Beta Cell: Recent Episodes
Beta Cell Podcast
Beta Cell is a show about people living with type 1 diabetes. It's the original diabetes storytelling podcast that covers an array of relevant and timely issues through interviews and discussions with diabetics. Host Craig Stubing draws on his over two decades with type 1 diabetes to show how it impacts our lives and how our lives impact it. The first show from the Beta Cell Podcast.
You know how they say that diabetics make an additional 180 decisions a day because of diabetes? Well, they're wrong.
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Things we mention:
- 180 Decisions A Day by Cynthia D'Angelo
- New research shows how to keep diabetics safer during sleep (Stanford Medicine)
Are you wondering what to buy for someone with diabetes? Well, don't buy any of these.
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Things we mention:
- 18 Thoughtful Gifts for People with Diabetes
Turns out The Diabetes App is getting ready to launch an IPO. Do you want to use a for profit diabetes social network?
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Beyond Type 1 has made it clear that it's no longer on the side of people living with type 1 diabetes.
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More on Beyond Type 1 (in chronological order):
- Sierra Sandison’s resignation from the Beyond Type 1 Leadership Council
- Craig’s letter of resignation from Beyond Type 1 Leadership Council
- Craig and Hannah discuss Beyond Type 1 accepting money from insulin makers
- Beyond Type 1’s attempt to stop affordable insulin in Maine
Sam Talbot's fall from grace opened up a Pandora's box of hidden payments by pharma to Beyond Type 1.
Support Beta Cell on Patreon..More on Beyond Type 1 (in chronological order):
- Sierra Sandison’s resignation from the Beyond Type 1 Leadership Council
- Craig’s letter of resignation from Beyond Type 1 Leadership Council
- Craig and Hannah discuss Beyond Type 1 accepting money from insulin makers
- Beyond Type 1’s attempt to stop affordable insulin in Maine
A little shot of sanity in an increasingly crazy diabetes community. The Bolus takes a thoughtful and measure approach to some of the most pressing, and least pressing, stories about diabetes.
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What would you do if there was no insulin left?
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Things we mention:
- Send diabetes supplies to children in Gaza: aid@betacellfoundation.org
- Beta Cell Foundation
- Beta Cell Action
There is so much information about managing diabetes that it's hard to know who to trust. So we try and figure it out.
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Things we mention:
- The Diabulemia Helpline (425-985-3635)
- Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education
- National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching
- Integrated Diabetes Services
- Needles and Spoons Diabetes Coaching
We unwrap the Oversight Committee's report on how pharmaceutical corporations keep the price of insulin so high.
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Things we mention:
- Drug Pricing Investigation
- Nonprofit financial transparency project
- How to contact your representatives
The untold story of pilots with type 1 diabetes.
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When Aunt Laura was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, she expected the shots and carb counting, but she didn’t expect just how tiring the whole thing would be. We check in with Aunt Laura two years after her diagnosis to see how she’s adapting.
Listen to all of Thicker Than Water by subscribing on iTunes, Google, Spotify, or wherever else podcasts are found.
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Credit music: “Lean On Me” by Nina Ragonese
A short update on Maine bill LD 673, An Act to Create the Insulin Safety Net Program.
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100 years after the discovery of insulin, stories of people falling through the gaps in American healthcare.
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Things we mention:
- Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act
- Maine Senate Bill 673
- Beyond Type 1’s Testimony on LD673
- Craig’s Resignation from Beyond Type 1’s Leadership Council
Craig and Hannah discuss how Beyond Type 1 accepting money from insulin makers caused him to resign from their Leadership Council.
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Things we mention:
- Craig's Letter of Resignation
- Sierra Sandison's resignation podcast episode
When Hannah tweeted at Montana House Rep. Jessica Karjala (D) about how her insulin co-pay cap bill wouldn’t actually help that many people with diabetes, the debate got a little out of hand.
