podcast

Mallary Tenore Tarpley is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches journalism classes in the Moody College of Communication and writing classes at the McCombs School of Business.

Her debut nonfiction book, SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery, which was published by Simon & Schuster’s Simon Element imprint in August 2025, explores the under-discussed complexities of eating disorders and recovery from them. The book is equal parts memoir and journalism, and it weaves together Mallary’s own narrative with perspectives from clinicians, researchers, and others with lived experience.

 In 2023, Mallary received a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the science-related reporting in the book, specifically around the neurobiological and genetic aspects of eating disorders

. Mallary’s articles and personal essays about eating disorders have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, TIME Magazine, and Teen Vogue, among other publications

We discuss topics including:

• What it means to live life in the “in between”
• Recovery is impossible but imperfect
• Slips do not have to be failures they can be an opportunity for growth
• Reframe your thinking about “full recovery”
• Being authentic with yourself while being open to experiment with food instead of always sticking with “safe foods”

SHOW NOTES:

• www.mallarytenoretarpley.com
• Book: Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery
• IG: www.instagram.com/mallarytenoretarpley

Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS-C, FAED, is the founder and medical director of the Gaudiani Clinic. 

Dr. Gaudiani served as the medical director for a highly specialized inpatient medical stabilization program for adults with anorexia nervosa prior to founding the Gaudiani Clinic in 2016. The Gaudiani Clinic offers specialized, trauma-informed outpatient medical care to individuals seeking support for eating disorders, undernourishment related to complex medical issues, and weight-inclusive primary care. The Clinic is based in Colorado is licensed to practice in almost every US state via telemedicine. 

Dr. Gaudiani has lectured nationally and internationally, has been featured on numerous podcasts, and is widely published in the scientific literature. The second edition of Dr. Gaudiani’s popular book, Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders and Undernutrition was published in November 2025. 

We discuss topics including:

• What led Dr. G to include “undernutrition” in her book?
• Older patients can direct the way that their treatment goes
• The importance of removing physical impediments towards older patients
• Misdiagnosed girls and women with ADHT
• POTS, SIBO, MAST Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Ehlers Danlos Syndrome
• Neurodiversity
• Other updates to her revised book

SHOW NOTES:

1. www.gaudianiclinic.com
2. instagram.com/gaudianiclinic

Joseph Contorer, MA, LMFT, is a California and Oregon-based psychotherapist and author, with over 30 years of experience. He specializes in helping clients with relationships, mental health challenges, and personal empowerment through a holistic approach. His book, You’ve Been Blocked, The Search for Gay Male Perfection, explores how gay men are often restricted from their true selves during childhood, leading to lifelong “blocking” that impacts their adult lives and relationships. 

We discuss topics including:

• What is “blocking”?
• Understanding “straight normal” and “gay normal”
• Gay children and gay adults will act a certain way due to being blocked
• What is “The M-Ranking”?
• Internalized homophobia

SHOW NOTES:

• www.theblockedbook.com
• https://www.instagram.com/theblockedbook

Dr. Bonnie Zucker specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders. She currently has a private practice in Los Angeles and is on the clinical faculty in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. 

Dr. Zucker is passionate about educating the public about anxiety through her podcast “Anxiety Matters”, and her blog on Psychology Today. She is the author of the book Freedom From Panic.

We discuss topics including:

• What is a panic attack?
• Panic disorder can be prevented
• ⅓ of people will experience a panic attack in their lifetime
• Too much body awareness is not a good thing
• How to accept uncertainty and dismantle some of these fears
• You can never escape your body

SHOW NOTES:

• Website: www.bonniezuckerphd.com
• Book: Freedom From Panic
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/bonniezuckerphd
• Podcast: Anxiety Matters

Meg Bowman is a licensed nutritionist and educator specializing in the powerful intersection of mental health and nutrition. She is the co-founder of Nutrition Hive, a functional group nutrition practice supporting clients navigating mental health, hormone and gastrointestinal conditions.  

Meg is also the author of  This Is Your Body on Trauma: How to Nourish Safety, Resilience, and Connection with Polyvagal-Informed Nutrition, which explores how nutrition can be used as a tool for trauma recovery and nervous system regulation.

We discuss topics including:

• How the nervous system responds to threat and safety (polyvagal theory)
• Understanding mental health safety and creating “tool kits” for oneself
• The Polyvagal Ladder
• The Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic responses
• A Body that doesn’t feel safe after trauma
• Your ventral experience and how it relates to eating

SHOW NOTES:

• www.megbowmannutrition.com
• instagram.com/nutritionhive.health

Dr. Justin Houman is a nationally recognized urologist and Assistant Professor of Urology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, specializing in Men’s Health, Male Fertility, and Sexual Medicine. As a fellowship-trained expert, he is committed to optimizing men’s well-being through state-of-the-art, evidence-based treatments for erectile dysfunction, testosterone optimization, Peyronie’s disease, and reproductive health. His patient-first approach integrates cutting-edge medical advancements with holistic lifestyle strategies, ensuring personalized, comprehensive care tailored to each individual.

Dr. Houman completed his medical training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles before advancing his expertise at UCLA, home to one of the nation’s top programs in Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery. There, he mastered microsurgical and minimally invasive techniques for male infertility, hormone management, and complex urologic conditions. A recognized leader in men’s health research, he frequently lectures and publishes on andrology, sexual medicine, and male reproductive health.

