Logo for Wellness, Actually with Emily Oster & Perry Wilson, MD

Wellness, Actually with Emily Oster & Perry Wilson, MD

iHeartPodcasts

A staggering amount of health and wellness news and information is bombarding us everywhere we look – and who’s got time to parse it out, to verify it, and then to actually do the work of improving our health?

We do! We are Emily Oster, best-selling author and data expert, and Perry Wilson, a medical doctor. And unlike the influencers, we actually know how to read a medical paper. This podcast separates fact from fiction, causality from correlation, so that you can stay informed without being overwhelmed. Every episode, we cover the health news of the week, take listener questions, and do a deep dive into a buzzy and misunderstood wellness topic so that you can actually make the best decisions for your own health.

2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia

A staggering amount of health and wellness news and information is bombarding us everywhere we look – and who’s got time to parse it out, to verify it, and then to actually do the work of improving our health?

We do! We are Emily Oster, best-selling author and data expert, and Perry Wilson, a medical doctor. And unlike the influencers, we actually know how to read a medical paper. This podcast separates fact from fiction, causality from correlation, so that you can stay informed without being overwhelmed. Every episode, we cover the health news of the week, take listener questions, and do a deep dive into a buzzy and misunderstood wellness topic so that you can actually make the best decisions for your own health.

