From Bomb Squad to Fighting Medical Misinformation

He learned to stay calm defusing bombs. Now he uses the same steady hands and the same nervous system to take on medical misinformation online.

Dr. Zachary Meade took the least conventional route into medicine imaginable. A childhood in and out of foster care. Years as an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the military. A detour through electrical engineering. Then med school, and now a career as a military anesthesiologist in San Diego.

He and Dr. Nanos get into the whole thing: how he researches a viral health claim (start with the nugget of truth, then go to the actual evidence), why "big wellness" has quietly become bigger and in some ways worse than big pharma, and the simple rules he gives patients for spotting a fake — like the 60-second credential test and watching what someone's actually selling at the end of the video.

They also talk about the human side: informed consent in the OR, how he talks a terrified patient through the minutes before anesthesia, what a hard childhood and the bomb squad taught him about handling relentless online hate, and a closing message to anyone who's ever felt unloved or alone that is, honestly, the best part of the episode.

This is The Kind Revolution — where science meets courage and medicine meets humanity.

If this episode brings up a hard time for you, you're not alone. In the U.S. you can call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time.