In this episode, Therese Markow, Dr. Catherine Lebel, and Dr. Sam Nivins discuss the impact of prenatal factors on fetal brain development. Catherine explains how MRI can detect subtle brain changes due to prenatal alcohol exposure, even at low levels, and emphasizes the importance of avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. Sam discusses the effects of maternal obesity before pregnancy on brain development, noting sex-specific differences and the importance of early intervention. Both also touch on the impact of stressors, such as natural disasters, and the need for early identification and support for children with potential reading difficulties.

Key Takeaways:

• Even exposing a fetus to one alcoholic drink per week during pregnancy shows a detectable difference in brain structure compared to kids who had no alcohol exposure at all.

• The same is true of prenatal maternal obesity, even if the obesity is preconceptional.

• Reading is a skill that must be taught to children. Prereading skills lay the foundation for later reading. And prereading skills can be visualized with brain imaging. When you know what part of the brain is affected, you can better tailor interventions to target those particular consequences.

"People who have good support from a partner or other folks in their lives, not only do they tend to do better, but their kids tend to do better too." — Dr. Catherine Lebel

Connect with Dr. Lebel and Dr. Nivins

Dr. Lebel's Professional Bio & Publications: https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/catherine-lebel

Dr. Nivins' Professional Bio & Publications: https://ki.se/en/people/samson-nivins

Website: https://www.developmentalneuroimaginglab.ca/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social

Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dorothy Roberts discuss her book "The Mixed Marriage Project," which explores her father's unpublished research on mixed marriages in Chicago. Dorothy's father, a white anthropology professor, interviewed over 500 black-white couples from the 1930s to the 1960s. The book blends personal stories, historical insights, and interviews, revealing the challenges and discrimination faced by interracial couples. They also discuss Dorothy's mother's remarkable journey from Jamaica to Chicago and the impact of her parents' interracial marriage on her life. The book highlights systemic racism and the one-drop rule, emphasizing the need for societal love and equality.

Key Takeaways:

• All black movements can be linked back to the Marcus Garvey Movement, which started in Jamaica.

• Even within early mixed marriages and organizations for these couples, such as the Manassas Club, there were harmful stereotypes within these groups.

• To interracial couples, the biggest barrier was the barrier of the black belt that was created by racially restricted covenants and mob violence against black people.

"The One-Drop Rule was instituted to support white supremacy, and also it proves that race is not a natural division of human beings. Who is black, who is white, depends entirely on social rules, which might be instituted in law, or they're just part of societal norms and expectations. But they're not biological, they're not natural. They're made up." — Dorothy Roberts

Connect with Dorothy Roberts:

Professional Bio: https://www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/roberts1

Website: https://www.dorothyeroberts.com/

Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mixed-Marriage-Project/Dorothy-Roberts/9781668068380

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social

Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Tami Rowen discuss the listener questions that arose from her last episode on Critically Speaking. From drinking soy milk as a substitute for estrogen, the complex relationship between the number of children you have and breast cancer risk, dense breast tissue, early menstruation, hormone replacement therapy, and more. Listen in for the answers to your questions!

Key Takeaways:

• Soy is not in any way a substitute for estrogen. How it affects your circulating estrogens depends on your age.

• While the number of kids you have is inconclusive regarding its relationship to breast cancer, breastfeeding has been shown in every study to be preventative against breast cancer.

• The number one killer of women is heart disease. It's not breast cancer.

"A period is a bleed in response to ovulation, and that is coming from the level of the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovary, and uterus, so you can have a problem at any of those levels." — Dr. Tami Rowen

Episode Reference:

• Welcome to the Wild West of Testosterone: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-the-wild-west-of-testosterone/id1708072320?i=1000743735353

Connect with Dr. Tami Rowen:

Professional Bio: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/tami.rowen

Website: https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/tami-rowen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtamirowen/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Bluesky: @CriticallySpeaking.bsky.social

Instagram: @criticallyspeakingpodcast

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.