2026 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
69hr 31min
Thumbnail for "All About Midwives: What they do, and how they differ from OBs".
October 10, 202444min 29sec42.75 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with cortisol?".
July 9, 202655min 44sec53.56 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with mRNA vaccines?".
July 2, 202658min 49sec56.52 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with full body scans?".
June 25, 20261hr 3min60.13 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with sleep?".
June 18, 202657min 47sec55.53 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD)?".
June 11, 202653min 57sec51.85 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with cupping and dry needling?".
June 4, 20261hr 2min59.42 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with red meat?".
May 28, 202656min 46sec54.56 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with methylene blue?".
May 21, 202657min 2sec54.8 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with psychedelics?".
May 14, 202658min 40sec56.38 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with colostrum?".
May 7, 202652min 31sec50.47 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with testosterone?".
April 30, 202657min 23sec55.15 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with hormone replacement therapy?".
April 23, 202653min 32sec51.44 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with continuous glucose monitors?".
April 16, 202649min 53sec47.94 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with protein?".
April 9, 202650min 41sec48.7 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with creatine?".
April 2, 202653min 5sec51.01 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with stem cell therapy?".
March 26, 202650min 12sec48.25 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with microplastics?".
March 19, 202651min 53sec49.87 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with red light therapy?".
March 12, 202650min 56sec48.95 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with GLP-1s?".
March 5, 202658min 48sec56.51 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with cold plunges and saunas?".
February 26, 202650min 11sec48.23 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with peptides?".
February 19, 202652min 44sec50.68 MB
Thumbnail for "What's the deal with declining sperm counts?".
February 12, 202658min 43sec56.42 MB
Thumbnail for "Official Trailer: Wellness, Actually with Emily Oster & Perry Wilson, MD".
February 5, 20262min 42sec2.65 MB
Thumbnail for "Goodbye, for now".
March 6, 20254min 38sec4.5 MB
Thumbnail for "An Expert Roundtable on Trying to Conceive".
February 27, 202557min 33sec55.3 MB
Thumbnail for "How to Baby-Proof Your Relationship: Navigating a new marital landscape".
February 20, 202553min 42sec51.6 MB
Thumbnail for "All About Vaccines: Why they’re important, and how to make them more tolerable for your child".
February 13, 202546min 3sec44.25 MB
Thumbnail for "Understanding Risk, Living With Uncertainty".
February 6, 202512min 58sec12.5 MB
Thumbnail for "It’s Never Too Late for Pelvic Floor Therapy: Why it’s about more than Kegels".
January 30, 202544min 16sec42.54 MB
Thumbnail for "Tamron Hall's Late-Night Panic Google".
January 23, 202514min 37sec14.07 MB
Thumbnail for "How to Talk to Your Doctor: Navigating important conversations about your care".
January 16, 202551min 49sec49.8 MB
Thumbnail for "ParentData Presents: Raising Parents - "Should You Have Kids?"".
January 9, 202550min 41sec48.69 MB
Thumbnail for "Understanding Panic Headlines: How studies that influence your parenting choices get published".
January 2, 202546min 43sec44.89 MB
Thumbnail for "Is Gentle Parenting Best? What the evidence says".
December 26, 202416min 6sec15.49 MB
Thumbnail for "Researching the Importance of Paid Leave: A look into how studies are conducted".
December 19, 202443min 59sec42.27 MB
Thumbnail for "Bess Kalb's Late-Night Panic Google".
December 12, 202413min 4sec12.59 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Is Nutrition So Stressful? The challenge of navigating “good” food choices".
December 5, 202445min 14sec43.46 MB
Thumbnail for "ParentData Presents: The Lonely Palette's "Mary Kelly's Postpartum Document (1973-78)"".
November 28, 202446min 44sec44.91 MB
Thumbnail for "It’s Not Hysteria: How women’s health gets overlooked".
November 21, 202446min44.2 MB
Thumbnail for "It's The Placenta Episode!".
November 14, 202429min 28sec28.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Racial Disparity in C-Section Rates: Unpacking bias in the medical system".
November 7, 202439min 42sec38.15 MB
Thumbnail for "Ultra-Processed Foods: What they are and whether we should worry".
October 31, 202416min 5sec15.48 MB
Thumbnail for "The Power of Local Politics: How Vermont is revolutionizing child care".
October 24, 202443min 52sec42.15 MB
Thumbnail for "Steve Levitt's Late-Night Panic Google".
October 17, 202412min 36sec12.13 MB
Thumbnail for "Shawn Johnson's Late-Night Panic Google".
October 3, 202414min 38sec14.1 MB
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September 26, 20241hr 8min64.97 MB
Thumbnail for "Caitlin Murray's Late-Night Panic Google".
September 19, 202413min 24sec12.9 MB
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September 12, 202450min 18sec48.33 MB
Thumbnail for "Chelsea Sodaro's Late-Night Panic Google".
September 5, 202412min 30sec12.05 MB
Thumbnail for "(Part Two) Kids, Screens, and Schools: How worried should we be?".
August 29, 202443min 57sec42.23 MB
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August 22, 202413min 6sec12.63 MB
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August 15, 202439min 21sec37.83 MB
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August 8, 202412min 3sec11.61 MB
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August 1, 202446min 14sec44.42 MB
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July 25, 202410min 22sec9.99 MB
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July 18, 202452min 23sec50.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Ezra Klein’s Late-Night Panic Google".
July 11, 202410min 25sec10.05 MB
Thumbnail for "The Value of Camp: What a tech-free summer teaches kids".
July 4, 202441min 33sec39.94 MB
