In this series premiere episode, released on June 22, 2021, The Healthier Tech Podcast host R Blank and co-host Stephanie Warner discuss what this podcast is all about, why they wanted to bring it to the airwaves and the impact that they hope to make with this new show.
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Show Notes
The Healthier Tech Podcast is the show bringing you a practical solutions-based approach to understanding how best to live in balance with our increasing reliance on tech.
The show from, Shield Your Body, brings you expert voices that clearly explain the science that matters to you, and the usable tips that you can use to live healthier, while defending against the health risks of modern day technologies.
In this episode, host of Season 1 of The Healthier Tech Podcast R Blank is joined by his Operations Manager Stephanie Warner to discuss what this podcast is all about, why they wanted to bring it to the airwaves and the impact that they hope to make with this new show. The show has been created by the team behind leading EMF protection brand Shield Your Body and a brief summary of their history and heritage in the sector explains exactly why they are the perfect people to release a podcast that proactively looks to find ways to live healthier lives alongside technology we are becoming increasingly reliant on.
This initial podcast episode is also a rare opportunity to find out about the work of one of EMF’s very earliest thought-leaders Dr Martin Blank who was the Father of this show’s host R Blank, so The Healthier Tech podcast benefits from a lifetime of work in the field.
In this episode you will hear why the team behind The Healthier Tech podcast are excited to have secured interviews with some of the most impactful and important voices in the EMF sector, which has resulted in meaningful conversations for Season 1 related to:
- Technology Addiction
- Architecture & Building Biology
- Electro Sensitivity
- Building EMF Resilience
- Combating the Negative Health Effects
- How Technology Is(n’t) Regulated
Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE on this podcast right now so that you are notified when the next episode goes live.
For more information on the subject covered today head to https://www.shieldyourbody.com/ for resources, in-depth articles, free tips and PDF guides to learn all about EMF, health and protection.
Transcript
R Blank 0:01
Welcome to the healthier tech podcast, the podcast about building and maintaining a healthier relationship with technology. My name is R Blank, and I run shield your body where it is our mission to make technology safer for you to use and to enjoy. And that’s obviously increasingly important. Given just how big of a growing role tech plays in each of our lives. This first season is going to be chock full of interviews with some really interesting voices, people who are in the trenches, working to help people live healthier, on subjects ranging from nutrition to addiction to creating a healthier bedroom, we’re going to get some great insight this season. And my co host is my longtime friend, and also my operations manager at shield your body. Stephanie Warner, hey, Stephanie, how are you doing?
Stephanie Warner 0:46
Hey, I’m doing really great. And I’m super honored that you asked me to be a part of this podcast and play a role in helping our listeners take control of their health. I’m really excited to release our first season, we’ve got a great lineup of guests and topics I’m excited to introduce to our listeners, I know our listeners are going to feel better informed and more empowered to take back control of their health. So are you excited about starting our podcast?
R Blank 1:16
Yeah, well, you know, I’ve done a lot of speaking I do a lot of webinars to shield your body, obviously, a lot of writing, have never done a podcast before. And I think you know, I’m really excited at the potential what what we can bring to our listeners the value we can bring to them the topics we can cover. I am I am really excited.
Stephanie Warner 1:35
Excellent. Yeah, me too. And I know everyone’s gonna be really eager to get into our first interview. But before we do that, I think it would be really nice for the listeners to learn a bit more about you. So are Would you mind talking to us a little bit about who you are where you started? What’s your origin story with getting into EMF?
