The Modern Ancestral Mamas Podcast

What happens when a doctor raises ethical concerns about a medical policy and loses his job?

 

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with bioethicist and physician Dr. Aaron Kheriaty to discuss what happened after he challenged COVID vaccine mandates at his university. What began as a debate about workplace policy quickly became a national conversation about medical ethics, informed consent, and the role of public institutions during a public health crisis.

 

Dr. Kheriaty shares the story of his dismissal from the University of California system after refusing the COVID vaccine mandate on medical and ethical grounds. Drawing from his experience as a psychiatrist and bioethics scholar, he explains why he believed the mandate raised serious concerns about medical autonomy, natural immunity, and the doctor–patient relationship.

 

This conversation is not about telling people what medical decisions they should make. It is about examining the ethical framework behind modern medicine. What should informed consent actually look like? What role should institutions play in personal medical decisions? And what lessons should we carry forward from the COVID era?

 

Corey and Christine explore how these questions affect families, parents, and anyone trying to navigate a healthcare system that often feels complex and difficult to question.

 

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Dr. Aaron Kheriaty’s story of being fired after challenging a vaccine mandate

✔️ The role of informed consent in modern medicine

✔️ Why natural immunity became a controversial topic during COVID

✔️ How public health policies are developed and enforced

✔️ The ethical questions surrounding medical mandates

✔️ The relationship between physicians, institutions, and patient autonomy

✔️ Why some doctors spoke out during the pandemic

✔️ How the COVID era reshaped public trust in medicine

✔️ What families should consider when navigating medical decisions

✔️ The broader conversation about medical freedom and responsibility

 

🧠 More About This Episode:

Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a physician, psychiatrist, and medical ethicist who previously served as Director of the Medical Ethics Program at the University of California, Irvine. During the COVID pandemic, he challenged the university’s vaccine mandate policy and was ultimately dismissed from his position.

 

His experience sparked a broader discussion about medical mandates, natural immunity, and the balance between public health policy and individual rights. Dr. Kheriaty now continues to write and speak about medical ethics, institutional power, and the lessons learned from the COVID era.

 

Whether you are a parent making decisions for your family, someone interested in medical ethics, or simply trying to better understand the debates that emerged during the pandemic, this episode offers thoughtful perspective on a complicated moment in recent history.

 

Find Aaron on substack: https://aaronkheriaty.substack.com/

 

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#MedicalEthics #InformedConsent #COVIDPolicy #PublicHealthDebate #MedicalFreedom #HealthPolicy #ModernAncestralMamas #HealthcareEthics #PandemicLessons #FamilyHealth

 

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What if the symptoms people experience when trying to stop psychiatric medications are not a relapse of mental illness at all, but withdrawal?

 

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with Nicole Lamberson and Lynn Cunningham from the film Medicatinɡ Normal to talk about a hidden reality affecting millions of people: psychiatric drug dependence and withdrawal. What begins as a prescription for anxiety, depression, sleep issues, or postpartum struggles can quietly become something much harder to leave behind.

 

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Nicole and Lynn share their personal stories of being prescribed psychiatric medications, the severe withdrawal symptoms they experienced when trying to stop, and why so many patients discover too late that coming off these drugs can be far more complicated than they were told. They also explain how withdrawal symptoms can mimic mental illness, which often leads doctors to increase medications rather than recognize what is happening.

 

This conversation is not about shaming medication or telling people what choices they should make. It is about informed consent. What should patients actually know before starting psychiatric drugs? Why is tapering off them so difficult for some people? And what questions should families ask before beginning treatment?

 

If you or someone you love has ever been prescribed antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, ADHD drugs, or sleep medications, this episode sheds light on a conversation that is only just beginning to reach the public.

 

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ The real experiences behind the documentary Medicatinɡ Normal

✔️ How psychiatric medications are commonly prescribed and why many people stay on them long term

✔️ Why withdrawal symptoms are often mistaken for a return of mental illness

✔️ What patients are rarely told about dependence and tapering

✔️ How quickly medications can become difficult to stop

✔️ The difference between relapse and withdrawal symptoms

✔️ Why medical training often does not include clear tapering protocols

✔️ The emotional and physical toll withdrawal can take on individuals and families

✔️ What informed consent should look like before starting psychiatric drugs

✔️ Why this issue is affecting more people than most realize

 

🧠 More About This Episode:

Nicole Lamberson and Lynn Cunningham are patient advocates featured in the documentary Medicatinɡ Normal (https://medicatingnormal.com), a film that explores the growing issue of psychiatric drug injury, dependence, and withdrawal. Through their advocacy work, they aim to raise awareness about the importance of informed consent and to support individuals navigating psychiatric medication withdrawal.

 

The film brings together patients, doctors, and researchers to examine how psychiatric medications are prescribed, why withdrawal can be so severe for some people, and what changes may be needed in the medical system to better support patients.

Whether you are someone who has taken psychiatric medication, a parent trying to make informed decisions for your family, or simply someone interested in understanding this complex topic more clearly, this episode offers perspective and an important starting point for the conversation.

 

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#MentalHealth #PsychiatricDrugs #MedicationWithdrawal #MedicatinɡNormal #InformedConsent #HolisticHealth #RootCauseHealth #ModernAncestralMamas #MentalHealthAwareness #MedicalFreedom

 

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What are those “weird” little pellets at the health food store? They're actually part of a full system of medicine that’s been used worldwide for 200+ years.

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with Paola Brown, president and founder of Americans for Homeopathy Choice, to break down Homeopathy 101 in plain English. What is homeopathy, how does it work, and when does it actually make sense to use it with your family?

