Midlifing
Two friends Lee and Simon have serious conversations about silly things, and silly conversations about serious things. Together they dig into the pleasures, absurdities and imperfections of being human.
Midlifing
282: You're a Nutritionist's Nightmare
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Lee has developed a habit he can't fully explain: he spends his walks listening to AI-generated voices read Reddit's most morally contested family disputes, swiping through them pocket-blind on his phone while his wife Bob removes herself from the room entirely. Simon has been watching The Pittt and finding himself deep in the YouTube rabbit hole of Dr. Mike, a physician with eight million followers who spent an episode patiently holding his ground in a room full of anti-vaxxers with flags. Together they turn over the question of why low-stakes moral soap opera – almost certainly fictional – scratches an itch that harder content never quite reaches.
Mentioned
- The Pitt (TV show) – medical procedural drama; praised for its realism and intensity; compared favourably to ER; its makers were sued by Michael Crichton's widow over similarities to ER
- ER (TV show) – 1990s medical drama created by Michael Crichton; watched back to back with The Pitt as an informal comparison
- Michael Crichton – creator of ER and Jurassic Park; his estate brought legal action against The Pitt's makers claiming it was an unacknowledged reboot
- Dr. Mike – YouTube creator with around 8 million followers; known for medical show breakdowns; discussed for his patient, measured performance in a debate surrounded by anti-vaxxers
- AITA / Am I The Asshole – Reddit community in which users submit personal moral dilemmas for public judgment; its stories are repurposed as AI-generated YouTube shorts with sped-up voices; the source of Lee's pocket-swiping habit
- amoral familism (familismo amorale) – sociological concept developed in 1950s-60s research; the idea that extreme loyalty to the immediate family degrades broader civic culture; mentioned while unpicking the ethics of the airport Thanksgiving story
- The Life of Chuck – film based on a Stephen King novella, starring Tom Hiddleston; recommended as a work in progress
- Carrie (1976) – Stephen King adaptation; cited approvingly; prompts a brief tribute to Sissy Spacek
- Sissy Spacek – actor; praised for her performance in Carrie; briefly distinguished from Susan Sarandon
Get in touch with Lee and Simon at info@midlifing.net.
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The Midlifing logo is adapted from an original image by H.L.I.T: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29311691@N05/8571921679 (CC BY 2.0)