Type 1 Cure Hype
Scott and Erika Forsyth talk about the cure conversation: what's real, what's years away, and what constant cure content on social media does to people living with type 1.
Jump to a moment
- Scott's position: he hopes for a cure, would be first in line and would sell his house to pay for it, but doesn't think people should live like it's coming. Diabetes already lets you ignore the future until it's too late, and constant cure messaging can make it easier to back off care.
- Erika remembers being told in the nineties that a cure was five to ten years away, and she thinks the people saying it believed it. Scott called it "cure season" when he was blogging: labs trying to get published and interviewed so they could raise money. A Vertex researcher once told him that even if a cure were done today, it would take ten to fifteen years to reach people.
- On the Eledon trial: Scott has had the doctor on and a participant on twice. As far as he can tell it worked for about nine to eleven people, and it faces big regulatory hurdles before it reaches many more. People in it trade insulin for anti-rejection medication. Erika says she'd make that trade if there were no side effects, and Scott agrees.
- Scott's read on social media: platforms show almost nothing for free, so creators chase what holds attention. In diabetes that tends to be tech FOMO or cure news. He says he isn't against anyone making a living. His objection is to using cure content or pump-upgrade FOMO just to get clicks, and to anyone asking for money to "bang the drum."
- Asked if she thinks she'll be cured, Erika says it would be cool, but it isn't where her hope comes from. That comes from her family, her health, her faith, her work, and watching people move through their own grief. Her real hope is faster, smarter insulin and tighter algorithms. Scott thinks a cure could happen in Arden's lifetime, most likely with help from AI working through large datasets.
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Every word of the conversation
Welcome and Sponsors0:02
Welcome back, my friends, to the diabetes show that never ends. Remember this, nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. Today's podcast is sponsored by US Med and Tandem Diabetes Care. What a pair.
I'm a poet and didn't even know it. This episode of the podcast is sponsored by the Tandem Mobi system, which is powered by Tandem's newest algorithm, Control-IQ+ technology. Tandem Mobi has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. You can get your diabetes supplies from the same place that we do.
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Hi.
Scott Lays Out His Case1:57
Hey. Hey. I'm jumping right into this. So there's a thing that I feel strongly about, and I found myself wondering how you feel about it both as a professional and as a person who's lived with type one for a very, very long time. I'm going to outline my thoughts very simply.
Okay. I think that if you look at the totality of things that mankind has literally cured, the list is very short. As a matter of fact, how many things has mankind cured? I'm gonna find out an actual list because the list is shockingly short. Having said that, I am also very excited when people do research, come up with new ideas, and I love the idea that it's moving forward.
I also think people should be aware of what's going on, but I also think that they should know the difference between something that is promising and perhaps if it was going to work out twenty years away, something that's promising that's happening now, something that works in mice but not people. Like, there's a lot around it. And and and I feel like when... I feel like the risk is to tell a person with type one diabetes, oh, they cured it. I feel like people could then back off on their care, take their care less seriously, make it feel...
It might it might make it feel less important. And I think all of that is magnified significantly by the direction that social media has taken over the last couple of years, most specifically what creators have to do to get views and clicks at this point. Mhmm. And I think all that comes together in a way that is really not good for people living with type one diabetes.
The Cure Conversation3:56
Okay. Okay. So we're we're talking about the cure conversation.
Yeah. It's not just the, hey. I heard they're gonna cure it in five years. We now have... Listen.
There's been stuff over time. Like, I've interviewed somebody who put in one of those Vertex pouches who didn't need insulin anymore. Right? But it was, you know, a person talking about being in a trial on a podcast, and then the people who listen to this podcast heard it. And maybe they report about it at, like, a, you know, a JDRF event or something like that, but it's not soaked through the zeitgeist.
The Eledon Trial4:31
And I feel like what I'm seeing most specifically, and I'm not picking on this trial, but, like, this Eledon trial has really caught fire as far as people's awareness of it. I've had the doctor on to talk about it. I've had one of the people who's most vocal about their participation in the trial on twice to talk about it. And as far as I can tell from those people, the truth is this is a really exciting thing that happened for, I don't know, nine, 10, 11 people in a trial. It is not going to happen for 50 people or a 100 people.
And if it does, that is... It's no time soon. It's got incredible regulatory hurdles and all kinds of other things. But when I look at TikTok, when I look at Instagram, when I see YouTube shorts, what I see are creators who are desperate to keep their channels alive, and they talk about the cure every five days, it feels like. And it just...
I wonder how that feels to you as a person, first of all, living with type one to be constantly barraged with the idea of, like, oh, it's over. They took care of it.
Letting Go of Vigilance5:41
So... Well, I think that's an interesting perspective that I've heard you share before, like, sense of relief or it's over and how you're curious around people's kind of relinquishing vigilance around their control because they hear that there... A cure is on the horizon.
And I don't think it's a conscious decision, but I also think that diabetes is also already a thing that doesn't show you... I mean, listen. If you don't get low and pass out and die, then anything else that's gonna happen to you is gonna happen in the future. Humans are incredibly bad at imagining the future already. So it's already a thing that you can ignore to some degree until it's too late.
And I just don't think that people need more messaging that says that this isn't forever. I think the message... I think the messaging around type one should be, I hope they cure it. I'll be first in line if they do. I'll sell my house to pay for it if I need to, but I'm not living like I'm expecting it to be cured.
Like, that's a different thing. That's a hope... I I I have hope, but I am not I am not childish childish about it, I guess. Does that make sense?
Hope That Keeps People Going7:01
I think... And I don't know. I'm sure people have that internalized, the messaging around the cures around the corner, so I don't need to worry about today. That may be a, you know, a portion of people who receive that messaging in that way. I know that there are lots of different ways that people might receive that messaging that the cure is around the corner and that it breeds hope and and energizes people to keep going.
Mhmm. It also... From a person living with diabetes personally and from kind of my my cohort, we might... We hear that. And just like we heard it when we were diagnosed thirty to forty years ago and beyond that...
Five to Ten Years Away, in the Nineties7:51
In the nineties, it really was, you know, the cure is five to ten years around the corner. And I think they really believed it. I don't think there were any... Like, no one was going out there trying to say, oh, we're gonna we're gonna lie or or kind of, you know, not be totally clear that it could be longer. I think they really believed it.
Cure Season8:10
Erika, you're not as cynical as I am, so let me give you the cynical let me give you the cynical perspective of that. They... There is a thing that I used to... When I was writing a blog, I used to call it cure season. So every lab that was working on something would try to get published somewhere, tell a story, get interviewed so they could tell you how good their stuff was going because they need more people to put more money into their labs so they can keep the benches going.
And I... And there's that... That's the business behind research. Mhmm. So when cure season would come up, it's what I call it, everybody who, you know, made a mouse not die was like, look.
