Critically Speaking

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. John Hutton discuss the impact of early reading exposure on brain development in infants and young children. He explains that babies are born with 100 billion brain cells, each with around 1,000 connections and that these connections are shaped by experiences. Dr. Hutton emphasizes the importance of a nurturing home literacy environment, which includes regular reading routines and interactive reading. He also addresses the negative effects of excessive screen time on brain development, particularly in preschoolers, and advocates for reducing screen usage to allow for more real-world engagement. Additionally, he highlights programs like Reach Out and Read and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library that aim to increase access to books for children from underprivileged backgrounds.    Key Takeaways: It takes a long time for the human brain to develop compared to other animals. Humans are uniquely more sensitive to experiences in their environment than other organisms because of this long development process. The Home Literacy Environment can be divided into quantitative (such as the number of books and amount of time spent reading) and qualitative (such as questions asked, format of books, interest in reading, etc.) components. There is no “reading network” built-in to the brain. If kids aren’t taught to read, they are not going to just magically know how to read. Do your best to form your own routines, and try to make reading fun, enjoyable, and nurturing.  Kids want to emulate their parents. If we want them to use less screen time, as adults, we must also have less screen time.    "Books, more than anything, are a catalyst that brings grown-ups and kids together to exchange language, to exchange emotions, to show love and affection, and that can be a source of nurturing for all these different aspects of development that are related to that experience." —  Dr. John Hutton   Episode References:  Read Aloud 15 Minutes: https://readaloud.org/  Reach Out and Read: https://reachoutandread.org/  Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/  Dr. John Hutton Introduces the SHARE STEP Method for Reading with Young Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuQhnbrwutw    Connect with Dr. John Hutton: Professional Bio: https://profiles.utsouthwestern.edu/profile/226447/john-hutton.html  Twitter: https://x.com/drjohnhutton  Books: https://www.bluemanateepress.com/our-authors#/dr-john-hutton/    Connect with Therese: Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net Threads: @critically_speaking Email: [email protected]   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Adina Wise discuss the complexities of Parkinson’s disease, including its causes, symptoms, and the role of environmental factors, such as air pollution. They discuss who Parkinson’s primarily affects, the genetic factors at play, the higher incidents in specific regions, and the increase in the frequency of Parkinson’s cases. They also talk about the recent advancements including continuous infusion therapy and stress that early detection is crucial, though challenging due to ethical considerations.    Key Takeaways: Movement disorders are one of the few areas of medicine where diagnosis continues to rely heavily on careful observation. Parkinson’s is a heterogeneous disorder, not a single disease. Every case is a little different with the well-known motor symptoms - such as tremors, stiffness, and slowness, but also equally important non-motor symptoms - like sleep disturbances, mood changes, cognitive impairment, and more.  Parkinson’s mostly appears in people over the age of 60. For early-onset Parkinson’s (before the age of 50) accounts for about 4-10% of all cases. In these early-onset cases, there tends to be a stronger genetic influence.  The number one thing you can do to keep your brain healthy right now is regular aerobic exercise.   "Environmental factors, genes, lifestyle - these all may influence whether Parkinson’s manifests. This makes the Parkinson’s genetics quite complicated." —  Dr. Adina Wise   Connect with Dr. Adina Wise: Professional Bio: https://profiles.mountsinai.org/adina-wise  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adinawise  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awise.md/    Connect with Therese: Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net Threads: @critically_speaking Email: [email protected]   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

Most of us take for granted that the seafood we eat is healthy and better for the atmosphere.  But there are hidden costs in our increasing consumption of seafood that we don’t see.  Why?  Because these costs are accrued on the high seas and under the sea where few journalists endeavor to cover them.  Sea slavery, overfishing, pollution, and loss of revenue for people already struggling to make a living are extensive, but not well known.  Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative reporter Ian Urbina has seen these horrors firsthand and talks with us today about his book “The Outlaw Ocean” and his foundation of the same name.      Key Takeaways:  Approximately 50 of our seafood is farmed, and the other 50 percent arrives to consumers via practices involving human abuse and serious environmental damage.  Much of the farmed fish eat fish-meal that is derived from massive overfishing of fish less desirable for eating (but nonetheless ecologically important) and other species, such as whales, sharks, and turtles) caught up in the fishing process.  Cooked, ground up, and used to feed the farmed fish.   We tend to think about greenhouse gases as being the driver of global change, but these practices are wreaking severe havoc on the planet, underwater. Human abuse and slavery are often involved in the fleets that harvest from the sea.  Invisible people, disposable people. Because all of the above take place out of sight, the damage usually goes unseen due to a lack of journalistic coverage.  It’s expensive to document but it's critical that it’s brought to light.   "There is a dark irony to aquaculture and raising fish on land and in pens. It was meant, and supported for many years by environmentalists, as a way to slow the rate of depletion of the wild fish. Now, because those aquaculture fish are being fed pelletized wild-caught fish, it's actually speeding up the rate of ocean depletion." —  Ian Urbina   Connect with Ian Urbina: Twitter:  twitter.com/ian_urbina Facebook: facebook.com/IanUrbinaReporter Website: theoutlawocean.com Book: theoutlawocean.com/book YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCykiIhv2wP4-BftEiKb241Q Instagram: instagram.com/ian_urbina   Connect with Therese: Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net Twitter: @CritiSpeak Email: [email protected]   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Breast cancer is on the rise, especially in women under 40. This is pretty scary and the increase points to something environmental. In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Kris McGrath talk about one of these environmental factors and how our individual underarm hygiene may play a role in our risk for breast (and prostate) cancers earlier in life. Dr. McGrath has had a long-time interest in this trend and they discuss some of his work on the relationship between underarm shaving and the use of deodorants and antiperspirants.    Key Takeaways: The majority of breast cancer is environmental or lifestyle-related. Only 5-10% of breast cancer is due to genetic causes. So what are the factors? Both breast cancer and prostate cancer are hormone-driven cancers. More research needs to be done, but there already is a significant and scary relationship between underarm hygiene and breast and prostate cancers.    "In my paper, I showed that the earlier you began underarm habits, shaving your underarms and applying antiperspirant deodorant three times a week or more, the diagnosis of breast cancer began at a younger age, especially if you started using these products before the age of 16." —  Dr. Kris McGrath   Connect with Dr. Kris McGrath: Professional Bio: feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=15819     Connect with Therese: Website:   www.criticallyspeaking.net Twitter: @CritiSpeak Email: [email protected]   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.