R Blank 1:56
Sure. So well, I was a software engineer for about two decades, I had a company and we built things like games and video apps for companies like Apple, Microsoft, Mattel, and Honda. And you might think that that’s a pretty big leap to go from, from doing that to to shield your body. What happened was, it was 2012. And my father, Dr. Martin Blanc, who was one of the world’s leading EMF scientists, he was he got a contract to write a book about EMF health effects. And, you know, he’s a very well respected scientist, also a fantastic writer. But his writing was really more focused in general on on academia, publishing papers, and so forth. And so he asked me for some help, to because this book wasn’t for other scientists, this book was for people, people to understand what the science was saying. So he asked me for some help, and I jumped in, and we wrote it together. And it was it was a it was basically a crash course, in EMF health science, from one of the world’s leading researchers. And in the course of writing that book, I realized a few key things. One, is that the science you know, cuz people, if you bring this up at a party, or you’re talking to a friend, they’ll You know, sometimes they’ll say, Oh, I hear there’s a debate. You know, I hear that, that this stuff you some people say it’s harmful, some people say it’s not, you know, and one thing that reading that book showed me is, is the science here is really strong. It is 1000s of 1000s of studies showing negative health effects from exposure to levels that regulators and governments say is supposedly safe. So one, the science is strong, too. Our entire economy is is dependent on this stuff, right? So it’s not like it was with cigarettes, when when it finally was accepted that this stuff was harmful, you could ban it, you could stop people from smoking in public. You could heavily tax the cigarettes, you could actually regulate cigarettes out of existence tomorrow, and the world could keep running. With EMF, that’s not the case, because everything on which modern society is built emits EMF, so that includes power lines, lightbulbs, refrigerators, appliances, and of course, cell phones and Wi Fi and, and all that stuff that we increasingly surround ourselves with. So the science is really strong. But the source of this stuff is is fundamental to society. So I realized there had to be safer ways for people to engage with their technology. And that’s where the idea for shield your body came from. And that’s when I get started. So that was in 2012. I released my first product, which was the pocket patch in 2013. And sort of took it from there.
Stephanie Warner 4:48
Wow, that’s a that’s a that’s quite a quite a path to and quite a direct path to working on EMF products, and starting shields your body and it sounds like I mean, clearly your father had a lot to do with that. And you guys sound like you’re really close. Um, could you talk a little bit more about, you know, about how his how he as a person and his work affected you?
R Blank 5:13
Sure. So yeah, my father and I work close. And he passed in, in 2018. He was he was actually living with me. And, but we’ve been close, you know, for just say, our whole lives, but really my whole life. You know, he, he’d been working on this EMF stuff for almost my entire life, not quite my entire life. But since I was, before I was 10, he got into this this area of research. But you know, I knew that’s why, for example, we never had a microwave. And I knew, you know, that when I got my first cell phone after college, I should never hold it up against my head. So there were, you know, I was aware that he did this stuff. And I was aware of some of the basics, but it wasn’t, it wasn’t really, until, until I worked on overpowered with him. It wasn’t it was I wasn’t as familiar with it. But you know, there was what was more more prevalent in in a really was his love of science. And I mean, because the guy, he really loved science, and if you talk to any of his colleagues, cuz I still have the opportunity to speak to many of his colleagues, and he is remembered very fondly. But he, they also know that he really loved science. And it was some of the things he taught me. And I talked about this on the blog and in the newsletter sometimes, but it’s an understanding of what science is, but it can be found anywhere, it can be done by anybody. So I remember there was this one time, we were I was growing up, we were in New Jersey, and we had a shed out back, and it was being eaten by Carpenter piece. And we found a dead Carpenter bee. And I was pretty young. I don’t remember exactly how young but we were pretty. I was pretty young. And he said, this thing is full of wood. pointing it to be like, No, it’s not. Yeah, no, this is full of wood. He’s like what you’d like to see. And so we went in the house, we took the dead Carpenter bee, we went into the house, got out the microscope, and cut open the beat. I was like, dang, it’s full of wood. Like I knew carpenter bees would, but the idea that the beam would be full of wood. Like that, that didn’t make much sense to me intuitively, so he showed, and it was a great is that stuff happened a lot. And so that’s, uh, you know, my father was into other things, too. You know, he loved crossword puzzles. He was very sociable. But that, you know, the science really infused a lot his appreciation of let me say, his appreciation of science came across very strongly when I was growing up.
Stephanie Warner 8:04
Yeah, sounds like he really nurtured your sense of, of curiosity. And that’s, that’s amazing. So, you know, so thank you very much for sharing some some kind of personal insight into your father’s it’s your relationship with your father and his his his natural curiosity and love for science. So, you know, how, how do you think that his memory fits into his memory and his legacy fit into SBB? Today? Sure.
R Blank 8:36
Well, obviously, you know, I got in into this area because of him. And I started si B because of my work with him on overpowered. And I do view that si P is carrying forward his legacy, but you know, it’s not, you know, it’s not si B doesn’t do what he did, right. My father was a scientist, I am an entrepreneur, and an educator, and a technologist and inventor. And more probably more than anything, I’m a communicator. And those those are my strengths. And so when I talk about carrying on his legacy, I’m not going to be doing some groundbreaking research on unfortunately, into into health effects. Although, of course, you know, the research, a lot of the a lot of the research is already done, like there’s always more to investigate. But when my father got into this field, you know, the body of science showing the negative health effects from from radiation exposure was much, much smaller now, it’s much more substantial. So, in my view, what has to happen now is communicating what is already known and established by science to a broader market. And that is, that’s where I see my work and that’s why bees were fitting in my father’s life, and his work was really about investigating the sun. About EMF and health. And my focus is much more about communicating the science and communicating solutions with a focus on solutions. So that it is important that people understand what the science says. And it’s important that people understand what they can do to live healthier, given what the science says. And that’s that’s sort of where I see the, you know, a swipe be carrying forward my father’s legacy.