We did it. And it's constant. So do do people genuinely believe they're going to get to it? I would imagine they they do most of the time. But I also know people who run companies that just run companies to rank rate...
To, you know, get capital, and then they blow through the capital and then tell somebody else that it's... Don't worry. We're just... We're raising another round of capital. And that there are people who live their entire adult lives just telling people we've got something valuable.
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Yes.
Fundraising and Belief11:31
I... That's gotta be part of it. Right? Because you you wanna join join the bandwagon of, you know, forward progress. And so, of course, that's gonna drive fundraising and excitement.
And, wow, we're so close. Here's here's my dollar to contribute to this cure. But I also have to believe that there's there's some truth and belief and hope that it is, and then they find that, you know, they get to the end of the the... Not only the dollar, but the trial and realize this isn't gonna be effective.
And so I also don't wanna be cynical in that way. I actually... That's where my hope lies is that Uh-huh. I think someone who's a a, you know, a dork who wants to, like like, sit in a lab and fix this and figure it out.
We'll call them highly intellectual.
Yeah. Call them that if you want. That's awesome. I think those people are as competitive as anybody else, if not more so, and they are genuinely trying to get to the thing. What I'm saying is that I think when they get to it, it will be more of like, oh my god.
Look. It worked. Not not like, oh, we started on 09/18/2015, and we're gonna definitely be there in fifteen years because everyone everyone who says that by the time they get to the end, they're out of business. Then someone else picks the mantle up along the way. It's a building on process.
Yes.
Right? And it... It's not... I mean, listen. AI is probably gonna figure the whole thing out in, like, twenty five minutes, like, when it gets to the certain point.
But, like, if that doesn't happen, I don't feel like it's... I guess I don't feel like it's okay to keep people's hopes up all the time by constantly throwing it in their face.
And
A Year Before It Was Cured13:13
and, like, you know, it's... Because it... What it feels like is either it's coming or it's happening, and I've been in that position. Like, I haven't been a person with type one. And I don't know that I've told this story in a very long time, but, like, I embarrassed myself about a year into Arden's diagnosis when I literally ran into my my bedroom one morning.
I was up early reading. I woke my wife up, and I said some version of, I can't believe how lucky we are that Arden was diagnosed with type one diabetes just a year before it was cured. Look at this news article. And my wife looked at it and said, now they cured a mouse. Like, not a person.
Like, even if this works, like, you're looking at fifteen years. Like, maybe. And then, like, let's forget the the the insurance and the financial piece of it. Like, you know, look. I'm...
Again, people with money are gonna get cured first. You know what I mean? Like, that's just sort of how things work. So when's this gonna trickle down over everybody? Even if this is real, my wife's like, I don't know how much...
Ten to Fifteen Years, Even If It Works14:15
This could be forever. And then later, I interviewed a person who was working on that Vertex trial, and he was a he was a researcher. And I asked him if this was done... Like, done deal today. It works.
You know it works. Right? You put the pouch in. The diabetes goes away. The cells in the pouch are making insulin.
You don't need insulin anymore. You don't get too high. You don't get too low. Let's say today is the day. You're done.
It it works. When will it be in people's hands? And he thought really seriously before he said probably ten to fifteen years. And, you know, so it's done. We we know what to do.
We... Here it is. Here... Here's the blueprint. This is how you make the cake.
When do I get to eat the cake? Fifteen years from now. So if that's the world you're living in
Mhmm.
Nothing Gets Seen for Free15:04
And social media now is... And listen. This will sound like me complaining. I... I'm not, but I am steeped in this.
I understand how this works backwards and forwards. At this point now, none of the platforms are gonna show your content for free. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, if you don't buy an ad with them, that's gonna be the only way to get your thing around. Unless it's... I mean, being perfectly honest, unless somebody's half clothed in a video.
Alright? Or it's something that just goes viral. Viral. But if you're just a person trying to get information out about, like, I don't know. This is how you pre bolus.
You're not doing that. Okay? Like, that's not happening unless you pay. And even when you pay, it doesn't work that well. The business model is for most people, get eyes, get clicks, get likes, get views.
Sell those eyes, clicks, likes, views for ads or for influencer, you know, hey. Here's a six pack of whatever this is or whatever. Okay? That's a business model now. Now it's easy to hear me say that and think, Scott, you have a podcast with a lot of ads on it.
I would tell you that I believe that the difference is is that I started doing this well before anyone could have ever imagined that you could have made a dollar doing it. And I think that if you listen to the show, you'll see that it is very firmly set up to not take money from the people listening to it and to make it so that we can get out as much good information as possible over and over again. That's how I try to do it. When people come into it new... I saw a thing the other day.
How many people are currently trying to be, an influencer? It's it's astonishing. I'm gonna see if I can get a number.
An influencer within the diabetes community or
just in general? In general. In the world. Right? But if...
What Has Actually Been Cured?16:53
We'll get back to that for a second. Let me say this. I asked, how many things has mankind cured? We have wiped off the planet or eradicated smallpox in humans. It was declared gone in 1980.
And rinderpest, a cattle disease in 2011. Polio and the guinea worm are close but not eradicated. Now also eradicated doesn't mean cured. And so curable in the individual, most bacterial infections through antibiotics like strep, syphilis, tuberculosis, the plague, leprosy, most pneumonias, and UTIs. Hepatitis c, which is a standout modern example of the viral infection that was that cured in eight to twelve weeks of pills in over ninety five percent of people, parasitic and fungal infections, including a malaria, some cancers when caught early enough or are the right type like testicular cancer, several childhood leukemias, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and many early solid tumors removed by surgery.
Some things are fixed by surgery, like cataracts, appendix, a heart defect. And then with our other things that we have prevented or controlled that are not cured. You know, sometimes vaccines stop measles, tetanus, like polio, stuff like that. And I said in response, not eliminated, cured. It exists.
You take a pill, a shot, or etcetera, and it's gone from that person's body. And it says nobody keeps an exact count of the things, but a a fair estimate would be bacterial stuff, parasitic, fungal, viral, hepatitis c, athlete's foot. Like, we're down to athlete's foot already. Okay? So my point is is that, like, we don't have...
At the moment, there are not things that you get. You go to a guy, they... Or a lady, lady, they flip a switch, give you a pill or something, and poof, it's all gone. Go back and live your life. Like, that's not how that goes.
Even these people in the Eledon trial, there's an argument to be made that you've traded insulin for an anti rejection medication. Medication. Right? You were taking
Trading Insulin for Anti-Rejection Drugs18:57
Which I would I would do. But... Yeah.
Oh, and and by the way, I think there's a whole other conversation about that. I'd like to have it with you. You would make that trade?
Well, if there were no side effects. I mean, I know that that's the whole
It's the allure of
this world. Yes. The allure of the TET... tego...
Tegoprubart?
Yes.
Yeah. Yes. Right. tegoprubart. So...
