Who Gave Ancient Egyptians Permission To Be So Advanced? with Dr. Kathryn Howley

If you’re anything like us, then you have endless burning questions about acupuncture: How exactly does it work? Can it relieve my stress? Indigestion? Headaches? Chronic pain? Acne? Dr. Eileen Li joins Jonathan to answer all this…and more! She shares her approach to treating the body’s whole health with both a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine perspective, and how acupuncture can bring out our inner beauty. Plus, are Blue Zone Diets all they’re cracked up to be? Dr. Eileen Li is a second generation licensed acupuncturist & Chinese medicine herbalist, and licensed physical therapist. Her journey began as a physical therapist, obtaining a clinical doctorate at Simmons University in Boston, MA. From there, she worked in the physical rehabilitation field specializing in chronic pain research, pediatrics, geriatrics, inpatient psychiatry, and schools. She then decided to further pursue a career in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. With ten years of clinical experience from all different facets of healthcare practices, Dr. Li continues to expand her knowledge as our medicine evolves and specializes in orthopedics, chronic and acute pain, anxiety, sleep, stress, digestive issues, and general wellness. Follow Dr. Eileen Li on Instagram and TikTok @anew.acu. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8 Jul 202440min

White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi is here to tell us all about the major policy efforts that are making historic gains in the fight against climate change. Jonathan and Ali cover it all: from Ali’s journey to this work, to environmental justice concerns, to the many ways in which investing in these policies help strengthen local economies. Plus, how people just like you can get involved in a greener future with the American Climate Corps, which trains young people in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience skills to help tackle the climate crisis. Ali Zaidi serves as Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor. In this role, he leads the White House Climate Policy Office, which coordinates policy development and President  Biden’s all-of-government approach to tackle the climate crisis, create good-paying union jobs, and advance environmental justice. Zaidi helped design and negotiate the President’s historic climate and clean energy investment agenda – including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Zaidi has also worked for the Obama Administration and the state of New York. Ali immigrated from Pakistan and grew up outside Erie, Pennsylvania. He received an A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Georgetown University. You can follow Ali Zaidi on X @alizaidi46. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Jul 202445min

Jessie & Lennie Ware sat down with JVN for a good old chit-chat on their podcast Table Manners, and we’re bringing you some highlights from that incredible conversation, plus some of our standard Pretty Curious fare! We go deep on how Jessie puts together looks for her album covers, Lennie’s classic red lip, and Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You.” Plus, does Jessie think vocal rest is meh or MAJOR? Jessie Ware is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence following the release of her 2012 debut studio album, Devotion. Her fifth studio album, That! Feels Good! just came out last year. Jessie has won seven Brit Awards nominations including one for Best New Artist and four for British Female Solo Artist and two Mercury Prize nominations. In 2018, Jessie and her mom Lennie began co-hosting the Table Manners podcast all about family, food and the art of a good old chit-chat. Jessie Ware is on Instagram and TikTok @jessieware. Follow Table Manners on Instagram @tablemannerspodcast and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Jul 202437min

Jonathan and Alan recently met at Adele’s Vegas residency show and were instantly obsessed with each other! The two sit down for a truly delightful conversation about the journey of Alan’s career from working as a call center operator to becoming a UK comedy icon. The two chat about what it’s like to be a gay comedian, The Friday Night Project, and the challenges of working out new material as an established voice. Plus: Amy Weinhouse, Australian accents, and Drag Race UK! Alan Carr is a comedian, broadcaster, and writer. Alan has won three British Comedy Awards, two National Television Awards, and a BAFTA TV Award. Alan can be seen presenting his hit panel show There’s Something About Movies on Sky One, hosting BBC One's Interior Design Masters, and guest judging on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. He’s also the host of the Life’s A Beach Podcast. You can follow Alan Carr on Instagram @chattyman, and the Life’s A Beach Podcast @lifesabeach.podcast. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Jun 202438min

