The Dream: S2 E1: What’s Your Frequency?

December 9, 2019 12:41 PM

Jean Marie and Dann Gallucci bring season two of The Dream to your podcast feed. This covers the $5 trillion dollar "wellness" industry, including essential oils, crystals, and those cures that doctors just won't tell you about.

Show description:

Oils, crystals, juices and more have been said to bring us eternal happiness and health- but how much of that is based in truth? Who benefits and loses from the wellness industry as a whole? We’ll be talking to some familiar voices and new ones about broader questions like these in Season 2 of the Dream- premiering December 9th.

posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit (4 comments total)

There's a moment in the first episode where her aunt is talking about how essential oils "work" in that they "help your body vibrate at higher frequencies." If your body is at low frequencies you get cancer, I guess.

And I'm in my car yelling "That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!" and I'm just so mad at an industry that preys on people's hopes and dreams.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:31 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

I liked the first season of The Dream and it's looking like I'm going to like this season even more. They laugh at the materials and 'cures' (as they should) but also have empathy for the people who are involved which I appreciate. It wouldn't help anyone to point and laugh at the people who are involved with these MLMs and wellness products and so far they seem to not be doing so.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:39 AM on December 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Ooh thanks! I loved S1 but didn't realize S2 was out. Yeah!!
posted by emkelley at 10:54 AM on December 10, 2019

This is fantastic, and infuriating. That's what's I'm looking for in a podcast.

How does an average person with shit to do and bills to pay distinguish between science and psuedo-science? Or medicine and psuedo-medicine? It's a really hard question. "Trust us, 'cause we have fancy degrees" isn't a great choice. But, it's hard to do much else without spending hours on a detailed explanation with lots of back-story. I've spent days calculating the phonon modes of crystals, and am entirely confident they've got absolutely nothing to do with the human body. But, why should anyone believe me more than a woo-vendor?

There are people I love who buy homeopathic remedies. As a working scientist and extreme materialist, I have a hard time talking to them about it. As far as I can tell it's not hurting them in any way. . . but, I don't feel entirely good about lying to them and pretending that I think their world view isn't batshit crazy.

I love this podcast. It's empathetic and kind without buying into the bullshit in a way that is pretty rare.
posted by eotvos at 8:36 AM on December 17, 2019