The Aging Games

  The Hidden Impact of Anesthesia on Brain Health, Hormones, and Long-Term Wellness In today’s episode of The Aging Games Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Sande Bargeron from Beyond Brain Health for a conversation that may completely change how you think about anesthesia. Most of us view anesthesia as a routine, necessary part of medical procedures. Something we go through and then simply move on from. But what if the story does not end there? Dr. Sande takes us inside the brain to explain what really happens after anesthesia and why the effects can linger far longer than we have been led to believe. How Anesthesia Affects the Brain We begin by exploring how anesthesia impacts the brain, cognition, and memory. While it is designed to temporarily shut down awareness and pain, it can also disrupt neurological function in ways that are not always immediately obvious. Many people report brain fog, memory lapses, or a sense of not quite feeling like themselves after surgery. According to Dr...

  The Woman Who Discovered Nuclear Fission… and Was Forgotten There are stories in history that make you stop and question everything you thought you knew. This is one of them. Lise Meitner was a brilliant physicist. Not just good at what she did, but exceptional. She was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. The same discovery that would later shape the world in ways we are still living with today. But when the Nobel Prize was awarded for that discovery, her name wasn’t on it. Instead, the credit went to her male colleague, Otto Hahn. Lise Meitner had worked alongside Hahn for years. She helped interpret the results, she understood what they were seeing, and she was the one who explained the physics behind it. Without her, the discovery wouldn’t have been fully understood. And yet, she was left out. Part of this was timing. She was Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany, leaving behind her lab, he...

  From Science to Soul: Rewilding the Body, the Heart, and the Feminine After 50 In this week’s episode of The Aging Games Podcast, I sit down with Holly Erin Copeland, whose journey is both fascinating and deeply inspiring. A former conservation biologist, Holly began her career rooted in data, ecology, and the scientific method. But over time, something began to shift. What started as a structured, analytical path slowly opened into something far more intuitive and expansive. Holly stepped out of the traditional scientific world and into the realm of energy medicine, biofield tuning, and deep inner healing. Her work today is centered around helping others reconnect with themselves, their bodies, and the natural intelligence that so many of us have learned to ignore. One of the most powerful themes we explore in this conversation is the idea of “inner rewilding.” Holly speaks about how modern life often disconnects us from our own rhythms, our intuition, and the subtle signals ...

 In today’s episode, I sit down with my good friend Phil Escott, and his story is one that really makes you stop and think. Back in 2012, Phil was dealing with severe autoimmune arthritis. The pain was so intense he could barely move, and like so many people, he was told there were no real solutions. Things were only getting worse, not better. What makes his journey so powerful is what he discovered along the way. The vegan diet he believed was helping him was actually contributing to his decline. Everything changed when he shifted to a carnivore approach. That, combined with reducing exposure to EMFs and artificial light, adding cold exposure, and returning to more ancestral lifestyle practices, started to turn things around in a very real way. Phil has now been carnivore since 2015 and has helped countless people understand how modern lifestyles can drive inflammation and disease, and how the body can recover when you remove those stressors. In 2019, we organized the first carniv...

  Body Image, Self Confidence, and Learning to Be at Home in Your Body Today I’m speaking with Ellen Albertson , also known as @the_midlife_whisperer , about one of the most common struggles women face at every stage of life: body image and self confidence . For many women, the relationship with their body becomes a constant battle. We grow up surrounded by messages about how we are supposed to look, how we should age, and what is considered “acceptable” or “beautiful.” Over time, these messages can turn into an inner voice that is critical, harsh, and never satisfied. In this conversation, Dr. Ellen and I explore why so many women feel disconnected from their bodies and what we can do to change that. Why So Many Women Struggle with Body Image One of the most important things we discuss is how early these beliefs begin. Many women start comparing themselves to others at a very young age. Social pressure, family dynamics, media images, and cultural expectations can create the b...

  The Matilda Effect: When Men Got Credit for Women’s Discoveries History often celebrates great discoveries. But it does not always celebrate the right people. For centuries, brilliant women made groundbreaking contributions to science, medicine, astronomy, and technology. Yet many of these discoveries were credited to their male colleagues instead. This phenomenon has a name: The Matilda Effect . The term was coined by historian Margaret W. Rossiter in 1993, inspired by the work of Matilda Joslyn Gage , a 19th century suffragist who noticed a troubling pattern. Women were doing remarkable work in science, yet their contributions were frequently ignored, minimized, or credited to men. What Is the Matilda Effect? The Matilda Effect describes the systematic tendency to deny recognition to women scientists for their achievements, often giving that credit to male colleagues instead. This was not always intentional. In many cases, women simply could not hold official academic positions...

  When a Routine Prescription Changes Everything: Talia Smith’s Story Today I sat down with Talia Smith, a young woman whose life was permanently altered after taking Cipro, a commonly prescribed antibiotic often given for urinary tract infections. At the time, Talia was caring for her quadriplegic husband. She was strong, capable, and managing an already demanding life. Then she was prescribed ciprofloxacin. What happened next was catastrophic. Within a short period of time, Talia experienced a severe adverse reaction. Her body began to shut down. She lost the ability to eat or drink. She could not walk. She could not care for herself. She went four weeks without food. Eventually, she was placed in hospice and given just three weeks to live. Imagine being told your life is ending because of a medication you trusted. But Talia survived. She came back from the brink of death in what can only be described as extraordinary resilience. However, survival did not mean recovery. Today she...