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75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert

Meredith Hackwith Edwards

Each episode explores a taboo question or cultural blind spot with an expert who is themselves, a paradox -Like the atheist doctor who studied near death experiences for 50 years (ep 224)Or the deeply religious man studied by NASA who sees UFOs regularly (ep 261).The mission is to inspire the kind of curiosity that looks for & celebrates nuance, because we all deserve a more curious future.So tune in each week (new episodes every Monday) to question things like American individualism (ep 260),

society & culture social sciences

All Episodes

45:19

Ep. 315: Is Asexuality an Orientation or a Symptom?

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/10/27

What happens when attraction never shows up? Why does this label matter? Tony Bogaert, PhD, is the professor of health sciences at Brock University in Ontario, Canada where he has taught & conducted research for the last 30 years, primarily in the area of human sexuality. He’s also the author of Understanding Asexuality. In this episode, you’ll learn the difference between asexuality & sexual aversion disorder, celibacy & autism as well as how someone might be asexua...

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56:59

Ep 314: Science & the Supernatural: Project Stargate,...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/10/20

What was it like to work on Project Stargate? Is Psi science being taken seriously? What if our mind is not our brain? Dean Radin, PhD, has been researching the paranormal for 45 years & currently serves as Chief Scientist at the Inst of Noetic Sciences. His new book, The Science of Magic, is a straight-faced look behind the scenes of psi research & even shares how you can do your own experiments at home. In this video, you’ll hear about the maturation of psi research, t...

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49:55

Ep. 313: Is a 4 Day Work Week Coming? Thursday = the...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/10/13

Why do most of us work Mon-Fri? What would happen if Thursday was the new Friday? Joe Sanok is a former psychologist & current author of Thursday is the New Friday. In this episode, he shares how the signs of a shorter work week (& longer weekends) have been popping up since the 1980’s. In this episode he shares why a four-day work week is critical to society’s advancement, examples of places already implementing alternative schedules, how we can recali...

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43:32

Ep. 312: Did the #metoo Movement Even Help Us?

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/10/06

What do we have to show for the #metoo movement? Were men benefited or hurt by the movement? Carter Sherman is an Emmy nominated reproductive health & justice reporter at The Guardian & author of the book The Second Coming. Her comprehensive review of sex, culture & policy combined with over 100 conversations with people about their sex lives made her uniquely qualified to unpack the good, the bad & the confusing of the #metoo movement. You’ll hear about false accusation...

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45:16

Ep. 311: Is Modern Day Witchcraft on the Rise? LSD,...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/09/29

Is there an uptick of people claiming to be actual witches? When in history were witches NOT seen as evil? Is this commercialism packaged as a spiritual practice? Julie Walsh, PhD, is the Whitehead Associate Professor of Critical Thought & Associate Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her primary research focus is on metaphysics & the ethics of human freedom in the early modern period. In this episode, we talk about the historical origin of wit...

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37:25

Ep. 310: American Circumcision: Preference or...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/09/22

When & why did circumcision begin (it’s not what you think)? What are the arguments for it & what are the experts saying? Sugar water instead of anesthetic?? Brendon Marotta is a filmmaker whose feature-length documentary, American Circumcision, won multiple awards & can be found on Amazon & YouTube. In this episode, we talk about the surprising history of circumcision, the practice today, parental consent & why this is so hard to talk about, but female circumcision...

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45:04

Ep. 309: How Did the Media Become Such a Biased,...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/09/15

Forget good news. How about just honest news? How did we get here? Guest Ken LaCorte unpacks the history of news production, behind the scenes of how it’s made, information vs entertainment & how human psychology ironically drives the train we’re all so desperate to get off. Ken LaCorte left main stream media in 2016 after nearly 20 years of serving in senior management at Fox News. Today he writes about censorship & media misconduct, but you might recognize from his YouTube ch...

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58:25

Ep. 308: How to Think Impossibly: Precognition,...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/09/08

Can we take psi seriously while maintaining critical thinking? Jeffrey Kripal, PhD, explores the YES AND of the ordinary & extraordinary. You’ll hear about precognition, poltergeists, Skinwalker Ranch, time travel, demons & X-Men. Jeffrey Kripal, PhD is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is also the author or co-author of thirteen books including, How to Think Impossibly: about souls, ufos, time, belief and ev...

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45:04

Ep. 307: Can Psychedelics Help Us Grieve? Getting...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/09/01

Is psychedelic assisted therapy is BETTER than traditional talk therapy? You’ll hear how they’re different, how psychedelics may help not just the combat veteran or trauma survivor, but the functional griever (goes to work every day, acts like everything is fine, but having panic attacks out of nowhere). You’ll also hear about my own experience with psychedelics and different types of medicines for different types of grief. Michael Sapiro, PsyD, is an ordained Buddhist monk, poet &...

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33:41

Ep. 306: Sex Addiction: Real or Convenient Diagnosis?...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/08/25

In this episode, we discuss the difference between addiction & dependence, convenient diagnoses, compulsive sexual behavior within bipolar disorder & OCD, how to identify sex addiction & what recovery looks like. Dr. Joshua Grubbs is an addiction researcher who found his interest in sex addiction in college (not as exciting as it sounds). He’s since published over 100 papers on sexual compulsive behavior disorder & serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psycholog...

