The House of Pod

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RFK Jr: The Reckoning Nov 10, 2026

Show notes

RFK Jr. has spent his time as Health Secretary overseeing sweeping changes to America's public health infrastructure — firing vaccine advisors, cutting childhood vaccine recommendations, gutting NIH research grants, and quietly funding a questionable trial in Guinea-Bissau. Now that Democrats have won both the House and the Senate, the leash may finally be tightening.

Host Dr. Kaveh Hoda brings together virologist Dr. Angie Rasmussen, ER physician and addiction medicine specialist Taylor Nichols, and UCSF vaccine law professor Dorit Reiss for a deep dive into Kennedy's record, the legal mechanics of impeachment, the corruption angles Congress might pursue, and what it will realistically take to undo the damage. Plus: why measles is back, how the Guinea-Bissau hepatitis B trial fits Kennedy's broader agenda, and what the next 6–12 months could look like for public health in America.

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Films That Broke Men's Brains: The Wolf of Wall Street Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by comedian Butch Escobar and Dr. Jason Rosenbaum for the latest entry in their ongoing series on films that broke men's brains. The trio digs into Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) — a movie that proposes to be a cautionary tale about Jordan Belfort's reign of fraud, drugs, and excess, but may have accidentally created a hero for every hustle-bro in a boiler room.

They debate whether the film works as satire or celebration, why Belfort's victims are almost entirely absent from the story, and how the movie compares to better-constructed cautionary tales like Goodfellas and The Big Short. Butch draws on his own experience working in a boiler room and his past struggles with substance use, offering a raw and personal lens on the drug culture the film glamorizes. Jason breaks down why the movie's structure undercuts its stated intentions, and Kaveh — a physician who admits he reluctantly enjoyed the film — walks through the real history of Quaaludes, the neuroscience of addiction, and why doing cocaine to counteract a sedative overdose is a terrible idea.

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The Accidental Activist: A Small-Town ER Doctor's Fight for Free Speech Oct 27, 2026

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Dr. Chad Smith was the only emergency room doctor living in Weaverville, California — the guy you wanted in the room when it mattered most. Then one night, troubled by what he saw on the news and read online, he posted his thoughts on his private Facebook page. The next morning, his hospital fired him.

This week on The House of Pod, Dr. Kaveh Hoda sits down with Dr. Chad Smith and his civil rights attorney Matthew Kumin to unpack what happened in a small mountain town with a big story about free speech, worker's rights, and who gets to decide what a doctor can and can't say online. We dig into the First Amendment, California labor law, the difference between private and government employers, and why this case might matter more than you think. Plus: Chad's decision to run for the hospital board, what he's hearing from nurses and clinicians who've been afraid to speak up, and what every healthcare worker should know about their rights.

Follow Chad on facebook and spread the word about his fight! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593455607298&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr

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Introducing: Persian of Interest Oct 22, 2026

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Before Europe built its universities, before the Renaissance "rediscovered" science, and before the West even had the vocabulary to describe diseases, there was a young man from the Persian heartlands who was diagnosing rulers, running clinical trials, and building a system of knowledge that would dominate European medical schools for over 600 years. His name was Ibn Sina — you might know him as Avicenna. This week on Persian of Interest, Kaveh takes Shauhin on a wild ride through the life of a 10th-century Persian polymath who was too smart for his own good: a child genius who became a physician at 17, a vizier he never wanted to be, a fugitive who wrote his masterpiece by candlelight on the run, and a man whose ideas about medicine, philosophy, and the universe were centuries ahead of anyone else on Earth. Also: how much of his work was lost to book burnings, why he's the only non-Greek in The School of Athens, and whether Doogie Howser was secretly Persian.

It's part history lesson, part cultural reclamation, and part excuse for two middle-aged friends to hang out. They welcome corrections and look forward to hearing from you!

Have a figure you'd like them to cover? Email shauhin@youlouder.org.