Desiree Verdejo took a leap of faith: she left the grind of New York corporate law and opened a boutique in Harlem, which eventually led her to found Hyper! skincare. Desiree joins Jonathan to talk all about how she made this massive pivot over time and to follow your own instincts. Plus the two go deep on hyperpigmentation for sensitive skin of all shades, ingredients and formulas, and what’s next for the brand. After leaving the world of corporate law, Desiree Verdejo moved to Harlem to open a beauty boutique specializing in Black-owned indie brands. She began to notice a hole in the market, which inspired her to launch the brand Hyper! –  a skincare line focused on targeting hyperpigmentation for deeper skin tones and sensitive skin types. Hyper! was an Allure Best of Beauty 2022 award winner. Follow Hyper! on Instagram and TikTok @hyperskin. Desiree is on Instagram and TikTok @desiree.verdejo. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Jun 202436min

Did you know that between 2006 and 2016, 58% of bars, pubs, and nightclubs that catered to the LGBTQ community closed in London? Sociologist Amin Ghaziani joins Jonathan to explain this phenomena and how the queer community is adapting. The two dig deep into how the norms of the typical gay bar often exclude already marginalized folks in the LGTBQ community, the underground parties like Buttmitzvah and Femmetopia that have filled this void, and the experimental economic models these parties use to disrupt capitalism. Plus, the deep importance of uplifting queer JOY! Amin Ghaziani is Professor of Sociology at UBC, Canada Research Chair in Urban Sexualities, and co-editor of Contexts, the public-facing magazine of the American Sociological Association. Amin has written and edited 6 books and over 60 academic articles, book chapters, and essays, many of which he has published in top disciplinary and subfield journals. He’s won several awards, including a Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Best Book in LGBT Studies. Amin’s been featured in places like The New Yorker, Time magazine, BBC Radio 4, CBC Radio, and The New York Times, among others. His latest book “Long Live Queer Nightlife: How the Closing of Gay Bars Sparked a Revolution” was just published in the US on March 26th. You can follow Amin on Instagram and X @amin_ghaziani. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Jun 202450min

This week, we have Carol’s Daughter founder, Lisa Price! Lisa tells Jonathan about her decades-long journey to lasting success: from back in the early days when she made and sold products out of her kitchen at a time when there were barely any natural hair products on the shelves, all the way through being inducted into the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Plus, being on the Oprah Winfrey show, how scent and product are inextricably linked, and an iconic vintage beauty memory. Lisa Price started Carol’s Daughter out of her kitchen in 1993, and now the brand has over 300 aromatic products for the face, hair, body and home. Her clientele include celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry, Chaka Khan and Oprah Winfrey. During the Obama administration, Lisa was appointed to the National Women’s Business Council. She is also the author of “Success Never Smelled So Sweet,” a memoir that chronicles her transformation from a young Black woman deep in debt to president of a paradigm-changing business. In 2021, Carol’s Daughter partnered with the world-renown doula Latham Thomas to launch Love Delivered, an initiative focused on raising awareness of the Black Maternal Health Crisis in the United States. Lisa is also a part of the Executive Committee at L’Oreal USA giving her perspective on Black culture, diversity equality and inclusion and organizational topics. Follow Lisa Price on Instagram @iamlisaprice and Carol’s Daughter on Instagram @carolsdaughter. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to learn more about the products from this episode, or head to JonathanVanNess.com for the transcript. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17 Jun 202432min

Neil J. Young is here to answer all our burning questions about the history of gay people within the Republican party! Neil and Jonathan go back to the Mattachine Society in the 1950s and the beginnings of the Log Cabin Republicans in the late 1970s when neither political party accepted homosexuality. Then the two examine how gay Republicans were instrumental in taking down Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and advancing the legalization of same-sex marriage. Plus, we touch on the current mindset of this often disregarded group to better understand their political and personal motivations. Neil J. Young is an award-winning historian, writer, podcaster, and author. Neil formerly served as a contributing columnist for The Week and, before that, an opinion columnist for HuffPost. He writes frequently for leading publications, including the Washington Post, the Atlantic, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Vox, Politico, Slate, and the New York Times. Neil co-hosts and produces the popular history podcast, Past Present. His latest book, “Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right” just came out in April. You can follow Neil on X and Instagram @NeilJYoung17. Check out the Past Present Pod archive on Apple Podcasts and X. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producers are Chris McClure and Julia Melfi. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Jun 202455min