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Paola also shares her personal healing story, including the terrifying “options” she was offered for chronic bladder pain, and why homeopathy became the turning point when everything else fell short. If you’re curious, skeptical, or just tired of feeling like you have to choose between “do nothing” and harsh pharmaceuticals, this conversation will give you clarity and a practical starting point.

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:
✔️ What homeopathy is (and why it’s not the same as “home remedies”)
✔️ The basic principle behind it: “like cures like”
✔️ What 6C, 30C, and 200C actually mean
✔️ Classical homeopathy vs constitutional remedies vs acute support
✔️ How to choose a remedy by observing symptoms and patterns
✔️ What to keep in a starter homeopathy kit
✔️ When you should consider working with a practitioner
✔️ How Paola used homeopathy through years of chronic illness
✔️ Why access to homeopathy is being threatened in the U.S.
✔️ HR 750 and what it could mean for families

🧠 More About This Episode:
Paola Brown is the president and founder of Americans for Homeopathy Choice, a national organization working to protect consumer access to safe, high-quality homeopathic medicines. She also creates family-friendly health science curriculum that teaches kids how to think clearly about health, medicine, and informed consent. Take action: Support HR 750 (quick message to Congress) homeopathychoice.org

Paola’s resources + free lessons https://paolabrown.com/free

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What if pediatric cancer support did not have to mean choosing between the hospital and the holistic tools that can help your child stay strong?

 

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with Season Johnson (https://www.seasonjohnson.com/), functional practitioner, founder of the nonprofit Kick Cancer (https://kickcancermovement.org/), and owner of Biodynamic Wellness (https://biodynamicwellness.com/) in San Diego, to talk about one of the most terrifying realities a parent can face: a childhood cancer diagnosis. Season shares her family’s story of walking her son through acute lymphoblastic leukemia, what she learned inside the conventional system, and the practical ways parents can support nutrition, detox pathways, and quality of life alongside treatment.

 

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Season opens up about the shock of diagnosis as a holistic mom, the emotional whiplash of hospital life, and why so many parents feel powerless, then shows exactly where parents can take their power back. From the foods she prioritized and the hospital food she refused, to gentle at home therapies that support the liver, lymph, appetite, and nausea, this conversation is packed with tangible tools and real hope without sugarcoating how hard this road can be.

 

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Season’s son’s leukemia diagnosis and what treatment actually looked like

✔️ Why nutrition matters during chemo and what to focus on first

✔️ The ultimate healing food debate: organ meats vs bone broth

✔️ How chemo can change taste buds, cravings, and appetite in kids

✔️ What to do when nausea hits and your child will not eat

✔️ Gentle detox support that can be done at home, including castor oil packs, baths, and red light

✔️ Why supporting the lymphatic system matters, including movement, dry brushing, and rebounding

✔️ Methylation and detox pathways: what parents should understand

✔️ How to advocate in the hospital without getting steamrolled

✔️ The hard truth about pediatric cancer care, compliance pressure, and parent rights

✔️ Kick Cancer and the resources helping families support kids through treatment

✔️ A grounding mindset for survival: live 15 minutes at a time

 

🧠 More About This Episode:

Season Johnson(https://www.seasonjohnson.com/) is a functional practitioner who specializes in root cause support for families navigating cancer, especially pediatric cancer. After her son was diagnosed with leukemia just before his third birthday, Season was thrust into a world she never expected to enter and began building a bridge between conventional treatment and foundational healing support at home. Through Kick Cancer (https://kickcancermovement.org/), she equips families with practical tools to reduce suffering, support resilience, and help kids keep living like kids.

 

If you are a parent facing pediatric cancer, supporting someone who is, or you have ever wondered what integrative care can look like during treatment, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and a stronger sense of what is possible.

 

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What if childhood eczema isn’t a skin problem at all, but the body’s first warning sign that something deeper is off?

 

In this episode, Corey and Christine sit down with holistic pediatrician Dr. Ana-Marie Temple (https://www.dranamaria.com/) to unpack what’s really driving the dramatic rise in childhood eczema. From early antibiotic exposure and gut disruption to food sensitivities, stress, and the cycle of topical steroids, this conversation reframes eczema as a whole-body issue rather than something to simply “manage” on the surface.

 

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Dr. Temple shares her journey as a traditionally trained pediatrician who changed the way she practiced medicine after watching her own children struggle with chronic illness. Together, Corey, Christine, and Dr. Temple explore why so many parents feel dismissed, why “they’ll grow out of it” can be a dangerous narrative, and what it actually looks like to support healing from the inside out without chasing every new remedy or playing “eczema whack-a-mole.”

 

📚 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Why eczema is often the first sign of deeper inflammation

✔️ The connection between antibiotics, reflux meds, and eczema in babies

✔️ How gut health, food sensitivities, and sugar impact skin

✔️ Why topical steroids work fast but often don’t resolve the root issue

✔️ The long-term risks of untreated inflammation

✔️ How stress in pregnancy and early childhood affects eczema

✔️ Why many kids don’t truly “outgrow” eczema

✔️ What to do first when eczema shows up

✔️ A realistic, step-by-step approach to healing without overwhelm

✔️ How to bring spouses and skeptical partners on board without power struggles

 

🧠 More About This Episode: Dr. Ana-Marie Temple is a holistic pediatrician who specializes in identifying the root causes of chronic childhood conditions, especially eczema. In this conversation, she explains why modern approaches often focus on symptom suppression instead of healing, and how parents can create meaningful change through food, lifestyle, and targeted support rather than endless creams and medications.

 

Whether you’re dealing with infant eczema, recurring flare-ups in older kids, or you’ve been told to “wait it out,” this episode offers clarity, validation, and a hopeful path forward for families who want more than temporary fixes.

 

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