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Perimenopause: Puberty in Reverse Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by OB/GYN and bestselling author Dr. Jen Gunter and esthetician Naomi Laguana to learn about perimenopause — what it actually is, why it's so misunderstood, and who's profiting from the confusion. They break down the chaos of hormone fluctuations, the Women's Health Initiative and what it really showed, why hormone testing is mostly useless for diagnosis, the dangers of pellet therapy, and how the wellness industry exploits women's legitimate grievances with the medical system. Plus: brain fog, the "grievance economy," and why menopause care might be simpler than the internet wants you to believe.

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Raw Milk - Part 2 Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Part 2 of the Raw Milk Saga: The Reckoning. Dr. Kaveh Hoda and Dr. Rakesh Jatwani take on raw milk's health claims one by one — lactose intolerance, nutrition, gut health, and asthma — and the evidence doesn't hold up. Then: the legal loophole that lets producers sell raw milk as "pet food," why aged cheese isn't as safe as you'd think, RFK Jr.'s role in gutting enforcement, and a recent outbreak across nine states. Plus a devastating story of a toddler poisoned by raw goat milk bought through a chiropractor's Facebook group — and how public health officials can find common ground with the MAHA movement without sacrificing kids' safety.

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Raw Milk - Part 1 Oct 13, 2026

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Is raw milk the health miracle its advocates claim, or a dangerous gamble with children's lives? In this two-part deep dive, Dr. Kaveh Hoda sits down with Dr. Rakesh Jatwani (Dr. Rak) — double board-certified physician in Internal and Lifestyle Medicine, and the host of The Health Feast podcast — to unpack the raw milk debate from every angle.

Part 1 tells the story of Mary McGonigle-Martin, a Southern California mother who gave her seven-year-old son raw milk from Organic Pastures dairy, only to watch him land in a medically induced coma with kidney failure from E. coli O157:H7. We trace the suprising actions of dairy owner and the real clinical consequences: hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), long-term kidney damage, and the pathogens lurking in unpasteurized milk.

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Films That Broke Men's Brains: The Matrix Oct 06, 2026

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What did The Matrix actually say — and what did men hear? Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by writer/podcaster Margaret Killjoy and psychiatrist Dr. Tyler Black to dissect the 1999 classic and its most co-opted symbol: the red pill. They explore how the Wachowskis' trans allegory was hijacked by the manosphere, the "chosen one" fantasy and its pull toward conspiracy culture; and why Cypher is the real incel of the movie.

Make sure to also listen to Margaret's history podcast Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff and Tyler's podcast Suicidology Data and Evidence. Also, check out Kaveh's new podcast Persian of Interest, exploring stories of Persian history. Send topic ideas and movie suggestions for this series at hopquestions@gmail.com.

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Puffy Face Chicken Leg Syndrome Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

This week on The House of Pod, Dr. Kaveh Hoda is joined by Quinn, Chris, and Christian from the Failure to Launch podcast to explore what space travel actually does to the human body — and spoiler alert, it's not great. From G-forces that can make you black out to microgravity that gives you "puffy face chicken leg syndrome," we break down why the human body was simply never designed to leave Earth.

Enjoyed the episode? Please take 30 seconds to it makes a huge difference in helping new listeners find the show https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-house-of-pod/id1225096382

rab House of Pod merch! Pick up a shirt: Search "House of Pod" at bonfire.com or go to https://www.bonfire.com/hopmerch

Find me Kaveh on Instagram or TikTok @thehouseofpod or email at hopquestions@gmail.com

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Films that Broke Men's Brains: Obsession Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

On the House of Pod, we usually talk health and science — but sometimes a movie says more about our mental health than any study. In the first installment of "Movies That Broke Men's Brains," Dr. Kaveh Hoda explores films that shaped (or misshaped) the male psyche. Today's subject: Obsession, the 2025 indie horror sensation that some call a takedown of incel logic and male entitlement — and others call deeply relatable. Where's the line between depicting toxic masculinity and endorsing it? And what happens when a movie's critique gets swallowed by the very culture it was critiquing? Featuring the inimitable Rax King and frequent HOP contributor, Dr. Jason Rosenbaum.

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