This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cristina explore pica (the craving and consumption of nonfood items like earth or clay) through the lens of maternal health and nutrition. Our guest, Dr. Leila Larson of the University of South Carolina, shares insights from her study on pica among pregnant women in Malawi, part of the REVAMP iron supplementation trial.
She discusses how iron status, infection, and environment influence maternal health, why intravenous iron may be a more effective approach to reducing pica, and what these cravings reveal about nutrition and development worldwide. We also hear about her new U.S.-based study and how she balances a vibrant global research career.
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Find the work discussed in this episode:
Larson, Leila M., Martin Mwangi, Rebecca Harding, Ernest Moya, Ricardo Ataíde, Glory Mzembe, Ashley Thurber et al. "Effects of ferric carboxymaltose on pica among pregnant women in Malawi: a sub-study to a randomized controlled trial." The Journal of Nutrition (2025).
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Contact Dr. Larson: LARSONL@mailbox.sc.edu
Website: thenelilab.com
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, Host
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow
Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,
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This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cristina explore pica (the craving and consumption of nonfood items like earth or clay) through the lens of maternal health and nutrition. Our guest, Dr. Leila Larson of the University of South Carolina, shares insights from her study on pica among pregnant women in Malawi, part of the REVAMP iron supplementation trial.
She discusses how iron status, infection, and environment influence maternal health, why intravenous iron may be a more effective approach to reducing pica, and what these cravings reveal about nutrition and development worldwide. We also hear about her new U.S.-based study and how she balances a vibrant global research career.
------------------------------
Find the work discussed in this episode:
Larson, Leila M., Martin Mwangi, Rebecca Harding, Ernest Moya, Ricardo Ataíde, Glory Mzembe, Ashley Thurber et al. "Effects of ferric carboxymaltose on pica among pregnant women in Malawi: a sub-study to a randomized controlled trial." The Journal of Nutrition (2025).
------------------------------
Contact Dr. Larson: LARSONL@mailbox.sc.edu
Website: thenelilab.com
------------------------------
Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, Host
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow
Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,
SoS 253: Josh Brahinsky and The Neuroscience of the Divine
Sausage of Science
53 minutes 26 seconds
1 week ago
SoS 253: Josh Brahinsky and The Neuroscience of the Divine
This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cara talk with Dr. Josh Brahinsky, a researcher in the Transcultural Psychiatry Department at McGill University and the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, whose work sits at the intersection of anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience. Josh explores how contemplative practices like prayer and meditation shape sensory experience, perception, and emotion, focusing especially on the embodied and affective dimensions of charismatic evangelical worship. With a background that bridges the humanities and sciences, a PhD in the History of Consciousness from UCSC, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Anthropology at Stanford, Josh brings a truly interdisciplinary lens to understanding what happens when people reach for the divine, and how those moments transform the body and mind alike.
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Find the book discussed in this episode: Tongues of Fire: How Charismatic Prayer Changes Evangelical Brains and Mobilizes Spirit-Filled Activism
www.bloomsbury.com/us/tongues-of-f…-9798881804992/
Find the Article: Brahinsky, J., Mago, J., Miller, M., Catherine, S., & Lifshitz, M. (2024). The Spiral of Attention, Arousal, and Release: A Comparative Phenomenology of Jhāna Meditation and Speaking in Tongues. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(12), e24189. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24189
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Contact Dr. Brahinsky: jbrahins@gmail.com
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Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, Host
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cara Ocobock, Host
Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock
Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow
Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,
Sausage of Science
This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cristina explore pica (the craving and consumption of nonfood items like earth or clay) through the lens of maternal health and nutrition. Our guest, Dr. Leila Larson of the University of South Carolina, shares insights from her study on pica among pregnant women in Malawi, part of the REVAMP iron supplementation trial.
She discusses how iron status, infection, and environment influence maternal health, why intravenous iron may be a more effective approach to reducing pica, and what these cravings reveal about nutrition and development worldwide. We also hear about her new U.S.-based study and how she balances a vibrant global research career.
------------------------------
Find the work discussed in this episode:
Larson, Leila M., Martin Mwangi, Rebecca Harding, Ernest Moya, Ricardo Ataíde, Glory Mzembe, Ashley Thurber et al. "Effects of ferric carboxymaltose on pica among pregnant women in Malawi: a sub-study to a randomized controlled trial." The Journal of Nutrition (2025).
------------------------------
Contact Dr. Larson: LARSONL@mailbox.sc.edu
Website: thenelilab.com
------------------------------
Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association:
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc
Chris Lynn, Host
Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly
Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow
Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,