And and I... And by the way, I agree with you. And I think a lot of people would agree as well. And I think... I I think it's an overly cynical way of saying you're just trading insulin for a different thing.
I think that's an argument of an angry person who wants a a light switch and isn't getting it when they hear about it. Also, I've seen people make that argument online. They... It's an aggressive argument. Oh, you're just trading this for that, blah blah blah.
I mean, in my heart, those... One of those things seems much better than the other if there's no side effects from the anti rejection medications. Mhmm. If there are, then I've interviewed people who have had transplants and the anti rejection medications, like, were difficult to say the least.
Yes. Yeah.
Yeah.
Who's in the Cure Conversation20:10
I think... Well, first, I wanna say I'm very grateful for the researchers and the scientists Yeah. Who are... I said intellectual, but I'm... I think I meant intelligent, but also creative and persevere and are really...
You know? So brilliant. And so I'm grateful for that group of people who are doing the actual research and trials. And then, I guess, I'm trying to kind of categorize all the different types of entities we're talking about in the cure conversation. Mhmm.
So there's the people doing the the research. There's the people who are trying to fund the research. There are the people who are the recipients of current trials that we're hearing about. And then there's the current community of people still living with diabetes that were were exposed to all of this messaging. And then you were also talking about the the social media chatter and influence, influencers and how they are putting the the message out around the...
That the cure is around the corner? Mhmm. Okay.
How Many People Want to Be Influencers21:20
Yeah. Yeah. And so this is... If any of this is even close to right, I mean, we should all probably just give up. But how many people are trying to be an influencer?
The usual estimate is a bit over 200,000,000 people worldwide, though the number is soft. The most widely cited figure is 207,000,000 content creators worldwide, which works out to about one in every 40 people on Earth. New reports from Adobe and Linktree put it at about 300,000,000, counting both professionals and amateurs. Around 50,000,000 earned their primary income from it, says Goldman Sachs. 50,000,000 people walking this planet are making their primary income off of being an influencer.
They say about 2,000,000 of those 50,000,000 are actually con... Counted as expert level creators. The definition behind 200,000,000 figure is extremely broad. These numbers come from industry roundups repeated each other. Like, I don't know how clear the...
Like, clearly real this is. There's a a fair number of amount of research links here on it. But here's the... I I think here's the truth. You only need to see one person balling out of control for you to think, I have a phone and a light and a thought.
Like, I'm gonna go share it. Right? And what you don't know is that the money you're gonna make from it is... It's it's abysmal, first of all. And if it even breaks through, which it probably won't.
But at some point, every one of these algorithms gives you the first taste for free. It is literally run like like, you know, a drug dealer on the corner in a a late seventies cop movie. Right? You're gonna come by. I'm gonna give you a little hit.
You come back later with your money. I'll sell you more. So you start up a thing. One of your videos pops off $1,015.20, 35,000. Oh my god.
I got a 100,000 views, and then that's it. Now you're lit up and you wanna do it. And so you keep doing it and keep doing it, making content for the for the, you know, for TikTok or for whoever. They're selling ads off of your work, so they're making plenty of money. And you're never gonna pop off and be the person that you think you were gonna be.
It will use you up. You will reasonably give up at some point, but there'll be 50 other people in your place trying to do it. The problem is is the only thing that actually holds attention, right, is... I mean, we we don't need to, like, I mean, this is pretty, like, basic stuff that I think everybody knows at this point. Right?
It's people search for what they know about, what they care about, what they think about, but the kind of content that comes back to them is usually it's usually negative, or it's something that makes somebody go, oh, yeah. But what about this? Or you're just trading insulin for this. It's something that makes people do that little arguing thing, and you will see it. There's something called...
Tech FOMO24:20
There's a niche called tech FOMO. I don't know if you know that or not, but the reason you see so many diabetes influencers making tech content is because it's the only thing that really pays back in views. But what you're doing is you're telling people, hey. There's something new coming. New.
New. Have you heard about? There's an update too, and that creates, like, an actual FOMO inside of people. So you can't just tell people, hey. This is how you get your basal right or this is how you do this.
It won't fly. You might get one video that does great, but you're not gonna build a channel. It's not a thing you can sell to people. So what happens? It's either tech FOMO or the cure is coming.
Okay.
Do tech FOMO all you want. I don't care. That's fine.
So how... With case... I wanna go back to the the tech FOMO and the cure is coming conversation. But how how do you actually define, an influencer? I'm like I'm like, how...
But how would you define that?
Oh, I see. Because you're an adult. Your bla... Your brain exploded when I said there was, 300,000,000 people who thought they were
influencers. Trying... Like, I feel like it's one of those things that we... Maybe you understand and you kind of know, but then I'm trying to make sense of that number and how
From Vacation Photos to Stopping the Scroll25:37
Well, I'm gonna sound old for a second, but it wasn't long ago where you took a picture on vacation and put it on Facebook so that your cousin who you don't see all the time could see it.
Yes.
That's what we thought this all was. Right? Right. And then and then Facebook said, well, I I can't make money off of this. You know?
Like, I need you... Like, I need you to stay in Facebook. So you need to be upset or engaged or agitated so that you'll stay in Facebook. You know, I probably said this too many times, but I can't share a link with you.
Right.
Because if I share a link, Facebook won't let you see the post. I have brought 90,000 people into a Facebook group. If I try to talk directly to them, I can't get to a fraction of them. Mhmm. Because Facebook knows that I'm gonna ask them to go listen to a podcast.
Yes.
And doesn't want them to leave. So somehow it went from, hey, aunt Petunia. Did you see my new kitten? To I gotta put up me in, like, in a shirt without my bra on or this won't stop the scroll. Like...
Right? Because it because it used to be you would just... You'd get fed what you were interested in. Your friends' feeds would come up. If you followed a podcast, then the podcast content would come up in front of you because you said I want to follow this.
That's not how it works now. Everything is just... Is swipe, swipe, swipe, tap, tap, tap. Mhmm. And so everyone's trying to maximize their content to stop you.
If you don't put any time into researching opening phrases to stop scrolling because you're gonna start to realize you're being manipulated every time your eyes stop. Something manipulated you to get to listen. Because the truth is, unless you're a boy and you just wanna see the home runs that were in the games last night, I don't even know what social media is for.
Or a girl.
Well, sure. Yes. I'm sure there are tons of girls scrolling MLB updates. But but it's it's it's gonna be a puppy or, you know... And then...
Or something. And then every time they, like... I mean, get ready with me. Tell me the first time you realized that was a thing. You weren't like, oh my god.
The whole world's going to hell. Of course, did. You're an adult. You were like, I'm gonna watch this girl get dressed. That's ridiculous.
And then I'm gonna watch I'm gonna watch somebody put makeup on. Like, it started with, like, hey. I can make myself up to look like Jim Carrey is the mask. Like, that's really interesting. I don't know how many times I need to see that.