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Things we mention:
- Read more about co-pay cap laws at the Beta Cell Foundation advocacy resources
- Hannah’s estimates on people impacted
- Fair Warning’s article
We talked to Ashley Butler, Ph.D. about her co-authored paper Type 1 Diabetes Self‐Management Behaviors among Emerging Adults: Racial/Ethnic Differences.
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Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest day of the year for football, chicken wings, day drinking, and Dexcom? We break down the pros and cons (but mostly cons) of Dexcom’s first ever Super Bowl ad featuring diabetic heartthrob Nick Jonas.
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Things we mention:
- Hannah's viral .
- Esquire, “Nick Jonas's Super Bowl Ad Raises Important Questions. Some Are Uncomfortable.” by Dave Holmes
Introducing a new kind of type 1 diabetes nonprofit.
Find out more at betacellfoundation.org
Register here to join our info session on Wednesday, October 14th at 5 pm PT.
When Sierra Sandison was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in rural Idaho, she didn’t have anyone to talk to. Now that she does, she’s making sure she’s heard.
Read more about Sierra’s decision here.
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Brec Bassinger (Stargirl) and Cameron Gellman (Hourman) fight together on-screen to save the world on Stargirl and they fight together off-screen against type 1 diabetes. Brec and Cameron talk about what it’s like to work with another person with type 1 diabetes and how their different personalities compliment each other to help them both lead happier and healthier lives.
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Stay up to date with JDRF's Coronavirus information page.
Keary Cheney was in Uganda with her husband to adopt a boy when she started feeling sick. After flying back to the US and getting diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 26 years old, she got a call that a little girl in need of adoption in Uganda was just diagnosed with type 1 too.
Find out more about the The Sonia Nabeta Foundation.
Beta Cell is supported by listeners, not corporations. Help us by joining our Fan Club.
Stay up to date with JDRF's Coronavirus information page.
Sarah Fletcher, who is living abroad in Madrid, Spain, and Apoorva Gomber, the co-founder of Diabetes India Youth in Action who lives in New Delhi, India, talk about what it's like to live with T1D where they are and how they've been affected by the mandatory lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Beta Cell is supported by listeners, not corporations. Help us by joining our Fan Club.
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Stay up to date with JDRF's Coronavirus information page.
In the latest issue of Esquire, Editor-in-Chief Michael Sebastian and Editor-at-Large Dave Holmes discuss being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults and the emotional challenge of feeling like it was a weakness. Stay until the end to hear their reading suggestions for while you're stuck at home.
"I Was Afraid to Talk About My Chronic Illness. Now I Realize Why I Have To.," Michael Sebastian
"What I Couldn't Say Out Loud," Dave Holmes
Beta Cell is supported by listeners, not corporations. Help us by joining our Fan Club.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Stay up to date with JDRF's Coronavirus information page.
Kate Hall holds the high school national record and two NCAA championships in long jump. She talks about being a college athlete, her training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and being open about not being a "perfect" diabetic. Stay until the end for her tip on staying fit while stuck at home.
Beta Cell is supported by listeners, not corporations. Help us by joining our Fan Club.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Stay up to date with JDRF's Coronavirus information page.
It’s that time of year when we're told to think about the ways we’re thankful for type 1 diabetes. But we all have lots of stories of when we were “unthankful” for it. We asked our listeners to share some of theirs.
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This episode was brought to you by Companion Medical.
Music by Purple Glitter.
Matt was on the varsity rowing team at San Diego State University when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. A year and a half later, his little sister was diagnosed with type 1 as well. Looking to help people with diabetes live healthy lives, Matt and his wife started FTF Warrior, an online health coaching company focused on fitness, nutrition, and mindset coaching.
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This episode was brought to you by Companion Medical.
Music by Purple Glitter.
After he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, Jordan started playing hockey to force himself to keep his blood sugars controlled. Even though the adrenaline of games made his blood sugars skyrocket, he found that playing was the only time he was able to stop worrying about diabetes. In 2017, Jordan biked across the country with Beyond Type 1's Bike Beyond team. Since then, he’s continued to find new ways to push himself even further.
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This episode was brought to you by Companion Medical.
Music by Purple Glitter.
