The Levels team loves podcasts, and we listen to them a lot to learn about health, performance, science and startups. We also have been grateful to join many of our friends on their podcasts to talk about metabolic health. So our list of favorites could be many pages long! In this article, we share a sampling of 15 podcasts that regularly focus on metabolic health, aspects of health related directly to it, and ways we can improve it.
Shows from Doctors and Scientists
The Drive with Peter Attia
Attia, a surgeon turned longevity doctor and metabolic health evangelist, hosts one of the most popular and most scientific health podcasts you’ll find. His guests include researchers, doctors, and experts whose names you may not always recognize but from whom you will always learn something thanks to Attia’s long-form conversations. The show notes alone are often like a college-level class.
Start here: A masterclass on insulin resistance—molecular mechanisms and clinical implications, with Levels advisor Dr. Gerald Shulman
Also: AMA #24: Deep dive into blood glucose: why it matters, important metrics to track, and superior insights from a CGM
Doctor’s Farmacy
This twice-weekly interview podcast from Levels advisor Dr. Mark Hyman covers a wide range of topics across functional medicine, health, and wellbeing, including heart disease, fasting, sleep, and trauma. No matter the subject, Hyman has a unique ability to make it understandable and to distill practical advice.
Start here: Understanding How The Microbiome Affects Every Aspect Of Your Health, with Dr. Emeran Mayer
The Empowering Neurologist
Levels advisor and one of the leading voices in Alzheimer’s research, Dr. David Perlmutter hosts this bi-weekly show tackling all aspects of brain health and its intersection with diet and metabolic health. His guests are researchers doing cutting-edge work, and Dr. Perlmutter’s deep expertise makes him an engaging interviewer.
Start here: Take Back Your Health with fellow Levels advisor Dr. Robert Lustig
Diet Doctor Podcast
Cardiologist Dr. Bret Scher hosts this bi-weekly podcast from Diet Doctor, a site focused on low-carb and keto nutrition. The show covers a wide range of food-focused topics, from eating ethical beef to how diet impacts cancer.
Start here: Insulin Resistance with Levels advisor Ben Bikman, PhD
Also: The Case for Keto with journalist Gary Taubes
Found My Fitness
Host Dr. Rhonda Patrick combines her background researching aging, metabolic health, and neurodegenerative disease with her unique ability to communicate deep science in an approachable manner. No matter how complex an episode’s topic sounds, trust that you will walk away with a clear understanding of the science involved.
Start here: Dr. Michael Snyder on Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Deep Profiling for Personalized Medicine
Resetter Podcast
Dr. Mindy Pelz is an expert in fasting, but this show brings a much wider lens to the topic of metabolic health, interviewing leading researchers across neuroscience, performance, nutrition, sexual health and more. It’s great for learning about topics not often covered on other shows with guests you haven’t heard before.
Start here: The Best Measurement of Health: Heart Rate Variability – With Kristen Holmes
The Huberman Lab Podcast
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscience researcher at Stanford who focuses on the brain-body relationship. His podcast is a mix of interviews and episodes from Dr. Huberman himself. Each offers a practical approach to using neuroscience to improve physiological (eyesight, hearing) and emotional (fear, motivation) systems.
Start here: How Your Brain Works
Shows from Health Influencers and Evangelists
The Dhru Purohit Podcast
Along with being the CEO of Hyman Enterprises, Purohit is an entrepreneur and investor with a deep curiosity about all things health. In addition to his interviews with doctors and scientists, his mini-episodes are useful quick distillations of the best learnings from across shows.
Start here: The Real Cause of Alzheimer’s and Dementia and How to Prevent Them, with Levels advisor Dr. David Perlmutter
The Be Well By Kelly Podcast
Kelly LeVeque is a nutritionist and health coach who eschews fad diets for a research-driven approach to food. Podcast interviews span topics from sustainable eating to parenting to mental health and feature conversations with top experts (including several Levels advisors!).
Start here: Changing the Conversation Around Hormones, with Levels advisor Dr. Sara Gottfried
The Wellness Mama Podcast
Hosted by Wellness Mama founder Katie Wells, this podcast covers many of the same health and wellness topics as the other shows here but brings a unique family and parenting angle to many of the episodes. It also does a great job of bringing in a diverse list of guests you have not heard elsewhere, including many leading female researchers.
Start here: 337: Science-Backed Strategies for Happiness Even During Stressful Times, with Yale Professor Dr. Laurie Santos of The Happiness Lab
The Tim Ferriss Show
Ferriss, who first became famous for his approach to productivity in his book The Four-Hour Work Week, has in the last decade turned his focus increasingly to health and performance. His guests are wide-ranging, but when he has metabolic health specialists on, he’s excellent at eliciting plain language explanations and practical advice.
Start here: Dr. Andrew Huberman — A Neurobiologist on Optimizing Sleep, Enhancing Performance, Reducing Anxiety, Increasing Testosterone, and Using the Body to Control the Mind (#521)
Shows from Companies We Love
The H.V.M.N Podcast
This show from keto-food brand H.V.M.N features co-founder Geoffrey Woo talking to researchers, doctors, and entrepreneurs about human performance and improvement.
Start here: Intermittent Fasting When Stressed & Understanding Blood Sugar Spikes, with Levels advisor Dr. Molly Maloof
The Whoop Podcast
Whoop is the leading biowearable focused on measuring sleep and recovery through analyzing heart rate variability. Its podcast, hosted by founder and CEO Will Ahmed and other Whoop team members, features athletes, trainers, and researchers taking deep dives into human performance and best practices.
Start here: How Sleep Affected Mental Health During COVID-19
The Natural State Podcast
Perfect Keto founder and CEO Dr. Anthony Gustin hosts this nutrition-focused show that goes beyond keto to cover performance, sustainability and food systems, and mental health. While the interviews are great, don’t miss the Q&A episodes with Dr. Gustin himself; they’re packed with useful explainers and tips.
Start here: What We Learned from One of the Last Hunter-Gatherer Tribes with Dr. Paul Saladino
And one new show we’re excited about …
The Matt Walker Podcast
Matthew Walker is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, but is best known as the author of the blockbuster book, Why We Sleep. He’s just launched his own show in which he breaks down the complex nature of sleep and why it matters to all aspects of our health. Whether you’ve read the book or not, you’ll appreciate Walker’s ability to make deep science both relevant and urgent.
Start here: #01 What is Sleep? (aka What’s going to happen when you fall asleep tonight?)