And so, like... So that person, you know, starts off with, like, oh, I can make my makeup look like this. But by the fourth video, nobody cares anymore. I saw it already. So now they're doing it without a bra on or with their their thing pulled down a little bit or, like...
Or their boyfriend's in the background saying something inflammatory that, oh, you just can't believe. And then people started realizing that works, they start pretending to make videos like that. And at the point that we're at the point now where you're all scrolling through stuff that's made up. It's pretend. And the stuff that you really wanna know is out there, and they can't find it.
Good Information Nobody Sees28:35
So imagine you're a person who really cares about somebody living with diabetes. I'm not even talking about me. And you think you've got something to share that's been proven over and over again that it helps people. And you put it out into that cesspool, and nobody sees it. Mhmm.
No one sees it. And so you go, well, I wanna help them, so I'll do a little bit of this to get their attention. So you do a little tech FOMO or you do a little bit of like this or that. You get some followers, and then you go, oh, I'll slip in some good information. You slip it in, algorithm won't show it to anybody.
But at this point wild. Some companies called you up and been like, hey. We can give you a couple of bucks if that video hits this many clicks. And you go, well, I would like that. I guess I'll do more tech FOMO.
I guess I'll do... I mean, every time I mention that, Eledon trial, boy, I get clicks. I'll just talk about that more. I'll do it once a month, not twice a month. How about once a week?
How about every four or five days? Because it's like... Again, it's like crack. Like, you get views. Look.
I know what I'm talking about. I get a lot of views. Okay? And I'm lucky I should knock on something. They don't go down.
If they started going down, I don't know what I would do. I'd like to think that I would gracefully go away, but there might be part of me who was like, ah, have you heard about the Eledon trial? Like, I don't know. Right? And truth be told, like, you know, it's...
It it sections people up into categories too. There's YouTube. There's TikTok. There's, you know, there's... I mean, podcasts at this point.
The truth... I mean, it's... You can't crack up. You can't start a podcast at this point. Like, it doesn't...
If you're not famous or already entrenched like I am, you're not getting into this. Like, there's no way to find new new viewers. It just... It's it's literally impossible. And so the content just...
This is the beginning of it is what I'm saying. Like, this is gonna get worse.
Well, this is sad.
Thank you.
Well... So I there's the the cure conversation and the way you are processing and sharing your experience is... And making us aware is how social media and particularly within our diabetes community of influencers or whoever is putting it out there, the way we receive and hear about the cure is perhaps impacting us in a way that's giving even more false hope because we're we're constantly being bombarded by it. Yeah. Is that
People Will Burn Out on It31:11
Eventually... Well, also... Yes. Eventually, that's gonna go away. You'll burn out on it.
Like, you burn out on everything else. Like, you Mhmm. You burn down on sharing a vacation photo with the 20 people who you care about. Like, that's gone now. No one does it anymore.
And every time we step forward, it gets a little more base and a little sadder. It's just a little more base and a little sadder. And it it just... It's going to keep happening. So today, it's, hey.
Have you heard they cured it? But at some point, you're not wrong. People will be like, ah, and that will that will come and go. To those creators who are doing that right now, just know your days are numbered. At some point, people will stop caring about that.
And you... But what are they gonna have to find next? And in diabetes, it's... I do the same thing day after day, and I never have the same outcomes, which is really just a... Is a learned helplessness.
Right? Like... And then you'd go into boohoo, woe is me content because that's easy. And and when... And you set yourself up as I'm just like you.
This is hard. And then people see that, and they go, oh, I I feel a connection because this is hard, by the way. And it's nice to hear somebody doing it. And it would be nice if you were legitimately having a conversation with somebody who felt that way and not someone who looked their metrics and found out that when they say boohoo, this is hard, they get 20% more downloads, and you stay on the video for ten more seconds because that's what everybody's looking at. The amount of data that I get back about my content is insane, and you can see people engineering their content to fit the data.
Like, it is... If you don't think that's happening, you're out of your mind. Now the people listening to this are probably like, I have no idea what you're talking because I happen to attract a group of people who are of a certain age, of a certain... Like, I I don't think I'm attracting a ton of people who are, like, spending most of their time on TikTok. Not that I think there's anything wrong with that.
I just think there's a certain age, a certain probably income bracket, probably a lot of things that my content attracts. So, like, it's the same reason, like, you don't want me making TikToks. Like, nobody who's on TikToks cares about what I'm saying. You you know what I mean? Like...
But you... I think it's important to understand that it... That you're gonna get dragged down into a hole and it... And things are going to change again. Also, sometimes things change for the better and good stuff comes from stuff.
I'm not saying it didn't. Like, from blogging came this podcast. You can make an argument this podcast has helped more people than anybody could have imagined. Right? And so, like, that's a great thing.
Blogging Died in Two Years33:45
And I can see where somebody might hear this and think it's just an old guy complaining because the thing he has is being taken from him. Please let let me assure you, it's nothing being taken from me. I'm okay. And so, like, that is not the problem. My problem is is that when I started doing this 2007, I started writing a blog.
And I watched a small handful of really thoughtful people try to help people by writing blogs about diabetes, about being the adult with somebody with diabetes, about being a parent, caregiver, some really helpful stuff. And then it got competitive, and then somebody made some money from it. And then before you know it, no hand to God, 4,000 people were writing a diabetes blog. And as soon as that happens, it saturates it. People's minds go, I don't know what to look at, so I won't look at anything.
Blogging on fire died inside of two years. Couple of people tried to hang on. I, like a rat from a ship, jumped real early and happened to jump into podcasting before anybody else did. It's the only reason my thing is popular now is because I got in first. And, I mean, the messaging and how it's done, like, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say I'm not doing a good job.
But I'm like, well, a lot of it is, like, first movers, which is a business term. And and now that thing goes to help a bunch of people, but now my thing has got blended with... It's been blended with social media. Like, when you think about what I make now, you think of it as like, oh, it's social media. I don't think of it that way, but that's how the world thinks about it.
So I get stuck promoting it that way. We've lost simple things like people used to hit share on Facebook. That used to be the whole mow... That was the whole motor to make the podcast work. So people would go, that was good.
I'll share it on my page. It's all that had to happen. Nobody shares anything anymore. People don't even think to click like on things at this point. So even that's tailing away.
And my message is you have to ask yourself, what comes next?
Mhmm.
And then what does that do to people who actually need support and who can be waylaid easily about taking care of their health? Which trust me, I am not doing a good enough job contextualizing, but I've watched it happen twice now, and it's happening again right now. So I'm insulted when people are using cure to get their clicks. But it works because I do good interviews with the doctor, and they don't see nearly as many views as, like, just yelling, like, they did it. So...