Abbey had been a competitive swimmer in high school, but after she was diagnosed with type 1 at 22 years old, it took a while to relearn how to swim, not to mention live life normally, again. But when the non-profit Beyond Type 1 was putting together a team of 20 people with type 1 diabetes to bike from New York to San Francisco in the summer of 2017, Abbey signed up. When that was over, she looked for something even harder.
Lisa Hepner was studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. While she never hid the fact that she had T1D, she didn't open up about it until she met her husband. With his encouragement, they started working on the documentary film The Human Trial.
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Georgi Goldman, a documentary and television producer, talks about camps, knishes, and what happens if you're certified to scuba dive, but afraid the dive shop won't let you go because you have type 1 diabetes. She had a great time diving off a small island in the Philippines, but a terrible time in a hospital on that same small island.
When you think of genes, you usually think of parents passing things down to their children. But what would happen if it went the other direction? Anastasia talks about her daughter Delilah's T1D diagnosis when she was five years old and then her own less than a year later.
In the summer 2017, the non-profit Beyond Type 1 put together a team of 20 people with type 1 diabetes from around to world to bike from New York to San Francisco over 10 weeks in an effort to raise money and, more importantly, awareness for what it means to live with type 1.
This is the beginning of a series where I interview members of Team Bike Beyond to figure out what compelled them to sign up for this team and how the journey has changed them since.
This first episode is with Cassidy, who has spent her whole life listening to her father tell stories from when he biked across the country when he was 22 years old. Now she has her own to share too.
For more information about Bike Beyond or if you want to attend a viewing or even host your very own screening of the Bike Beyond documentary, visit bikebeyond.org.
As a 38 year old triathlete, Dave was confused when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just days after completing the 2009 New York City Marathon. Fast forward six years later, after finally being diagnosed correctly, Dave found support from the Type One Run community to help conquer the real dangers of exercising—and living—with type 1.
As a kid, Jasmine hid the fact that she had T1D. She wasn't ashamed or afraid of being judged but was doing it so that other people wouldn't worry about her. She acted like she didn't have T1D so that her friends and family wouldn't be burdened by her disease too. Her management suffered because of this until college, when she had to show three months of good control in order to get approved for an insulin pump. While she's maintained good control since then, she's rebuilt the trust between her and her family from all those years of lying about her blood sugars.
After being diagnosed with T1D at 25 years old, Deanna had to figure out how to make it fit into her life of dance and fitness. She talks about finding a nurse who won’t hold her back, telling her coworkers about her T1D, and competing in a Tough Mudder race just months after diagnosis. Teaching Zumba provided her an outlet for comping with T1D, which informed her PhD research: she studies how dance can assist young girls with body image and self-esteem issues.
Will Pericak of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Jordan Morris MLS player on the Seattle Sounders talk about not letting T1D stop them from playing and excelling at the sports they love. This podcast is a partnership between JDRF and Beta Cell.
Blogger and playwright Jessie Bear talks about how an initial diagnosis with type 2 diabetes 2 ½ years ago has taken her on a journey of self-discovery, self-love, and even self-loathing. This podcast is a partnership between JDRF and Beta Cell.
On World Diabetes Day this special “T1D Looks Like Me” episode of Beta Cell, features JDRF Chief Mission Officer, Aaron Kowalski talking about the differences between type 1 and type 2, the past and future of insulin, and promising research for all types of diabetes. This podcast is a partnership between JDRF and Beta Cell podcast.
In this first special “T1D Looks Like Me” episode of Beta Cell, Greg and Kristina Dooley, proud parents of six year old triplets, share their story of finding the right school for one of their daughters, Isabella, who is living with type 1 diabetes. This podcast is a partnership between JDRF and Beta Cell podcast.
In the first year of Beta Cell, we had conversations with some truly inspiring people living with type 1 diabetes. We recap some of our favorite moments to celebrate our first birthday.
