What happens when the world of “healthy eating” becomes so confusing that we stop trusting our own bodies?

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with Chef James Barry of Eat Pluck to unpack one of the biggest problems in modern health: we’ve outsourced our instincts. From carnivore to vegan, keto to “clean eating,” the conversation explores why so many diets seem to work at first, why they often fail over time, and what it actually looks like to come back to a more grounded, human way of eating.

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James shares how years in the health and wellness world shifted his perspective from rigid protocols to something far simpler and more challenging: listening. They talk about the breakdown of our natural hunger cues, how ultra-processed foods disrupt our biology, and why “flavor no longer equals nutrition” in the modern food system. The conversation also moves into family life, exploring how parents can navigate food, connection, and boundaries without falling into control, conflict, or confusion.

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Why every diet works… until it doesn’t

✔️ How modern food is disrupting our natural hunger and fullness cues

✔️ The difference between real food and engineered flavor

✔️ Why your body may be giving you signals you’re ignoring

✔️ The problem with rigid food rules and diet dogma

✔️ Food vs connection: are we confusing the two?

✔️ How to approach family meals without power struggles

✔️ Why kids need a voice at the table, not control of it

✔️ The role of mindfulness in how we eat, not just what we eat

✔️ Practical ways to simplify food and reduce stress in the home

🧠 More About This Episode:

Chef James Barry is a classically trained chef and the founder of Eat Pluck, a seasoning blend designed to make organ meats more accessible. After more than two decades in the food and health world, his approach has shifted away from strict dietary labels and toward helping people reconnect with their body’s natural signals and intuition around food.

This episode is for anyone who feels overwhelmed by conflicting health advice, stuck in cycles of trying different diets, or unsure how to feed their family in a way that actually works long term. It’s a grounded conversation about stepping out of confusion and back into clarity.

Find James here: https://eatpluck.com/

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What happens when a mother is told there may be no hope for her child, and starts looking beyond modern medicine for answers?

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with Bethany Van Der Harst of Van Der Harst Homestead to talk about trauma, chronic illness, nervous system dysregulation, and the long road of healing. Bethany shares her family’s extraordinary story after her son survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound, lost his sight, later battled COVID, bacterial meningitis, and sepsis, and faced severe neurological and memory challenges that left doctors with few clear answers.

Bethany explains how that journey led her deep into the world of microbiome restoration, nervous system support, ancestral nutrition, sunlight, grounding, rhythm, and what she calls the Ancestral Regeneration Protocol. She shares why she believes so many modern health struggles are rooted in a profound disconnection from nature, and why healing often begins by making the body feel safe again.

They explore how these ideas apply not only to severe illness, but also to modern motherhood, family rhythms, emotional regulation, and the everyday ways women and children are being shaped by the pace and pressures of modern life.

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Bethany Van Der Harst’s story of walking her son through devastating trauma and complex illness

✔️ What happened after her son lost his sight and later developed major neurological symptoms

✔️ How COVID, bacterial meningitis, and sepsis affected his health and recovery

✔️ The connection between the microbiome, nervous system, and chronic symptoms

✔️ What dysautonomia, POTS, mast cell activation, and chronic fatigue can look like

✔️ Why Bethany believes many modern illnesses are rooted in disconnection from nature

✔️ The nutritional strategies she used, including meat stock, ferments, and cultured dairy

✔️ What “die-off” can look like when changing the microbiome

✔️ How sunlight, grounding, rhythm, reverence, and rest support healing

✔️ Bethany’s Ancestral Regeneration Protocol and why she offers it freely to others

🧠 More About This Episode: Bethany Van Der Harst is the founder of Van Der Harst Homestead and the creator of the Ancestral Regeneration Protocol, a free resource and support community focused on helping people rebuild health through ancestral nutrition, nervous system support, and reconnection with nature.

This episode is especially for mothers walking through chronic illness, parents caring for children with complex needs, and anyone who has been told that healing is unlikely or impossible. Bethany’s story is a reminder that even when the road is long, the body was made to move toward repair when given the right support.

Find Bethany here: https://vanderharsthomestead.com/

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What happens when a doctor raises ethical concerns about a medical policy and loses his job?

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with bioethicist and physician Dr. Aaron Kheriaty to discuss what happened after he challenged COVID vaccine mandates at his university. What began as a debate about workplace policy quickly became a national conversation about medical ethics, informed consent, and the role of public institutions during a public health crisis.

Dr. Kheriaty shares the story of his dismissal from the University of California system after refusing the COVID vaccine mandate on medical and ethical grounds. Drawing from his experience as a psychiatrist and bioethics scholar, he explains why he believed the mandate raised serious concerns about medical autonomy, natural immunity, and the doctor–patient relationship.

This conversation is not about telling people what medical decisions they should make. It is about examining the ethical framework behind modern medicine. What should informed consent actually look like? What role should institutions play in personal medical decisions? And what lessons should we carry forward from the COVID era?

Corey and Christine explore how these questions affect families, parents, and anyone trying to navigate a healthcare system that often feels complex and difficult to question.

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Dr. Aaron Kheriaty’s story of being fired after challenging a vaccine mandate

✔️ The role of informed consent in modern medicine

✔️ Why natural immunity became a controversial topic during COVID

✔️ How public health policies are developed and enforced

✔️ The ethical questions surrounding medical mandates

✔️ The relationship between physicians, institutions, and patient autonomy

✔️ Why some doctors spoke out during the pandemic

✔️ How the COVID era reshaped public trust in medicine

✔️ What families should consider when navigating medical decisions

✔️ The broader conversation about medical freedom and responsibility

🧠 More About This Episode:

Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a physician, psychiatrist, and medical ethicist who previously served as Director of the Medical Ethics Program at the University of California, Irvine. During the COVID pandemic, he challenged the university’s vaccine mandate policy and was ultimately dismissed from his position.

His experience sparked a broader discussion about medical mandates, natural immunity, and the balance between public health policy and individual rights. Dr. Kheriaty now continues to write and speak about medical ethics, institutional power, and the lessons learned from the COVID era.

Whether you are a parent making decisions for your family, someone interested in medical ethics, or simply trying to better understand the debates that emerged during the pandemic, this episode offers thoughtful perspective on a complicated moment in recent history.

Find Aaron on substack: https://aaronkheriaty.substack.com/

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