We discuss topics including:

• What leads men to see a urologist?
• How Dr. Hourman is proactive with medicine and men’s health
• 40% of men after the age of 40 will have some time of erectile dysfunction
• Malnutrition and erectile dysfunction
• Pornography induced erectile dysfunction
• Dopamine hits and rush from porn

SHOW NOTES:

• www.justinhoumanmd.com
• www.towerurology.com
• instagram.com/justin.houman.md

Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN is the author of 10 books, including co-author of the best-selling Intuitive Eating, a mind-body self-care eating framework, which has given rise to over 200 studies to date. Her newest book is Intuitive Eating for Every Day: 365 Inspirations and Practices.

As an international speaker, Evelyn enjoys training health professionals on how to help their clients cultivate a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body through the process of Intuitive Eating. To date there are over 2,600 Certified Intuitive Eating Counselors in 60 countries.

The media often seeks Evelyn for her expertise, including New York Times, CNN, NBC’s Today Show, MSNBC, Fox News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Vogue, Ten Percent Happier, and People magazine. Evelyn was the nutrition expert for Good Morning America, and a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics for six years.

We discuss topics including:

• Studies that show what health problems we increase our risk for developing
• The problem with disrupting insulin
• Decreasing lean body mass and regaining fat
• Problems with GLP medications and their impact on weight cycling
• The state of your body when weight cycling

SHOW NOTES:

• www.instagram.com/evelyntribole
• www.evelyntribole.com
• www.intuitiveeating.org
• Falkenhain, K., Redman, L. M., Chen, W., Martin, C. K., Ravussin, E., & Shen, W. (2025). Effect of caloric restriction on organ size and its contribution to metabolic adaptation: an ancillary analysis of CALERIE 2. Scientific reports, 15(1), 30374. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83762-0
•  Gaesser & Angadi (2021). Ob*sity treatment: Weight loss versus increasing fitness and physical activity for reducing health risks. iScience 24 102995. Open Access
• Li, W., & Chen, W. (2023). Weight cycling based on altered immune microenvironment as a result of metaflammation. Nutrition & metabolism, 20(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-023-00731-6
• Zamboni, M., Giani, A., Fantin, F., Rossi, A. P., Mazzali, G., & Zoico, E. (2025). Weight cycling and its effects on muscle mass, sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders, 10.1007/s11154-025-09963-8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-025-09963-8

Shellee Howard is the Founder and CEO of College Ready and CR Tutoring and Test Strategies. She is a college graduate and is a Certified Independent College Strategist. She is a best-selling author, a member of HECA (ethics organization), and a member of SOFA (Society of Financial Awareness).  Shellee is a mother of 4 young adults.  Her oldest son graduated from Harvard in 2016 debt free and graduated from UC San Diego Medical school in 2021.  He will be completing his Orthopedic Surgeon Residency at UCLA.  Her oldest daughter attended the University of Alabama and CBU and graduated debt free with her BSN in 2020 and received her RN in 2021.Her youngest son is attending SFSU majoring in Film Production.  Her youngest daughter is a Senior and will be looking to attend college as a business major internationally.

Shellee has traveled around the world helping students create their “Stand out Strategy”. She knows what it takes to compete in the Top tier schools as well as find the best-fit college for all students. Shellee believes that no two students are the same and each student must have their own strategy and plan to be successful. Each student has a gift/talent and a passion that will set him or her apart from their competition. Getting to know your student one on one is the key to success. This can be done in person or via Zoom. College Ready has clients all over the USA and each one is important. Her focus is to find the best academic, financial and social fit college for each student to thrive at and graduate debt free!

We discuss topics including:

• How to get your child into college without debt
• Focus on your child’s gifts, talents and core values
• Scholarships to attend a university for free
• What happens when students are focused on technology
• Understanding the college is a business and they need your student as much as a student needs them

SHOW NOTES:

• www.collegereadyplan.info = 30 min complementary discovery call 
• www.collegereadyplan.com = website with free resources
• www.EmpowerEducation.world = free international passion with purpose project 
• View Shellee’s Best Selling Books on Amazon

Cristina Castagnini, Ph.D., CEDS, is a licensed psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist with over two decades of experience. Through her private practice, Freedom to Wellness Counseling, and as host of the Behind The Bite podcast, she helps adults overcome the deep, often overlooked struggles with food, body image, and self-worth.

She holds a doctorate in Psychology from the University of Southern California and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. Blending clinical expertise with her own lived experience in recovery, Dr. Castagnini offers a compassionate and insightful approach that resonates with those ready to break free from diet culture and reclaim their lives. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Yahoo! Business, LA Weekly, and The NYC Journal.

We discuss topics including:

• The problems with “praising” our bodies
• When you exercise excessively problems can and will develop
• Important questions such as “what do I hope to achieve”?
• Does not exercising affect your mood?
• How much time do you exercise? Does it take away from your life?

SHOW NOTES:

• www.behindthebitepodcast.com
• www.freedomtowellness.com
• instagram.com/Behind_the_bite_podcast

Shanetta McDonald is a somatic life coach, writer and mother who has been coaching women in recovery from eating disorders for over a decade. Drawing from 13 years of recovery and training in somatic practices, she helps women reconnect with their bodies, reclaim their stories and create lives rooted in clarity.

She is the host of the podcast Your Body Knows and has appeared in Allure, InStyle, Essence and Refinery29.

We discuss topics including:

• Shanetta’s Story of trauma and eating disorders
• Her mission to help black skin and brown skin women
• People, Places and Things- examples of tools that one can use
• Learning about IFS and her curiosity that helped her with her recovery
• The importance of setting an intention
• Stigma with self help amongst black and brown skin women

SHOW NOTES:

• www.shanettamcdonald.com
• (podcast) Your Body Knows
• www.therapyforblackgirls.com
• instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald