Illumined Wellness Podcast

From cancer at 8 months old to building “regenerative” spaces: Nathan Silesz on light, water, and EMF

Nathan Siles was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma (eye and brain cancer) at eight months old. At 24, he had a second cancer while working at an investment bank. In this conversation with Andrew, he shares how those experiences pushed him into years of study in light, water, mitochondria, and the physics of living systems.

They cover Nathan’s story, the “spark” he believes sits at the center of healing, and his view that modern indoor life is cut off from t...

This episode includes frank, adult discussion of sexuality and is intended for mature audiences (18+).

Jackie Angel has been in ministry for 20+ years, is a mom of five, and has never been shy about saying what most people won't. In this conversation with Andrew on the Illumined Wellness podcast, they get honest about motherhood, marriage, sexuality, shame, and what it takes to live fully alive in body and soul.
Jackie shares how she went from not wanting a big family to raising five children while traveling and speaking. She explains why she stopped listening to influencers who...

What do you do when you're all in for God and your deepest desires are still unanswered? 

In this conversation, Beth Davis of ‘Blessed Is She’ shares how a mommy-blog idea in 2014 grew into a global ministry for Catholic women, and what nearly a decade of walking with women has taught her about prayer, friendship, and waiting. 

In this episode: 

• How Blessed Is She started, from free daily emails to retreats on the road 

• The two pillars of the ministry: prayer and community 

• Why technology can't replace in-pers...

After a decade of chronic illness and roughly half a million dollars spent on protocols, Jake Hart found a foundation that finally made things stick: mineral balancing. In this conversation, Andrew Laubacher sits down with Jake to talk through his story, from a childhood tick bite to depersonalization, medication withdrawal, and years of searching for answers.

Jake explains what mineral balancing is, how hair mineral testing changed his approach to health, and what he has tried along the way, including coffee enemas, blood filtration in Germany, and bee venom therapy. They also talk about how...

Who was Saint Junípero Serra, and why is he so controversial?

Documentary director Zach Fiedler joins the Illumined Wellness podcast to talk about the life of Saint Junípero Serra: the Franciscan friar from Mallorca who left a university professorship to become a missionary in Mexico and California. Zach spent years reading Serra’s letters and journals and tracing his route from Petra, Mallorca to Mexico City to the California missions. He then filmed a documentary series about it.

We cover:

Why do high-achieving, driven people get hit hardest by autoimmune disease — and what can you actually do about it?

In this episode, Dr. Stillman (author of The End of Autoimmunity) breaks down why autoimmunity tends to strike the most capable, conscientious people in the prime of their lives — and why chronic fatigue, brain fog, and inflammation are so often just the surface labels for deeper issues like heavy metal burden, mold toxicity, hidden infections, and nutritional deficiencies.

We get into:
 🔆 Why morning sunlight is non-negotiable (and what to do if you l...

Why do high-achieving, driven people get hit hardest by autoimmune disease — and what can you actually do about it?

In this episode, Dr. Stillman (author of The End of Autoimmunity) breaks down why autoimmunity tends to strike the most capable, conscientious people in the prime of their lives — and why chronic fatigue, brain fog, and inflammation are so often just the surface labels for deeper issues like heavy metal burden, mold toxicity, hidden infections, and nutritional deficiencies.

We get into:
 🔆 Why morning sunlight is non-negotiable (and what to do if you l...

From Tennis Prodigy to Petroleum Engineer to Mystic: Shereen Yusuff's Journey to Christ

Shereen Yusuff's story defies a single category. Raised in Oman as a nationally ranked tennis player training four hours a day, she lost her sport to academics, became a petroleum engineer, and spent years chasing meaning through Ironmans, ultra-marathons, and high-altitude mountaineering across 60+ countries. Along the way she moved from a devout Muslim upbringing into indifferent atheism — only to be pulled back toward God through an overwhelming, unexplainable encounter in a restaurant in Warsaw.

In this episode, Shereen traces that winding path: he...

Aubrey Strobel left journalism for Bitcoin, and somehow her faith got stronger along the way, not weaker. This one's about money, AI, dying, and why none of it fixes what you actually need.