Or scumbags out there, like, trying to take money from people to... Yeah. Which I'm... But I'm not gonna talk about because I don't like to call people out about stuff, but you know what I'm talking about.
I do.
Mhmm.
When It Helps36:33
So there's the... I'm trying to hear what you're saying and think about how it's be... Would be received by people within our community, our diabetes community, and and the social media messaging that it it can be so positively impactful, but I feel it is based on this continuum of of maybe... Like, where you are in your in your grief journey or your diagnosis journey, how far out you are from... You know, are you the caregiver?
Are you the kid, the teen, the adult? Because it is... It can be so validating to hear those message... Those, you know, the the videos of, like, this is really hard. I really had a hard day.
There's so many variables.
It's incredibly important.
Could feel really great.
Yep.
And maybe even validating if that's the first time you've heard that. Right? There's a lot of people that post even on your page, on on a lot of different people's pages. Like, I never knew this before until I read this thing or heard this thing. Mhmm.
So that's the benefit, but where it feels cum... Like, negatively impactful is where the messaging becomes so ingrained into your own narrative that either hinders your growth or hinders your your mental health or your physical health or this belief that when you're being bombarded by the cure message, the sense of either I'm gonna I'm gonna let go of my management or, gosh, hope it really... It is really right around the corner. And I think, personally, I think we did believe that. And I remember that message, and I think that's why after newly diagnosed families get really involved in the walks and the galas and the Yep.
Because you really... You want... That's part of your grief, right, is working out trying to find a way to get a cure. Like, how can we fix this? And now, you know, 36 later, I think it's exciting.
And like I was sharing earlier with the kind of people within my cohort, like, yeah. That's that's cool. That's exciting. I'll I'll believe it, but not in not in a sarcastic way. You know?
But I'll I'll get really excited when I see it being flushed out for the masses, but it's it's exciting now.
Anybody With Their Hand Out39:13
And anybody who's got their hand out is trying to take your money. They're they're... If somebody says to you, send me $50. I'm out here banging the drum. I'm gonna help this.
That's bullshit. Okay? That's that's not real. And if that person... Even if that person believes what they're doing is right, it's not gonna...
It's not leading to anything. Like, so don't don't be taken advantage of. There's... In in in what they now call the attention economy, right, which just means that, like... Is that somebody's saying something to get your attention.
Your attention is being sold for advertising more so than at any other time in history. It's happening significantly. If you are being asked for money, that is one way people are taking advantage of you. Maybe they're trading you something that you want. That's fine.
But it's still... There's... That person only exists in that place to get that money from you, to take that dollar from you. If they're not taking money from you, then they're taking attention from you. And then they are reselling that attention.
Now what do they do with that? That's where you get to decide who you put your time with. Right? Like, let me be a 100% clear. I'm selling your attention.
Okay? I am doing it in trade for having long form conversations with Jenny or people from, you know, other doctors or Erika or or having regular everyday people on to make a podcast about how they feel when they're diagnosed because I think there's value in you hearing their story. If I made that stuff by myself, I mean, I gotta be honest with you. It's a ton of work and effort and time, and I could not afford to do it. I would literally need somebody to, like, be a benefactor and say, hey.
I'll pay your electric bill. Go make this thing, which is possible I would do, by the way, because I think it's so important to let people keep talking. But you're gonna have to decide for yourself. Am I a bad guy who's just stealing your attention so I can sell it to a company, or am I asking you for money? I'm not asking you for money.
And I've I've steadfastly haven't asked your money for twelve years, and I'm never going to. As far as I can tell, I'm not that person so far. But if someone else has got your attention, you have to ask what are they doing with it, and what am I getting in return? And is the thing I'm getting in return valuable? Is it healthy?
Is it positive? Or is it making me feel like crap, and then that person's off selling it for whatever they're selling it for? And that's a bigger statement than just about diabetes content. That's that's everything. Your attent...
You are being sold constantly in 16 different directions. So is it worth it to you, and is it hurting you? Are the questions I would ask myself and and I do ask myself when I'm looking at stuff.
Yes. Yeah. Is it worth it? How am I feeling? And just having that awareness of how you are being exposed and and manipulated in a way that can be hurtful.
Selling. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. It can be hurtful.
Can it be helpful sometimes? Maybe. But that awareness, it's hard, and it's hard to have that all the time.
Like Booze and Gambling42:20
Yeah. Well, it's difficult. Listen. And it's no different than booze booze, weed, gambling. Like, these things are all that.
Like, right? Like, you're you're saying there's a thing I wanna do. It might not be great for me, but I wanna do it. That's it. You...
Listen. You're an American. You should do whatever you want. I'm okay with all that. But also understand that, like, while you're smoking your cigarette, there's a bunch of really wealthy people in a room going, I can't believe they're smoking these cigarettes.
Look how much money we have. I can't believe they... This guy thinks he's gonna hit a five leg parlay on NFL football. Like, you... Because you're at home going, oh, I'm just gonna put $20 on it.
But if it hits, I'll make 3,000. Well, that's nice, except that a million people just did that, right, on a Sunday afternoon. Mhmm. And they took in a $500,000,000 on everybody going, I'll just put $20 on this. Hopefully, it'll hit.
And then... And and most of you will be fine. But somebody out there is gonna lose their wife, their house, their children, their livelihood, places where online gambling is legal, domestic abuse goes up, suicide goes up, homeownership, like people losing their homes, that stuff, those number, all those numbers go... That is not a coincidence. And, yeah, it's probably not gonna happen to most of you, but the person it happens to, that is a horrifying devastating thing.
So while most of you are probably gonna still pre bolus for your meal, someone out there is gonna be in their exact right mix of burned out, sad, hopeful, tired, and they're gonna hear, oh, it's over. And that's gonna be it. Like, they're just gonna... They're gonna go down the wrong path that's gonna end poorly. And I I...
A Time Capsule44:10
I'm making this episode, I think, probably for, like, 20 people. Like, I don't imagine they're gonna hear it and go, oh, he's right. But at the very least, this will be a time capsule. Because when you screw those people over, I am for sure gonna run this as a best of. And and the only thing it's gonna say in front of is I fucking told you.
And and that's it. Okay? It... I've been through it once already. Mhmm.
I've been through it once with blogging. I saw it happen. I I am in the position of being able to sit and watch this space twenty four hours a day. It is happening right now. And I am doing my best to, like, weather it.
I think I'll be fine. But there's stuff I end up doing that I don't think is completely valuable because I'm like, well, I gotta stay in this mix a little bit. You know what I mean? Like, I gotta look like I'm... I gotta look like I understand what's going on.
I don't wanna look like the old guy who's like, oh, he doesn't know how important this is or that is. By the way, I don't think any of it's important. You've heard me talk about it privately. Mhmm. I'd get rid of Instagram, TikTok right now if I could.