Grace Bonney is the founder of the popular design blog Design*Sponge. In January of 2016, at 35 years old, Grace was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes. After several weeks of starving herself, going on fast walks several times a day, and taking drugs that left her in excruciating pain in order to keep her blood sugars somewhat under control, she suspected that she probably had type 1 diabetes instead. Grace talks about realizing how little doctors know about T1D, running a business after being diagnosed, and discussing her diagnosis publicly online.
Trevor Torres was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in his freshman year of high school. He started calling himself the "Diabetes Evangelist" because he would always joke about how getting T1D could help his friends with their problems, such as eating healthier or exercising more. He's now a senior studying cognitive science at the University of Michigan and he shares his methods for keeping a positive outlook on T1D.
Libby Russell was diagnosed at 17 years old in 2005. While being a teenage girl is already pretty hard, adding type 1 diabetes made it that much more complicated and she didn’t feel like any organizations were messaging to teenage girls. After a lot of drafts, 7 years later she launched her blog I Have The Sugars to empower girls with type 1 that she thinks are getting lost. Her new movement #MeFirst takes that even further by reminding all of us to put our lives first and then figure out how to fit diabetes into that plan. Find Libby at ihavethesugars.com and on social media @ihavethesugars.
Robin Arzon is a corporate lawyer turned "Ambassador of Sweat." She is a running coach, cycling instructor, and ultra-marathoner. So it came as a shock when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 32 years old. Since then she has accomplished even more than she did before she was diagnosed.
Jim Natal was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 30 years old in 1978. 38 years later, he still struggles with maintaining the balance between controlling his diabetes and leading a fulfilling life without worrying about every high or low blood sugar. In his first book of poetry, In the Bee Trees, he shares the story of his diagnosis:
Learning To Live With It
Barbara taught me to give injections
to an orange, thick pop of penetration
through the skin, short smooth glide
into soft tissue under. Slowly, with control,
push down on the plunger, and quick
backward dart toss, remove the syringe.
I practiced in her office, still dazed from
diagnosis, seeing through pinpoint pupils,
eyes after a strobe flash. Stretched like surgical
tubing colorless with tension, I was renamed
after a disease, time now measured in gleaming
needle pricks, insulin units, blood sugar levels.
My wife sobbed in the car parked beneath
the medical building, rusty pipes wrapped and
painted white, strung along the oppressive ceiling.
She cried because we didn’t have much money.
For the money, not for me. In that time of change
there were changes yet to come.
Barbara said I would learn to manage it by myself.
She said I had no choice.
Like many people who develop type 1 diabetes later in life, Cindy Goldstein was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She struggled keeping her blood sugars under control while taking drugs designed for type 2 diabetes, eventually leaving three different endocrinologists until she found one who recognized she actually had type 1 diabetes. Cindy talks about not letting the mental toll of type 1 affect her day-to-day life, her fights with insurance companies, and making the switch to Medicare at 65 years old.
Rachel Zinman was diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) at 48 years old. Being a yoga instructor for two decades, her diagnosis initially made her feel guilty and ashamed but through her practice, Rachel has come to terms with her diabetes. She shares her story as well as a guide to yoga for people with diabetes in her new book, Yoga for Diabetes.
At 13 years old, Craig Stubing started experiencing the symptoms of extremely high blood sugar. Without any experience with type 1 diabetes, his family mistook his symptoms as just puberty. Eventually, a visit to the doctor sent him to the emergency room and his life changed forever. He struggled with disclosing his disease to friends and colleagues, which led him to starting the Beta Cell podcast.
Amanda Bar was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just 2 years old. Like many young people with T1D, she struggled with wanting to fit in with her friends who didn’t have diabetes. A few years ago she passed out while driving and realized not feeling her low blood sugars was too dangerous to ignore and invested in a diabetic alert dog, who helped her train for the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon.
Doris Gilbert first learned about type 1 diabetes when her daughter Laurie was diagnosed in 1974. Years later, after looking at the blood work from her own physical, Doris realized she had diabetes too. Not letting that stop her, Doris signed up for nursing school at age 60, climbed Mount Whitney at 68, went dog mushing in Alaska at 70, and continues to lead an active and healthy life with T1D today.