Stephanie Warner 10:26
Yeah, that’s fantastic. And I, you know, I feel like, you know, your, your superpower of being able to communicate this stuff is, is definitely pushing forward his legacy in his work, and it’s opening his work. And so many other scientists work up to, you know, normal people to regular people who, who don’t understand the depth of the science. And I think that’s, you know, I think that’s amazing. And it just, it fits perfectly, and very complementary skills, skill sets. So you have the science and then your your ability to communicate it. And I think that’s, I think that’s great. So how does that actually play out? Like, what is the actual message and work you want to spread through? SBB?
R Blank 11:12
No, that’s a that’s a really good question. And I touched on it a little bit, but I want to get into it a bit more. Right. So first point is unequivocally the science shows that emf is a health threat. And, you know, again, you know, you’ll hear it debated in the media is do cell phones cause cancer? Is EMF radiation harmful to our health, there is no debate, the body of science is substantial, this stuff is bioactive, this stuff is harmful. This is not misinformation. emf is a toxin. And it can really do a lot of damage to different systems in your body. Now, I also want to be clear, I believe, and we’re going to hear from from several people this season, that I think are going to be saying similar things right? There. We live in a world that is full of toxins, the world becomes increasingly toxic, whether I mean, there are any number of examples you could pull from but you know, whether you’re talking about microplastics in in the water, whether you’re talking about antibiotics in our meat, whether you’re talking about mercury in our fish, or lead in our water, there are a lot of toxins in the world. And I am not saying emf is the only toxin. So why do I think EMF it’s so important? Well, one is because it is so poorly understood, it is a very complicated subject, if you really try to dive into it. But to you know, you can’t see smell, touch, taste or hear it. It is very easy to ignore. And when you come when you add that to the fact that this stuff comes from all of our modern technology, right, we love our technology, most of us really love our technology. And you know, we know we love our phones, and our internet and our iPads. But we also love our refrigerators and our lightbulbs. I mean, we love, we don’t actively love those because they are, they are so implicitly part of our reality. But we obviously if they if we were deprived of them, we would realize how much we love them. And so you have this thing where emf is complicated, it’s very easy to ignore, because he can’t sense it. And is emitted by all of this stuff that we love. And so there is this, you’re kind of fighting an uphill battle when you’re trying to get make people aware of this as they’re in care about it, because the bias is going to be to not care about it. So I listed all of those toxins before, right? No one’s goes around saying we need more lead in water, no goes around saying we need more microplastics in our rivers, no one goes around saying we need more mercury in our fish. But everyone goes around saying we need more EMF emitting technology. And that is what the real problem is here, right? Because you’re not going to get a get rid of all of this stuff. Obviously you’d be that wouldn’t mean going back to 1850. Right before the light bulb that’s not what the solution is here. The solution is to make things safer, and to have a saner perspective on what technology we really need in our lives. And that is where that’s why I feel a focus on emf is so important because the push right now is to put pump more and more and more and more of this stuff into our homes, into our environments to to expose us and our families and our children to toxins. And that’s why I am so motivated to spread this message and start by saying there is no debate. The science is clear. There. This stuff is a toxin and that’s why it’s an important toxin that to discuss and to address. So my approach is threefold one to make people more aware of the science what the science actually says not not fake science, not false science. Not misinformation, actual science that, again is I think pretty clearly, part of my father’s legacy that I try to carry forward. Second is to teach people that the way that they interact with technology, their relationships with their devices can really do a lot to improve their health, and reduce their health risks. And this one’s important, right? Because once people start becoming aware, that emf is a toxin, and then start becoming aware of how many sources of this stuff there are in the world around us. You know, the reflexive instinct can be to become terrified, because this is a toxin, and it is everywhere. And so you’re like, what am I gonna do? There’s a new, my, I see 50 Wi Fi networks. In my apartment building, when I turn on my computer, I see five cell towers, they’re putting 5g up, you know, my neighbors, not only do they have all these Wi Fi networks, they now have all of these Wi Fi devices in there. What am I going to do about all that? And you can become overwhelmed. And, you know, yes, this is serious. And yes, we do need to push for a saner approach at the social level at the level of society. But there is a lot that you can do at the personal level, just with your personal relationship with technology that can make a really big difference in your cumulative exposure to this stuff, and reduce your health risk. So that’s the second point, you have power, there’s ways that you can interact with technology more safely. And then third, to explain the role that good EMF protection products, like the ones that I make and sell it shield your body, the role that those can play in a solid EMF defense plan. So that is my approach to EMF protection.
