drs Chris and Xand – If you’ve ever felt frustrated with a family member’s health and lifestyle choices, listen to this. An emotional story of community and family involvement in health struggles. Listen now >>

Bias Diagnosis: Season 2 – The focus of this season is gender bias in medical systems. The lens shifts but maintains the patient-centred, deep investigative approach of season 1. Listen now >>

Sex Ed with DB – If you’ve ever had a sex question, it’s likely you’ll find the answer here. An LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-centred podcast, Danielle Bezalel speaks to sexperts about an immensely wide range of topics to debunk myths about sex. Listen now >>

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Katie Stokes is a freelance writer, editor and podcast producer. Her work explores mental health, social relationships and identity. She is the host of Re:Mind the Podcast, unpacking how small behaviours have a big impact on our mental health. She is also an educator, creating audio and video resources for migrants looking to learn English.

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Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

I’m Ella Mills, the founder of Deliciously Ella, a plant-based lifestyle platform sharing delicious ways to feel better and that’s exactly what our podcast is about. The podcast is a weekly show focused on everything that impacts on our mental and our physical health, looking at what we eat or how we exercise, as well as our relationships, our mindset, our sleep patterns, our stress levels and how we look after ourselves on a day-to-day basis. On this podcast we’ll be breaking all of these topics down and sharing small, simple changes that’ll hopefully inspire you to feel better.

What’s the first podcast you ever listened to?

The High Low was the first podcast I listened to really religiously, I so looked forward to every episode. I then binged series like The Dropout and Guru.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I love that podcasting allows you to get so much deeper into a topic, I find social media platforms only allow you to get so far into interesting topics, whereas podcasts facilitate much more interesting, honest, detailed conversations, as well as allowing you to really get to know the hosts and guests too.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

I listen to such a huge variety from series like the Dropout and Guru to Desert Island Discs and History Hit, and lots of health and wellbeing ones – Mark Hyman’s The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr Chatterjee’s Feel Better Live More and Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

I just really enjoy talking to anyone that is passionate and knowledgeable about what they do, I find the variety in our guests keeps things really interesting! Last week, for example, we were talking to a professor who’s been studying metabolism in a tribe in Namibia and busting all the myths about ‘boosting metabolism’, this week I’m talking to a women’s health expert on the impact of stress on our monthly cycle and I’m currently researching for a gut health episode.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

That the more genuine and open a guest is, the better the episode. I think listeners – myself included – really appreciate a very candid approach

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

The ‘Five pillars of health‘ episode – it came out at the start of this year and it really sums up what we see as the foundation of your health from gut health, diet and fibre to sleep, stress management, mindfulness, hydration and exercise – it’s a basically a health and wellness 101.

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

On our website www.deliciouslyella.com and our social media channels @deliciouslyella.

You can listen to Delicious Ways to Feel Better on ACAST, SPOTIFY and ALL OTHER PLATFORMS.

The post Delicious Ways to Feel Better // A Deliciously Ella podcast appeared first on POD BIBLE.

PB: You delve into many serious and deeply personal topics on your show. How does a host create a safe space for their guests when discussing issues like mental health?
ARH: For me, I genuinely care about my guests. I spend a considerable amount of time with them trying to get a sense of who they are, what stories they have inside of them, and how they are feeling. I smile a lot and listen deeply. If that all fails, I bribe them with snacks – always works!

PB: How do you select guests for your podcast and how much research do you do prior to recording with them?
ARH: I do a lot of research. Hours, sometimes days, and if it’s an author I have to read at least 3/4 of the book to make sure I get a good sense of what they’re saying. It’s eye-watering, but I love it. I find people through reading, blogs, Instagram and sometimes people suggest guests to me. There is nothing wrong with cold-calling a few people and just hoping they pick up, or answer emails. You have to be bold and courageous. I made a hit list and keep an eye on what people are doing. I am interested in people, and if I think that they have the best stories to share with my audience, I’ll try to find a way to make it work. 

PB: Podcasts about books are often thought of as its own genre. Why was it important for you to incorporate a reading list into your show?
ARH: I love books, and I am working on a book segment for the show to come in September. I think if people listen to the show, they can get an idea that I love reading and suggesting books that move me, inspire me, and help me to live courageously. There is always something to learn. I am a beginner in everything, so there is always something to be gleaned from a good book, and I hoped a reading list would help people get on the way. 

PB: How has the podcast evolved since you began in the fall of 2018?
ARH: It has changed so much and bounced from studio to studio. It has reached Top 50 UK Mental Health Podcasts on Chartable, and was on the Top 100 Health list on Apple Podcasts. It also changed from the original name of What Matters with Alex Reads, which my friend Clarissa Pabi helped with at the time. I changed it to Time To Talk because I was writing an essay about why it was “Time to Talk” about mental health and wellbeing, and it just stuck. The essay is turning into a book that is due out in April 2021, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it. It is a conversation around love, connection and belonging from the perspective of men and masculinity. 

Alex ‘Reads’ Holmes is a writer and podcaster from the UK, and the host of Time To Talk with Alex Reads. He is currently writing his first book, Time To Talk: How Men Feel About Love, Belonging and Connection, to be released in April 2020. For more on Alex, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.

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