On today's episode, we have Dr. Ilan Meyer (he/him) who can be thought of as one of the Beyoncé's of research on the LGBTQ+ experience. His work - which is perhaps the most cited in LGBTQ+ psychological research - has been devoted to highlighting the unique minority stress LGBTQ+ folks endure, and the physical and psychological impacts this can have. In this chat, Dr. Meyer takes us back in time to learn what led him into this work, and then dives into a conversation all about what minority stress is for LGBTQ+ folks and its impacts. We also hear from him about his experience providing expert testimony in the landmark case that overturned California's infamous Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage. It was such an honor to sit down with Dr. Meyer, I'm so excited to invite you into the conversation.

About the guest:

Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., is the Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute and Professor Emeritus of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University. In several highly cited papers, Ilan has developed a model of minority stress. The model has guided his and other investigators’ population research on LGBT health disparities by identifying the processes by which social stressors impact health and describing the harm to LGBT people from prejudice and stigma. Ilan is the Principal Investigator of the Generations Study, a U.S. national probability study of stress, identity, health, and health care utilization across three cohorts of sexual minorities, and TransPop, the first national probability sample of transgender individuals in the U.S. Ilan received a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University.

Generations study: https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/projects/generations/

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod (IG).

On today's episode, we have Daniel O'Shaughnessy (he/him). Daniel is a London-based, nutritionist, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, mindset coach, and author. The topic of today's conversion is body dysmorphia is, why queer people, particularly gay men, are susceptible to it, and how we can heal from it. Ultimately, this conversation is about healing shame the world put onto us, and I so appreciate Daniel both for his work and sharing his own story of suffering and then what has supported his own healing (shoutout: psychedelic therapies!). This is an important topic and a layered conversation, and I'm excited to get to invite you into it.

About the guest:

Daniel O'Shaughnessy (he/him) is a nutritionist, Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner, breathwork facilitator, and mindset coach whose work sits at the intersection of physiology, psychology, trauma, identity, and lived experience.

He is the author of The Queer Guide to Nutrition and Lifestyle, publishing in August 2026, and Letting Go of Perfect: A Gay Man’s Guide to Healing from Body Dysmorphia. His books explore LGBTQ+ health, body image, shame, self-worth, and the deeper patterns that shape our relationships with food, body, and wellbeing.

With a Master’s degree in Trauma and Transpersonal Experiences, Daniel brings together evidence-informed nutrition, functional medicine, breathwork, and transpersonal practice to create spaces for safety, reflection, and meaningful personal change. His work is shaped by both professional training and lived experience, including neurodivergence and trauma, giving him a grounded understanding of how healing often requires more than information alone.

You can learn more about Daniel at danieloshaughnessy.com/

Instagram + Tik Tok @thenakednutritionist.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod (IG).

We all know what homophobia is but what exactly makes people homophobic? Yes, culture, religion, and media have historically perpetuated homophobic messages but not every person who receives those messages becomes homophobic, and definitely not every one of those people engage in homophobic violence or actions. So what exactly makes people homophobic? That’s the question counseling psychologist and psychodynamic psychotherapist Dr. Julian-Pascal Saadi (he/him) has spent so much time exploring in his research and he’s here with us today to talk about it. Specifically, we’ll be exploring why men in particular are often perpetrators of homophobic violence, what’s happening here, and why as queer people it could be helpful for us to have this understanding. This was such a fascinating conversation for me to be in, I so appreciate Julian and his work, and for also sharing with us his own personal story which was also just so powerful.

About the guest:

Dr Julian-Pascal Saadi (he/him) is a Counselling Psychologist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist working with the LGBTQIA+ community in Australia and the United Kingdom. He has an interest in the ways psychoanalysis can help us make sense of cultural issues and politics. His work focuses on the developmental origins of homophobia and internalised homophobia, and what this means for Queer people as they embark on their healing journeys. You can find him on Instagram at @drjulianpascalsaadi, or visit his website at www.juliansaadi.com.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com or @secondadolescencepod.