The Gut Health Industry Is Preying on Your Anxiety

Dr. Gab Astorga on microbial genomics, hiding the vegetables, and why science is not finished until it's communicated.

Dr. Gab Astorga opens with the story of how tuberculosis invented the cowboy hat, which led to American culture, which led to Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter. It is exactly who he is and exactly what this conversation delivers for the next 40 minutes.

Gab grew up in the Philippines, moved to the UK at two, spent his childhood unable to communicate, hid in libraries and art rooms, got a PhD in microbial genomics, built a following of over half a million people explaining the invisible world, and was diagnosed with ADHD in the final year of his doctorate. He calls his method edutainment and describes it as hiding the vegetables: start with something flashy and fun, then slip in the physics, the chemistry, the biology underpinning it, then return to the fun. It is, by every measure, working.

This conversation covers bacterial genomes, the gut health industry's predatory relationship with people who lack the knowledge to push back, the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and why being queer made him a better scientist. The ADHD section is the most personal. The Stetson story is the best opener this show has had.