How AI Helped Me Process Epilepsy with Katie Czyz

How AI Helped Me Process Epilepsy with Katie Czyz

Never did Katie Czyz think she'd become an expert in AI. She started using it while trying to process her epilepsy diagnosis and quickly realized it could be something much more than a chatbot—it could be a thought partner. That experience changed the trajectory of her career and inspired work that eventually landed her in the New York Times Modern Love column. We talk about the promise and responsibility of AI, why it should help us think instead of think for us, and how technology can create space for reflection during some of life's hardest moments. We also get into getting drunk in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, killing an embarrassing number of plants, and the strange ways a diagnosis can send your life in a direction you never saw coming. Check out Katie's writing! Substack -- A Voice Returned: avoicereturned.substack.com [https://avoicereturned.substack.com/] New York Times Modern Love: "Learning to tell the truth to those I love" [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/style/modern-love-ai-chatbot-taught-me-vulnerability.html] Huge shout to out the folks who believe in this podcast! Thanks sponsors Neurelis [https://valtoco.com/?utm_source=landi&utm_medium=display&utm_content=0_0_vco_dtc_landi_con-spo_wha-the-ef-spo_con_epi-pod_flat_sis_0-v_crs_ban_1x1&utm_term=us-prc-24-00129-v2_ban_sta_300x250_non_dtc_tak-cha_26-06-05&utm_campaign=2026_nic_vco_dtc&dclid=CPPCyev_1JQDFYzz9QId4U44GQ&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23350486950] & SK life science and community partners Epilepsy Foundation of America, Danny Did Foundation, & Epilepsy Alliance America! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Turning Seizures Into Stand-Up with Jake Lambert

It started with jokes on Twitter. Now comedian Jake Lambert is touring internationally with his stand-up show, The Sunshine Kid. Jake joins the podcast to talk about building a comedy career while living with epilepsy, surviving a schedule where nights are work and days are recovery, and why he started joking about seizures in his act. We get into epilepsy running in his family, varying audience responses to his epilepsy jokes, Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, and trying to explain a completely ridiculous aura to another person. We also discuss Jake's attempt to convince the BBC that epilepsy was more interesting than competitive slapping. Come for the comedy. Stay for the seizure stories, weird auras, and British accent. Subscribe to Jake's newsletter to stay up-to-date on his tour schedule: www.jakelambertcomedy.com [https://www.jakelambertcomedy.com/] Shout to Neurelis [https://valtoco.com/?utm_source=landi&utm_medium=display&utm_content=0_0_vco_dtc_landi_con-spo_wha-the-ef-spo_con_epi-pod_flat_sis_0-v_crs_ban_1x1&utm_term=us-prc-24-00129-v2_ban_sta_300x250_non_dtc_tak-cha_26-06-05&utm_campaign=2026_nic_vco_dtc&dclid=CPPCyev_1JQDFYzz9QId4U44GQ&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23350486950], SK life science, Epilepsy Foundation, Danny Did Foundation, & Epilepsy Alliance America for believing in this podcast! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

What If This Wearable Could Predict Your Seizures? with Chris Fitz and Truman Pierson

What if there was something you could wear that gave you a heads up before a seizure? Truman Pierson and Chris Fitz are working on making that a reality. In this episode, they share their evolving device that uses EEG technology – without the wires OR the glue – to create a wearable device that predicts your seizures based on brain wave patterns. That means we could wear something the size of a paperclip, go about our lives, and get to safety before a seizure hits. They share how much warning time the device may be able to give before a seizure, when they hope people with epilepsy could actually get their hands on it, and what inspired them to create it. And there’s something you can help with – naming this device! Truman and Chris are looking to folks in the community for inspiration. Submit your ideas here: https://forms.gle/Gzc1SeTJ7GRQhTtT7 [https://forms.gle/Gzc1SeTJ7GRQhTtT7] Learn more about their work: https://www.thetaneurotech.com/ [https://www.thetaneurotech.com/] Shout to Neurelis [https://valtoco.com/?utm_source=landi&utm_medium=display&utm_content=0_0_vco_dtc_landi_con-spo_wha-the-ef-spo_con_epi-pod_flat_sis_0-v_crs_ban_1x1&utm_term=us-prc-24-00129-v2_ban_sta_300x250_non_dtc_tak-cha_26-06-05&utm_campaign=2026_nic_vco_dtc&dclid=CPPCyev_1JQDFYzz9QId4U44GQ&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23350486950], SK life science, Epilepsy Foundation, Danny Did Foundation, & Epilepsy Alliance America for believing in this podcast! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Epilepsy Vent Session with Ivana Garcia, Alison Kukla, & Torie Robinson

