Matthew Wood has been a practicing herbalist for over thirty-five years. An internationally known author and lecturer, he holds a Master of Science degree in herbal medicine from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine. A professional member of the American Herbalists Guild, he is the author of several books, including The Earthwise Herbal and The B…

Topic: Broken Brain: how toxins, infections, and microbes can lead to neuroinflammation, fatigue, chronic pain, and more Intro Bio: Dr. Miles Nichols,DAOM, MSOM, LAc Founder of Medicine With Heart Clinic and the Medicine With Heart Institute. Dr. Miles Nichols is a functional medicine doctor specializing in Lyme, mold illness, gut, thyroid, and aut…

John A. Allocca, D.Sc, Ph.D. is a medical research scientist and biophysicist with over 40 years of experience. He is the internationally published author of more than 60 books and textbooks. Dr. Allocca developed a computerized biochemical analysis and nutritional plan software, and nutritional formulas for migraine prevention and other disorders.…

Ashwagandha, a long-recognized adaptogen and effective treatment for anxiety, insomnia, high blood sugar, infertility, regulating blood pressure, mental clarity and more Ph (305) 469-4460 Kelley is an attorney practicing law and also teaches yoga and meditation. She has spent extended periods of time in India, where she became familiar with Ayurved…

Eric Leskowitz, M.D., is a retired Harvard Medical School-affiliated psychiatrist who practiced pain management for more than 25 years atSpaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. He has published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is the author/editor of four books including The Mystery of Life Energy. His documentary…

Author Wendy Read began her studies by completing her degree in biochemistry at California State University. She is an herbalist, holistic massage therapist, and plant spirit healing practitioner . Wendy has studied with herbalists and shamanic healers in Mexico, Guatemala, Swaziland, South Africa, Senegal, and the United States. Since 2005 she has…

Steven Horne is a Registered Herbalist with and past president and council member of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG). He is also a Certified Comprehensive Iridologist with the International Iridology Practitioner Association (IIPA) and has also served on their board of directors. He is the coauthor, with Thomas Easley of the popular medicine-ma…

Frank Forencich is a distinguished advocate for the human animal and a functional future. Frank attended Stanford University and has over thirty years of experience in martial arts and health education, Forencich offers a unique and compelling perspective on the intersection of health, human evolution, and activism. Frank has been a featured speake…

Brigitte Mars is an herbalist and Natural Health nutritional consultant with over fifty years of experience. She teaches Herbal Medicine at Naropa University and has taught at Omega Institute, Esalen, Kripalu, Sivananda Yoga Ashram, Envision, Tribal Visions, Unify, Sister Winds, Arise Festivals, Burning Man, and The Mayo Clinic. She is a founding a…

Theodora Scarato, MSW, serves as the Executive Director of Environmental Health Trust (EHT), a leading scientific think tank addressing environmental health issues. Scarato led EHT's pivotal role in a lawsuit against the FCC, advocating for reduced global wireless technologies. She coordinates educational programs, research initiatives, and global …

Dr. Friedemann Schaub, MD, PhD, has spent over 20 years teaching people how to rid themselves of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem and improve their mental health. By learning how to master the subconscious we can flip those self-sabotaging habits with his six keys to self-empowerment. His methods have the backing of scientific research. Dr.…

Dr. Emma Wagner, D.C.considers herself a child of the world, having lived in various countries in Africa, in France and in the United States. For over 25 years she has beenpassionately learning about the power of the mind and the adaptability of the physical body.Dr. Emma graduated a Doctor of Chiropractic in 2000, and since then she has helped tho…

Contact: email lhadventuretravel@gmail.com Phone: (631) 629-5360 Dr. Stacey Funt is a part time radiologist, certified health coach, lifelong global adventure traveler, wife, and mother. She received her BA in psychology from Emory University, her MD from NYU Medical School, and completed her training in Diagnostic Radiology and specialization in b…

Mimi Prunella Hernandez is an herbalist and author of the National Geographic Herbal. With her wealth of knowledge, unwavering dedication, and genuine love for all things herbal, she has made a significant impact in the field of herbal medicine. For over a decade, Mimi has served as the executive director of the American Herbalists Guild, where she…

aad Harti is founder & CEO of Legacy Healthcare, a company aiming to develop botanical drugs for autoimmune, inflammatory and aging-related conditions, safe enough for chronic use especially by fragile populations, e.g. children, cancer patients and the elderly. Saad has started in the financial field, at Arthur Andersen. He later co-founded Altaca…

So many diseases have been linked to toxicity and the LOADING THEORY, but this scientifically verified link is often ignored in mainstream medicine. Recent research on Diabetes shows that it may be closely related to the bodies toxic burden of heavy metals ! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34369715/ and POPS (persistent organic pollutants) https://…

Dr. Dana Cohen MD, is a nationally renowned internal and integrative medicine specialist whose multi-disciplinary approach has helped treat thousands of patients using a variety of conventional and complementary therapies. She trained under the late Dr. Robert Atkins, author of the iconic “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” and Dr. Ronald L. Hoffman…