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47:40

Ep. 305: Are Political Parties Just Cults?!

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/08/18

Rachel Bernstein is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Cult Specialist & the Host of the IndoctriNation Podcast. She has spent the last 35 years helping former cult members & those who have had loved ones in cults, focusing on emotional abuse recovery, identity repair & moral injury. In this episode she explains the psychology of political allegiance, why religion & politics always fuse together, thought stopping cliches & media influence vs media manipulation. If y...

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52:05

Ep. 304: Could AI Blackmail You? Corporate Affairs,...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/08/11

Michael Glawson is a PhD philosopher of science, technology, religion & ethics. As an ethicist, he has created corporate ethics training for government organizations & fortune 500 companies. In this episode, he puts into plain language the ever evolving world of AI. We cover Anthropic’s recent report of their AI technology blackmailing two of their executives in a recent sandboxed experiment, why AI isn’t as smart as you think, why AI can re-write its own rules, what experts thi...

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46:22

Ep. 303: When Grief Gets Complicated: A Story of...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/08/04

Before Lauren Sisler was an Emmy award-winning ESPN sideline reporter, she was an 18-year-old in her dorm room when she found out that her parents had died just hours of each other due to a hidden battle with opioids. When her world came crashing down, the next decade became a wrestling match with the truth. In this episode, she’s going to share her story & unpack her thoughts on legacy, shame & identity for what you’re sure to find as a more relatable American experience. We talk abo...

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90:04

Ep. 302: FEED DROP! UAP Studies Podcast with George...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/07/28

Our first ever FEED DROP SWAP! I'm personally endorsing UAP STUDIES Podcast because I know how much you all love the UFO topic! This week's episode is a sample of their show - an episode I picked that I think you'll love. Listening supports my show, but the real magic happens when you also subscribe to the UAP Studies Podcast & download a few episodes for later (they are doing the same for us)! The UAP Studies Podcast is hosted by Jason Guillemette, Dr Michael Glawson & Katie P...

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33:15

Ep. 301: The Science of Swearing: What Makes a Word...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/07/21

Dr. Benjamin Bergen is a Cognitive Science professor at the University of California San Diego, the author of the book, What the F, and was featured on the Netflix series “The History of Swear Words.” Here he shares what makes a word bad, discusses the future of cussing, the efficacy of word prohibition & the cultural influence of cursing etymology around the world. This episode originally aired August 22, 2022. If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 245: IS SKIPPING SMALL TAL...

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52:19

Ep. 300: Biofield Therapy for Anxiety & Grief: Recipe...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/07/14

Pranic healing, known as acupuncture without needles, is a type of biofield therapy belonging to the family of naturopathic medicine. Jason Yuan is a certified Associate Pranic Healer, with a bachelor’s in Biology & a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and a Masters in Acupuncture. In this episode, you’ll hear how pranic healing helped him go from hospitalized with eczema to nearly completely healed, pranic healing vs placebo vs reiki & what this modality’s success may tell us about t...

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56:16

Ep. 299: Inside a Legal Brothel: Business, Pleasure &...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/07/07

Catherine De Noir has two Masters degrees & is a PhD student. She has also been a brothel manager in Western Europe for nine years. You’ll hear stories of clients like the unironic plumber & the man who sold his house as well as insights from the sex workers, like the secret of their top earning woman. We discuss what these moments teach us about the things that connect & disconnect us from each other & what her hopes are for the future of sex work. If you like this episode,...

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54:19

Ep. 298: Anxiety in YOUR FRIDGE?! Reducing Anxiety...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/06/30

Heather Lillico is a registered holistic nutritionist who struggled with bulimia. In this episode, you’ll hear which mineral deficiencies can cause anxiety, which foods are mood boosting, who the top food offenders are for anxiety & opens up about her relationship with food to illustrate how mindset is at the heart of it all. Spotify mental health playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VT1YYrZeTImP9jAuMg1W0?si=CjaHx9ShQrucDECw2f9wgA&pi=Yb2GavpOTS2aq If you like this episode, you...

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44:08

Ep. 297: Psychic Marine? Military Precognition...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/06/23

Jose Herrera had Marine squad leader training that included learning about & using a “sixth sense.” In this episode, he shares his journey to developing pre-cognitive abilities & how he used them in his 3 combat tours in Iraq & Afghanistan. He also shares a bit of military history around this topic & how we might all be able to upgrade our senses. This episode originally aired September 12, 2022. Spotify psi playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qccJlWTulcXkDiGHFOOYS?...

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30:05

Ep. 296: Depressed or Just Really Sad?? How to Know...

Meredith for Real: the curious introvert ·

2025/06/16

Megan Stodard, PhD is a clinical psychologist, the founder of Harbor Wellness & has over a decade treating mood disorders. In this episode, she breaks down in plain language the KEY differences between depression & sadness, symptoms in men & women, the best time to see a therapist & the difference between spaghetti & waffles (it’s relevant, I promise). This episode originally aired November 23, 2020. Spotify mental health playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VT1Y...

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315 results

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