I don't think it does anything for you as a creator. I even will tell you this, Erika. I think the companies who are paying the influencers aren't sure that it's valuable. But everybody's just a little too afraid to say, I'm not doing this. Mhmm.
We are propping up a completely... I don't know what to put, but there's a narrative and an ecosystem running that I'm not sure actually does anything. We're all just hoping it does Mhmm. And ignoring all the bad stuff that it's doing. So...
What We've Gotten Comfortable With45:47
And I sound creepy when I talk about it because I'm old and I'm a guy, but I am I am telling you that you all have become completely comfortable with imagery that would have been considered pornography twenty years ago. And your daughters are out there at 18 years old doing stuff that I think I think we're all gonna look back on one day and be really sad that we let happen. But, I mean, I don't know. It... Maybe I'm wrong.
I just... I I hate to see people, men or women, like, selling their image to try to pay their bills. And I know that's where it is, and I'm not even coming down on those people. But, like, this is the situation we've all put into into motion here, and now that... Now you're getting what you get.
So... And it's leaking into diabetes, like, think is my point. I'm sorry. Yes. I don't even know what...
I'm not even asking you to say anything.
I don't... I... Yes. I don't even, I was gonna try and circle it back, but you just did. Like, it's coming into the diabetes community.
Yeah. And and that is... Can be painful, yes, to to see and hear and observe.
Mhmm. Every device manufacturer lives through winter, spring, summer, and fall just like everybody else online. Go look at what of their content does better. Is it a picture of a young girl skiing in a jacket, or is it a picture picture of a young girl at a pool wearing a device? So Mhmm.
Those do better. And, you know, and then one day, your brain's gonna go, oh, I've seen a girl in a bikini. I don't care about that anymore. What comes after that? And I think we're watching it happen not in the diabetes space, but in other parts online.
It's happening incredibly fast, like, really, really fast. And you have to keep... Again, it's like drugs. Like, you have to keep revving it up until it hits your dopamine again. And what is hitting our dopamine is is is getting insane, like, really quickly.
So I don't know. I'm just telling you. And the answer is not like, don't give your kid a phone. It'll just create a different problem. Like, I don't know what the...
I don't know how to fix this. I try... I spend a lot of my time putting out quality content. I think, oh, one of these things will hit. And then I'll be able to say, look.
It's good. We can... It just... It never works. Like, it never ever works.
The next thing I try, I'm gonna try... I'm trying again to stay with good quality content that I think will find its way through this shitstorm of, like, how these algorithms work.
Mhmm.
And I'm gonna spend a lot of time and a lot of money doing it, and then I'm gonna put out good content. And I'm almost 99% sure it's not gonna be met with any views, but I'm still gonna try. And I think maybe if everybody just kept trying a little bit I don't I don't know what to say. I'm sure we can't beat the algorithm. But Yeah.
Some Accounts Are Great48:50
Well... And I... Just to say for... I actually don't follow a ton of diabetes... Do we call them?
Although, I guess they're all... Accounts accounts. That's what I wanted to say. Yeah. But but some are actually quite positive.
Oh, they're awesome.
Yeah. And some are quite helpful. But, also, it is interesting to see how quickly then you are fed without even choosing to follow other accounts, how much... You know, how quickly you're fed other content.
Yeah. Because there's just not enough of the, like, of this is really positive. This is great. This is well sourced, whatever. Mhmm.
You know? And there's... Please don't get me wrong. Yeah. There's plenty of good stuff.
Yeah. And and that... That's that's great. But three, four scrolls, it's gone now, or that person has this horrifying feeling that they have to put out a video or two a day. Like, how long do you think it's gonna be before they burn out or they run out of things to say?
And then one day, they either give up, stop giving you good information, or, you know, go, I I guess I could just do this. Like, I'll do this part here. Like, you know what I mean? And it's not like... There was a a person on recently who's a TikToker for...
And they were telling me, like, little tricks. Like, one of them is, like, you know when you put on a video and the and the camera seems to shake for a second? Like, it kinda wobbles and then it settles in, and it feels like the person with the phone reached out, put the phone down while they were talking. That's on purpose. The shake gets your attention.
So so once the first person that did that was literally just recording before they put their phone down. Right. And then that was a thing that people, like, liked. And so more people did it, and now it's just a trope that they use to get you to to grab your attention so you'll stop swiping your finger up. And I'm just saying, like, what happens when that stops working?
Like, what comes next? And then how soon is it before everybody's not being And there's... And then, also, by the way, there's space for people being silly. I think that's great too. I'm I'm certainly not...
I'm not even coming down on that. I'm coming down on what happens when the intersection between I need to make money, I need to get these views, and I need to say something that's gonna make these people upset so that the algorithm shows them this thing. Like, there's nothing about that intersection that's gonna be valuable for anybody. And the content creator that does it will eventually go away too. Because aside of me and a few other people, go ahead and name somebody else that's been making content in diabetes for over a decade.
It's just the algorithm will stomp you out. Like, you can't win. The the person whose TikTok you loved two years ago is not making TikToks anymore. So, so there's no even long term payoff for
it. Mhmm.
I don't know. Do I do I just sound old? It's okay if I do. You could just tell me.
Well, you sound like you've been in the game for a long time and have perspective, right, that you've watched the evolution of how media has changed and grown some to, you know, to to the benefit and detriment Yeah. Of of society.
I don't dislike all of it. I think a lot of it is insanely valuable. I use it in a lot of different ways. But you can't stop... It...
The Gold Rush52:21
It's the gold rush. Like, you know what? You you don't say, oh my god. I found gold. Nobody else is allowed to come.
And then, you know, five other people show up, and you're like, okay. Well, we should just keep it to us. That's not how that works. Everybody goes into town. Why does that guy got gold?
Oh, you didn't hear? And, you know, San Francisco. And, like like, you know what I mean? Like, booming city. Why is it a booming city still to this day and back then in the...
In, you know, a hundred and thirty, a hundred and forty years ago? So people like, oh, there's gold in them there hills, and then they head over, and that's what's happening now. And I'm probably as... Hell, I'm probably as much of fault for it being a gold rush as anybody else because I have longevity. I have a lot of sponsors, and there's probably people look up and go, I'd like a piece of that.
And so, you know, the next person comes in, and I'm not here arguing only I should have it. I'm, like, certainly not saying that. I'm I'm also not saying that anyone in that... I think the oddity is that no one's doing anything wrong, but it's still leading to a bad place. Like, I I can't point at one person and say, unless you're making...
I mean, in my opinion, unless you're making cure stuff just to get clicks or or literally making people feel that, like, FOMO, like they need to upgrade a pump or something like that just to get clicks. If you're doing that, I think you're pretty shitty. I'll just be clear about that. If you're not doing that, I don't have an argument with anybody doing any of this. I think this is a reasonable way to make a living.
