Wellness, Actually with Emily Oster & Perry Wilson, MD

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Latest Episodes:

What's the deal with death? Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

This week, just in time for spooky season, Emily and Perry take on the one certainty in this life: death. How have human beings historically (and unsuccessfully) tried to cheat it? How are the tech bros in the longevity space trying to today? What's the point? And what actually happens to your body, and curiously overactive brain, when you die?

Plus: the curse of Wellness, Actually comes for Calley Means, whether the Dengue Fever break-out worth a freak-out, and TB in strip clubs.

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What's the deal with organic food? Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry are going classy with a close look at eating organic. We all know it's more expensive, but is it worth the sticker (shock)? Do organic foods actually taste better, are they healthier, and, most importantly, are they safer? Safer for you, better for the environment? The answer, like your grocery bill, might surprise you.

Plus: what doctors really think about you, according to your chart, testosterone in the military (again), and gentlemen, don't worry about, erm, holding off before trying to impregnate someone.

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Previous episodes referenced:

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What's the deal with intermittent fasting? Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry discuss the highly disciplined world of intermittent fasting: all the different ways you can not eat and all of their purported health effects. Will it make you lose weight, reset your metabolism, live longer? Only if you're a mouse, alas. And they've got problems of their own.

Plus: RFK Jr. institutes billing codes for vaccine injuries, an experimental new medicine will kill your fat cells dead, and do not - we repeat, DO NOT - get your herpes treatment from Amazon.

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What's the deal with Botox? Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry explore Botox, literally the most toxic substance in the universe, so why not inject it into our faces? From its discovery to its biomechanics to its myriad uses, it might just turn out that smooth foreheads are the least interesting part of this cunning little spore.

Plus: it's Nobel Prize week! Also, the plague is back, baby, and GLP-1s might make your fingernails fall off.

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Rerun, Actually - What's the deal with GLP-1s? Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

This week, we're rebroadcasting our episode on GLP-1s, those blockbuster weight-loss drugs that have taken the world by storm -- and not just what you already know about them. From the origins in Gila monster venom to the surprisingly long history of their use, they explore their effectiveness, side effects, lingering questions about long-term usage, and the weird knock-on effects in both the brain (libido?) and our society (protein water?). These drugs are here to stay, so let's understand them from every angle.

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It's the First Annual Wellness, Actually Grab Bag Episode! Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry are joined by Producer Tamar to answer series of short health and wellness suggestions - by you, the listeners! - that don't merit a full deep dive but are still fun to dissect. From vampire facials to vibrating plates to salt lamps to toxic salmon, we're here for you.

Plus: U.S. officials failed to detect flaws in the covid vaccine, President Trump wants to split other vaccines up, science be damned, and Montana eschews the FDA.

Past episodes referenced:

The Vagina Whisperer

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What's the deal with artificial sweeteners? Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry dive into the sweet, calorie-free world of artificial sweeteners. What poor lab hygiene brought them into existence? Do they actually make us fatter and/or cause cancer? What regulatory shenanigans got us so scared of aspertame? And, most importantly, why is Diet Coke seriously so good?

Plus: an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in New York, hot beverages and esophageal cancer, and a frightening new opioid has entered the chat.

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Submit a ridiculous wellness trend for next week's grab bag episode here!

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What's the deal with seed oils? Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry dive into the slippery world of seed oils. Canola, vegetable, safflower, yes, even avocado: why have these plant-based oils gotten such a bad rep compared to their animal-based counterparts? How does processing and frying play in? Is it beef tallow's world and we're just living in it? Note: this episode is best enjoyed with a big plate of fries.

Plus: a disappointing heart drug, the military is no longer testing testosterone (thanks to us??), and exciting news in the pig kidney community.

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What's the deal with poop? Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

This week, Emily and Perry are bravely tackling one of our most beloved bodily functions, polite company be damned: poop! Is it, as Emily asks, truly the window to our souls? How much about our health and wellness can be ascertained by studying the texture, transit time, and frequency of our poop? What's the optimal way to poop? Should we be fibermaxxing? How special are our gut biomes? It's not a gross episode if you learned something.

Plus: the deadly duo of rabies and measles, and how to get ahead of both.

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Rerun, Actually - What's the deal with peptides? Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

This week, we're rebroadcasting our episode on peptides, the purported panacea for all health ailments. Can an injection of these tiny bits of protein actually boost your metabolism, plump up your skin, heal your injuries, and overall prolong your life? And what could possibly go wrong when you inject a peptide stack of dubious origin anyway?

Submit a question for our weekly mailbag at wellnessactually.fm.

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