Sleep - we spend about a third our lives doing it, we're the only mammal that willingly delays it, yet when it's disturbed, it can lead to a number of chronic illnesses including dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Sleep deprivation can also mess with your immune system, has been linked to metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes, and is implicated in Alzheimer's disease and many mental health problems including depression.

Recent research on sleep has uncovered some fascinating and important facts about it. Yet it seems few of us actually prioritize sleep as we should. Many, especially in the West, still view lack of sleep as a badge of honor - a sign of drive, ambition and achievement at the expense of sleep. Worse, good sleep is often characterized as a sign of sloth. But sleep is extremely important - some researchers even claim it's more important than diet or exercise. Getting our priorities in order in regards to sleep could be the most important thing we do for our health.

Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show where discuss the recent research on sleep. And stay tuned for Zoya's Pet Health Segment, where she discusses Schrödingers cat.

Running Time: 01:28:05

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Surely this means World War?

Last week's attack by Israel on Syria was the most extensive since the Yom Kippur (Arab-Israeli) War of 1973. Allegedly taking out 'almost all Iranian military infrastructure in Syria', the Israelis claimed a great victory against their nemesis, Iran, which means its allegedly nefarious designs on the region were 'set back years'.

This latest flashpoint in the Syrian theater of war coincided with two other noteworthy events: Israeli PM Netanyahu's visit to Moscow as Putin's guest of honor at the annual (WW2) Victory Day Parade, and President Trump's big announcement that the US is reneging on the Iran Deal.

The former has people wondering if Putin has 'taken Israel's side' - or even, gasp, that he was a crypto-Zionist all along! - while the latter has European leaders doubling down on their commitment to trading with Iran and openly plotting about how to circumvent US sanctions.

On this week's episode of Behind the Headlines, SOTT.net editors Joe Quinn & Niall Bradley discussed the apparent launch of direct Israel-Iran confrontation and Trump's 'Art of The Iran no-Deal'...


Running Time: 01:27:20

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Humanity has become completely obsessed with the idea of cleanliness - antibacterial soaps and cleaners, hand sanitizers, antibiotics... The misguided hygiene hypothesis has done us a serious disservice to humanity, convincing us all that 'germs are bad'. It's reported that many millennials won't even touch raw meat. It seems we've become unnaturally afraid of the microscopic component of our reality.

Is there legitimate concern here? Are we floating in a sea of evil microbes that are just waiting to infect and kill us? It's more likely that we're looking at a serious overreaction. Like it or not, we are completely surrounded by an unbelievably diverse ecosystem of microbes that live in almost every habitat on the planet. There is no escape, so perhaps we should all get more comfortable with this particular reality, drop the OCD need to control every aspect of the environment and learn to make microbes your friends.

Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show as we explore the benefits of playing in the dirt! Find out how soil microbes helped us to evolve, keep us healthy, treat depression and may even fight antibacterial resistance.

Running Time: 01:03:08

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More and more, it seems, illegal drugs are being found to be quite helpful for their therapeutic potential to ease suffering and sometimes even cure disease. While made illegal for their potential for abuse, researchers are now more than ever exploring these forbidden drugs for their potential for great healing. Psychedelics like LSD and magic mushrooms for mental disorders or addiction, MDMA for PTSD, ketamine for suicidal states, kratom and ibogaine for opioid addiction, cannabis for a seemingly endless list of aliments - the list is extensive and growing.

Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show where we discuss some of the recent research on the potential power of party drugs to heal. Could the tide be turning on some of these, perhaps unfairly stigmatized drugs?

NOTE: This discussion should not be taken as an endorsement to break the law!

And stay tuned for Zoya's Pet Health Segment where she discusses how animals experience pain.

Running Time: 01:26:37

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Last week French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel visited Trump. In contrast to Macron and Trump's 3 day 'love in', Merkel spent a mere 3 hours with the POTUS, but both European leaders had the same agenda: preventing Trump from starting a 'trade war' with the EU and backing out of the 'Iran deal'. Why does Trump think the 'Iran deal' is "bad" anyway?

Reading between the lines of comments by both Macron and Merkel, it is clear that Trump's protectionist and isolationist bent is deeply concerning to the stewards of the 'Western order' on both sides of the Atlantic. After all, who will 'contain' Russia and Iran and protect Israel and Saudi Arabia? For 70 years the Europeans have merely played the role of NATO cheerleaders for US imperialist wars under the NATO flag. Are they really expected to go it alone now?

In another blow to the Western world order, there were extraordinary scenes in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Korea this week as the leaders of the two Koreas met for the first time in 11 years and agreed in principle to formally end the Korean War, with Chairman Kim Jong-un becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the border into the South since the Korean peninsula was partitioned in 1945.

A little over a year ago, the situation in Korea looked far from peaceful as North Korea and the US began a war of words (and a display of missile capability) that apparently portended imminent global nuclear Armageddon. What changed? Or what were people missing? And if it's possible for this conflict to be resolved amicably, could peace break out in other hotspots like the Middle East?