It's a reasonable way to get information out. But none of that means it's not gonna end poorly because it's going to end poorly. Like, I... Listen. I use AI to work on my website and to do a lot of back end things, right, to make content, like, all kinds of stuff.
It's incredibly valuable for me. Is it gonna end well? I have no idea. I could be as much part of the problem in that as, like, somebody else is gonna be, but I'm not sure about that problem. This one, I'm positive about.
So call me a whistleblower on what happened to the diabetes community over the last fifteen years. And and I don't know. I don't know what to tell you. Stop jumping around without your shirt on or try to help people. When it doesn't help them, just try again, like...
And... Or give up or go home or make a blog and just say, look at Sierra if you wanna find it. Maybe you'll only find a certain section of people. Like, that's cool. Like Mhmm.
I've come to realize I'm not reaching everybody. Not everybody is reachable the same way. Not everybody wants the information, etcetera. Some people need it a different way, and they should go find it the way they need it. But I don't know.
Like, so far, I'm proud to tell you that I have not done anything that I know would be taking advantage of people. And and so... And I know what those things are. I just I I just won't do them. So I don't know, Erika.
Do you think that
And free content is is a good thing.
Free content's a great thing.
Gift. Yeah.
And there's other ways to make money. So Yeah. You can figure it out. I... I'll explain to you how to figure it out if you...
Does Erika Think She'll Be Cured?55:33
I think I already have. Like, just... It's not it's not not doable. Mhmm. You're a lady of a certain age.
You've had diabetes for thirty some years. Do you think you're getting cured?
Wow. That... You've got me stumped on that one, Scott.
Well
I think... Where do I believe? I think I... That would be... And I'm gonna use this word very intentionally.
I think that'd be cool, but I'm not gonna live my day to day moment to moment. That's not... That isn't belief in that possibility isn't where I find my hope in today.
Where Her Hope Comes From56:21
Where's the hope come from?
My... The hope in my life comes from a lot of different things. In the life that I've lived in the past and present and future from my family, from my current health, from my faith, from my profession, from watching people heal in their own grief journeys, from the relationships I meet through diabetes and and and and not Mhmm. You know, in other areas of my life. So would that be nice?
100%. Do I believe that that could happen? Maybe. But that's not the driver of my hope right now.
Scott's Answer57:14
That's perfect. I will answer the question, though you have an answer. Ask me.
Do you believe that Arden would be... Can be cured?
I genuinely believe that what stops things like that from happening are the restrictions on intellect and time. We don't live long enough for a a regular person, even a very smart, learned person who is focused, right, to figure out something so complicated. If it's going to happen, it will happen with the help of computers that are able to take large datasets and work through them in ways that normally would have taken a lifetime in less time.
Mhmm.
Would it surprise me if we all popped on TikTok and found people yelling about the cure and it was actually coming? Which, by the way, that'd be great. You guys should yell about that. No. Not at all.
I actually think that could happen. In Arden's lifetime, I think it could happen easily. And and I will use an example for you while we talk about, like, have things been cured? I've been cured of being overweight. A 100%, I have.
Right? It's a weekly shot, but I'm... It's gone. It does the thing. It does not exist in my life anymore.
There is a lab in California right now working on a peptide that very bare bones idea would get endometriosis to kill itself at the cellular level. I think that easily could happen. Right? Like, so could the countless number of women who you do not know are suffering with, like, significant pain Mhmm. Could they all be cured by an injection of a peptide?
I think yes. Could it happen in the next five years? Honestly, it could. Right? Like, is someone gonna figure out why this inflammatory thing is happening inside of people with autoimmune issues?
By the way, endometriosis, autoimmune, inflammatory, type one diabetes, autoimmune, inflammatory, Hashimoto's, type one celiac. This is all... Like, this stuff is all the same problem with a slightly different, like, you know, mask on. Could someone figure out how to turn it off and your cells just not attack each other anymore? Probably.
I... Right now, that's not what they're doing. Right now, they're giving you cells that work from cadavers and and talking your body out of killing those cells again, which, by the way, I'm with you, sounds like a cure to me. Okay? That's awesome.
Would it... Will it look different moving forward? I think it could. In my lifetime, outside chance that I'll see it, will Arden see it? Probably, if they get to it.
If the... If... But there's a lot of ifs in there. Right? Like, you need you need you need things to happen that we are not even sure if they're okay or not yet.
Like, most people aren't paying attention to AI. Right? But there's this idea of, like, self improvement that eventually the AI is gonna be smart enough to make the AI smarter. And then that becomes, you know, regenerative and happens very quickly. And who the hell knows what's on the other end of that in in a couple of years?
Maybe... I mean, we all might live in a world one day where you just, like, I don't know, like, talk into your phone or whatever device you have then and say, hey. What's the secret of life? And it just goes, boom. It's this.
The... You know? Or how do we do this? Or, hey. My kid just got type one diabetes.
They go, it's okay. Don't worry. That sucks. But, like, you will just do this and that'll happen. Like, could that happen?
Million percent that could happen. In Arden's lifetime, easily. It's either going to happen in Arden's lifetime or Terminator. Like, one or the other. Like, I don't think there's gonna be, like, a real...
Actually, I think the the in between is where you'll end up. But I don't think we're all gonna be killed by our phones, and I also don't think it's gonna be magical. But I certainly don't have any idea if that's true or not. I wouldn't be surprised if Arden lives to see it, but I would be even less surprised if when she sees it, she doesn't answer exactly the way you just answered. Mhmm.
Yeah. Right? If she's... If my health is good right now and blah blah blah, like, I'll do it, but, like, it's alright if it doesn't happen. Go give it to somebody else first.
Find a kid and give it to him, like, that kind of thing. Now if Arden is plagued with other autoimmune issues and you tell me you can hit her with something, jack her up, and that inflammation goes down, then I'm probably gonna be the guy, like, standing at the front door saying, hey. I just sold my house. This is all the money I had for. Can you please give it to me right now?
Mhmm. Because I've seen even just the GLP bring down inflammation in her body and change her life fairly significantly. Mhmm. I don't know. I think we're closer to that than you think.
And when that happens, I want everybody to bang a gong about it and tell everybody. But right now, 10, 11 nice people in a trial that's not even, like, you know, anywhere near getting to more people. Like, it just... I don't know. I think it sucks to tell people about it all the time and make them feel like it's coming.
It's not... And I would imagine that some of the people doing that don't see it the way I see it. I think they're just like, oh, I'll share it. And, like, the people who saw it this time aren't the people that saw it last time. But somebody is seeing it every time.
That... That's my point. Also, I could be completely wrong. I might be an asshole. There's no way to know, Erika.
I... I'm completely open to that possibility. I only have my purse... I only have my perspective.
Oh my gosh.
You know? I I only have my perspective. I've seen this whole thing the way I've seen it. It's... It strikes me the way it strikes me.