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 The Changing Landscape of New York City
03:12 Aubrey's Journey to New York and Career Evolution
06:01 Exploring Bitcoin and Financial Literacy
08:44 The Complex Relationship with Money
12:06 Faith Journey and Personal Growth
17:54 Rediscovering Faith and Spirituality
23:34 The Impact of Technology and AI on Humanity
32:04 Fear of Death and NDEs
39:00 Finding Contentment and Encouragement in the Single Life...

What does it actually mean to be a man? Paul George — author of Holy Grit — joins Andrew to break down masculinity, hard things, and why so many men bury their emotional wounds instead of facing them.

🔗 Paul George's work:
👉 Book, "Holy Grit" https://www.avemariapress.com/products/holy-grit

🔗 Andrew's work:
👉 https://www.illuminedwellness.com/ | https://www.humanality.org/ | https://www.smart-families.org/

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on the art of living human.

#Masculinity #Faith #MensMinistry #ChristianLiving #HolyGrits

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Medical Disclaimer
The content shared on the Illum...

Dr. Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center and bestselling author of Be Healed, opens up about his own mental health struggles, decades of waiting before writing his first book, and the biblical framework he uses to help people heal.

🔗 Dr. Bob Schuchts' work:
👉 John Paul II Healing Center: https://jpiihealingcenter.org/
👉 Be Healed: https://jpiihealingcenter.org/product/be-healed-dr-bob-schuchts-copy/

🔗 Andrew's work:
👉 https://www.illuminedwellness.com/ | https://www.humanality.org/ | https://www.smart-families.org/

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on the art of living human.

#BeHealed #InnerHealing #CatholicPodcast #F...

Should we fear AI, or trust it? Andrew Laubacher sits down with Edmund Mitchell for a raw, unscripted conversation about faith, AI, and what it means to stay human.

What we cover:
- Why "doom vs. boom" is a false choice when it comes to AI
- The requisite organization theory of thinking in nuance instead of certainty
- ADHD, entrepreneurship, and why intrinsic motivation matters more than ever
- What's broken about the standard American education system
- Edmund's divorce, the mystery of suffering, and finding God in the middle of...

What is the internet actually doing to the human person? Ave Maria University 
professor Justin Bonanno joins Andrew to trace how every major communications 
technology has reshaped what it means to be human.

- The "tech idiot paradigm" — why saying "it's just a tool" keeps us blind 
  to what technology actually costs us
- Walker Percy and Susan Sontag saw the photograph problem coming long before 
  Instagram existed
- Why curiosity itself can become a vice, and how Aquinas's virtue of 
  temperance applies to how much content we consume
- The conc...

Discernment isn't a clean, step-by-step process — and Catholic mentor Bobby Angel says the biggest mistake people make is trying to figure it out alone.

- Why discernment feels like agony — and why that's actually the point
- How your childhood experience of love shapes your image of God (and your ability to trust Him)
- The trap of making your vocation the idol instead of seeking union with God
- Why you need a guide — and how the Church already offers more community than we realize

🔗 Bobby Angel:
👉 Website & Mentorship: https://jackieandbob...

Are screens quietly reshaping who we are — and are we past the point of no return? Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, one of America's foremost addiction experts, breaks down the real mental health crisis unfolding right now.

Why young people are being diagnosed with personality disorders that disappear after 4 weeks offline?
How social media algorithms deliberately exploit your psychological vulnerabilities.
The "aspirational illness" phenomenon — why teens are now begging for psychiatric diagnoses.
What AI, the Singularity, and tech's God complex mean for the future of human flourishing.
Practical ingredients for reclaiming your mind, your relationships, and...

Could light be the most important thing you're getting wrong every day? Tristan Scott is an Electrical Engineer (M.S.) and current Head of Operations & Hardware at Daylight Computer Co. He has deeply researched the connection between electromagnetism and human biology, with a specific interest in how man made electromagnetic fields (EMFs) could be negatively impacting human health. He is now applying that knowledge at Daylight Computer, whose mission as a company is to create technology that is healthier and more synergistic with humanity.
Andrew sits down with Tristan to unpack one of the most overlooked foundations of...