Stephanie Warner 16:42
Wow. Yeah, that’s a you made you made many good points. And I really appreciate the the the approach you’re taking to EMF, EMF protection. You know, one thing that comes to mind as they listen to you talk about, you know, about the approach is that it does become like the topic itself does become daunting and scary, even listening to you first start talking about you’re clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about this topic. And you know, disinformation and people’s skepticism about EMF being something being an actual toxin. So, you know, I want to step back just a little and ask you, you know, you did say, nobody’s saying, Let’s go back to the 1850s. You said that, but what do people like your father who is mired in the science? What did he think about the kind of prolific patien of of wireless and this this tech this type of technology, like, Did he did he see the balance of the benefits and the versus the risk?
R Blank 17:48
Yeah, he completely did. We he didn’t have a cell phone when I was growing up. But by the time we we wrote overpowered, he did, and we talked about it in in the book. But, you know, he wasn’t, you know, he was older by that point. And it wasn’t a smartphone, it was just a cell phone. So he wasn’t he wasn’t going to be glued to it the way that you see people glued to their phones. And he would turn it off when he’s not used. He would never talk on it up to his head. There. He had what he considered and I agree with a healthier, balanced, more balanced relationship with his phone. In the book in overpowered, you know, the he specifically he loved he says he loves gadgets, he does love gadgets me increasing, he did, he did love gadgets. Some of the more techie left gadgets of all kinds, I remember, I still have somewhere in storage, actually a collection of slide rules that he gave me for those young uns out there, that that’s what my, what people used to use before they had calculators or these little sliding rulers that did complex mathematical calculations for you. He got through grad school with slide where anyway, so he had his collection of slide rules. He had a bunch of cameras, he loved cameras, he loved gadgets of all kinds. And he also loved tech gadgets. His message isn’t to abandon wasn’t to abandon gadgets. His message was, you know, the way the way he would express it is advocating for seatbelts for technology. Right when we’re you know, people were drive we created the the the national highway system, people were driving their car, everyone had cars, they were driving them fast, and they were getting into crashes and dying. No one’s response. No one’s response was to say, let’s get rid of cars. No One No one’s response was to say let’s get rid of highways. No one they said let’s put seat belts in cars. And of course industry fought it. But eventually they lost that fight and seatbelts were became mandatory on every single car and and people’s lives were saved. So his his approach was one of seatbelts for technology. That’s That’s how he viewed it.
Stephanie Warner 20:07
That’s a really great analogy. And I appreciate you sharing that. Because I think, you know, again, it’s, it can be very scary, because there’s so much EMF we’re not in control of. So, you know, I think having that perspective is really, really important. And I just kind of jotted down when you’re speaking, because I love this this quote, that you that you just you just said, you know, having a healthy relationship with his phone, so he didn’t want to throw the phone away. It was more about having that healthy relationship. So the seatbelt for the phone. I love that. And thanks, again, thank you for sharing that. So just kind of move forward. You know, there’s so many podcasts out there so many different topics, what do you hope the healthier tech podcast will achieve?
