An Evolutionary Perspective on Brain Diseases
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
In this episode of The Evolution of Medicine podcast, host James Maskell speaks with health educator and researcher Ari Whitten about why modern medicine has failed to meaningfully prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s disease—and how an evolutionary and lifestyle-based framework offers a far more effective path forward. The conversation reframes Alzheimer’s not as an inevitable consequence of aging, but as a disease of evolutionary mismatch—the result of modern lifestyles that conflict with our ancient biological design. Drawing on anthropological data, long-term population studies, and...
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Metabolic Psychiatry: Healing the Brain
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
In this episode of The Evolution of Medicine podcast, host James Maskell speaks with Dr. Matthew Bernstein about the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. They explore how addressing metabolic health—particularly through ketogenic diets—can treat and, in some cases, reverse serious mental health conditions that conventional psychiatric medications often fail to resolve. Through personal stories, clinical insights, and a forward-looking discussion on research and policy, the episode challenges the long-standing “chemical imbalance” narrative and reframes mental illness as a...
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Jan 2026 Wrap: From Food Pyramid to Electrosmog
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
In this solo episode of The Evolution of Medicine, host James Maskell explores emerging conversations in healthcare, focusing on low-level toxicity, electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and practical ways clinicians can support patients in reversing chronic illness. The episode highlights personal experiences, clinical observations, and actionable strategies for reducing “electrosmog” or electromagnetic fog exposure in everyday life, alongside broader insights into optimizing environmental health for longevity and functional medicine. James Maskell explores EMFs, low-level toxicity, and...
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The Alzheimer’s Mind Hack
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
In this episode of The Evolution of Medicine, host James Maskell sits down with researcher and author Dawson Church to explore the powerful intersection of mindset, spiritual intelligence, and brain health. The conversation challenges the idea that Alzheimer’s is an inevitable genetic destiny, highlighting how lifestyle, thought patterns, and emotional practices can influence disease progression. You’ll learn about the latest research showing how positive thinking, meditation, and relational spirituality can suppress Alzheimer’s gene expression, stimulate neuroplasticity, and improve...
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Total Load Theory (Featuring: Patricia S. Lemer)
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
This week on the podcast, we welcome Patti Lemer who last year gave me the opportunity to do something I’ve never done before, write the foreword to her new book. Patti is an OG in the autism space and a true pioneer in understanding the environmental drivers impacting children’s health. The book is Total Load Theory. Many people know Patti from her earlier work, Outsmarting Autism, which drew from decades of hands-on experience working with kids on the spectrum. Long before environmental illness entered mainstream conversation, Patti was already mapping the terrain, looking at toxic...
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2026 | A Call to the Most Important Mission of Our Lifetime
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
To start the year, I would love it if you could find 10 minutes today to read what I believe is the most important blog I’ve written. It contextualizes the importance of both my first book, The Evolution of Medicine and my second, The Community Cure, to now what I believe is the most important moment and mission of our time… I also reviewed the incredible recent Lyme Disease Roundtable that probably should have been 30 years ago, but it is exciting to see something come into light that has been hidden to health seekers and clinicians alike. It sets up our community for leadership on this...
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Senior Living & Precision Brain Health
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
This week on the Evolution of Medicine podcast, we’re exploring what may be the most natural, and most underutilized, home for precision brain health: senior living. Earlier this year, I was introduced to Doug Motter, President of Homestead Village in Pennsylvania. For the past 27 years, Doug has been guiding a 600-resident senior living community with a clear north star: health, dignity, and longevity. He joins me on the podcast alongside Hal Cranmer, CEO of A Paradise for Parents, a five-location senior living organization in Arizona. While their communities are different, Doug and Hal...
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Can Functional Medicine Help With ALS, MND?
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
This week on the podcast we feature Dr. Kirstie Lawton, Founder of Food for the Brain Foundation and a virtual brain health clinic in the UK focused on ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) which in the UK is called “Motor Neurone Disease” (MND) This is a hot topic in the UK as there has been a flurry of cases and concern about MND in the professional rugby players community. In this podcast you will learn: Is there hope for MND / ALS and what role for nutrition? Lessons from delivering a completely virtual brain clinic How science and survival of MND / ALS is evolving Listen wherever you listen...
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Immune Resilience and COVID Truth
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
This week on Season 2, Episode 7 of the Evolution of Medicine, we take a deeper and more personal dive into immune resilience and the COVID vaccines, a topic that, five years later, continues to shape our work, our patients, and our health system. In the News: A UK Decision That Should Concern Everyone A recent report from the UK announced that public health authorities will not be releasing records that could clarify whether the COVID vaccines were associated with the rise in excess deaths. Their stated reason: It might create privacy issues and emotional distress for grieving families. ...
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Anderson Cooper & Sanjay Gupta Are Lying
Evolution of Medicine Podcast
This week on the Evolution of Medicine podcast, we dive into a topic that weaves together many of the threads we’ve been exploring over the last few weeks. We’ve talked about AI and its rapid rise. We’ve talked about cognitive decline and the extraordinary possibility of reversing it. And we’ve talked about what it will take to get there on an individual practice level. But this week’s episode brings those themes together in a way I didn’t expect. A friend recently sent me what looked like a legitimate video commercial, featuring credible, household-name figures like Dr. Sanjay...
info_outlineThe Evolution of Medicine podcast returns with a deep dive into the seismic shifts reshaping healthcare – from the explosion of direct-to-consumer lab testing to the most disingenuous pharmaceutical commercial ever made. Host James Maskell unpacks how companies like Function Health, Superpower, Whoop, and Aura are democratizing health data, while practitioners must evolve or risk becoming obsolete in an increasingly consumer-driven landscape.
This episode exposes the uncomfortable truth: patients can now access comprehensive lab panels for under $200 annually, complete with longitudinal tracking and AI interpretation. Meanwhile, wearable giants are integrating lab testing to create powerful health ecosystems that compete directly with traditional practice models. The message is clear – practitioners who rely on static PDFs and sporadic appointments are heading toward irrelevance.
The episode also features the most-watched video in Functional Forum history: Dr. Izabella Wentz’s groundbreaking presentation on how thyroid dysfunction masquerades as mental illness, affecting up to 27% of the population. Her personal journey from misdiagnosis to recovery illustrates the power of root-cause medicine and why functional practitioners remain essential in an automated world.
🎙️ Tune in to learn:
- The direct-to-consumer lab revolution: How Function Health’s 200,000+ customers and Superpower’s $17/month pricing are reshaping patient expectations—and what this means for your practice model.
- Why wearable companies are your new competition: Whoop and Aura’s integration of lab testing with biometric data creates comprehensive health platforms that threaten traditional practitioner relationships.
- The data integration imperative: Why practices relying on static lab reports and infrequent check-ins will become uncompetitive against real-time, longitudinal health monitoring systems.
If you’re ready to future-proof your practice against the consumerization of healthcare while maintaining the irreplaceable human element of functional medicine, this episode provides both the wake-up call and the roadmap you need.
👉 Listen now or wherever you get your podcasts.