In this special audience Q&A episode of The Smooth Brain Society, hosts Dr. Sahir Hussain and (soon to be Dr.) Beth Facer answer your most thoughtful, chaotic, philosophical, and occasionally cursed questions.

From the darkest stories in neuroscience history to whether trauma is really “stored in the body,” Beth and Sahir dive into mental health, AI, addiction, academia, policy, stress, and the strange realities of working in science.

Plus: the podcast finally tackles one of humanity’s greatest debates… is a hot dog a sandwich?

Topics discussed include:

• The darkest neuroscience experiments in history
• Trauma, stress, and the body
• AI’s future impact on child development and human connection
• Alcohol & mental health
• Culture and public health policy
• The realities of working in academic research
• Epigenetics and family planning
• Research papers Beth & Sahir wish they’d worked on themselves
• And, of course, hot dog discourse.

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for this episode! we loved making this one.

Follow The Smooth Brain Society on our social media platforms for future Q&As, episode updates, and science content from Beth and Sahir.

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Dr. Bailey Rose (Ngāti Maniapoto), Clinical Psychologist at Ora Toa Mauriora, New Zealand, joins us for a conversation on eating disorders, culture, identity, and mental health care.

We explore how eating disorders are often misunderstood through a narrow Western lens, and why that can leave Māori and other underserved communities unseen, misdiagnosed, or excluded from support systems. Bailey shares insights from both her clinical work and research, discussing the cultural meaning of food, barriers to care, stigma, social media pressures, and the limitations of relying too heavily on measures like BMI.

The episode also dives into:

• Māori perspectives on food, care, and wellbeing
• How culture shapes experiences of eating disorders
• Emotional regulation, shame, and relationships with food
• Misconceptions around who “gets” eating disorders
• The impact of beauty standards and social media
• Ozempic and the growing conversation around weight-loss medications
• Why culturally responsive mental health care matters

Support the show

Support us and reach out!
https://smoothbrainsociety.com
https://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety

Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsociety
TikTok: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Twitter/X: @SmoothBrainSoc
Facebook: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Merch and all other links: Linktree
email: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com

Can preparing the body before cancer treatment improve recovery, reduce complications, and even protect brain function?

In this episode, Sahir sits down with Dr. Christopher Gaffney, Senior Lecturer in Integrative Physiology at Lancaster University, to explore the growing science of prehabilitation. Prehabilitation uses exercise, nutrition, and psychological support to help cancer patients better tolerate surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

They discuss how a patient’s baseline fitness can influence treatment outcomes, why exercise is increasingly being viewed as medicine, the emerging evidence around “chemo brain,” and why healthcare may need to shift from reactive treatment to proactive preparation.

A fascinating conversation at the intersection of cancer research, physiology, and preventative medicine.

Topics Covered

• What prehabilitation is and why it matters
• Exercise as medicine in cancer care
• How fitness affects surgery and chemotherapy outcomes
• The science behind chemo brain and fatigue
• Why medicine needs to think earlier, not later

Support the show

Support us and reach out!
https://smoothbrainsociety.com
https://www.patreon.com/SmoothBrainSociety

Instagram: @thesmoothbrainsociety
TikTok: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Twitter/X: @SmoothBrainSoc
Facebook: @thesmoothbrainsociety
Merch and all other links: Linktree
email: thesmoothbrainsociety@gmail.com