Thumbnail for "Jackie Oshry’s Late-Night Panic Google".
June 27, 202412min 31sec12.06 MB
Thumbnail for "Raising Boys: Another side of gender equality".
June 20, 202444min 32sec42.8 MB
Thumbnail for "Abby Phillip's Late-Night Panic Google".
June 13, 202412min 10sec11.73 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Kids Can't Read: How we missed the mark on literacy education".
June 6, 202451min 21sec49.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Ophira Eisenberg’s Late-Night Panic Google".
May 30, 202413min 4sec12.59 MB
Thumbnail for "The Kids Are Actually Alright: Is parental anxiety too high?".
May 23, 202444min 57sec43.2 MB
Thumbnail for "Claire Holt's Late-Night Panic Google".
May 16, 202410min 43sec10.34 MB
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May 9, 202445min 15sec43.49 MB
Thumbnail for "How to Talk to Your Doctor About Risk: Lessons from our book, “The Unexpected”".
April 25, 202453min 36sec51.5 MB
Thumbnail for "Doulas For All: How Senator Samra Brouk is changing birth in New York".
April 11, 202440min 41sec39.1 MB
Thumbnail for "Bonus Episode: Dr. Becky and the Bad Therapy Conversation".
April 9, 202450min 46sec48.78 MB
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March 28, 202439min 17sec37.75 MB
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March 14, 202452min 6sec50.07 MB
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February 29, 202439min 11sec37.66 MB
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February 15, 202453min 37sec51.51 MB
Thumbnail for "Let’s Talk About Sex (After) Baby: Staying connected over the long term".
February 1, 202449min 47sec47.84 MB
Thumbnail for "Staying Active, Starting Again: Exercise in pregnancy and postpartum".
January 18, 202444min 34sec42.83 MB
Thumbnail for "Learning to Speak: Understanding the babbling black box".
January 4, 202439min 56sec38.38 MB
Thumbnail for "Bonus: Telling the Truth About Marriage with Young Kids with Majka Burhardt".
December 25, 202335min 53sec34.5 MB
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December 21, 202337min 16sec35.81 MB
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December 14, 202350min 1sec48.06 MB
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November 30, 202341min 4sec39.47 MB
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November 16, 202333min 33sec32.25 MB
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November 2, 202350min 5sec48.12 MB
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October 19, 202341min 11sec39.58 MB
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October 5, 202346min 48sec44.97 MB
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September 21, 202339min 54sec38.35 MB
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September 14, 20232min 13sec2.17 MB
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July 31, 202349min 47sec47.85 MB
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July 13, 202336min 34sec35.16 MB
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June 12, 202335min 24sec34.03 MB
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May 25, 202339min 18sec37.77 MB
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April 24, 202329min 12sec28.07 MB
Thumbnail for "One Mother's Story of CMV in Pregnancy with Megan Nix".
April 17, 202326min 58sec25.94 MB
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April 14, 202331min 15sec30.05 MB
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April 5, 202322min 48sec21.94 MB
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March 22, 202322min 38sec21.78 MB
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March 15, 202344min 8sec42.42 MB
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March 6, 202326min 34sec25.55 MB
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January 25, 202320min 55sec20.13 MB
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January 9, 202333min 38sec32.33 MB
Thumbnail for "Ask Emily: Your Personal Questions on Marriage".
December 20, 202217min 50sec17.16 MB
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December 8, 202229min 42sec28.56 MB
Thumbnail for "How to Get Kids to Eat Their Lunches with Marnie Hanel".
October 24, 202228min 32sec27.44 MB
Thumbnail for "Bonus: Ask a Pediatric Urologist".
September 28, 202226min 19sec25.32 MB
Thumbnail for "Bonus: The Power of Data & Its Limits".
September 21, 202245min 27sec43.68 MB
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September 12, 202229min 28sec28.33 MB
Thumbnail for "(Re)Creating School for Every Child with Michael Horn".
August 29, 202226min 13sec25.22 MB
Thumbnail for "Understanding Gun Violence with Megan Ranney".
July 11, 202225min 56sec24.94 MB
Thumbnail for "Pelvic Health with Emily Oster and the Vagina Whisperer".
April 12, 202221min 39sec20.83 MB

All About Midwives: What they do, and how they differ from OBs

Thumbnail for "All About Midwives: What they do, and how they differ from OBs".
October 10, 202444min 29sec

Midwives are having a bit of a moment. Of course, that moment is not at all new. For a very, very long time, — hundreds, possibly thousands, of years — midwives, or people who were effectively midwives, were delivering all babies. Even when “doctor” became a more formal job, births were still nearly always attended by midwives. 

At some point, though, especially in the U.S., that changed. Midwifery attendance went way, way down, although it's starting to see an uptick. And it's because the data supports that there are benefits to having a midwife rather than having a doctor at birth, that spontaneous vaginal birth — birth without a vacuum or forceps — increases in the care of a midwife. Cesarean sections decrease, and so do episiotomies.

Today on ParentData, we're joined by Ann Ledbetter, a certified nurse-midwife, to help us understand why. We talk about differences and similarities between midwives and OBs and doulas, epidurals, home births, and the difference between health care in the U.S. and elsewhere. And we also take time to talk about the holistic process of birth and how cool it is. 

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Transcript

Thumbnail for "All About Midwives: What they do, and how they differ from OBs".
All About Midwives: What they do, and how they differ from OBs
00:00
44:29