Udaya Thomas PhD APRN is a first-generation immigrant born in Kerala, India, and raised in PA and Ohio. Udaya has lived, worked and traveled extensively in the US and Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. Dr. Udaya has a PhD in Nursing in Interdisclipinary Health with a focus on Health Psychology, has worked as a social worker, nurse, researcher…

About the Book: The Culinary Pharmacy: Intuitive Eating, Ancestral Healing and Your Personal Nutrition Plan Lisa Masé is a board certified holistic nutritionist (BCHN) and a registered health and nutrition coach (RHNC) as well as an herbalist, intuitive eating coach, food sovereignty activist, and poet. The founder of Harmonized Living, a wellness …

Host Ellen Kamhi PHD RN, AHN-BC, RH(AHG) The Natural Nurse® shares information about Natural Health. She will discuss her course CAREER PATHS IN NATURAL HEALTH, https://www.naturalnurse.com/services/career-paths-in-natural-health/, The Natural Nurse Herbal Certification Course, https://www.naturalnurse.com/event/online-2024-natural-nurse-herbal-cer…

I don't know how I expected to end this episode, but "y'all have pleasant dreams, y'hear?" wasn't it. If y'all hear the grits flying out my mouth when I'm talkin', please know I come by it honest. A very sleepy story this week brought to you by a very sleepy girl. Curdie and Lina are joined by more of the strange and disturbing Goblin Creatures as …

We start to get some hints of the sadness underlying this children's story. Fortunately, my gigglebox child is there to rescue us from it. She calls me on the "creepy Mickey Mouse" voice I gave the prince, which is delightful and a much-needed correction. Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gut…

The goblin-creature Lina joins Curdie on his quest. There are some evil birds and then, I don't know, a montage? He seriously does the George Lucas thing where the two bond over adventures we'll never hear about, just like Obi-Wan and Anakin. This is a fine example of Lydia in a state of rambunctious sleepiness, where she can't stay awake but can't…

Welcome to Season 2.1 of Sleepy Stories! While we're reading The Princess and Curdie in the other half of the podcast, we're going to start putting up episodes of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, also once a week. This is mostly because Lydia's getting more ambitious, and I always want to help. The Little Prince is an odd, beautiful st…

10 chapters in, Curdie's beginning his journey. The past is a different country, and its narrative rules are slow and unsteady. That said, this is a nice piece of atmospheric writing. Lydia was incredibly sleepy when we were recording this one. There's also a contrast between her current maturity and when we recorded this, but when she gets tired s…

A nice, short episode after last week's relatively large one. Lydia is stupendously tired throughout this one, but it doesn't stop her from offering commentary. The story is mostly Curdie telling his parents that he has magic hands, and them not asking for much evidence for this extraordinary claim. I understand that MacDonald's writing about 'fait…

This 35-minute behemoth had 2 full minutes of horrible mouth sounds and mushmouthed mispronunciations deleted from it. You're welcome. Lydia helped me edit this one. She was struck by the sheer amount of time and energy she spent on talking silly in this episode. Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribe…

In this chapter, The Old Princess has one of the longest monologs about being godlike in any of MacDonald's work. Fortunately, Lydia is there to ask questions and request a refill on her water. Like, a lot. Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org; Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by …

Curdie and his father, Peter, meet the Great Great Grandmother in the mines, in a kind of angelic glory. Also, Lydia brings in Angel Bear, who is a marvelous and well-behaved guest. I'd like to hear more questions from that one. Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org; Our theme song …

We got an incredibly energetic Lydia for this descent into MacDonald's mines. She was so energetic that I had to cut some audio where one of the many stuffies that visited us while we were recording ended up dancing on my microphone and I had to cut a little audio. I hope it wasn't too awkward. Also, sorry that I didn't put anything out for a coupl…

This is another one of MacDonald's discourses on faith. It doesn't move the plot forward much, except it does make sense for someone who's had a run-in with the magical or the miraculous to talk it over with loved ones. Make sure you stay through to the end of the episode if you want to know what it sounds like when a 5-year-old is done recording. …

This is a long one, as Curdie the miner boy meets Irene's grandmother finally, and confronts what he did to her pigeon. While this book as a whole has a bit too much fire and brimstone for my taste, I rather like these opening chapters. There's a Lydia-composed song fragment at the end that I rather enjoyed. Leave us a message if you're having fun.…

We begin what's going to be a long path of Biblical imagery for this book. I'll admit upfront that Curdie's response to being touched by a divine messenger is unexpected, though. In that vein, there's a pretty frank discussion between an adult and a five-year-old about the merits of hunting in this episode. I think it's a good idea for kids to know…

George MacDonald waxes poetic about magma and recaps the plot of his previous novel, "The Princess and the Goblin," in this chapter. For our part, Lydia takes me up on my offer to answer any questions she has, and I can't even get our podcast's name right, or the book's title either. Welcome to Season 2, and don't blame me. I voted for The Wizard o…