Tune in this week from 12-1:30pm EDT / 6-7:30pm CET this Sunday April 29.


Running Time: 01:48:01

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Who doesn't love a good biohack? Seeking longevity, convenience, uber-intelligence, super human strength and optimal functioning is something that health conscious people science nerds have in common. But what happens when it's taken too far? When does dreaming of immortality, human-machine interfaces and implants, consciousness uploading and artificial intelligence cross the line from geeky speculation into being anti-life and anti-human? In a free will universe personal experimentation is a valid choice but there is the very real fear that a large portion of humanity will be dragged, kicking and screaming, into a world where technology and materialism rules.

Join us for this episode of The Health and Wellness show where we'll discuss the sometimes strange world of obsessive biohackers, the always creepy transhumanist agenda and whether or not The Singularity will come to fruition.

Running Time: 01:16:13

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Those of us with a functioning BS meter and a decent grip on reality have known for many years that the mainstream media has, at least periodically, operated as a fifth branch of government (in the USA) and the 'Ministry of Truth' (in the UK). In recent years however, on all geopolitical topics - in particular those relating to Russia and the 'War on Terror' - the Western press seems to have fully embraced the role of Western government mouthpieces.

In recent months and weeks, with the outrageous claims over the Skripal affair and the 'chemical weapons attack' in Douma, Syria, the US, British and French governments have sunk to new lows (or new highs) in the blatancy of their lies and fabrications, the vast majority of them aimed at Russia.

Tune in this week when your hosts will be discussing the problem that is the Western media from 12-1:30pm EDT / 6-7:30pm CET this Sunday April 22nd.

Running Time: 01:42:12

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Veganism, the strict practice of abstaining from the consumption and use of animal products, is on the rise. Reportedly, there are about 1.6 million vegans in the United States. The trendiness of being vegan dwarfs their actual representation in the population and a closer look at vegans tends to reveal something not quite right. Occasionally, a news story pops up where a vegan does something that most folks would find utterly bonkers such as wanting to feed dogs vegan diets, harassing meat-eating restaurant patrons, sitting idly by while a vegan baby dies of malnutrition, and most recently, shooting up people at a YouTube office.

We don't mean to cast aspersions, but are vegans nuts? Join us for this episode of The Health and Wellness Show where we explore this question and the very real underlying dietary reasons for why this may be so.

And stay tuned for Zoya's Pet Health Segment, where she speaks about the inappropriateness of vegetarian diets for pets.

Running Time: 01:43:49

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On the morning of April 14, a coalition consisting of France, the UK and the US (F.U.K.U.S.) launched over 100 missiles at several targets in Syria. Most were intercepted or jammed by Syrian air defenses, but the primary targets were either destroyed or damaged. That much is true. The rest is fiction at a level that would make even Karl Rove blush. The attack was in response to a fictional chemical weapons attack in Douma blamed on Assad and the Syrian military. No such attack took place. The targets were designated as chemical weapons facilities. They were not. The U.S. and its partners said it was a "one-time" attack, but that if Assad were to conduct any future fictional attacks, the U.S. would be forced to respond with additional symbolic attacks on additional fictional chemical weapons facilities.

This is the world we now live in, where policy and military action are conducted within imaginary worlds within imaginary worlds, projected into actual material space. To put it simply: it is all based on lies. And this latest iteration comes as the previous big lie is on its final breath: the Skripal saga. Whereas Mr. Skripal and his daughter have survived - because the "nerve agent" they were poisoned with turns out to be "BZ toxin" which only temporarily incapacitates its victims - the British government's narrative might suffer a more fatal end.

The lies are piling up to 'yuge' proportions, and all the queen's men won't be able to put them together again after they inevitably collapse. So tune in to Behind the Headlines this Sunday April 15, 4-5:30pm UTC / 12-1:30pm EDT / 6-7:30pm CET, as we 'judiciously study' the reality creators' creations coming to pieces. As always the lines will be open for calls and comments!

Running Time: 02:02:03


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Do you have allergies? Sneezing, wheezing, burning eyes, or flushing, itchy skin with hives? Do certain foods trigger stomach cramps or diarrhea? Or do you suffer from frequent headaches or migraines, bouts of nausea, severe menstrual cramps, or panic attacks characterized by a racing heart? You're not alone. There are no firms answers as to why we get allergies but whatever the reason, researchers are finding out that food allergies are on the rise with up to 200,000 ER visits each year. Allergies have risen over 300% in just the last 10 years.

Join us for this episode of The Health and Wellness Show where we'll discuss reigning theories about allergies, the differences between allergies and intolerances, histamine and how you can calm your system down and avoid annoying or life-threatening symptoms.

Pets can get allergies too! Stay tuned for Zoya's Pet Health Segment to learn how to treat pet allergies in a natural way.

Running Time: 01:23:26

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