R Blank 20:51
So? Yeah, that’s a really good question, because there are a lot of podcasts. So why would I want to start another one? Well, I spend a lot of time talking about how people can protect themselves from EMF radiation. And you know, anyone who checks my website, shield your body calm, there’s a ton of information up there, blog posts, articles, ebooks, videos, all about EMF and how to protect yourself from it. I have a mailing list, through shield your body calm, that covers the same same subject. And as you can tell, I mean, you know, you know me and what we’ve just been talking about, this is an issue that I care about. And that’s why I focus so, so much on it. My goal with a podcast is to expand that discussion. See that, you know, there’s certain things that I tell people all the time, whenever I’m talking to people or giving a talk, like stop carrying your phone in your pocket, turn off your Wi Fi at night, or you know, use high quality EMF protection products like like the swipey ones that we make. And those those are really important things that you can do to reduce your exposure to EMF radiation, reduce your health risk, and live healthier. But the issues around EMF and health go way beyond these key points. So for example, we recently on the blog, we covered about some of the aspects of nutrition. So some of the things that you eat, can actually directly influence how strong and resilient your body is against damage from EMF radiation. Whether or not you have carpeting in your bedroom can actually impact your body’s ability to defend against EMF and this is this is real science. This isn’t. This isn’t Hocus Pocus, mumbo jumbo, this is real science. Now. It turns out that I mean, those are just two examples. It turns out there are a lot of issues relevant to people who are concerned and worried about EMF and health issues beyond those I normally cover on my website and in my webinars and in my newsletter. And I don’t want to change what I cover on my website, and in my webinars in my newsletter, I feel like that’s important stuff. And that’s what my audience, you know, has come to expect to shield your body to be a resource of, but I also wanted to start covering some broader issues, some of these other topics, subject matter areas, like I just talking about nutrition or, or bedroom quality, and I thought a podcast would be would be a really great way to start covering them. So to to cover issues not directly or not necessarily directly about EMF, but very relevant to people who are worried about an interested in EMF in health. And I am I am really just incredibly lucky with the lineup that we have secured for this season. For those who already know about EMF and health, you’re going to know a couple of these names right off the bat. For instance, we have Dr. Deborah Davis and Lloyd burl, two to two really big names very significant contributors to the area of emf and health. We have two phenomenal building biologists, we have one of the UK Top hypnotherapist to talk about technology addiction. So I am and we have more, right and so I’m really excited for what season one of the healthier tech podcast is going to look like. And this all is part of si B’s mission, which is to make technology safer for you to use and enjoy. So I’m going to I’m actually going to turn the tables here, I’m going to turn out my turn. So I think No, you did a good job. You have some good questions. And I think people have a better understanding of what they can expect of who I am and what they can expect from the podcast. So there’s just one more question that I have Stephanie, which is Who are you and why are you here?
Stephanie Warner 24:45
That’s a great question. I you know, I I will go with the more direct answer rather than the X. existential response I could try and conjure up right now. So I’m here you know, to keep you grounded and and make sure Every episode ends with highly actionable steps our listeners can start taking today. Because, you know, a lot of these topics are daunting, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. I know that’s how I feel. I’m not a scientist, I do not this is this is still relatively a new world for me. And, you know, I get overwhelmed with the oh my gosh, what do I do next. So over the course of this season, I want to ensure that each of the big topics that we cover end with our listeners feeling empowerment and hope. And that’s that’s really my goal, in the role I’m taking on in this season. And the point, you know, my point of being here. And you know, before, before we get started, I have one last thought I’d like to share with our listeners. So over the many years I’ve worked with you are I was fortunate enough to meet your father several times. And I was struck by how down to earth curious and easy to talk to he was. Back in our days of software, I didn’t really understand really anything about EMF, but now I’m here working at si B and I have a bigger appreciation for the body of his work and the impact on EMF awareness, advocacy, and his tireless effort to affect regulations, and a much bigger appreciation for the reason he always entered the room like Egon from Ghostbusters. With his EMF meter, they always kind of cracked up. But now I really understand why it was important to him to always be measuring. And he was a really great man. And I’m so honored to have enjoyed time discussing microwave ovens and why I need to get rid of it. And of course, and you know, for anyone who knew him, you will appreciate probably like I do his crafted puns. Seriously, Dr. Blank was the pondmaster super funny guy and just a joy and a delight to be around. So I you know, I really appreciate that I that I had that time with him. Thank you so are are you are you ready? Are you ready to get started?
R Blank 27:16
Yeah, I’m excited. I am excited. This this, this this little chat we’ve just had it’s got me pumped. So everyone. Thank you so much for listening to healthier tech podcast and let’s with that, let’s dive into episode number two. If you liked this show and want to hear more, please remember to subscribe to this podcast, the healthier tech podcast available on all major podcasting platforms. If you have a moment please also leave a review reviews are critical to help more people find this podcast and learn about the important and undercover topics that we cover. And you can also learn more and sign up for our mailing list to get notified when we have new interviews, webinars, ebooks and sales at shield your body calm that shield your body all one word calm. You can also just click that link in the show notes. Until next time, I’m R Blank. And I want to thank you so much for tuning into the healthier tech podcast and always remember to shield your body