As you can see, George MacDonald loved a good tautology. Here we are at the end of our first season. We'll stumble into "The Princess and Curdie" after the New Year. Also, looks like I was still calling this thing "Sleepytime Stories" right up until then. I'm genuinely curious to find out how deep that error stretches into Season 2! This is more of…

Originally recorded in North Carolina, this episode has a bit of a different energy to it. Lyd's having a good time during this one, and so am I. This is the moment where the goblins "Plan B" comes to fruition, with unintended consequences for all. I think it's safe to say that MacDonald's goblins are clever without being at all wise. Leave us a me…

Lydia does some slight impromptu voice acting in this one-- I like it! She's also at her chirpiest, giving us constant commentary, so this may be one of my favorite episodes. Enjoy! Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org; Our theme song is Jimbo’s Lullaby by Claude Debussy performed …

If you've ever wanted a chance to get to know a stuffed ray named Moon Eyes, she and Lydia are both chatting up a storm early on in this short episode. This is an aftermath chapter. While we know the Princess and Curdie are momentarily safe, we also know the goblins had a destructive contingency plan in place, so the story shifts to the miners' sur…

Curdie finally gets to have an apologetic chat with Princess Irene-- listen to children, y'all. Reunited, the heroes get to plan their next steps against the goblins, and realize that the goblins are about to do Something Terrible. Leave us a message if you're having fun. The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gutenberg.org; Our theme so…

Fans of a rambunctious girl-child won't be disappointed by this episode! Ain't gonna lie, her antics made this the hardest episode to edit thus far. My apologies for not updating last week. I started a new job AND got the most persistent case of food poisoning at the same time! I'm adjusting my schedule accordingly. I'm also on a new computer, whic…

There's strong evidence that this episode is Peak Silly for this Daddy-Daughter team. Blame it on fatigue, blame it on my voice acting struggles-- The Cook gets 3 female voices before I realize the character's male-- blame it on a rambunctiously grumpy daughter who picks fights with pillows. All of the above honestly makes this episode one of my fa…

Lydia felt very sick while we were recording this one. She was almost inaudible for a lot of it, finally prompting me to play with the "Amplify" effect in Audacity. There's a learning curve, but I think the podcast as a whole's going to be improved as a result. This was months ago. The Lyd's feeling just fine now. :-) Leave us a message if you're h…

Lydia was pukey-sick for this episode, and I think my delivery reflects some of the stress I was feeling. Sorry about that. Lydia delivers an amazing impersonation of What If World's former president, J.F. Cat, though! This short chapter contains a surprisingly progressive argument in favor of Believing Children. I like it quite a lot. Irene has th…

Hey! Back to our regularly scheduled postings this week! We recorded this back on Saint Patrick's Day, giving you a pretty good idea of how long it was before I actually started posting vs when we started recording. Another chapter where MacDonald has some long discussions about faith and moves the plot forward at the end as an afterthought. While …

Not only do we get another Lydia stuffie-- Hershey-- joining us this episode, we also get some of MacDonald's best writing. Here are a few quotes: "Seeing is not believing. It is only seeing." "It would be at least as bad to not believe him as it was for him not to believe her." "We are all anxious to be understood... but there is one other thing n…

There's a lot to unpack in this extra long episode, what with Lydia surprising me with Mister Crocodile and some fairly deep discussions. This is McDonald's hardest stance on faith yet, with Irene being the person who believes, and Curdie playing the rationalist. I'm happy that he seems sympathetic to both positions, at the very least. Leave us a m…

We switch back to the Princess Irene's perspective, and her magic ring gets her into subterranean trouble in this episode. Irene's very young, so it's not surprising she's frightened past the point of tears. Even so, she's also a hero, as we'll soon see. Lydia couldn't stop stirring her Sleepytime tea in this episode. Sorry about the clinks, y'all.…

Curdie remains in the Goblin royal family's trap and we get a good idea of how nasty they can be in this chapter. Parental advisory: intimations of cannibalism and use of the pejorative "Harelip" continue in this chapter. Also, my singing is hilariously bad this time. McDonald intentionally makes some of Curdie's improvised rhymes forced, and more …

I think 'clue' is a mining term mentioned earlier in the book. Or maybe I'm thinking of 'gang?' Anyway, Curdie digs deep and strikes a rich vein of goblin in this chapter! Also, caveat emptor! Lots more terrible singing and perhaps the worst goblin accents ever are featured in this chapter! This chapter contains my first and hopefully only disclaim…

Another short chapter, re-introducing Irene's King-Poppa and finally discussing the whereabouts of the Princess' mother. Also, if you've ever wondered which one is the daddy and which is the daughter, Miss Sassy Pants Lydia turns up and can answer a lot of questions in the this vein! Bon appetit! The sources for our text are the cyber-scribes at gu…