Calling your boyfriend by an ex’s name post-seizure. Avoiding “Bridget Jones-ing” your seizure moments. Forgetting conversations, faces, and entire vacations. (We all agree remembering names is out of the question). Ivana Garcia, Alison Kukla, and Torie Robinson join the podcast this week and get brutally honest about the weird, embarrassing, heartbreaking, and hilarious parts of living with epilepsy. (If nothing else, tune in for the sexy British, Argentinian – and Ohio – accents!) But underneath the chaos and laughter is something deeper: we get real about mental health, the isolation of not feeling understood, and why we became advocates in the first place. Come hang on the couches with us and tune into this messy, funny, vulnerable convo! Shout to Neurelis [https://valtoco.com/?utm_source=landi&utm_medium=display&utm_content=0_0_vco_dtc_landi_con-spo_wha-the-ef-spo_con_epi-pod_flat_sis_0-v_crs_ban_1x1&utm_term=us-prc-24-00129-v2_ban_sta_300x250_non_dtc_tak-cha_26-06-05&utm_campaign=2026_nic_vco_dtc&dclid=CPS874v3u5QDFau0pgQdxWgSmg&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23350486950], SK life science, Epilepsy Foundation, Danny Did Foundation, & Epilepsy Alliance America for believing in this podcast! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Changing Epilepsy Care: When Patients, Moms, & Researchers Hang Out

Put epilepsy powerhouses together for a weekend, and what happens? Real change. Tune in for convos about everything, like taking leave from work to do a med change, eclampsia-triggered seizures (The Pitt fans, you’ll recognize this one), loopholes when insurance won’t cover meds, and moms being told there are “no other options” for their kids. Researchers living with epilepsy themselves share what it’s like to study SUDEP and new treatments, plus the real deal on what clinical trials actually mean for people trying new epilepsy medications. Thank you to the Epilepsy Foundation of America for letting the podcast crash the Research Ambassador Program! Help keep "What the Ef" going! Subscribe and rate on whichever platform you listen to! Subscribe to YouTube:  @WhatTheEfPodcast  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCYLkbgKUgppiVrVmE-ABEsw] Follow on Insta: @whattheefpodcast [https://www.instagram.com/whattheefpodcast/] Shout out to the folks who help keep things real in the epilepsy community! Thank you sponsors Neurelis [https://valtoco.com/?utm_source=landi&utm_medium=display&utm_content=0_0_vco_dtc_landi_con-spo_wha-the-ef-spo_con_epi-pod_flat_sis_0-v_crs_ban_1x1&utm_term=us-prc-24-00129-v2_ban_sta_300x250_non_dtc_tak-cha_26-06-05&utm_campaign=2026_nic_vco_dtc&dclid=CL3E1OSIoJQDFWX9fgkdfyMtbA&gad_source=7&gad_campaignid=23350486950] & SK life science AND community partners Epilepsy Foundation of America, the Danny Did Foundation & Epilepsy Alliance America! Check out Matthew's TED Talk here: https://youtu.be/uLjnPYJiBFE?si=BENTwG_T1wRyz1qd [https://youtu.be/uLjnPYJiBFE?si=BENTwG_T1wRyz1qd] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.