I find that people do better with simple information, hope, and guidance. Yeah. That seems to be what helps people day to day the most to me. Mhmm. And Mhmm.
But there ain't nothing about Facebook or Instagram or anything else that allows me or anybody else to share that. And by the way, I see some of you out there who have pivoted to this stuff that's more salacious, and I know that's not what you were trying to do, and I feel bad for you too. So I don't know. Am I a Luddite? Probably not.
I really do love technology. Oh
Faster, Smarter Insulin1:03:40
my gosh. I mean, I learned lots of new things today, including tech FOMO. What I would get excited about and where I have hope in is faster insulin and and algorithms, tighter algorithms, which I know we can do. We can create our own. But faster insulin, smarter insulin, that's where I have hope.
I think I think that reactive insulin fixes so many of your day to day problems.
It's not
it's not funny. Because I basically have that for my weight. I put I put a smart thing inside of me that does a thing that doesn't make me too much this way or too much that way. People will argue, well, I can't eat or everything. Yeah.
It's better than the alternative. Like... Right? Like... And I'm sure...
I mean, I'm not just sure. I'm fairly certain that Lilly already has another drug coming. And from what people say on the outside, I can't pronounce it yet. Trutide maybe. It's like a triple agonist, that'll come out soon.
And, like, early reports are still hungry but lose weight. Much less muscle loss than other people were doing. That that fixes a number of the problems people have with GLPs now. Mhmm. Now I'm gonna switch immediately.
Like, so, like, I'll... I will I will be like, Mounjaro, I'll see you later, and I'm jumping right on trying that as soon as I'm able to. But I also am... I am an early adopter and have been my whole life. Like, I had a computer before y'all knew what a computer was.
Superpowers1:05:15
I had a computer before I knew what it was. Like, you you know what I mean? And and I am always interested in what's happening next. My my son said to me last night, he goes, superpower, which one are you taking if you can only take one? Which is a much bigger question than it sounds like, Erika.
I'm gonna ask you to think about it because I'm gonna ask you in a second. One superpower that you can have. Right? And, I mean, like, the kid in me is like, oh, I'd love to fly, but that doesn't mean I couldn't crash and break my neck, so not flying. Like, great.
And I... And then I I settled on I'd like to be invincible. And he goes, what does that mean? And I said, I guess I'd like to I'd like to be able to live forever. And he goes, why would you wanna do that?
And I said, I don't know. Just see what happens next. Don't you wanna see what happens next? And he's like, that sounds terrible to me. I'm like, that sounds so exciting to me.
Like, to know what keeps happening. And then you can get dark and say, well, what happens if the whole world blows up and I'm just existing in a void? That'd probably be a bad idea. But, like... But still, I...
And then I settled on strength. I was like, maybe just strong like Superman. And he goes, why? And I'm like, I don't know. It seems cool.
But, really, Erika, the the the allure of Superman is that he's strong, pretty, you know, pretty pretty much not able to die, and he can fly. That's... Like, he's got the three cool ones. What do you think?
Mhmm. Mhmm.
What do you want? What's your superman?
Also highly... Like, I haven't watched superman nor am I engaged in all of that.
Thoughtful and kind.
I was gonna say very empathic. Right? Yes. He has a good human human side to him.
Yeah. Go ahead. Tell me what you're supervising.
Don't know. I... I'm stumped again.
I said for fun, being invisible would be fun, but you know that would just come off creepy. Because the first time you forget to not be invisible, you walk in a room and you pop in and you go, oh, hey, everybody. I forgot I was invisible. They think, how long have you been standing there like that? And my god, how often does this happen?
So you can't win with that one. Although, I would like to go grocery shopping and be invisible one time. That sounds funny.
Oh my gosh. Do know what happened? I... I'm like... The the first thing that popped in my mind is to be able to, like, like, have magic, like, being able to do magic.
Like, not magic tricks. But
Like, move things in your mind?
Or just create something out of nothing. I was thinking, well,
like That's nice.
There's dinner.
You're not thinking big enough. Tell me, be honest. As a child, did you ever sit in your bed and try to make the light switch flip with your mind? No. Seriously?
No. I spent a fair amount of time trying to make that happen.
Gosh. I... That... Well, that's good tapping into, like, that, like, curiosity and what's gonna happen next if you do that.
Three Wishes1:08:03
Yeah. Oh, I can't wait to... I I I... The thing I've said that's most real... Realistic is that if a genie came out of a bottle, I have my three wishes ahead.
I know they would tell me they're not okay. My first wish right away, I can't... Me and the people I love, nobody dies until I say it's okay. That way nobody could die in the middle of me getting my wishes. Then my second wish...
Because I know that's what would happen. I'd end up, like, with something and I'd turn around. Everybody I knew would, like, be gone or something like that, and then I would be sad. My second wish is that no matter what happens, my third wish comes true. And then my third wish, of course, unlimited wishes.
Now now... And and I've I've thought these three things through because I've joked more than once that I know if I don't have ants... Because people, when you tell them this, say, I can't believe you have an answer to the question, what would you wish for if a genie popped out of a bottle? And I said, well, yeah, because if I don't have this well thought out, I'm just gonna end up with a giant penis, a bunch of money, and a fast car. I was like
I I feel like you have shared this with me before and everyone listening. Okay. Wait. I just thought of what I wanted because I say this often. Do it.
Like, I wish... I don't know if this is a superpower, but to... Is... I don't know if it's time travel, but to... I often say, like, if I'm leaving somewhere or a family member's leaving, I'd say, I wish I could just click my heels and be there to witness the the game or the event or would just be with you.
Interesting. Because you started to ask me and didn't finish your thought. What did my son pick? Yes. He said, what about teleportation?
Okay. That's what that is. Yes.
And I said, well, if I live forever, it wouldn't matter how long it took me to get somewhere. But I I I think your point and his point are really cool. Like, to be able to just put yourself in scenarios, like, you know, I'm gonna go watch my kid do this over here. I'm gonna come back over here and make dinner. Yes.
Like, even that would be, like, day to day very valuable. Yes. Alright. You might have talked to
me about Teleportation. Yeah. That's what that is? Okay.
Yeah. I mean, that... And that's what they say in the comic books. I don't think it's a real thing or anything like that. Let's see.
Let's have fun. Okay. I'm gonna let you go.
It's late. It's the next day.
You got a life. Hold on one second for me.
Okay? Bye.
Sponsors and Close1:10:18
It seems that the podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by Tandem Diabetes Care. Learn more about Tandem's newest automated insulin delivery system, Tandem Mobi with Control-IQ+ technology at tandemdiabetes.com/juicebox. There are links in the show notes and links at juiceboxpodcast.com to Tandem and US Med who also sponsored this episode of the Juicebox Podcast. Get started with US Med at usmed.com/juicebox or call (888) 721-1514. Get your free benefits check and get started today with US Med, the same place that we get our diabetes supplies.
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