Breast cancer is on the rise, especially in women under 40. This is pretty scary and the increase points to something environmental. In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Kris McGrath talk about one of these environmental factors and how our individual underarm hygiene may play a role in our risk for breast (and prostate) cancers earlier in life. Dr. McGrath has had a long-time interest in this trend and they discuss some of his work on the relationship between underarm shaving and the use of deodorants and antiperspirants.

Key Takeaways:

• The majority of breast cancer is environmental or lifestyle-related. Only 5-10% of breast cancer is due to genetic causes. So what are the factors?

• Both breast cancer and prostate cancer are hormone-driven cancers.

• More research needs to be done, but there already is a significant and scary relationship between underarm hygiene and breast and prostate cancers.

"In my paper, I showed that the earlier you began underarm habits, shaving your underarms and applying antiperspirant deodorant three times a week or more, the diagnosis of breast cancer began at a younger age, especially if you started using these products before the age of 16." — Dr. Kris McGrath

Connect with Dr. Kris McGrath:

Professional Bio: feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=15819

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Twitter: @CritiSpeak

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 Mark Greene discuss the pervasive issue of mansplaining, a phenomenon where men explain things to women despite their lesser expertise. Mark explains that mansplaining is rooted in "Man Box Culture," a set of rigid masculine rules that discourage emotional expression and promote dominance. He highlights that these rules, which include not showing emotions and being a breadwinner, have been ingrained since the Industrial Revolution and are still prevalent today. Mark emphasizes the need for men to unlearn these behaviors to form meaningful connections and improve their mental health. He also discusses the impact of these cultural norms on men's professional and personal lives, advocating for a shift towards more inclusive and emotionally open masculinity.

Key Takeaways:

• No culture is monolithic. No culture is non-changeable.

• Mansplaining is one direct product of a culture of masculinity that says: Don't show your emotions. Always be tough, be right, know more.. Never talk about anything deep.

• Man Box Culture is not traditional masculinity

• The breaking of connection is what leads to Man Box Culture and the increased rates of suicide in teenage boys and mental health challenges in adult men.

• Authentic, deep, caring relationships require emotional sharing. If you spend your life mansplaining, you don’t have connection.

"My work is around the idea that we want to get men to wake up to the limitations of Man Box Culture and shift that culture to a healthier culture of expression and connection." — Mark Greene

Episode References:

• Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1608464660

• The Man Box Study by Equimundo: https://www.equimundo.org/resources/man-box-study-young-man-us-uk-mexico/

• When Boys Become Boys by Judy Chu: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0814764800

• Niobe Way: https://www.niobe-way.com/

• Catalyst: How Combative Cultures Prevent Men from Interrupting Sexism: https://www.catalyst.org/research/combative-culture-sexism-infographic/

• The Good Men Project: https://goodmenproject.com/

Connect with Mark Greene:

Website: https://remakingmanhood.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/remakingmanhood

Book: The Little #MeToo Book for Me: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0983466963

Book: The Relational Book for Parenting: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1979378657

Remaking Manhood Podcast: https://remakingmanhood.com/2019/04/01/the-podcast/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrkgreene/

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

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

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. Anna Stokke discuss the decline in math education, noting that students lack basic arithmetic skills, hindering their ability to grasp complex concepts across multiple subjects. Dr. Stokke highlights the persistence of ineffective teaching methods, such as constructivism, despite evidence supporting direct instruction. She advocates for a return to systematic, explicit teaching methods to build a strong foundation in math. They also stress the importance of parents questioning educational practices and seeking evidence-based research.

Key Takeaways:

• Math is cumulative. It is like a ladder. To teach a student algebra, they need to know what happens before that.

• If you don't learn the basic math at the time you should, times tables, for instance, you should really know by the end of grade three, and then you don't get that fixed, it's just going to snowball.

• Memorization practices are sometimes called drill and kill. However, if students don’t get that practice, they will fall behind early on.

• There is a lot of evidence from cognitive and neuroscientists that learning basic mathematics actually contributes to your problem-solving abilities for a range of different problems, not just mathematical ones.

"The decline in math is well documented in North America. We don't know why that is, but it's fairly clear that these changes in education seem to correlate with the decline in scores. It's very concerning, and I think we could turn it around if we'd focus on more of a bottom-up approach, building the foundation and using good instructional techniques." — Dr. Anna Stokke

Episode References:

• NCTM: https://www.nctm.org/

• Project Follow Through: https://www.nifdi.org/what-is-di/project-follow-through.html

• Sold a Story: https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Connect with Dr. Anna Stokke:

Professional Bio: https://www.annastokke.com/cv

Twitter: https://x.com/rastokke

Website: https://www.annastokke.com/

Podcast: https://www.annastokke.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqz6R2IoI5te260LbQeI5A

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-stokke-5b095626a/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

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